# Kasual Klunker (Formerly "The Ratical Rustin' Hornet")



## Bike from the Dead (Oct 19, 2022)

Last year on October 30th, 2021, I purchased this 1952 Schwinn Hornet for $40. I had always wanted to build a custom Schwinn straight bar, and this was a prime candidate for such a build. The frame was nice and straight with no damage or rust holes, the chain guard was in decent shape apart from a few small dings on the backside, and the rest of the parts, aside from the fenders, looked to be in good shape as well.





Just one small problem though: I was torn about modifying a bike with such nice original paint and patina. On one hand, I liked the patina, but on the other hand, I was not a fan of the color. I wanted to paint this bike a different color, but I was hesitant to strip away the original paint job with the scallops still intact. So, to hopefully dodge a tough decision, I decided to try trading this Schwinn straight bar for one I would not feel so guilty about modifying at the 2022 Springfield, Missouri bicycle swap meet. Unfortunately, I didn't have too many people ask about the Schwinn, nor did I see any other Schwinn straight bars out at the swap meet. Between that and all the folks on ratrodbikes.com and thecabe.com suggesting I build this bike the way I wanted, I chose to keep the bike and build it whatever way I saw fit.

Well, just last week I was stuck trying to come up with some ideas for illustrations. I figured if I started with a "safe zone" (like sketching custom bicycles,) then it might lead to more ideas for commercial illustrations. So, I decided to play around with some ideas my 1952 Schwinn Hornet. I dug through loads of bicycle and custom car photos I had saved to my computer, looking for any inspiration I could find. Ironically, what really got the ball rolling wasn't the dozens of photos I picked out after spending a day or two browsing around on my computer; it was a couple Hot Wheels cars I had sitting on the radio receiver 6 feet behind me!







Specifically, it was the slate blue-and-gold Mod Rod and Erikenstein Rod I had that gave me the whole vibe I wanted to shoot for: a classic hot rod wrapped in modern race-spec fabrication! These 2 little toy cars, along with this sick 1937 Dodge truck I found on Speedhunters.com and this wild Model A Ford I saw on Hoonigan, all gave me the inspiration I needed to decide on the direction for this Schwinn.




Here's the first sketch I came up with. Granted, not everything is to scale, but the general gist of what I want to do has been established. I want to stretch the wheelbase out a few inches in both directions using dropout extensions in the rear and a modernized take on the classic flipped Schwinn springer fork up front. On the springer fork itself, I want it to look like it was build by a race car fabricator, with tightly curved tube bends and aluminum filler panels with dimple-died holes. Instead of the classic chrome spring, I want to use a spring and shock absorber from a mountain bike, to help emphasize the modern race appeal. A pair of modern LED lights will illuminate the way forward during night rides. The dimple-died holey aluminum panels continue on the tank and chain guard as well. For the tank, I decided to "draw outside the lines" by having the tank flow over the front of the straight bar, sort of like the tanks on some deluxe JC Higgins bikes from the 50s. The chain guard would receive an aluminum filler panel as well, riveted to the existing chain guard. I'd use a modern BMX chainring and some BMX or mountain bike pedals to help continue the "modern hot rod" flair. At the rear would be a bobbed Monark deep dish fender. The bike will ride on either a pair of 24" or 26" x 3" tires, with either Mooneyes wheel disks or a custom set of painted disks to hide the spokes. I'd also use a pair of number plates or hub caps to hide the drop out extensions. As for paint, I'm thinking metallic gold strips on flat or stain slate blue. Odds are as I build the bike, I'll have to redesign elements to fit the actual bike, but this is the whole vibe I'm shooting for.




That said, I did come across this green and black version of the Mod Rod Hot Wheels car, and I may choose to go a similar route when painting this bike.







Now that you know how I _want_ to build my Schwinn, I now have to tell you how I'm _actually_ going to build my Schwinn, at least for now.

See, thing is, I'm currently what you may call "financially-impaired." I don't have the funds to build such a wild custom bike right now. That said, I do still have a little loose change left to spend on my bike projects. Better than that, I've got a decent inventory of bike parts stashed away that could help get at least one or two of my bikes back to riding condition. So, what better way to utilize those parts than to use them to get a bike or two rideable once again?

Here's the plan: there's this lowrider/cruiser bike ride that supposedly happens every last Sunday of the month here in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The last Sunday of this month is on the 30th of October. I bought this bike on the 30th of October last year. I want to fix this bike up in time to ride it around Tulsa with this lowrider/cruiser bike group a year after the day I brought it home! Only one problem: I have never built a bike this fast before. At best, I've rebuilt a bike in 4 months. Now I'm about to try building one in a literal week to 10 days!

That said, I feel a lot more comfortable building bikes after my last project, and I should have enough useable parts to get this bike rideable in 10 days. I already disassembled most of the bike, so I know that the bearing cups and races are good enough to use, and the bearings appear to be salvageable, if my ultrasonic cleaner can remove all the crud off of them. I'm either going to ditch both fenders, or just use a bobbed rear fender. I've got a set of used 26" x2.35" cream-colored tires on some late-model Huffy wheels that I think will go with the bike's original paint and patina well enough. I've got a few handlebars and stems that would look good enough on this bike, and I have plenty of 1/2" pitch chainrings to choose from to replace the original skiptooth chainring. I've got at least 3 options for seats to choose from, so I can still ride in comfort. The only part that I may need to buy at this time is the chain, which I can get for less than $10 at Wal-Mart. I can't really use the original fork at this time (still got handlebar stem bits stuck inside,) but I've got a few springer forks to choose from: one classic Schwinn springer, one reproduction Schwinn springer, and one Murray rat trap springer. If I use the classic Schwinn springer fork, I won't have it raked forward like I have it in the photos below, as I need a 90-degree springer fork ring for the fork to fit properly. If I use the Murray rat rap springer fork though, I could rake the bike forward. I'll just have to see what I like best.

Here's one of the bottom bracket bearing cups before a quick wire brush cleaning:




Here's the same cup after cleaning it with a wire brush:




Here's the issue with the flipped Schwinn springer fork I mentioned earlier:







Here's a couple photos of some mockups I did after coming up with my ideas for this bike. First with some plywood dropout extensions:




And finally, a mockup closer to my current plans:




So, what's my plan for later today? (It's already 1am at the time of typing this.) Well, I'm going to dig through my stash of bike parts I have stored out-of-town for more bearings and bearing cups. I'll also look at some other handlebars I have stored away to give myself a few more options. I'll also try to mock up both the unflipped Schwinn springer fork and the flipped Murray rat trap springer fork to see which one I like best. I'll also try to clean up the bearing races/crowns, and maybe remove the paint from the fork(s) using a few tools at my dad's shop. I might knock out a few other things if all goes well, but we'll see.

So, without further ado, let the mayhem commence as I attempt to build _The Ratical Rustin' Hornet_ in 10 days or less! This is going to get wild!


----------



## volksboy57 (Oct 20, 2022)

Looks like a fun project! Keep us posted!


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Oct 20, 2022)

volksboy57 said:


> Looks like a fun project! Keep us posted!



Thanks! Will do!


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Oct 20, 2022)

Just for comparison's sake, here are some photos of my Hornet as it looked the way I bought it.


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Oct 20, 2022)




----------



## Bike from the Dead (Oct 20, 2022)

Hey, just had a thought last night about how I could rake the old Schwinn springer: if I heat up the ring that the spring bolts to, could I safely angle it back to about 90 degrees so I could properly mount the fork in its flipped configuration? Or would heating that piece just make it more likely to break while riding?


----------



## Mr. Monkeyarms (Oct 20, 2022)

I absolutely LOVE crusty, original finish bikes(cars, trucks, etc.) & try to preserve & highlight the crusty bikes I build. The finish on this one is impeccable & took how many years to acquire?🤔

Being a base model you can really appreciate the overall design with smooth frame joints & curvy fenders. But ultimately it's just another Schwinn & the hot rodder in me likes to customize to suit my needs as I'm sure others reading this like to as well. (I see a couple elements I've been thinking about for a Phantom I've had laying around for years.)Love your inspiration & design for this one!! 😎😎😎

I understand your limitations & appreciate the thought put into proceeding with this build. It will be fun to see how it turns out in the end!✌️


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Oct 20, 2022)

Mr. Monkeyarms said:


> I absolutely LOVE crusty, original finish bikes(cars, trucks, etc.) & try to preserve & highlight the crusty bikes I build. The finish on this one is impeccable & took how many years to acquire?🤔
> 
> Being a base model you can really appreciate the overall design with smooth frame joints & curvy fenders. But ultimately it's just another Schwinn & the hot rodder in me likes to customize to suit my needs as I'm sure others reading this like to as well. (I see a couple elements I've been thinking about for a Phantom I've had laying around for years.)Love your inspiration & design for this one!! 😎😎😎
> 
> I understand your limitations & appreciate the thought put into proceeding with this build. It will be fun to see how it turns out in the end!✌️



Oh yeah, I'm the same way! I do like the finish on this bike. The only change I plan to do to it is wash it with soap and water, then gently buff it with some rubbing compound and maybe some Johnson's Paste Wax to clean it up a bit. No clear-coating or BLO for this one!

Would it have been a base model with the truss rods and rear rack? I'd figure it'd be at least a step above the base model. Schwinn's 1952 catalogue shows that it would have also had a tank and fender-mounted headlight. I don't know where the tank to mine wound up, but if you look at the front fender, you can see holes where the headlight would've gone. Funny, I just now learned this bike would have indeed had a horn tank. 

That said, it is cool to get an unobstructed view of how this bike was designed and built. As much as I like preserving original bikes and cars, I'm a hot rodder at heart, and like you, I have more fun customizing bikes than I do just fixing them up. 😎 Now that you mention it, I've got a rusty Black Phantom frame that some of my ideas for this Hornet would look great on too! I just might have to tinker with that down the road. Let me know when you start working on your Phantom! I'd love to see what you do with it!

Thanks! If nothing else, the limitations could be a blessing in disguise. This will allow me to enjoy the bike with most of its original paint and patina intact while I save up the funds necessary to build it the way I ultimately want. And hey, maybe I could play around with modifying it a little bit at a time, just to keep things fresh and interesting! Thanks! Looking forward to the ride!


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Oct 20, 2022)

Okay, well things started off slower today than anticipated, but I do have some progress to report.

First, I mocked up the older Schwinn springer in its stock configuration, just to see how it'd look. It looks fine, but I'd really love to have the fork angled forward more like my previous mockup.




Unfortunately, that's not going to happen. If try stretching the wheelbase even 3 more inches, then it'll be next to impossible to transport this bike anywhere. My bike rack won't allow it, not how it's built.




I don't know how well you can see it, but there's a bolt at either end of the rack that stop the wheel trays from going any further. And both trays are already close to their maximum distance. That said, now that I think about it, I wonder: if I just took the bolt out on one side, and swapped the wheel trays around so one side had more room than the other, could I make stretched bike just _barely_ fit on my bike rack? Food for thought.







I also pulled some parts out of storage, particularly bearing cups, handlebars and seats. I still think I could use the original bearing cups that are already on the Hornet, but I like having backups, just in case. Quite a few of the frames in this picture below are donating parts to fix this old Schwinn up... including this old Schwinn trike project you might have seen 2 years ago...




Yup, such is the fate of my first Muscle Bike Build Off project, _Poison Apple._ Ever since last year, all it's really done is donate parts to fix up my other bikes. As much as I hate saying it, I'm still bitter about how poorly that whole fiasco went. Blew hundreds of dollars on parts and labor that went virtually nowhere, kept working on it long after I should have stopped, and to this day, I still don't know for sure how I actually want to build this '79 Schwinn Fair Lady. So it just sits here in storage, gathering dust and losing parts to other bikes.




Today's organ donation? Bearing cups.




I didn't get photos of it, but I also managed to get everything on the crank to come loose thanks once again to my dad's vice at his shop.

While I didn't get a ton of photos today, I plan to have a lot more photos of all the different seats, handlebars and even springer forks mocked up on the bike tomorrow. I've got a few other things I'd like to accomplish tomorrow as well, but I'll just have to wait and see what happens.


----------



## 49autocycledeluxe (Oct 21, 2022)

that bike would have been the perfect crusty mate for my crusty 47 B-6 and 48 DX.


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Oct 21, 2022)

49autocycledeluxe said:


> that bike would have been the perfect crusty mate for my crusty 47 B-6 and 48 DX.



Got pix?


----------



## 49autocycledeluxe (Oct 21, 2022)




----------



## Bike from the Dead (Oct 21, 2022)

49autocycledeluxe said:


> View attachment 1717294
> 
> View attachment 1717295



Nice! I like both of your Schwinns, but that DX in particular really catches my eye. I first got into this hobby thanks to a 1950 DX bike I won at an auction 4 years ago. Didn't look anywhere near as nice as yours, but hey, we all got to start somewhere!


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Oct 22, 2022)

Spent the better part of yesterday mocking up different parts on the Hornet. While it took longer than I expected, in the end, I was able to decide on the direction I want to take this bike.

Here are some of the parts I mocked up on the Hornet yesterday. As extensive as this looks, these are just the parts I pulled out of storage Thursday night. I've got even more at home that I had to mock up on top of this! 
















I might rob the bottom bracket bearings and bearing cups off of this frame, in case the original Schwinn ones aren't good enough.




I didn't take photos of every mockup I did, but I did get a few highlights. First, by this point late in the day, I had decided that I liked my Murray rat trap springer fork in its stock configuration better than the other forks I had in stock. I just felt it looked cleaner than the Schwinn springer, since the whole thing sits under the frame, rather than in front of it. I figured it helped show the lines of the frame better. It's a bit of a tight squeeze to get that 2.35-inch-wide tire to fit, but it still fits. Second, I had picked out a seat that I felt looked better on the Hornet than my other options. It was missing some mounting hardware, which I solved by robbing the parts I needed off one of the rotted-out seats I brought home Thursday. 

That said, I still hadn't figured out what handlebars or chainring I wanted, and I wasn't sure about using the bobbed fender like I originally planned. I tried these Schwinn handlebars and this one chainring I had, but I wasn't sold on either option. The chainring made it next to impossible to install the forward bolt on the chain guard, so I knew that wasn't going to work. As for the handlebars, they looked okay, but they just felt like they sat a little too high.




Here's an idea of what this might look like if it use the bobbed fender I've been thinking about doing.




I tried the same mockup again without the rear fender, and I decided that I liked this better, especially with the fork I've got on there.




It wasn't until about 10pm that I finally decided on both the chainring and handlebars. The chainring I chose wasn't necessarily what I wanted, but out of all the ones I had in stock, it was the best option I could pick. The handlebars on the other hand, were the hardest part to decide on. I went through just about every set of handlebars I had, flipping them right side up or upside down, angling them this way or that, it was a nightmare! In the end, it was a set of handlebars I forgot I even had that won out! Probably didn't help that I stored it in a rather odd odd spot that was easy to overlook. 










Ultimately, I believe this is how I'm going to build this Schwinn. I'll want to wire brush the paint off the fork and the handlebars, and I still need to find a crank that doesn't scrape the chain guard and can shine up well enough, but other than that, I've reached a decision on how I'll build this bike for now. I don't know if you'd classify this as a "street bomber" kind of build, but I do like how the bike looks stripped down the way it is. 

The whole time I was mocking up parts yesterday, I was thinking about how other bike builders would say stuff like "listen to the bike," or "what's the bike telling you to do," and those words definitely made sense for this build. I kept wanting to throw something crazy on this bike, be it some ape hangers, a funky chainring, or a flipped springer fork, but it was like the bike was telling me, "no, just keep it simple and classy. I'm an old cruiser bike with old paint. Just use what looks good with that." I'm glad I listened to the bike, because I feel it looks way better this way than what I was trying to do earlier. 

I'll refrain from saying what I plan to do today, and instead just report what I got done either tonight or tomorrow. I'll at least try and get better photos of the bike mocked up today, as I ran out of good sunlight to get photos yesterday. Stay tuned!


----------



## WillWork4Parts (Oct 22, 2022)

Just hand tweak the chain guard over a bit, they're often found bent into the path of the cranks.


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Oct 22, 2022)

WillWork4Parts said:


> Just hand tweak the chain guard over a bit, they're often found bent into the path of the cranks.



I'll try that. Thanks!


----------



## Hoagie57 (Oct 22, 2022)

Gotta have a tank  👍


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Oct 22, 2022)

Day 3 went a bit slower than hoped, but I still have progress to report.

First, better photos of my mockup from last night. Aside from the blue paint on the fork and the black paint on the handlebars, this is about what the final bike will look like. As mentioned previously, I'm very happy with how this is shaping up. It's not the direction I originally wanted to take this bike, as least in this first low-budget build, but I like this better than what I had initially wanted to do. It has more of that "street bomber" feel to it, and I think that's a nice change of pace compared to what I normally like to build.

























I also disassembled the whole bike today. One of the first pieces I took apart was the rat trap springer fork. I want to give a shoutout to @Jaxon on ratrodbikes.com for this great tutorial of how to disassemble and reassemble these forks. Really made the process easier for me.




I had planned to strip the paint off the handlebars and fork at my dad's shop in Sapulpa today, but due to some complications, I chose to just strip the handlebars at home as best as I could using my bike stand and a brass wire wheel on a drill. Ended up being more involved than anticipated, but I got the bars down to a nice, shiny, brushed-steel sort of look. I'll clean these up tomorrow, then apply a satin clear coat to help protect it.










Some of the stuff that I didn't get photos of:

Blowing out all the crud stuck inside the frame
Washing the frame, chain guard and fork with soap and water
Near-complete disassembly of the bike
Putting the bearings in my ultrasonic cleaner (I'm not done cleaning them, but I did run a few heated cycles on them)
Hand-tweaking the chain guard to clear the crank
Picking out which pedals and crank I'll use on the final bike.

I'm going to try and get to bed earlier than normal tonight, so I can take full advantage of tomorrow's warm and mostly dry weather before it rains on Monday. I've got a lot I want to get done tomorrow, and only the next 7 days to do it!


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Oct 22, 2022)

Hoagie57 said:


> Gotta have a tank  👍



Normally I would add a tank, but given the more "street bomber" vibe this bike's taking on, I think I'll do without one, at least for now. Once I can afford to build this Hornet the way I want, then yes, I'll build and install a tank. Thanks!


----------



## rollfaster (Oct 24, 2022)

Lots of options, and most importantly your having fun doing it. Whatever you land up with will bring you joy! Here’s a few Straightbar builds I’ve done over the years for reference. A couple of DX’s hère also.


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Oct 24, 2022)

rollfaster said:


> Lots of options, and most importantly your having fun doing it. Whatever you land up with will bring you joy! Here’s a few Straightbar builds I’ve done over the years for reference. A couple of DX’s hère also.
> 
> View attachment 1718816
> 
> ...



Thanks! You've got a fine collection of Schwinns there yourself!


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Oct 24, 2022)

Gonna keep the descriptions short because it's already 2pm and I haven't started on the bike yet today.

Here's what I got done yesterday: 
I stripped the fork and gave it a satin clear coat. Once that was done, I stuck it in my dad's powder coating oven to let it dry.






 




I shined up the fork spring using a mix of steel wool, the brass wire wheel on my dad's grinder, and a variety of hand and drill-mounted brass wire brushes.







I also cleaned up the seat post, crank, bearing cups, bearing races, nuts, bolts, and other fork parts using the same technique for the fork spring. I also decided to take a few macro shots of the Schwinn stampings on a few of the parts. It's just neat to see those little markings on these parts. Anyone know what the little crown shape is about on some of those?




























I would have worked on more parts, but it was already past 10pm, and I figured it'd be better to head home before I got too tired to drive. 

It's raining all day here today and tomorrow, so I may have to change a few of my plans around to accommodate for that. Today I'd like to clean the headset and bottom bracket bearings, get the wheel hubs apart so I can clean those up, buff the paint on the frame and chain guard with rubbing compound and Johnson's Paste Wax, install the bearing cups and maybe the complete bottom bracket assembly, and continue cleaning up whatever parts need a good wire brushing if possible.


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Oct 27, 2022)

Ok, I didn't make any progress on the Hornet Monday and Tuesday because something had come up (nothing bad, but certainly unexpected,) But I was able to make some progress on Wednesday.

I started off yesterday by testing out some rubbing compound on the paint. Now, I've heard and learned that you normally don't want to touch the accent paint on these old Schwinns, but I just wanted to try something...




I rubbed part of the stripe on the chain guard with a microfiber cloth, and found that it helped remove some of the oxidization!




I immediately went to work on the rest of the chain guard, and managed to bring back a bit of the original color and luster to the paint. It's not perfect of course, but it looks nicer.







But I wasn't done. If rubbing compound could remove the orange rust off the bit of white paint on the chain guard, then what would happen if I used it on the currently orange paint on the frame?




Magic. That's what happened. When I started this build, I was still on board with stripping the paint later when I had the means to build this Schwinn the way I wanted. Now that the paint is on its way to looking... not exactly show-quality, but certainly not as rusty as it did, I think I want to leave the original paint alone. It's survived 70 years so far, and all it needed to look less rusty and dirty was a little rubbing compound, a little patience, and a lot of elbow grease. I'd rather find another Schwinn straight bar to build and paint the way I want than mess up this one. Red and white are still my two least-favorite colors, but after rejuvenating the paint on this 70-year-old bike, I wouldn't want to paint this bike with any other colors.




I don't think my phone camera does it justice. This paint was DULL the way I found it.




Now there's an actual glossy _sheen_ to it, especially on the white paint!




Before I got too carried away with shining up the paint on the frame, I went ahead and disassembled the wheel hubs yesterday. I wanted to get to Dad's shop so I could wire-brush the axles and a few other parts. There was also something else I wanted to take care of while I was up there...




I forgot to bring the handlebars with me when I clear coated the fork, but this time I remembered to grab them, and I cleaned them up and got them cleared. Admittedly, I sprayed the clear on a little too thick on both coats, so I had to quickly wipe where it dripped. It'll probably show in the final product, but this is just a quick and dirty "get it riding" sort of build. I can always come back and do it better later. Right now, it's all about meeting that October 30th deadline.




I also cleared the little caps for the springer fork, just to help slow the rust. I guess these were chrome at one point, but the chrome ain't there now!







I also wire-brushed a ton of other parts while I was up at my Dad's shop; nuts, bolts, axles, races, just about anything that I couldn't clean with the ultrasonic cleaner or a soak in Evaporust.

Here are today's goals:

clean bearings
clean coaster brake parts
finish buffing the paint on the frame
install bearing cups
install bottom bracket assembly
soak various rusty parts in Evaporust
whatever else is possible to get done today

I don't know if I'll be able to finish all of it today, but I'm going to do as much as possible.


----------



## razinhellcustomz (Oct 27, 2022)

H


Bike from the Dead said:


> Last year on October 30th, 2021, I purchased this 1952 Schwinn Hornet for $40. I had always wanted to build a custom Schwinn straight bar, and this was a prime candidate for such a build. The frame was nice and straight with no damage or rust holes, the chain guard was in decent shape apart from a few small dings on the backside, and the rest of the parts, aside from the fenders, looked to be in good shape as well.
> View attachment 1716249
> 
> Just one small problem though: I was torn about modifying a bike with such nice original paint and patina. On one hand, I liked the patina, but on the other hand, I was not a fan of the color. I wanted to paint this bike a different color, but I was hesitant to strip away the original paint job with the scallops still intact. So, to hopefully dodge a tough decision, I decided to try trading this Schwinn straight bar for one I would not feel so guilty about modifying at the 2022 Springfield, Missouri bicycle swap meet. Unfortunately, I didn't have too many people ask about the Schwinn, nor did I see any other Schwinn straight bars out at the swap meet. Between that and all the folks on ratrodbikes.com and thecabe.com suggesting I build this bike the way I wanted, I chose to keep the bike and build it whatever way I saw fit.
> ...



Ey Austin, I like your vision for the Hornet project.. To bad they don't make a Girder style fork that you could put on this bike.. Looking good so far. RideOn...


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Oct 27, 2022)

razinhellcustomz said:


> H
> 
> Ey Austin, I like your vision for the Hornet project.. To bad they don't make a Girder style fork that you could put on this bike.. Looking good so far. RideOn...



Thanks! Well, if I can't find a girder-style fork for this bike, I at least know someone who could probably help me make one.


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Oct 27, 2022)

Okay, today was mostly spent going full-OCD on buffing the paint. Got a bit carried away shining this thing up.




I might have messed up the seat post decal, but part of me actually likes it better with the white outlines instead of the black. I'm not too concerned either way.







I may have worn out my hands and ate up most of today buffing the frame, but dang if this doesn't look so much better than what I started with! I still feel like I could do more to shine this up, but I need to stop with the cosmetics and hurry up on the functionality on this bike.










I wasn't just buffing paint though. I was also cleaning up bearings and coaster brake parts in the ultrasonic cleaner, and soaking a number of parts in Evaporust.




I'm going to try and start bright and early tomorrow morning on the things I didn't finish today. I won't get into too much of the details, but my main goal for tomorrow is reassembly. I'd like to get everything assembled by tomorrow night so I can test ride and fine-tune everything on Saturday. It's getting down to the wire, but I still feel like I've got a shot at this!


----------



## razinhellcustomz (Oct 27, 2022)

Bike from the Dead said:


> Okay, today was mostly spent going full-OCD on buffing the paint. Got a bit carried away shining this thing up.
> View attachment 1720997
> 
> I might have messed up the seat post decal, but part of me actually likes it better with the white outlines instead of the black. I'm not too concerned either way.
> ...



That og paint under that old decal looks pretty nice for being as old as the bike is.. Did you ever run the #'s as to what year this frame is? Looks great so far...


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Oct 28, 2022)

Well, I hate to say it, but I don't think this bike's going to be ready by the 30th. I was on a roll this evening getting everything assembled, and if everything went well, I probably could've had this bike all assembled by midnight. Unfortunately, I've run into a few hiccups that make me feel like I should stop and reassess everything before I go and make things worse. I'll post some photos and videos here soon, but here's what's brought this project to a screeching halt:

1. I can't get the crown race to sit all the way down on top of the top headset bearing cup. There's a gap that, small as it is, could let dust and debris inside the bearing. If this was the only issue, I'd just ride it as-is and worry about fixing it later. Sadly, that's not the only problem.

2. With the chainring and the rear sprocket facing out, I can't mount the chain guard on the frame. The chain scrapes against the chain guard really bad, so I need to either ride the bike without the chain guard, or I need to take thing apart just to flip the gears around. Again, not the worst problem to contend with, but it only gets worse from here.

3. The rebuilt coaster brake hub is not happy. I don't know what happened, but something is causing the rear wheel to continue pushing the chain when it should be freewheeling. I did notice 2 ball bearings that kept popping out of the cage on one of the bearings, but that's how I pulled it out, so that's how I put it back in. Still, I don't know if that one bearing is causing the coaster brake hub to shake and stick like it is, or if I failed to assemble some other part correctly. I'm hoping that all it is is that I just tightened an outer nut a little too much, but I don't know.

I could possibly throw on a different set of wheels and maybe tires, and at least get the bike rideable enough that way, but I feel like I need to stop and really think about what I'm trying to do first. If I can figure out a way to get this bike built before Sunday, that'd be great, but I don't want to mess up more parts and pieces in the process.


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Oct 28, 2022)

razinhellcustomz said:


> That og paint under that old decal looks pretty nice for being as old as the bike is.. Did you ever run the #'s as to what year this frame is? Looks great so far...



Thanks! I  did: 1952.


----------



## razinhellcustomz (Oct 29, 2022)

Bike from the Dead said:


> Well, I hate to say it, but I don't think this bike's going to be ready by the 30th. I was on a roll this evening getting everything assembled, and if everything went well, I probably could've had this bike all assembled by midnight. Unfortunately, I've run into a few hiccups that make me feel like I should stop and reassess everything before I go and make things worse. I'll post some photos and videos here soon, but here's what's brought this project to a screeching halt:
> 
> 1. I can't get the crown race to sit all the way down on top of the top headset bearing cup. There's a gap that, small as it is, could let dust and debris inside the bearing. If this was the only issue, I'd just ride it as-is and worry about fixing it later. Sadly, that's not the only problem.
> 
> ...



#1, try taking a round file to the top of the head tube and make sure their is no rust or derbis keeping the race from seating properly, #2, making sure your sprockets are seated properly in their crank set and on the hub and #3, the brake clutch needs to also be greased properly or they do tend to hang up on the old style Bendix brakes and the bearings need to stay in the cages as sometimes you need to bend down the little spacers with a pliers and grease the bearings well or they won't spin freely in the hub races... Good luck and I hope this helps.. RideOn...


----------



## WillWork4Parts (Oct 29, 2022)

If you are using the hi-stop hub from this picture in your previous post, make sure the tabs at the (bike's)left side of the spring are inserted into the slots of the brake side race properly. It sounds like that's what's pushing the driver to be always engaged.


----------



## razinhellcustomz (Oct 30, 2022)

WillWork4Parts said:


> If you are using the hi-stop hub from this picture in your previous post, make sure the tabs at the (bike's)left side of the spring are inserted into the slots of the brake side race properly. It sounds like that's what's pushing the driver to be always engaged.
> 
> View attachment 1722119



Is that a Bendix 76 hub? Austin's is much earlier I believe....


----------



## razinhellcustomz (Oct 30, 2022)

Bike from the Dead said:


> Thanks! I  did: 1952.



Hey Austin, did you get the Hornet sorted out enough to make the ride? Would be a shame if you had to miss your ride...


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Oct 30, 2022)

razinhellcustomz said:


> Hey Austin, did you get the Hornet sorted out enough to make the ride? Would be a shame if you had to miss your ride...



No, unfortunately not. Not only have I yet to resolve the issues with the bike, but the forecast shows that it's supposed to rain right when this bike show/cruise happens. On top of that, I have no real way of knowing whether or not the ride's even happening, as the Facebook group doesn't seem to mention it every month. I would've taken my other bike, Shoestring, but between the weather and starting a new job tomorrow, it's just not going to happen.

That said, as bummed as I am about how this panned out, it's not so bad. I can probably still fix the coaster brake based on what was suggested earlier or use a different set of wheels, the chainring flip is easy, just inconvenient due to all the grease, and I may be able to sort of the headset issue somehow. I just need to slow down and sort this mess out before I do anything else. I'm still going to build this Schwinn the way I've shown, and I can still do it without spending a ton of money. It just might take a little more time and a little more cash than expected. Right now, I'm just taking a break while I prepare for other things.


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Oct 30, 2022)

WillWork4Parts said:


> If you are using the hi-stop hub from this picture in your previous post, make sure the tabs at the (bike's)left side of the spring are inserted into the slots of the brake side race properly. It sounds like that's what's pushing the driver to be always engaged.
> 
> View attachment 1722119



I don't know what kind of hub it is, but it's off a late-model department store Huffy-type bike. No older than 20 years at most. That said, that could be part of the problem. I couldn't disassemble the hub quite the way I wanted as one of the race nuts was stuck on tight, so I kind of had to reassemble it backwards. Odds are I might have messed something up in the process. Plus it's hard to see what may be wrong when everything's coated with grease. Thanks for the tip!


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Oct 30, 2022)

razinhellcustomz said:


> #1, try taking a round file to the top of the head tube and make sure their is no rust or derbis keeping the race from seating properly, #2, making sure your sprockets are seated properly in their crank set and on the hub and #3, the brake clutch needs to also be greased properly or they do tend to hang up on the old style Bendix brakes and the bearings need to stay in the cages as sometimes you need to bend down the little spacers with a pliers and grease the bearings well or they won't spin freely in the hub races... Good luck and I hope this helps.. RideOn...



1. I need to get better photos of the issue with the headset, but part of the problem is that although I'm using actual Schwinn bearings, bearing cups and races, the bearings sit as high as the rim of the cup, and the race can't sit on the lip of the cup. I could probably get around this by mixing and matching bearings and cups, but I didn't have the time nor energy to mess with it then. I can still sort that out down the road.

2. Sprockets were all seated properly, no wobbling. But I may need to flip them around so they both bring the chain closer to the tire. The chain stuck so far out it'd scrape the outer inside edge of the chain guard.

3. This isn't an old Bendix hub, I don't think. It's a wheel off a late-model department store Huffy-style bike, so it's only 20 years old at most. Also, I don't skimp on grease. In fact, I may use too much, if that's possible! I can try adjusting the cages to see if that'd help, but I'm worried about messing them up. I could probably rob parts off some other wheels I have if push comes to shove.


----------



## Freqman1 (Oct 30, 2022)

Bike from the Dead said:


> No, unfortunately not. Not only have I yet to resolve the issues with the bike, but the forecast shows that it's supposed to rain right when this bike show/cruise happens. On top of that, I have no real way of knowing whether or not the ride's even happening, as the Facebook group doesn't seem to mention it every month. I would've taken my other bike, Shoestring, but between the weather and starting a new job tomorrow, it's just not going to happen.
> 
> That said, as bummed as I am about how this panned out, it's not so bad. I can probably still fix the coaster brake based on what was suggested earlier or use a different set of wheels, the chainring flip is easy, just inconvenient due to all the grease, and I may be able to sort of the headset issue somehow. I just need to slow down and sort this mess out before I do anything else. I'm still going to build this Schwinn the way I've shown, and I can still do it without spending a ton of money. It just might take a little more time and a little more cash than expected. Right now, I'm just taking a break while I prepare for other things.



I’ve found that having a job cuts into my bike time. On the plus side it does provide the funds I need for my hobby!


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Oct 30, 2022)

Freqman1 said:


> I’ve found that having a job cuts into my bike time. On the plus side it does provide the funds I need for my hobby!



Yeah, I'm literally going from "free-time" to "full-time!" It's going to be tough getting used to it, but at least I now have a steady source of income!


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Nov 3, 2022)

Okay, sorry for the lack of updates. After realizing that there was no way I'd get the bike done by October 30th, I decided I needed a short break to try to calm down and relax before I continued working more on this Schwinn. Between that and starting a new job that sadly didn't work out, it wasn't until just earlier this week that I got around to copying and editing the progress photos and videos from last Friday. Here's how it all went down, to the best of my memory:

First thing I did Friday was run all the way up to my dad's shop in Sapulpa to pick up the handlebars and fork parts I had clear coated earlier that week. Once I did that, I ran to Wal-Mart for my chain... only to find that that particular store didn't have any in stock. So I had to spend more time on the road driving to another Wal-Mart that was further away from home to get my chain. Fortunately, I got my chain for just under $10 (before tax,) and I was on my way home.

Once home, I began reassembling the Hornet. First, I installed the bearing cups and seat clamp.




I tried my best to get the "Schwinn" scripts on the bottom bracket bearing cups to sit level with the frame. It's the little things...







Next, I installed the bottom bracket assembly.




Then the seat...




I decided to reassemble my rat trap springer fork next. One minor catch though: I needed a shim to fit the Schwinn race to the Murray fork. So, I hopped on _Shoestring _and rode out to one of the main roads surrounding the neighborhood to look for supplies. Now, sure, I could've just walked over to one of my neighbors and asked if they had any empty soda cans I could use, but I wanted to help tidy up the neighborhood, at least a little bit. Luckily, I found plenty of aluminum cans dotting the side of the road, so I did the responsible thing and picked up a few of those _irresponsibly-discarded _aluminum cylinders to bring back home, where they'd be _properly_ recycled.




Much better.




Once Dad came home, he helped me get the rest of the fork assembled. I'm surprised how smoothly that went for my first try ever putting one of these forks back together.




I put the fork on the bike, and ran into the same issue I had when building _Shoestring_: there was a small but sizable gap between the crown race and the bearing cup. This was puzzling, since the bearing cups, bearings, and crown race are all genuine Schwinn parts. I tried digging though my collection of other crown races I had at home, and yet I still couldn't close that gap. I still felt that if nothing else went wrong, I could just let that gap slide, but that's not how it would pan out...




After fighting with the coaster brake for what felt like hours, I got that all reassembled. I plopped on the back wheel, trimmed my chain to length, and that's when this project came to a screeching, grinding, sticky halt. First, while I did get both the chainring and sprocket to line up correctly so the chain would spin correctly, I had flipped the sprockets to face out, instead of facing in. I think I did this mostly to clear the tire, as it's a 2.35" wide tire, but I'm trying to remember if the chainring looked like it'd hit the frame if I had it flipped the usual way. Either way, with the chainring and sprocket facing out, I could not get the chain guard to go back on the frame without the chain scraping against the chain guard. If that was where the problems ended, then I'd just leave the chain guard off, but there was a bigger issue going on inside the coaster brake hub...




Not only does the coaster brake hub not sound too happy, but at lower speeds, it's catching on something that stops it from freewheeling. Take a look at the videos I posted on ratrodbikes.com and see what I mean.

I'm not sure what went wrong when I reassembled the coaster brake hub, but it was a huge pain in the rear to put back together, given that the cone nut that was supposed to come loose _didn't, _so I basically had to reassemble this whole thing backwards. I would not be surprised if that played a part in the hub not acting right. Either way, I didn't want to risk destroying the hub. At this point, it was already late at night, and I only had one more day before the 30th to finish this bike. On top of that, it was going to rain the next day, and right around when that bike ride supposedly happened, so it would be highly unlikely I'd get to test-ride the bike, even if I somehow corrected all the issues I ran into by the end of Saturday. And to top it all off, I had a job that I was starting on Halloween, so I needed to get ready for that. With all that in mind, I had to face the music and throw in the towel until I could properly sort out this mess.


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Nov 3, 2022)

Fast forward to Tuesday. The job I had started turned out to not be a good fit, so to help me not get dragged down by how that panned out, I decided to run up to Sapulpa to run a few errands and to grab a few more wheels and tires to test out on my Schwinn. I didn't get home until it was dark, so I shot the photos yesterday. I want to get that rear wheel examined so I can still use it, but I'm not so sure I want to use those brown wheels and cream-colored tires now. Plus, I might have better luck using some other wheels in my inventory than trying to make the ones I had been using work. Here's what I brought home to try out:







Most of the whitewall tires I've got are either bald or dry, but I figured it was at least worth trying some out on this bike, especially now that the white paint on the frame no longer looks cream/orange-colored. I also have these black tires with pink-ish stripes that are perfectly usable that I want to try out. I might even be able to go over the stripes with some red paint to give them a better look.




I've also got this one black 26" x 2.125" tire that, though the sidewalls are cracking, still has plenty of grip to it.




Now, I'm not about to switch which fork I'm using just yet, but I kind of want to see what this might look like on my Schwinn Hornet. There's a few problems though: first, the steerer tube is way too long. Second, the dropouts are not crimped into the rest of the fork very securely. In fact, they are ridiculously loose! I don't know what the best method is for fixing these forks, but if there's a way to fix them without messing up the original paint too much, that'd be awesome. 




I also grabbed this fork for the crown race.




I pulled these aluminum wheels off another freebie bike I had in storage to potentially use. They're a little rough, but I could probably clean them up and use them. Main reason for grabbing these is for the chrome-plated hubs.




I've got another similar set of aluminum wheels that are in much better shape though, and I might not have to do anything to them other than swap the axle on the front wheel to make them usable. I also have a set of wheels that are largely identical to the ones I had on the Hornet, with the only noticeable difference being the color. If I need to, I can rob parts from the coaster brake on this set to fix the ones I was trying to use earlier. Or I can just use these wheels and paint over them to get them to match the bike better.




I also have this rear wheel and mountain bike tire I pulled off the same bike I got the above springer fork from. I'd rather have street tires on this bike, but there are a few gravel trails I know of close to home that'd be fun to check out. I haven't really done a klunker-style build before, so this could be kind of fun to try out! Besides, any tire can be a street tire if you don't care enough! Just look at half the Jeeps on the road today! I also grabbed the other skinnier wheel and tire just to see if that'd be something I'd like. 




I also grabbed these 2 freebie mountain bikes for the tubes and tires. I'm not sure whether I'm going with knobbier off-road tires on this bike or not, but I'm open to trying something different! 







One small problem that might stop me from using these tires is that some of them have a number of cracks throughout. I really don't want these tires to pop underneath me as I'm riding. I've already had one too many scrapes while riding; I don't need any more.













I'm not 100% sure what the next step in this build will be, but I know I want to get this bike built as soon as reasonably possible. I haven't given up on it yet. That said, now that the paint is no longer as rusty as it was at the start, I'm thinking about changing the build name for this bike. I've been thinking of calling it "The Halloween Hornet" since I bought it right before Halloween, but maybe there's a better name for it than that. 

Also, if I decide to go for more of a Bomber/Klunker-style build on this bike, I'm wondering if I should enter it in the Off Road Build Off. Admittedly, I don't ride my bikes all that hard and fast (and I _especially_ don't like taking my bikes off any sweet jumps,) but it would be nice to have a bike that I could ride on flat dirt and gravel trails where my other bikes would struggle to get a grip on the loose surface. I don't know, it's something to think about.


----------



## ODDER (Nov 3, 2022)

Have you run out of threads on your stem? Maybe you could put a shim under the lower race to take up some of that space to give you enough threads to secure the fork and seal up the bearings.

on the other hand, I like the last fork you posted better for that bike. keep building.


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Nov 3, 2022)

ODDER said:


> Have you run out of threads on your stem? Maybe you could put a shim under the lower race to take up some of that space to give you enough threads to secure the fork and seal up the bearings.
> 
> on the other hand, I like the last fork you posted better for that bike. keep building.



You know, that's something I hadn't considered. I just figured it'd fit, since the steerer tube is the same length as the original Schwinn fork. I could try using a fork washer with the tab trimmed off to see if that'd work. Otherwise, I've been meaning to get a thread tap/cutter for use on another fork, so maybe if I can figure out what thread size that is, I can go and get the tool and just use it on this fork.

One other possible reason for the gap is that the Schwinn bearings sit level with the top of the bearing cup. They don't sit lower than the edge of the cup, so the way the crown races are made might make that gap inevitable. I can experiment with it and see.

I would like to use that Columbia fork, but it needs some repairs before I can even think to use it. Maybe I can get a quick video of it later so you can see what the issue is. I think that's fork would look good on this bike, but right now, the rat trap is ready to go while that other one just isn't. I can always swap out forks later.


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Nov 9, 2022)

Yesterday, I took advantage of one of the last warm, dry days we'll probably have in Tulsa for a while, and did some more work on the Schwinn.

First, I pulled the 2 tires off one of my donor bikes and washed off as much dirt as I could. Turns out they were the only 2 off-road tires I had in stock with no cracks. They don't match, but I don't mind.











Then I fitted both tires to a set of wheels similar to what I had on previously, except I hadn't messed with the hubs. While I could use one of the matching sets of silver wheels I have in stock, I like these wheels because they're wider, and they make the tires look bigger too.




Here's how the wheels and tires look on the Hornet. I like how they look, but that light peach color on the wheels just doesn't sit well with me...




So here's what I'm going to do to fix that: I got this half-empty can of "vintage white" spray paint from one of my neighbors earlier this week, and it's a close match to the scallops on the frame, as well as the seat.


 







I want to use this paint to get the wheels to match the scallops on the frame as close as possible. Truth is, I really need a whole new can of paint to cover both wheels.




I haven't painted wheels before, so I want to try a card trick I've seen car guys use to paint their wheels. I'll mount a set of junk tires to the wheels to keep paint from getting inside the rim of the wheels, but I'll use a deck of playing cards to further mask off the paint... or not. If I'm using junk tires, it might not even matter. Either way, I'll mask off the inside of the wheel and the spokes using painter's tape and a few sheets of cardboard or paper so that only the outer wheel hoop gets painted. I'll scuff up the existing paint with sandpaper or a shower sponge first, so the paint can adhere to the wheels better. Since I've never tried this before, I may want to look up a couple tutorials to see what the best method is for painting wheels on a budget.




Since I plan to paint these wheels with a cream/off-white color to match the scallops and seat of this bike, I'm also thinking of using a dark red paint to add a couple pinstripes on the wheels to make them look more like original Schwinn wheels. I've got this thin pinstripe paint I've been dying to try out for a while now, so this could be a good opportunity to use it.







I'm thinking of either adding crimson pinstripes along the narrow outer ridges between the lip and middle of the wheels, or maybe painting the middle section all crimson red while the rest of the wheels are cream. Either way, I'll want to do a few test pieces first.




Another thing I made sure to check while I had the bike mocked up was clearance for the chainring being flipped back to an "innie" instead of an "outie." I also checked clearance for the chain passing by the tire, as well as making sure the chainring and sprocket were both lined up.





 




I also put the chain guard back on to make sure the rear tire would clear. Thankfully, it cleared with room to spare.







I put the Schwinn back on the stand and took apart the bottom bracket assembly so I could flip the chainring around to an "innie" configuration. Reason for that is so the chain won't scrape against the chain guard like before. I also flipped the rear sprocket to match. Once I had everything reassembled, I threw the chain back on, and tested the new rear wheel. Bare in mind, I haven't messed with this hub so far. Thankfully, everything worked just as I'd hoped. No weird noises, no sticky freewheeling, and the brake stopped instantly, at least without me riding on the bike. In fact, during one of my tests, the rear wheel spun freely for over 2 minutes after 1 full rotation of the crank! (You can watch the videos of these tests here on ratrodbikes.com)

So what's left to do?

Well, I think I'll leave the rear hub alone for now. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" and all that. I do need to grease the front wheel hub though, but that's no big deal. I still have that gap between the crown race and the top bearing cup, but I've noticed that gap is there on a ton of stock bikes in my collection. I don't know if it's a sign of improper assembly, or if that's just normal, but if I can't find an alternative set of bearings, cups and crown races online (I already dug through my personal collection; no luck,) I'll just use it as is until a better option comes up. I want to paint the wheels, but I need to buy some paint for that to happen. I also probably won't be able to paint for a while, unless I can use one or more of Dad's space heaters to warm up a place to good painting temperatures. It's going to drop down into the 20s and 30s for the lows after tomorrow, so I don't know what'll happen there. Other than that, I just need to install the handlebars, adjust a few things, and this bike's ready to ride!


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Nov 9, 2022)

ODDER said:


> Have you run out of threads on your stem? Maybe you could put a shim under the lower race to take up some of that space to give you enough threads to secure the fork and seal up the bearings.
> 
> on the other hand, I like the last fork you posted better for that bike. keep building.



I looked at the threads on the fork like you said. It's not the threads that are causing the gap; I've got plenty of threads to spare.


----------



## ODDER (Nov 10, 2022)

I know this one sounds silly, but is your upper bearing cage installed upside down?


----------



## Freqman1 (Nov 10, 2022)

The only way to do a really decent job of painting wheels is to unlace them, prep them correctly, and paint. V/r Shawn


----------



## ODDER (Nov 10, 2022)

Freqman1 said:


> The only way to do a really decent job of painting wheels is to unlace them, prep them correctly, and paint. V/r Shawn



Definitely! I tried using coffee stir straws over the spokes the first time I painted wheels. Not only did it take forever cutting the straws with a razor blade but it also left little gaps around the nipple on the rim. Ended up taking them apart, sanding and repainting. Plus I learned how to lace and true wheels.


----------



## WillWork4Parts (Nov 10, 2022)

Unless the bearing is flipped(and probably dragging keeping you from steering), stop worrying and ride it! You know, before it gets too cold...
Sounds like that gap has been there for about 67 years. 
The gap on my 56...



Gap on the 81...





Gap on the 49, spins fine... maybe even with a little original dirt down in there. Lol


----------



## razinhellcustomz (Nov 10, 2022)

Bike from the Dead said:


> I looked at the threads on the fork like you said. It's not the threads that are causing the gap; I've got plenty of threads to spare.



That gap your referring to is negligible and should not be a problem... This is pretty normal any way.. Looking good Austin.. RideOn....


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Nov 10, 2022)

ODDER said:


> I know this one sounds silly, but is your upper bearing cage installed upside down?



No, I made sure to install it the right way. That gap would be way bigger if I had the bearings installed the wrong way.


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Nov 10, 2022)

Freqman1 said:


> The only way to do a really decent job of painting wheels is to unlace them, prep them correctly, and paint. V/r Shawn



And normally, that's what I'd do, but I kind of want to save myself some time and money by just leaving the wheels assembled. Maybe I can talk to one of my local bike friends and see what they think. One guy I know has disassembled, painted, laced and trued wheels for his motorized bikes dozens of times, so maybe he could help me with these wheels.


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Nov 10, 2022)

WillWork4Parts said:


> Unless the bearing is flipped(and probably dragging keeping you from steering), stop worrying and ride it! You know, before it gets too cold...
> Sounds like that gap has been there for about 67 years.
> The gap on my 56...
> View attachment 1729162
> ...



Yeah, the gaps on your bikes are identical to what I've got on mine. I'm not letting it stop me from riding, but I'm still looking for a solution where I can. Thanks!


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Nov 10, 2022)

razinhellcustomz said:


> That gap your referring to is negligible and should not be a problem... This is pretty normal any way.. Looking good Austin.. RideOn....



Yeah, it's not bad enough to stop me from riding. I did notice a lot of bikes in my stable have that gap from the factory, so maybe that's just how they were designed. Thanks!


----------



## Freqman1 (Nov 11, 2022)

Bike from the Dead said:


> And normally, that's what I'd do, but I kind of want to save myself some time and money by just leaving the wheels assembled. Maybe I can talk to one of my local bike friends and see what they think. One guy I know has disassembled, painted, laced and trued wheels for his motorized bikes dozens of times, so maybe he could help me with these wheels.



Why not learn to lace them yourself. You pick up a skill that serves you down the road and saves a bunch of money. Plenty of tutorials and it really isn't that hard. V/r Shawn


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Nov 11, 2022)

Freqman1 said:


> Why not learn to lace them yourself. You pick up a skill that serves you down the road and saves a bunch of money. Plenty of tutorials and it really isn't that hard. V/r Shawn



I might just do that. I've got a couple friends who know how to lace and true their own wheels, so maybe they could give me some tips and pointers to help me do it right.


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Nov 11, 2022)

Ok, *BIG* update to report from yesterday!

First, yesterday morning I bought a couple cans of spray paint that are a close match to the Hornet's original colors. These are the colors I'll use to paint the wheels so they'll match the rest of the bike. 
Yeah, I didn't expect to go over that $50 budget I originally wanted to stick to by spending an additional $12-$14 on paint, but I also didn't expect to 
1. fall in love with the original paint on this bike, 
2. build an off-road klunker, and
3. enter the Off Road Build Off either. So you know what? If I'm going to build this Schwinn as a kool klunker, then it's got to have a set of wheels that match the rest of the bike. It's like going to a job interview; you want to dress your best to make a good impression, so you don't show up wearing white socks with black pants. That would just look silly!














The paint's not the big update though. This is: I got the bike *RIDING* yesterday! In less than a month's time, from the moment I began to seriously try and start building this bike, to the moment I turned the pedals with my own 2 feet, I got this bike riding again! Granted, if we're talking from day of purchase to first ride, my RRBBO 2022 entry, _Shoestring, _is the fastest I've built a bike to riding condition, since I bought it in April and got it rolling in September. Still, from teardown to test ride, this is my new personal record!

All I had left to do to get the Schwinn rolling was grease and assemble the front wheel hub, install the handlebar and stem, and just get everything adjusted for the ride. Thankfully, I was able to get that all done and ride it around the neighborhood a bit before it started raining. I also got the first few test runs on video, but they're not good enough to post. I'll try to get some ride videos at one of the nearby dirt/gravel trails after the rain dries up.


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Nov 11, 2022)

After those first couple test rides around the cul-de-sac, I grabbed a pair of matching handlebar grips, washed them off as quickly as I could, and threw those on the handlebars for a much longer test run. Well, they matched when they were dirty, but apparently they must have come off 2 different bikes! One must have come off a garage-kept, gently-used bike, and the other must have been one of the only surviving pieces of the bike it came off, 'cause that bike got abused! Still, I think they both look alright on the Schwinn.
















I rode it out to one of the main roads near the neighborhood. Between the clouds getting darker and the afternoon traffic, I couldn't get the best photos, but I shot what I could. As I rode to and from this spot, I was surprised how little I noticed those knobbier tires despite riding on asphalt the whole time. I thought they'd feel all bumpy and uncomfortable, but nope! They acted just like any other street tire. That just makes me feel all the more confident that this old Schwinn really can be a good all-terrain bike.










Just to show how much this bike has changed so far, here's a couple comparison shots.
Before:




After:




Before:




After:




It's kind of funny to me just how this bike build has turned out so far. When I decided to build this bike, I was just going to try and slap it together using what parts I had laying around so I could ride it while I saved up the money and materials to strip it down and build it the way I wanted to later. I had no plans to save the original paint, much less fall in love with it. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: red and white are my 2 least-favorite colors, and I don't want or need more bikes in those colors. That said, after spending so much time and elbow grease shining up the paint with rubbing compound, I can't imagine getting rid of that original Schwinn-applied paint! It's survived 70 years up to this point, and hopefully it'll survive another 70 years after this point.

I also didn't expect to build this Schwinn as an off-road/all-terrain bike either! This was just going to be a simple "street bomber" build, with a used set of cream-colored tires wrapped around the wheels. I'm not really into mountain bikes or going off-road in anything smaller than a go-kart, but the moment I mocked up those knobby off-road tires, there was no point looking at the other street tires I planned to test out on this old Schwinn. Besides, sometimes it's good to step a little outside my comfort zone and try something new. There are quite a few bike trails around Tulsa meant for off-roading, and it'd be fun to check them out and get a change of scenery from the neighborhood and all the local parks I usually stick to when I want to go for a bike ride. Plus, it's just cool to have a bike that carries that same attitude those early klunkers have. Who knows, maybe down the road I'll do what those guys did and upgrade this bike to a 10-or-more-speed bike with better brakes and more serious off-road parts! 

So what's next for the _Kasual Klunker?_ Well, despite how it looks, I'm not actually done building this bike yet. I still want to paint the wheels to match the rest of the bike, so I may be taking the wheels apart to do that. Might even learn how to lace and true my own wheels while I'm at it. I also want to add a few other small touches to the bike to really make it my own, as I still feel like I've seen this exact bike somewhere else before. I don't plan on doing anything crazy, but I may want to add a number plate to the handlebars and frame, and maybe a bell to let others know I need a little room to pass them. ...Some folks just use up the whole path while they walk.

In the meantime, I'm going to try and keep myself warm by buzzing this Hornet around the neighborhood and whatever trails I find!


----------



## BFGforme (Nov 15, 2022)

Throw the one grip in bleach for couple days! Wont hurt it at all! I threw couple grips in a plastic container with a lid and forgot about them for about a year and guess what, thought they would have dissolved but bleach was gone and grips were white and perfect!


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Nov 15, 2022)

BFGforme said:


> Throw the one grip in bleach for couple days! Wont hurt it at all! I threw couple grips in a plastic container with a lid and forgot about them for about a year and guess what, thought they would have dissolved but bleach was gone and grips were white and perfect!



Thanks for the idea! I might just try that.


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Nov 15, 2022)

It seems every bike has its own unique challenges. This Schwinn is no different.

I know the bike's a rider now, and if I just stuck to my original "get it riding as quickly and cheaply as possible" goal, I'd be done, but I just can't stop at that now. I love the whole classic klunker vibe this bike has now, but as it is, it feels like I've seen this bike before. I want to add some personal touches to make this bike my own, but the challenge for me is how to add those personal touches without overdoing it. That's kind of challenging for me, because as much as I like the simple, functional look this bike has, I still feel like it needs a few elements to help it stand out amongst the other klunkers and BMX conversions I've seen. Most old school klunkers I've seen were built purely for function, so they didn't have a ton of custom parts other than what made the bike ride harder and faster than it originally could. Custom paint jobs and decals seemed to be nonexistent on those early klunkers, and even on the klunkers I've seen built recently, the paint jobs and decals are usually minimalistic, and all for good reason: those bikes are build to be ridden _hard_, so you don't want to spend a lot of time and money on paint, decals, and custom parts like tanks and fenders only for all that work to get scratched, scuffed, dented and dinged.

That said, since this is more of what I'd like to call an "entry-level" off road bike, I think I can get away with adding a few small custom touches without going overkill on the mods. I already mentioned painting the wheels to match the frame, but there are a few other small things I'd like to do on top of that. I want to add a bell to alert any pedestrians that I need room to pass, as I've had that issue on multiple occasions riding my other bikes on trails. I've got a bell that should work just fine, but I'd like to paint it to match the bike using the same paint for the wheels. I might also see about getting a seat-mounted tool bag that closely matches the seat or paint colors. I also want to take a page out of the vintage BMX playbook and make a custom number plate to mount to the handlebars.




Here are a few sketches of some ideas I had in mind. I want to make use of the clear plexiglass I have in stock, and I think a nice transparent number plate would make a great custom touch to this bike. I'd love to try my idea on the top-right at some point, but I don't think this is the bike for that. I also had an idea for a plexiglass tank with a "floating" design in the middle, but I don't think I'm going that direction at this time. I think the only things I need on this number plate are the number, (52 for the year this bike was made,) the bike's name, and either my actual name or my username. I've never cut plexiglass before, so this could be a fun new challenge for me. Thankfully, jigsaw blades for this material aren't too pricey, and I have plenty of material to work with in case I mess up.




So that's where I'm at with my build right now. I'm hoping I can figure out a way to paint my wheels despite the cold winter weather, but we'll see. I'll have to reach out to some of my local friends to see what they think I should do there.


----------



## razinhellcustomz (Nov 15, 2022)

Bike from the Dead said:


> It seems every bike has its own unique challenges. This Schwinn is no different.
> 
> I know the bike's a rider now, and if I just stuck to my original "get it riding as quickly and cheaply as possible" goal, I'd be done, but I just can't stop at that now. I love the whole classic klunker vibe this bike has now, but as it is, it feels like I've seen this bike before. I want to add some personal touches to make this bike my own, but the challenge for me is how to add those personal touches without overdoing it. That's kind of challenging for me, because as much as I like the simple, functional look this bike has, I still feel like it needs a few elements to help it stand out amongst the other klunkers and BMX conversions I've seen. Most old school klunkers I've seen were built purely for function, so they didn't have a ton of custom parts other than what made the bike ride harder and faster than it originally could. Custom paint jobs and decals seemed to be nonexistent on those early klunkers, and even on the klunkers I've seen built recently, the paint jobs and decals are usually minimalistic, and all for good reason: those bikes are build to be ridden _hard_, so you don't want to spend a lot of time and money on paint, decals, and custom parts like tanks and fenders only for all that work to get scratched, scuffed, dented and dinged.
> 
> ...



Your dad must have a heated shop i would assume, so just warm up the wheels over night so they are room temperature and you should have no problems with the paint.... Good luck....


----------



## piercer_99 (Nov 15, 2022)

Bike from the Dead said:


> 'Most old school klunkers I've seen were built purely for function, so they didn't have a ton of custom parts other than what made the bike ride harder and faster than it originally could. Custom paint jobs and decals seemed to be nonexistent on those early klunkers, and even on the klunkers I've seen built recently, the paint jobs and decals are usually minimalistic, and all for good reason: those bikes are build to be ridden _hard_, so you don't want to spend a lot of time and money on paint, decals, and custom parts like tanks and fenders only for all that work to get scratched, scuffed, dented and dinged.'
> 
> View attachment 1733221





This was my 51' Schwinn klunker.   It was practical for what it was.  Easy to touch up the paint when it was needed.


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Nov 15, 2022)

razinhellcustomz said:


> Your dad must have a heated shop i would assume, so just warm up the wheels over night so they are room temperature and you should have no problems with the paint.... Good luck....



Only the showroom and the room behind it has heat and air. The room where he does powder coating (and I do paint) doesn't. And last I heard, his heater's having issues. I suppose I could use his powder coating oven to preheat them a bit or use it as a space heater, but I don't know if that'd work. I've never tried painting in the winter before.


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Nov 15, 2022)

piercer_99 said:


> This was my 51' Schwinn klunker.   It was practical for what it was.  Easy to touch up the paint when it was needed.
> 
> View attachment 1733263
> 
> View attachment 1733264



Nice!


----------



## razinhellcustomz (Nov 15, 2022)

Bike from the Dead said:


> Only the showroom and the room behind it has heat and air. The room where he does powder coating (and I do paint) doesn't. And last I heard, his heater's having issues. I suppose I could use his powder coating oven to preheat them a bit or use it as a space heater, but I don't know if that'd work. I've never tried painting in the winter before.



That should work, they just need to be around room temperature 72 degrees...


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Nov 17, 2022)

I finally took the _Kasual Klunker _out for both my and its first off road test ride around a local water reservoir today. And I've got to say, it did not go like I expected it to. Nothing came loose or apart thankfully, but even before I made it a third of the way around the 2.6 miles of gravel surrounding the reservoir, I could tell this bike has some issues that need fixing. 







By the time I pulled off to the side of the trail and shot these photos, I was worn out. I don't know if it's the gear ratio, the terrain, the tires, the untouched coaster brake hub, the rider, or all the above, but this bike is a pain to pedal! I even noticed how after test riding it around the neighborhood roads earlier this week that it's harder to pedal this Schwinn than most of my other bikes. Even on my last build, _Shoestring,_ I could ride the full loop around the neighborhood and still have plenty of energy to keep riding for quite a bit longer. This Schwinn, however, is tough to keep riding even after just traveling to the front entrance of my neighborhood and back! And before you make the (fair) assumption that it's just the rider, just last month I rode about 10 miles, the furthest I've ever ridden a bike in one trip, on another trail in Missouri on my grandma's 1965 Schwinn Hollywood, with baskets and water bottles adding a little extra weight. And that trail wasn't as level as I thought it would be. There were more than a few points where I was riding uphill!




Another issue I couldn't ignore while riding the Schwinn today: the seat I have on there, while nice in appearance, is about as comfortable as sitting on a bare metal seat pan, and even then I'd bet there are bare metal seat pans more comfortable than this seat! It has virtually no padding or cushion at all! Fortunately, I have a few other seats I could try on this bike. Unfortunately, none of them look as nice as the one I currently have on the bike. 

As for the other issues I experienced while riding this Hornet today, I'm not quite sure what to do yet. I'm sure repacking the coaster brake hub might help, and even swapping to a bigger or smaller rear gear could help too, but I want to try a couple things before I risk messing up another coaster brake hub. The weather's going to get ugly for a little bit, but come Monday and Tuesday next week, it should get back into the mid-to-high 50s. I want to take some of my other bikes out to the same trail I rode on today, and just see if it's any easier riding those bikes around this trail compared to this Schwinn. If it turns out my other bikes can handle the trail better than this Schwinn, despite the fact that none of my other bikes have off road tires, then that might help me figure out what's going on. I also might try switching to street tires on this Schwinn just to see if that makes a difference. I want this to be a good entry-level off road bike, but right now, it can't seem to handle even a level trail of gravel right now. Hopefully I'll be able to remedy that soon.

I did get a video of today's ride, but I need to get it all spliced together and edited before I can post it. I should have that done and ready to share soon.


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Nov 21, 2022)

Okay, just took a moment to try and find the problem I was having riding this bike last week. The rear wheel spins fine, the front wheel spins better than fine, and the crank and pedals are spinning as intended. I think the coaster brake hub could use some fresh grease, but I don't think that's the cause of the problems I had earlier.

I think @JA331 on ratrodbikes.com was right; it could be the knobby tires that caused so much trouble to keep this bike moving. Fortunately I have a few sets of street tires that I can try on tomorrow. We'll see if that makes a difference. If it turns out my off road tires are what made this bike so difficult to pedal, I'm going to be laughing. There's a certain irony in putting off road tires on a bike only for those tires to be the reason I can't ride the bike off road at all.


----------



## DRCA (Nov 21, 2022)

That said.........


----------



## razinhellcustomz (Nov 21, 2022)

You will encounter much more rolling resistance with these tires versus the road bike tires due to the more aggressive tread patterns..You should have better results with say a Schwinn diamond tread pattern... Good luck... RideOn.....


----------



## GTs58 (Nov 21, 2022)

That rear valve stem looks awful short. Did you checkie the air pressure before or after the trip? Cones adjusted good so under torque that big rear tire wasn't lightly rubbing on the stays? I know that kind of pea gravel is somewhat like walking in sand depending on how deep and loose it is. I doubt that tread is causing much of an issue on that small gravel. But it might on asphalt.


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Nov 22, 2022)

GTs58 said:


> That rear valve stem looks awful short. Did you checkie the air pressure before or after the trip? Cones adjusted good so under torque that big rear tire wasn't lightly rubbing on the stays? I know that kind of pea gravel is somewhat like walking in sand depending on how deep and loose it is. I doubt that tread is causing much of an issue on that small gravel. But it might on asphalt.



I think it's just the angle of the photo. It's plenty long for me. I did air it up to 40psi before I left for the trip. No rubbing on the stays. That gravel was pretty firm for the most part, but what you don't see in the picture are the larger gravel chunks around the curves of the trail. Either way, I'm going to try out some diamond tread street tires today and see if that makes any difference.


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Nov 22, 2022)

Okay, got some more progress to report!

First, I cleaned up and installed these 2 26" x 2.125" diamond tread tires I got from my friend Allan. 





They may not look quite as cool as the knobbier tires I had on before, but I think they still look alright. I bet they'd look even nicer if I painted over the pink stripes with a deeper red! After I shot this photo, I slapped the chain guard back on and took the Schwinn for a test ride around the neighborhood. 




Despite the change in tires, both of which were inflated to the recommended 40psi, I still felt it wasn't any easier to pedal than before. This leads me to believe I need to change the rear gear. Speaking of which, during my 2nd test ride today, the chain came off the rear gear. Turns out that it really does take 2 people to install the rear wheel correctly on this bike. I figured I could get the chain tight enough on my own this time around, but unfortunately, the axle washers like to "walk forward" as I tighten them down, despite having teeth that should make that less of an issue.







So now what?

Well, I'm not sure what exactly I'll be doing during Thanksgiving, but after Turkey Day, there's a major BMX race and show happening at the Tulsa Expo this weekend. My friend @billn will be there hosting and organizing the Vintage BMX show on Saturday, and it'd be fun to hang out with him and all the other bike guys who'll be there. I'd like to try and get this bike into a more rideable state in time for that show. Don't know if I'm able to enter it into the event, but I would like to at least show it off and ride it around there either way.

Thankfully, I don't think it'll be too much effort to get the kinks I've been struggling with sorted out by then. All I really need to do is:
1. Swap the rear gear,
2. Modify the chain length to fit,
3. Reinstall the wheel and chain,
4. Swap out the seat and seat post for something more comfortable to ride on,
5. Swap grips to match new seat, and
6. Button up and tweak everything as needed.

If I can get the rideability issues sorted out, then I can focus on all the aesthetic mods I have in mind, few as they may be. I don't know if I'll be able to do any painting during the fall/winter season, but as long as I can ride this bike now, I'm happy.

Side note: I didn't do the whole "measure and compare" thing today, but I'll definitely test it out when I have more time to tinker with it.


----------



## Steve Baltera (Nov 22, 2022)

My Favorite setup is a 46 tooth Spaceley sproket and a 22 tooth Cogswell cog out back.Makes for a GREAT Kruizer.P.S if that setup doesent bring the rear axel far enough back in the rear dropout with the chain get a half link for the chain.It brings it back in the drop out just right.SMOOTHER THAN A FRESH JAR OF SKIPPY. Hope this helps.      HAPPY THANKSGIVING !!!!!


----------



## Steve Baltera (Nov 22, 2022)

OH BUY THE WAY  ...   KQQL  BIKE...     LOVE THAT FORK


----------



## razinhellcustomz (Nov 22, 2022)

Bike from the Dead said:


> Okay, got some more progress to report!
> 
> First, I cleaned up and installed these 2 26" x 2.125" diamond tread tires I got from my friend Allan.
> View attachment 1737673
> ...



Here's an idea for the rear axle to prevent it from walking on ya, take and put an extra flat washer on each side.. When you tighten the axle nuts, do the non chain side first then if you need to.pull the chain tighter apply slight pressure as your tightening the chain side axle nut.. This should get the wheel centered in the drop outs and your chain should have the proper 5/8" slack in it. Good luck Austin...


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Nov 23, 2022)

Steve Baltera said:


> My Favorite setup is a 46 tooth Spaceley sproket and a 22 tooth Cogswell cog out back.Makes for a GREAT Kruizer.P.S if that setup doesent bring the rear axel far enough back in the rear dropout with the chain get a half link for the chain.It brings it back in the drop out just right.SMOOTHER THAN A FRESH JAR OF SKIPPY. Hope this helps.      HAPPY THANKSGIVING !!!!!



The chain length isn't the issue right now. The problem is that when I tighten the axle nuts, the axle walks forward, so I can't get it tight enough unless I have someone either hold the wheel back while I tighten everything down, or I hold the wheel and have someone else tighten it down. I have used half-links before though, so we'll see what happens when I switch to a different gear.

Happy Thanksgiving to you too!


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Nov 23, 2022)

Steve Baltera said:


> OH BUY THE WAY  ...   KQQL  BIKE...     LOVE THAT FORK



Thanks!


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Nov 23, 2022)

Okay, Now that I know the gear ratio for this bike (46t & 19t, currently,) I realize that it's the same gear ratio I have on _Shoestring._ 




What stumps me here is that _Shoestring _is much easier and more fun to pedal, while this Schwinn so far hasn't been. My guess is that it's because _Shoestring_'s coaster brake hub was rebuilt and packed with new grease, while the wheel I'm currently using hasn't had a hub rebuild and the grease may be thinner or something. So, as much as I'd rather avoid it, it looks like I ought to go ahead and rebuild this coaster brake hub. Hopefully it'll go better than last time.

Seat position may have something to do with it too, since I used a layback seat post on _Shoestring,_ but not on this bike. Still, I have a few bikes with the seat positioned like this Schwinn, and they're just fine when it comes to riding comfort. I can play around with seat positions later, since I need to swap seat posts so I can mount a more comfortable seat onto this bike.


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Dec 2, 2022)

Okay, got some progress to report, albeit a bit later than intended.

Last Saturday morning, I swapped out the tubes on the tires, and installed a seat off another Schwinn I own in preparation for a vintage BMX bike show being held during the Tulsa BMX Grand Nationals. That all took a bit longer than anticipated, mostly due to the seat post I swapped in being somewhat narrower than the one I took out. I had to cut out a shim from another beverage can to get it to better fit inside the seat tube.













Odds are I'll swap out the seat again, mostly because it outshines the rest of the bike. It's plenty comfortable, but I may just use one of the many black seats I've got in stock instead, and add some black handlebar grips to go along with it. Just have to fiddle with it.


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Dec 2, 2022)

Once I got _The Kasual Klunker _ready, I headed over to the Tulsa Expo Square for the BMX Grand Nationals. Despite living here my whole life, I had only just learned about this event this year, thanks to my friend @billn on ratrodbikes.com. Apparently, this event has been happening for well over 20 years! I figured this would just be a small gathering of about 100-or-so BMX racers and enthusiasts, same as most of what I see here in Oklahoma. *GOSH NO! *This place was *packed *with thousands of riders, pit crews, spectators, vendors, and staff all taking part in this event! I've been to the Tulsa Expo for multiple events and shows over the years, but I can't remember the last time it felt this *CROWDED* before! There were so many folks riding their bikes and scooters through the crowds that it was tough to navigate around the building whether I walked or rode my bike! Moving through the Expo with all that traffic felt like what I saw watching all those videos of traffic in India! It was crazy! Made me wish I brought my GoPro to the show!

I didn't get a ton of photos or videos of the event, but here's a bit of what I saw out at the BMX Grand Nationals on Saturday. (If you want to check out some videos I shot at the event, look here.)


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Dec 2, 2022)

Once again, I'd like to give a shoutout to my friend @billn on ratrodbikes.com for inviting me to the event! I had a blast!


----------



## Bike from the Dead (Dec 18, 2022)

Got a small update to share: I changed the seat again to something a little less flashy than the last one.




On one hand, it's plenty comfortable, and it's not as nice and shiny as the previous white seat. On the other hand...




...I hate how it looks on this bike. Instead of being too bright, it's now too dark.




Out of all the seats I've had on this bike, that older slightly faded white seat looked the best. It was by no means comfortable to sit on, but it matched the bike. Odds are I'll throw it back on for the "finished" thread, but what this bike really needs is a custom seat with an off-white cover. Right now, I've got one seat that looks good but is a pain to sit on, and a couple seats that are comfortable but don't fit the look of the bike.




One other thing I noticed as I was putting the bike back up: rust on the springer fork. My guess is it's from getting soaked during the rainy drive to the Thanksgiving BMX show I checked out last month. I bet I can clean it up using some steel wool, but I might want to clear it down the road. Either that, or I don't take this bike out unless the weather's dry.







I haven't been able to do any real work on this bike due to the weather being an ugly mix of cold and wet for the past few weeks. And unfortunately for me, the weather is only going to get worse. In fact, the low for this Thursday is -3 degrees! We've had warm Decembers and Januarys down here in Oklahoma before, but this time, I doubt it's going to warm up anytime soon. So unfortunately, I'm going to need to wait to really finish this bike the way I want. That said, I feel like I'm at a decent stopping point. The bike still needs some work done to it, both functional and cosmetic, but it's a rider. I didn't get it right yet, but I did get it rolling, and that's good enough for me. That's one more bike I own that moves under pedal power! Once the holidays are over, I'll try and get some decent shots of the bike for the "finished" thread.

In the meantime, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!


----------

