# My Lone Ranger!



## bikewhorder (Mar 22, 2014)

I finally got to go for my first ride on a 28" motorbike.  I swiped this bike off the Washington D.C. Craigslist last June and its been on my back burner for far too long now.  It was fairly complete and in good shape when I got it but needed a few parts and TLC.  I added the grips,  mud flap, drop stand, lighting system and the truss rods (which are actually a set of curved Elgin truss rods that I uncurved and then bent into the appropriate shape).  I also replaced the seat with a leather one and of course I added the tires which I painstakingly turned into slicks so that they would look more the part.  

The biggest part of this project was obviously fitting the tires which necessitated unbuilding and the rebuilding the wheels to avoid routing the spoke nipple heads off.  I'm pretty happy with the results and its exciting to finally ride one of these bikes that I've been collecting but unable to ride.  Here's some pics...


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## bikewhorder (Mar 22, 2014)

A few more pics...


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## Nick-theCut (Mar 22, 2014)

I'm a fan!  Great job with the new additions and patina matching, all the way down tithe hardware. Sweet!
Clincher wheels?  What did you do to those clad rims?
How's it ride? How's the hub rebuild feel?


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## vincev (Mar 22, 2014)

Great! What brand of tire??  What rim did you use?


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## bikewhorder (Mar 22, 2014)

vincev said:


> Great! What brand of tire??  What rim did you use?




These are Schwalbe Delta Cruisers that I got at Trexlertown for $20 for the pair.  They were brand new and it seemed a shame to make them bald but I had so little invested I figured it was worth experimenting since they looked terrible in their stock form.  I remember reading a line by Scrubbinrims that said something like "there is nothing more jarring to the eye than an old bike with modern tires."  I have to agree.  The rims are your typical metal clad wood rims, that have been "lightened" a bit.  I agonized about doing it to the original rims that came with the bike but in the end I decided it was worth it because they just matched the bike so perfectly.


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## bikewhorder (Mar 22, 2014)

Nick-theCut said:


> I'm a fan!  Great job with the new additions and patina matching, all the way down tithe hardware. Sweet!
> Clincher wheels?  What did you do to those clad rims?
> How's it ride? How's the hub rebuild feel?




It rides great! It fits me perfectly.  Its way nicer than any balloon tired bike I've ever ridden.  I went to great lengths to use patinaed hardware, thanks for noticing!  I didn't rebuild the hub but I think I may need to because sometimes the pedal lurch forward under pressure.  That last pic shows the mod I did to the rims before I added the rim tape.


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## Flat Tire (Mar 22, 2014)

Thats a nice ride!  Guess I'm gonna have to get a 28" motorbike rider, I always hear how nice they ride with the new tires. As it is now I like riding my lightweights better than my balloon tire bikes, and at my age I like the easy peddlers!


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## bikewhorder (Mar 22, 2014)

Its hard to see, but has anyone ever seen another one of those weird little wrenches that is attached to the gooseneck before?  It's kind of silly as an emergency repair tool since it seems like you would need a tool just to get your tool off (ha ha, I said "get your tool off!")


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## theyankeedoodler (Mar 22, 2014)

Nice! Very nice!


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## Balloontyre (Mar 22, 2014)

Handsome bike, the wheels outstanding!!


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## vincev (Mar 22, 2014)

how did you "bald" the tires?


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## bikewhorder (Mar 23, 2014)

I used this tool that I already had

http://www.woodcraft.com/category/5/1002331/2005092/King Arthur Tools Merlin Power Carver.aspx

But I'm sure you could use an angle grinder or a pneumatic right angle die grinder.  Just go slow and do it with the tire on the rim inflated.  It took me about 2 hours per tire and its not a fun job but I don't really like to do fun things anyway.  I stopped short of taking off all the tread just so I could gauge how much tire was left.


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## Nick-theCut (Mar 23, 2014)

That looks good.  What do ya think about peddling with your drop stand down and applying pressure with some sand paper?
I guess that would only work for the back. Huh?  Dang, I want to do this


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## HIGGINSFOREVER (Mar 23, 2014)

Very nice, cool thinking on the tires and wheels.


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## coin1812 (Mar 23, 2014)

Very nice. I am in the same situation with the wheels on my Davis/Mead. Where did you get the rebuilding info on the wheels?


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## bikewhorder (Mar 23, 2014)

Nick-theCut said:


> That looks good.  What do ya think about peddling with your drop stand down and applying pressure with some sand paper?
> I guess that would only work for the back. Huh?  Dang, I want to do this




Yeah, and there's no way you could ever switch the front tire to the back.


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## bikewhorder (Mar 23, 2014)

coin1812 said:


> Very nice. I am in the same situation with the wheels on my Davis/Mead. Where did you get the rebuilding info on the wheels?




I built lots and lots of wheels over the years.  One trick I can share is that if you tape the spokes together where they cross, and then tape all those taped intersections together on each side, you can remove the rims from the spokes without having to figure out where every spoke goes. I'm also willing to modify these single tube rims for others if they are queasy about doing it themselves.  I'd do it for like $40 a pair+shipping assuming it is a bare rim. You'd want to make sure they are fairly true though before you went to the expense on having this done.   Sometimes the washers need to be removed if they are the taller cone shaped washers just FYI.


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