# Why Do A Double Bend Crank Or A Single Whizzer Bended Crank And How Is It Done?



## Goldenrod (Aug 7, 2022)

The row of cranks are only bent on one side (half finished).  Red paint represents four cherry red heated areas.  Joe can't trust his eye to get them straight so the blue guide board is critical.  Top arm is to be bent at this stage.


Why Do A Double Bend Crank Or A Single Whizzer Bended Crank And How Is It Done?



By Ray Spangler, Joe Cargola and George Hattersley



Many Whizzer guys like to have an echo tube and a Whizzer altered 







chain guard on their bikes. When both sides are bent, a more even look and feel is achieved and you get plenty of “space insurance” that no crank scraping will ever be a problem. Using a professional torch Joe has bent over 180 cranks so far and counting. Four areas (darker) are heated cherry red, bent and checked on the guide board. They are then re-chromed but you forgot the three critical, first steps. Are the threads useable? Is the crank you plan to modify, from a ballooner or a middleweight? Is it a Schwinn crank with the A.S. mark inside? Other brands can be custom bent but requests are very rare. Each of the two ends are altered about ½ inch and the drill bit  (matched to the pattern outline) ensures that the pedal holes, and pedals line up perfectly perpendicular. It is a hot, tedious, job, with lots of rechecking and reheating, but sometimes Joe gets a rhythm of perfect, first-time bending, but it is not like popping corn. The bending is relatively cheap but the bill for chrome is like getting smacked by an ape. Joe and I decided to do a bunch of cranks in case the chromer closes his shop.

Our second contributor, (George Hattersley) lives in Pennsylvania and, like Joe, does single bends. All unbent usable, cranks start at about $12.50 and up. After the shipping, bending labor, gas, re-chroming and handling, the cost jumps to around $60? I can understand why we often find Whizzer motors, echo pipes, and chain guards that have been badly marred by the cranks of Whizzer operators now in the forgotten past. My two mates protect paint jobs and everything else that clanks and bangs around until it is re-done professionally. Try bending cranks yourself? If the bending is not perfect, you will be reminded of it each time you ride. Please practice on junk cranks and try not to blister important body parts.

Thought question: Why is there such a strong demand for reproduced, Whizzer drop stands? Possible answer: They weren’t included in the boxed kits. The introduction of the Pacemaker made them a must-have item for pedal starting existing Whizzers on a stand?


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## wes holliday (Aug 18, 2022)

Thanks to Ray,Joe and George for this very helpful article.

It would be good to publish this information in the Whizzer Club Newsletter.


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## MrMonark13 (Aug 18, 2022)

wes holliday said:


> Thanks to Ray,Joe and George for this very helpful article.
> 
> It would be good to publish this information in the Whizzer Club Newsletter.



I believe it is in the next newsletter. Either that or the previous one. I’ll have to check, though.


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## Goldenrod (Aug 19, 2022)

I post my tech adventures out to the CABE free, but this is just one part of the newsletter.


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