sportscarpat
'Lil Knee Scuffer
Hi Guys,
Somewhat new around here but not new to building bikes. Thought I would share a few pictures of a bike I have been building. I started with a 41 Schwinn DX frame and Tange TX1200 fork I picked up at a local swap meet. Initial plan was to just throw together a bomber with parts I had around the shop, so a single speed coaster brake bike, and just ride and enjoy. Well, after putting it together as a bomber I started looking around for the necessary parts to slowly change the bike into a shifter bike with gearing, effectively turning it into a hybrid as defined on Alan Bond's wonderful Clunkers web site.
Here is the first version of the bike built up as a coaster brake bomber. I used Worksman wheels as I had a set, then just some Wald cruiser bars, an Ashtabula crank and Schwinn stamped Ashtabula stem, and a Brooks B67 Saddle I had. Fun bike but limited with it's fixed single speed gearing.
Mt Tam Bomber by Pat Dolan, on Flickr
From there I decided to locate all the "correct" parts as defined on Alan Bond's Clunker web site and change the bike into a true hybrid clunker. Some of the parts were hard to locate and some just kind of turned up at the perfect time. The wheels were converted to Atom hub Araya 7x beauties I stumbled into that were in really nice shape. The rear sprocket is a six speed Suntour. Both derailleurs are Suntour Cyclone. I then located a 175mm arm TA Specialities triple chain ring pedal crank. Derailleurs are operated with Suntour Mighty thumb shifters. Migura type brake levers to actuate the Atom drums. I messed with handlebars endlessly till I settled on a rare set of 24" Schwinn Scrambler bars that I widened from 26" to 32" and then added Hunt Wilde grips. Seatpost is solid bar stock aluminum that carries a proper vintage Brooks B72 with chrome rails. Finished the build off with some Schwinn style knobbie tires. Here is how it looks now.
41 DX Clunker by Pat Dolan, on Flickr
Changing from a Bomber to a Hybrid really changed the whole personality of the bike. It is now a very usable machine. Sure, it's heavy compared to a modern mountain bike, but it can climb anything and just haul on the flat straights. I have been putting in the miles to learn this bike well, can shift any gear without looking and really am just enjoying my new hybrid clunker.
Thanks,
Pat
Somewhat new around here but not new to building bikes. Thought I would share a few pictures of a bike I have been building. I started with a 41 Schwinn DX frame and Tange TX1200 fork I picked up at a local swap meet. Initial plan was to just throw together a bomber with parts I had around the shop, so a single speed coaster brake bike, and just ride and enjoy. Well, after putting it together as a bomber I started looking around for the necessary parts to slowly change the bike into a shifter bike with gearing, effectively turning it into a hybrid as defined on Alan Bond's wonderful Clunkers web site.
Here is the first version of the bike built up as a coaster brake bomber. I used Worksman wheels as I had a set, then just some Wald cruiser bars, an Ashtabula crank and Schwinn stamped Ashtabula stem, and a Brooks B67 Saddle I had. Fun bike but limited with it's fixed single speed gearing.
From there I decided to locate all the "correct" parts as defined on Alan Bond's Clunker web site and change the bike into a true hybrid clunker. Some of the parts were hard to locate and some just kind of turned up at the perfect time. The wheels were converted to Atom hub Araya 7x beauties I stumbled into that were in really nice shape. The rear sprocket is a six speed Suntour. Both derailleurs are Suntour Cyclone. I then located a 175mm arm TA Specialities triple chain ring pedal crank. Derailleurs are operated with Suntour Mighty thumb shifters. Migura type brake levers to actuate the Atom drums. I messed with handlebars endlessly till I settled on a rare set of 24" Schwinn Scrambler bars that I widened from 26" to 32" and then added Hunt Wilde grips. Seatpost is solid bar stock aluminum that carries a proper vintage Brooks B72 with chrome rails. Finished the build off with some Schwinn style knobbie tires. Here is how it looks now.
Changing from a Bomber to a Hybrid really changed the whole personality of the bike. It is now a very usable machine. Sure, it's heavy compared to a modern mountain bike, but it can climb anything and just haul on the flat straights. I have been putting in the miles to learn this bike well, can shift any gear without looking and really am just enjoying my new hybrid clunker.
Thanks,
Pat
