The sweetness and horrors of a 60 dollar marketplace bike in 2025.

I had to drive 180 miles round trip to get this bike. It's the first steel bike with its original steel fork I've been able to find inside of a 2 hour radius in more than a year of looking that wasn't priced into the stratosphere and snagged before I could get it. Many people in this sub can find much nicer bikes in much better shape for not much money, but it just doesn't happen where I am.

For 60 dollars there were obviously concessions made, but I'm happy replacing everything to enjoy the process, so it really doesn't matter.

I see so much potential sweetness here, like:

Steel. Tripple butted steel. Maybe not high end, but it's not hi-ten.

That awesome anodized stem matching the bottle cage. I'll be swapping in a threadless stem adapter and getting a different stem, but the color makes me want to find a similar color stem.

The frame is made for 700c wheels and it has built in cable stops, so I can easily swap to V brakes.

50mm of space for tires front and back.

Can you believe that sweet twist tie holding the computer wire to the fork didn't command a premium? I really scored there!

Old Shovel put an AdventX drivetrain on this same bike with a 32 tooth chainring in the middle spot of a 3x crank as a 1x conversion, so I know that will work, but I think that would drop a lot of high end.

I want something near a 38 tooth ring up front with a wide range 8, 9, or 10 speed cassette and capable derailleur. The cranks are riveted, so I can't use them like Old Shovel did, so if anyone wants to suggest a combo of cranks, rings, and other drivetrain bits that will work, I'd be very appreciative.