# 1982? Jamis Earth Cruiser 5 speed



## unregistered (Dec 28, 2018)

Just got this in yesterday from central Illinois. I’ve always loved the decals on these and they hardly come up for sale, especially in the Midwest. 

It’s complete but I already stripped off the deflectors, chain guard, etc for safe keeping. It’s surprisingly heavy so disassembling is helping me pinpoint what will be priority for upgrading. The idea is to build a single speed klunker/strandie with it.


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## unregistered (Dec 28, 2018)

Lighter wheels, stripped down and it’s still quite heavy, relatively. Thinking I’ll lace up a coaster brake hub and ditch the roller brake. Dang.


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## Beach Bum III (Jan 2, 2019)

Neat bike! I feel your pain in the weight issue. It's really hard to build up a light (ish) Cruiser. Those Messenger style saddles weigh are ton but they sure are fun to bounce around on and look cool too.


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## unregistered (Jan 2, 2019)

Haha, yep. They do look neat and a nice alternative to the Brooks that EVERYONE and their brother run on strandies/klunkers/cruisers. But yeah, the sucker's like 8 lbs, no joke!

If I can bust the drum brake shell free from the hub I will run it. It's actually a lightweight aluminum brake and it's pretty neat. A free/free rear hub made by Surly should allow me to run the brake, a modern freewheel and have the proper rear spacing and chainline so that's my plan for now.


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## fattyre (Jan 2, 2019)

Modern tubeless rims & tires in either 26 inch or 650B will do wonders for these old cruiser bikes- The overall weight and how they ride.  Ditch those steel bead tires & tubes!


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## unregistered (Jan 2, 2019)

I've certainly thought of this. You'd lose the classic look of the anodized rims, though and that's a deal breaker for me...


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## unregistered (Jan 13, 2019)

A little more progress, sourced some new parts, sold some stock parts and cleaned bearings, took apart the rear wheel to reuse the rim.

The frame spacing is around 130mm now, the Surly hub is 135mm and the solid axle will add more. Will likely be a tight, tight squeeze. Maybe the local shop can stretch it out safely...

Not that I’m not excited about this project but another just came into the pipeline today so I'll be a busy guy this winter!


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## Cooper S. (Jan 17, 2019)

What brand bars are those?


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## unregistered (Jan 17, 2019)

S&M Husky High MX:
https://www.sandmbikes.com/product/hardgoods/husky-high/


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## unregistered (Jan 20, 2019)

Cooper S. said:


> What brand bars are those?




If you like them, @irideiam has a set for sale at a killer price.


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## irideiam (Jan 20, 2019)

buses n bikes said:


> If you like them, @irideiam has a set for sale at a killer price.



Thanks


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## unregistered (Feb 8, 2019)

A little more progress on this lately. Dremeled off the bulky rear chainguard tab and rear derailleur cable braze-ons. Got some grips, red ano bear traps and a Brooks for it. Installed the 10mm rear axle for the rear hub so I can run the drum brake.

Next up I need to have spokes cut for the rear wheel, find some seat guts and a cool 3/32 chainring for a one-piece crank. Stupid White Industries freewheel takes an 8 speed chain...


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## SWPA (Feb 9, 2019)

Great find and in great shape, I almost bought a brown one once, sweet ride!


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## Dizzle Problems (Feb 9, 2019)

Looking good man!! I like where you're going with it! Red and gold is always a classic!

Have you by chance put the rear hub in the frame and checked the chain line? I'm guessing that the 135 surly hub may put your chain father out then the one piece crank allows for. I'm currently doing a build with the same hub, and that was my experience. I'm surprised the rear spacing is already at 130. 5 speeds for the era were 120, with 6/7 getting the bump to 127. 

Also, a tip for 'spreading' the rear stays. I usually take an old axle and put nuts and washers on the inside of the drop outs and work them out slowly taking turns on each side. if you're aiming for 135, keep spreading until about 150, because it will spring back. But, if its already at 130, you can just ease the wheel in for the extra 5mm pretty easy without cold setting the frame.

And for the chain. they make 3/32 single speed chains. They won't be ramped like a 3/32 8 speed chain.


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## unregistered (Feb 9, 2019)

@Dizzle Problems thanks for the suggestions! I did test fit it and eyeballed. Looked ok but obviously that isn’t too scientific. I’ll report back on progress. 

Agreed, it measured roughly 130mm with the old 5 speed wheel, will be more spread out now.


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## unregistered (Mar 17, 2019)

Pretty slow progress on this one as I’ve been more focused my on Schwinns. Sourced a Brooks professional and some guts and just wrapped up painting the worn brake tracks on the rims. I found a close enough gold spray paint match and masked off just the sides of the rims. Cheaper than what minty Ukai and Arayas are going for these days! 

Next up will be going down to the shop and getting some spikes to lace up the rear wheel.


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## unregistered (Apr 9, 2019)

A little more progress. Got the rear wheel laced up and test fitted. The shop will tension it for me then I'll likely need to massage the frame wider to fit the drum brake hardware. The bike rear end measured roughly 126-130mm originally and I'm cramming about 137-140mm there now...


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## Colonel Mustard (Apr 9, 2019)

Looking good man! Should be a great around town bomber


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## unregistered (Apr 29, 2019)

Got it up and running earlier this week, I love it! Unfortunately the rear drum does not work very well at all so I’m going to seek out a different thread on drum brake.


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## hm. (Apr 29, 2019)

Now that looks nice.. cool bike !!


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## irideiam (Apr 29, 2019)

sweetness


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## Sven (May 3, 2019)

Definitely a head turner!


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## unregistered (May 3, 2019)

Thanks, guys! It rides so nice! I’m probably going to gear it down a tooth or two on the chainring and I have an Arai drum brake coming for it. Hopefully that helps it’s stopping abilities!


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