Search results

Powder coating is durable and looks great, IMHO.

I’m calling this project done. I couldn’t powder coat the fenders because part of the front fender was found to be rusted through after grit blasting, so I had to resort to epoxy/fiberglass and paint. I couldn’t decide on a nice accent color so I opted for a pattern. I chose the pattern...

I’d mask closely and overcoat with a single pass of Rustoleum spray clear enamel. But, that’s against manufacturer’s recommendations and risky since I don’t know how or if it would react with the powder coating. I’m just going to leave them uncoated for now.

Decal day! These are (weak) waterslide decals. Should I clear coat? If so, enamel or acrylic? Frame is powder coated. Instructions with decals recommended against clear coat, so that’s my plan unless the CABE brain trust disagrees.

If you don’t want to clear coat it (and I’ve seen that done) you could use some paste wax if the surface is smooth or liquid/spray wax if it’s rough. Another thing I’ve seen done is giving it a rub down with boiled linseed oil. Should dry enough not to remain sticky and it can be removed with...

Backed it up with some epoxy and fiberglass cloth, parged it with Bondo, a little rattle can paint and close enough for rock and roll.

I recently purchased two 1964 Schwinn Typhoons, one from central Ohio and one from the suburbs of NYC. Both were equipped with a stem identical to the #7551 pictured above.

After lacing each about 3 times to end up with parallel spokes by the stems. I think they came out pretty good.

I bought some old chromed rims for a decent price on eBay to replace the originals which were too far gone. They were nice and straight and not dented. I didn’t expect them to clean up and they didn’t - too badly pitted in a few spots. So, off to the powder coater they went to be made gloss...

Thanks, Mike. I’m rebuilding the hubs with new bearings and I found a couple of rims with unsalvageable chrome (trust me, I tried) that I’m gonna paint. Spokes are on order.

They went out with last week’s trash. I would have had to epoxy in some fender washers to hold a few spoke nipples so there was no running them the way they are. Good tip on the Murray wheels. Thanks.

3 is just the bicycles.

Thanks. I’m going to fix them for now. I can always change them out later if I find something better.

Nice color scheme and one I’d never think of.

Frame, fork and chain guard back from powder coater. Color is a very dark candy apple red called “Illusion Cherry.” Bottom of the front fender was rusted through, unfortunately. My plan is to lay up a layer of fiberglass and epoxy on the inside of the fender and sand flush anything that...

I started another thread for that: https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/1965-schwinn-typhoon-restomod.222176/

Just closing out the thread. These were manufactured when Lyndon Johnson was President. R.I.P. rims.

Is it wrong to have more than one project bike going at once? Good, because here’s my third. I was looking for a completely trashed bike that was complete and largely dent free and I found it 100 miles away just north of the Tappan Zee/ Gov. Cuomo bridge in NY. I made the trip worthwhile by...

Okay, but they’re retired from cycling, right? Where does one find generic wheels that take a Shchwinn proprietary ISO 571 tire or are you recommending going another wheel size? I’m interested in that option, but would have to have spoke sizes available since I want the hubs to continue in...

I took the hubs off and about half the spokes and nipples. Just talking about the rims, not the wheel assemblies. The hub innards look good.

Bought decrepit ‘65 Typhoon that spent enough time stored outside that it’s no good for anything else but a restomod. I wanted a bike that would cause me no guilt for not keeping it original. The S-7 rims are rusted through the inner wall, but the outer wall is intact and they must be...

I still don’t get the weight argument. Isn’t easier and better to ride a 40 lb. bike and lose 30 lbs. yourself? Same as having 10 lb. bike, but more durable and probably better looking - both you and the bike. It’s the weight of the bike/ rider system that matters.

I’ve had good luck taking chains apart in a big clear plastic bag. Can’t lose the link like that. I’ve been able to free up most chains by soaking overnight in Evaporust (if rusty), washing with dishwashing liquid and an old toothbrush, drying and soaking in a jar of kerosene for a year. It...

I've been on a friends $3,000 carbon fiber something or other. Definitely night and day difference. But like giving a '59 Les Paul custom to Phoebe Buffet to play "Smelly Cat," it wouldn't make much difference to me. I have a "modern" 2012 Trek DS 8.2 which is a Chinese frame with Bontrager...

I've been riding an 80-year-old Columbia recently. Single-speed, coaster brake, about as basic a bike as you get. A 35 lb. "Lightweight." When you consider the mass of the rider/bicycle as a system, having a modern lightweight bike doesn't make that much difference. I know there are a lot of...

Key thing to understand is to disregard tire designations like 26 x 1 3/8 and 26 x 1.375 which are not the same size. Stick to the ISO designations which represent the bead seat diameter in millimeters. Stock VG295 rims take 26 x 1.375 tires which are ISO 599 and not available new. The Kenda...

Wow! Thanks Adrian. I note the "...we'll help you determine if you're eligible for..." and the "sold with certificate" verbiage on the ads. I remember my dad saying that he used what he called a "transportation ration coupon" as authorization to buy his Columbia VG295 Sports Tourist in May...

Agreed. Looks to me like the tang on the spring is shorter in the axle/transverse direction than I recall it should be which may make it prone to slipping out of the slot. You may want to look for a NOS spare. They come up for sale from time to time.

Agree that the spring is the problem. Probably not broken, but the little tang on it can get dislodged from the clutch sleeve as srfndoc said. If the tang is damaged, there are NOS parts available. If that's not it, be aware that you can add more discs to build up the stack. It'll fit more...

Installment #5. Painting the frame and fenders. I didn't realize I haven't posted in about 5 months. Let me admit at the outset that I took a near-perfect repaint of the frame and fork and wrecked it by trying to redo the gold pinstriping. I hope to find the time to buff-off the pinstripes...

Disagree…joint bank account is worse.

This is the front seat post integrated with the rear handlebar clamp.

Makes it glisten and makes water bead.

Thank you! Based on the frame, looks like 1961-1965. The rear seat has a chrome crash bar and it looks like only the 1961 had that. Probably a 1961.

I can make room for it in my shed next to the lawnmower and wheel barrow. Right now it's out back in the rain for "passive cleaning." First step.

Can't tell. They look pretty "beach cruiser-like" to me. Rusted but sound. Chrome is shot. Big areas of surface rust, especially on the back rim and front handlebars. I don't want to allocate funds to re-chroming anything. I'm thinking it might look good just to prep the chromed parts as...

Bryan, what are your thoughts on swapping out the 3-speed hub for a single speed coaster brake either by replacing the whole rear wheel or lacing in a new hub with new spokes (and maybe a new rim! 😆) I have an rebuilt New Departure Model D I could use. I think those have more stopping power...

My latest Craigslist indiscretion is below. Wife doesn't ride but probably can pedal, so I thought we should give a tandem a try. I like American bikes and that means old bikes or expensive bikes. I didn't spend much on this, but probably more than I should've. I can't find a serial number...

The sticky grease mainly helps during assembly with keeping the tabs on the bronze discs lined up while you're fitting the disc stack into the slots in the hub. I think any decent bearing grease would work well. The brake was full of (probably 60+ year-old) brown grease when I took it apart...

Installment #4: Rebuilding the New Departure Model D Coaster Brake Rear Hub First, a big shout-out to The Random Mechanic in Texas who has a very good tutorial on YouTube on how to rebuild the "dreaded" New Departure Model D. Banging around on the internet, I was also able to find images of...

Thanks! I tried some Kenda ISO 597s before I bought the NOS Uniroyal ISO 599s. The Kendas were no problem to install being only 2mm smaller than the 599mm originals, but one of them blew off a rim when a 6-inch section of bead gave way. The beads on these are much smaller than the old...

I saw the pix, thank you, just hard to tell the details. No rush at all as mine is all painted and clear coated. Sometime in the next decade would be great. Just for future reference and to satisfy my curiosity how well I guessed what I didn’t know. Don’t want to hijack your thread!

Thank you!! I think I read this while I was researching how to lace a wheel. Great tutorial!

Thank you. A few pix of the pinstripes around the head badge; pinstripes on the fork, distance apart, distance from the top of the fork and how they terminate down by the front axle; dimensions of the placement of the down tube and Sports Tourist decals and height of the lettering. Also, are...

Thank you, Krakatoa. If I recall correctly, the front was 3-cross and the rear was 4-cross to account for the larger diameter rear hub as front and rear spokes are the same length. I screwed up the rear wheel lacing and am off one spoke so the stem ended up crossed by a spoke, but it doesn’t...

Hi Eyefrommn, Just saw this post. I have almost the exact same bike, S/N G49433 and am currently adding to a post about its restoration. Thread '1942 Columbia Sports Tourist Model VG295' https://thecabe.com/forum/threads/1942-columbia-sports-tourist-model-vg295.205793/ G49433 was built in...

Installment #3: I took the best pictures of the wheels I could to document the spoke lacing. The spokes were rusted into the nipples and I had to cut most of them to free them from the rims and the hubs. Fortunately with enough Liquid Wrench and care, I was able to remove one spoke each from...

Installment #2: After my father taught me how to ride a bike, long about 1968 or so, he started riding again to keep me company. This prompted him to embark on a "refresh" of the Columbia which involved cleaning and repacking the front wheel hub, headset and bottom bracket with some crusty old...

Thanks, Adrian. The serial number information you have compiled has been very interesting and I found it fascinating that the serial number indicates a date of manufacture that matches when my father told me he bought the bicycle.