1939 Firestone Flying Ace

[Mr. Monkeyarms]

I had planned this past Saturday getting this bike fully serviced and assembled for The Deny Old Bikes Club ride #77 on Sunday. Did the stripes on the tank and chainguard while sipping cappuccino that morning. Then found out my ex-Father in Law passed away at 91. He was a good man and I loved and respected him dearly. One of the best people I have known. May he rest in peace and may God help my daughter with the grief she is dealing with. He was a good man and will be dearly missed.

Really got started around 1pm. All bearings needed cleaned, had to straighten out a few things while assembling, then had to figure out shifting for the modern Shimano 3 speed. Finished assembly and tuning on the stand at midnight Saturday.

The OBC ride was it's maiden/test ride. I didn't take a lot if pics because I was having too much fun looking at everyone else's bikes, good conversation, etc. Will get some good pics taken and post when I have a chance.

So this is the "rare" fender light I hinted at a couple times earlier in this thread. It is NOS with some shelf ware. Not sure if it really is rare. I picked this up at a swap a few years ago and have'nt found the right bike. Until now. I thought it would be good for an airplane named bike. The guy had another one of those lights that was pretty beat up and should have bought it too. Haven't seen another since.......

 

[stezell]

Right on Eric, I saw where Blu posted a pic of both of them on Facebook. Sorry to hear about your Ex father in law man.

Sean

 

[Mr. Monkeyarms]

Thanks Sean! It was pretty cool seeing 2 of these rare bikes in the same place. And thanks for your condolences. He was a good guy. Even though things didn't work out for his daughter and me, he made an impact on me that I will treasure!

 

[Mr. Monkeyarms]

Now that this is a rider, I have a short punch list of things to take care of that arose during assembly. The axle slots in the truss rods put the middle of the axle even with the end of the fork. (Had to lean on the bars to get the front wheel safe to ride.) Need to find some room so the axle bottoms out in the fork for safety. But more importantly, reduce fender gap!! Need to rebuild the pedals. Need to age the new stripes when paint fully cures. And rear gear swap. 52x18 is a bit steep. A 20t rear should be perfect.

The Brooks seat was one I had handy and is comfortable but not for this bike. Started trying other parts I'm considering for this one to get it dialed in. Will eventually start adding parts it would have had originally as I find them but may have to use modern rims. These fenders are HUGE! Fender gap, being my biggest peeve on a bike, isn't easy to overcome. The 2.125s look like road tires when found.
The tires I'm using are 2.5s on a 50ish millimeter rim and there's room for more rubber. Maybe lace in some 60-65mm rims.
I think I'm real close with this set up. Will try a couple more seats, stems and bars but is really comfortable as shown above. The Sturmey Sportshift works flawlessly with the Shimano Nexus hub. Really like how this bike rides so far and forsee many happy rides.