coasterbrakejunkie1969
Riding a '38 Autocycle Deluxe
Did you get a chance to look at the knurling of those handlebars? I'm always interested in early Stingray bars.
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BAD NEWS: My Twisted Take on a Western Flyer Newsboy Special
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Bike from the Dead
I live for the CABE
I'd have to double check. I don't think I've got any genuine Schwinn Syingray bars, but it'd be cool if I did.
coasterbrakejunkie1969
Riding a '38 Autocycle Deluxe
Post s pic of the knurling and we will be able to tell.
Bike from the Dead
I live for the CABE
I'll have to do that later. I'm house/pet-sitting for the rest of the week.
coasterbrakejunkie1969
Riding a '38 Autocycle Deluxe
No problem, I was just curious
Bike from the Dead
I live for the CABE
Decided to mock up a few more parts earlier this morning. I tested out a few different fenders for the rear, swapped the bottom bracket parts out for the correct chainring and a shorter crank, lowered and leveled the seat, and I made some adjustments to the fork and handlebars. Normally, I like having at least a bobbed rear fender on my bikes, but this frame just doesn't look right with fenders, at least not when I've got this wild fork setup going on. So, I think I'll just leave the fenders off of this bike.
I liked how the fork looked on the previous mockup, but the way it was assembled, I had no suspension travel, and the handlebars had to be set behind the frame because the stem wouldn't clear the front tire. I had an idea of how to at least remedy the first issue, by simply flipping the... spring... collar? I have no idea what that piece is called. Regardless, I flipped the spring hardware around, and not only did I get my suspension back, but as a bonus, it kicked the front wheel out a little more, giving me more than enough room to rotate the handlebar stem so the handlebars could sit ahead of the frame. It also had another unintended side-effect of increasing the rake of the bike, making the straight bars of the frame point just under the front axle, as opposed to pointing a little above it earlier. More importantly, due to the increased rake, the pedals on the shorter crank arms sit at about the exact same height as the pedals on the original longer crank arms when the fork wasn't quite as raked. The pedal clearance is even worse this time though, since the fork spring compresses when I sit down on the frame, making the pedals bottom out. Oops.
As I keep mocking up this bike, I keep finding new things. For instance, these 2 holes under the back of the rear rack, and the 2 holes at the base of the rack braces. They look factory, but I don't understand why they exist. Anybody else with a Newsboy Special or Firebolt know anything about this?
Ok, this looks much better. That fender really took away from the overall look of this bike. I still need to do something about the fork/pedal clearance problems, and I need some taller handlebars so I can actually take this bike for a proper test ride, but overall, I think this is the look I want to go with for this bike. It's kind of got a "lowrider bike" stance, but the aggressive rake of the frame, especially at the straight bars, gives me some serious "funny car" vibes. Kind of fitting, since this bike is better for straight-line riding in this configuration than it is for regular riding.
So, what's next? Well, I really need to get this bike rideable so I can decide whether or not this is the direction I really want to go or not, and that means either getting or making some longer handlebars I can reach comfortably, and solving the fork/pedal problem. At the same time, I'm trying to figure out the sort of paint scheme I want on this bike. Originally, I was thinking of painting it satin black, with gloss red scallops and white pinstripes, but nothing is set in stone yet. Plus, now that I've got "drag racing" on the brain, I feel like this bike needs less of a "traditional hot rod" vibe, and more of a "nitromethane-burning funny car" vibe. I'll try to sketch up some ideas this week, but I've got a few other things going on this week, so we'll see.
I liked how the fork looked on the previous mockup, but the way it was assembled, I had no suspension travel, and the handlebars had to be set behind the frame because the stem wouldn't clear the front tire. I had an idea of how to at least remedy the first issue, by simply flipping the... spring... collar? I have no idea what that piece is called. Regardless, I flipped the spring hardware around, and not only did I get my suspension back, but as a bonus, it kicked the front wheel out a little more, giving me more than enough room to rotate the handlebar stem so the handlebars could sit ahead of the frame. It also had another unintended side-effect of increasing the rake of the bike, making the straight bars of the frame point just under the front axle, as opposed to pointing a little above it earlier. More importantly, due to the increased rake, the pedals on the shorter crank arms sit at about the exact same height as the pedals on the original longer crank arms when the fork wasn't quite as raked. The pedal clearance is even worse this time though, since the fork spring compresses when I sit down on the frame, making the pedals bottom out. Oops.
As I keep mocking up this bike, I keep finding new things. For instance, these 2 holes under the back of the rear rack, and the 2 holes at the base of the rack braces. They look factory, but I don't understand why they exist. Anybody else with a Newsboy Special or Firebolt know anything about this?
Ok, this looks much better. That fender really took away from the overall look of this bike. I still need to do something about the fork/pedal clearance problems, and I need some taller handlebars so I can actually take this bike for a proper test ride, but overall, I think this is the look I want to go with for this bike. It's kind of got a "lowrider bike" stance, but the aggressive rake of the frame, especially at the straight bars, gives me some serious "funny car" vibes. Kind of fitting, since this bike is better for straight-line riding in this configuration than it is for regular riding.
So, what's next? Well, I really need to get this bike rideable so I can decide whether or not this is the direction I really want to go or not, and that means either getting or making some longer handlebars I can reach comfortably, and solving the fork/pedal problem. At the same time, I'm trying to figure out the sort of paint scheme I want on this bike. Originally, I was thinking of painting it satin black, with gloss red scallops and white pinstripes, but nothing is set in stone yet. Plus, now that I've got "drag racing" on the brain, I feel like this bike needs less of a "traditional hot rod" vibe, and more of a "nitromethane-burning funny car" vibe. I'll try to sketch up some ideas this week, but I've got a few other things going on this week, so we'll see.
coasterbrakejunkie1969
Riding a '38 Autocycle Deluxe
My guess is that they are weep holes from the factory. A way to let fluid out of the frame perhaps as part of the assembly process. They may have been put there to allow moisture that accumulates from rain to leave the frame. I would think the former , some thing to do with the manufacture process.
It is called a yoke
Bike from the Dead
I live for the CABE
Makes sense. Thanks!
razinhellcustomz
Cruisin' on my Bluebird
Nice SCORE Austin... Great bike for a really great price.. I bought one of those reflecters for my Rambler.. Just love the looks of this old Columbia.. Congrats!!! RideOn.. Razin..
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