We all have them, I think, at least in my community. Community bikes; bikes that don’t really belong to anyone in particular but are a conglomeration of parts culled from many and shared by few. Somehow they end up in one persons garage for far too long.
Dug has probably spent the most time of anyone that I know riding community bikes. As a matter of fact I bet it’s been over 5 years since he’s ridden anything else.
Well, I have a community bike that I dare say will never end up in Dug’s garage. Part Rick S., part Jamie P., part Forrest, part me and I’m sure there are parts on it from Chris Fox. Total cost to build=$12 for bar tape. Yeah, yeah it’s a single speed with STI shifters, whatever.
The frame that belongs to Rick S has been hanging around in Jamie’s garage for years with parts bolted on it at random. Whenever something wouldn’t fit on someone else’s bike Jamie would hang it here.
You know what? It totally kicks ass. I rode it for the first time today and it is fast. I’m going to race it on Saturday but after that anyone that wants to borrow it for a day or year is welcome to it.
Do you have a community bike in your garage? Want one? Need a new community?
CarboRocket 
I’d love a community bike in my garage. I don’t want to look like a hipster though. Something I can run over flower beds and ride wheelies with. YA!
She looks good Brad. Thanks for completing the Frankenbike project. I expect to see that bike on a few podiums before the season is over.
I need a community bike for my 9 year old Wesley. He is too big for his 24″ wheel Specialized Hard Rock but not quite big enough to ride my old 15 inch frame 26 inch wheel hard tail. He is going to be there in about 6 months at the rate he is growing and I can’t afford to buy a tweener bike. A community bike would be perfect for a few months. This seems like an awesome idea for kids.
Too bad you are so far away, we have a community 13″ 26er that is making its way round the neighborhood.
Nice…how did you get a single speed with a vertical drop out? No fancy Eno hub. No EBB. No Singleator. You must know your chain lengths and gear ratios.
Master.
I am sporting the STI shifters on my single speed as well. I like it. When it gets hard I can pretend to shift to an easier gear.
Rob, as for no tensioner, etc., check out the magic gear calculator at:
http://eehouse.org/fixin/formfmu.php
You just need to know your chainstay length with some accuracy and you can figure out what ratios will work best.
Dude, you totally gave me away. What’s Rob gonna think of me now?
Sorry! I can’t help it, that magic gear calculator is just so dang cool and whoever created it is a freaking genius!
Is this JZ from Speedway days?…Been a long time. Been meaning to say hi.
Indeed it is. Long live speedway!
Brad. You’re still the Master.
Phew!
I keep getting pestered to try out cross. If you get sick of it and want to see it go to a good temporary home, just let me know. You can even see it on weekends at cross races (assuming i don’t suck it up so bad I return it immediately in shame). I keep eying the Felt SS at racers and wanting to try out cross, but I can’t talk myself into spending the cash on something I’ve never done.
If only I would have known about this sooner, I have some unused bar tape lazing about that needs a home.
What happened to Community Bike at the cross race? I’ll bet it was the shifters.
I have some really gaudy bar tape that I picked up free at Interbike a few years back. I was going to put it on, but was honestly waiting to get a wider bar. Sorry I didn’t offer it up.
That chain length calculator is cool, I’m bookmarking that. It’ll come in handy sometime I’m sure.
My wife is thrilled that the loss of the community bike has freed up some space in our garage. Funny thing is that when I drive into my garage something just doesn’t “feel” right. That thing was hanging in the same place for like 2 years and was a fixture on my bike hooks. Glad to see it getting some love.