Bike from the Dead
I live for the CABE
Thank you!
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'74 Schwinn Camelback Strandie
- Thread starter Bike from the Dead
- Start date
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Bike from the Dead
I live for the CABE
Earlier this Tuesday, I took a few more, marginally better, pics of the '74 Camelback, because while the bike was now ready to ride, I still had one more enhancement in the works for Wednesday.
On Tuesday evening, I began disassembling and cleaning the hub components of these wheels. I would have rebuilt the hubs the same day, but I ran out of time and daylight to get that done Tuesday.
All the internal bits looked good, except for this cone nut on the coaster brake. Fortunately, I had a loose one that would work just fine.
On Wednesday, I met up with my good friend Allan, who helped me with some tasks on my 2 ORBO bikes that I couldn't have done without his help.
For the Camelback Strandie, that meant swapping out the black hubs and spokes on the red wheels for the chrome parts the mint green wheels provided. While Allan worked on disassembling the wheels, I got to work ultrasonic cleaning and rebuilding the chrome wheel hubs. Once each hub was built, he laced and trued the new chrome spokes and hubs onto the red rims. He showed me his process for truing wheels, and man, did he make it look easy. He got these wheels as true as a set of Walmart wheels could get!
Once I got the rebuilt wheels and tires back on the bike, we both stepped back and agreed: this was what this bike needed! Plus, it maintains a nice continuity:
The wheels and tires: red, white and chrome.
The seat: red, white and chrome.
The handlebars: again, red, white and chrome!
The only part of the bike that isn't red, white and chrome yet is the headbadge, which hopefully won't be the case soon.
I had to sneak in a shot of some of Allan's motorized bikes, because they're just too cool.
This Schwinn looked okay with the black spokes and hubs, but the chrome just ties it all together so much better! It really gives that Schwinn the nice, classic car-vibe I wanted this whole time, and I'm very happy with how those wheels turned out!
On Tuesday evening, I began disassembling and cleaning the hub components of these wheels. I would have rebuilt the hubs the same day, but I ran out of time and daylight to get that done Tuesday.
All the internal bits looked good, except for this cone nut on the coaster brake. Fortunately, I had a loose one that would work just fine.
On Wednesday, I met up with my good friend Allan, who helped me with some tasks on my 2 ORBO bikes that I couldn't have done without his help.
For the Camelback Strandie, that meant swapping out the black hubs and spokes on the red wheels for the chrome parts the mint green wheels provided. While Allan worked on disassembling the wheels, I got to work ultrasonic cleaning and rebuilding the chrome wheel hubs. Once each hub was built, he laced and trued the new chrome spokes and hubs onto the red rims. He showed me his process for truing wheels, and man, did he make it look easy. He got these wheels as true as a set of Walmart wheels could get!
Once I got the rebuilt wheels and tires back on the bike, we both stepped back and agreed: this was what this bike needed! Plus, it maintains a nice continuity:
The wheels and tires: red, white and chrome.
The seat: red, white and chrome.
The handlebars: again, red, white and chrome!
The only part of the bike that isn't red, white and chrome yet is the headbadge, which hopefully won't be the case soon.
I had to sneak in a shot of some of Allan's motorized bikes, because they're just too cool.
This Schwinn looked okay with the black spokes and hubs, but the chrome just ties it all together so much better! It really gives that Schwinn the nice, classic car-vibe I wanted this whole time, and I'm very happy with how those wheels turned out!
Bike from the Dead
I live for the CABE
Despite the unseasonably hot weather we're experiencing this weekend, I decided to take the Schwinn out and take it out on its first real test ride around the neighborhood today!
First impressions were great! The coaster brake worked well, it steers and pedals smoothly, and the 2:1 gear ratio felt comfortable and easy to use whether I was going uphill or downhill. I may still switch to a higher gear ratio later, but for now, I'm happy with it as it is. Plus, it just looks so good out in open! That blue paint and those red and white accents POP in the sunlight, and the chrome ties it all together wonderfully!
Unfortunately, what started off as a pleasant ride became a less-than-pleasant walk when something caused the rear tire to rapidly lose air about 3/4 of the way around the neighborhood. I don't know if something punctured the tire or if the valve stem got loose, but either way, I had to walk the bike back the rest of the way home. While it was a bummer to have the ride cut short, I have been meaning to use some whitewall cleaner to shine up the tires before photos, and this seems like a good excuse to finally knock that out.
Aside from a couple cosmetic touch-ups, I'm done working on this Schwinn. It took longer to finish this one than expected, but I'm very pleased with the result. Down the road, I may swap out the Dyno stem and plastic pedals for something a little more vintage or vintage-looking, and I may even change the gear ratio for something speedier, but other than that, I absolutely love the way this 52-year-old Schwinn turned out! I can't wait to take this bike out and ride it on the closest thing to the California Strand that we've got here in Tulsa: the River Parks Trails! Sure, there may not be much of a beach, but this bike will bring the beach vibes wherever it cruises!
First impressions were great! The coaster brake worked well, it steers and pedals smoothly, and the 2:1 gear ratio felt comfortable and easy to use whether I was going uphill or downhill. I may still switch to a higher gear ratio later, but for now, I'm happy with it as it is. Plus, it just looks so good out in open! That blue paint and those red and white accents POP in the sunlight, and the chrome ties it all together wonderfully!
Unfortunately, what started off as a pleasant ride became a less-than-pleasant walk when something caused the rear tire to rapidly lose air about 3/4 of the way around the neighborhood. I don't know if something punctured the tire or if the valve stem got loose, but either way, I had to walk the bike back the rest of the way home. While it was a bummer to have the ride cut short, I have been meaning to use some whitewall cleaner to shine up the tires before photos, and this seems like a good excuse to finally knock that out.
Aside from a couple cosmetic touch-ups, I'm done working on this Schwinn. It took longer to finish this one than expected, but I'm very pleased with the result. Down the road, I may swap out the Dyno stem and plastic pedals for something a little more vintage or vintage-looking, and I may even change the gear ratio for something speedier, but other than that, I absolutely love the way this 52-year-old Schwinn turned out! I can't wait to take this bike out and ride it on the closest thing to the California Strand that we've got here in Tulsa: the River Parks Trails! Sure, there may not be much of a beach, but this bike will bring the beach vibes wherever it cruises!
AndyA
I live for the CABE
Good looking ride! Regarding gear ratios, my experience is that a bike will go downhill well no matter the ratio. So I set up drive trains for going uphill (low, that is). Have fun!
Bike from the Dead
I live for the CABE
Thank you!
I actually built my last klunker with all that in mind, but I found that lower gear ratio caused more problems than it solved. Once I swapped out the rear gear for something smaller, it was much more enjoyable to ride for me.
Bike from the Dead
I live for the CABE
Earlier this Sunday, my friend Shawn invited me to watch 40th anniversary theater release of RAD.
I hadn't seen it before, so it was fun getting to see a movie that was new to me yet old to others for the first time on the big screen. I enjoyed it! I miss these sort of fun, cheesy, lighthearted, feel-good, low-budget, low-stakes kind of films. I'll have to pick up a copy of this movie sometime!
Anyway, on my way home from the theater, my friend Ruby messages me to let me know my headbadge for the Camelback is ready. I give him a call and agree to meet with him that evening. I decided that since I got the frame and fork from him, he ought to see his old Schwinn in person.
He also decided that I ought to see what he's been doing with a bike he got from me a while ago: a rusty little Columbia named "Goldie," named as such because someone scrawled the name into the headbadge who knows how long ago.
Ruby's actually changed the look of this bike of number of times in the short time he's had it, but one thing that isn't short is the mileage he's put on this bike since he got it. It's already travelled from Tulsa to Oklahoma City down Route 66 last year, and there's no telling where else he's ridden it since then!
Here's how old Goldie looked when I saw it again this Sunday. We actually talked for quite a bit about his future plans for this bike, as he was trying to figure out the best way to chop and stretch the frame a couple inches past the seat tube. He's also got plans to paint this one up like his other lowriders he's done. It's always cool to see one of the bikes I've sold (or in this case, traded) being enjoyed by its new owner, and I'm excited to see how Ruby transforms this one even further!
Ruby had just finished pinstriping the badge earlier that day, and while it may not be perfect even by his standards, for this bike, I couldn't have asked for anything more fitting. I was able to install it there in the parking lot so we could both step back and take a look at it. Ruby and I both agreed that this was just what the bike needed! Like the rug in The Big Lebowski, this badge ties the whole bike together! Ruby gave his seal of approval for the direction I took his old Schwinn, and he's already got plans to turn the camelback frame he got from me last month into a strandie like this one!
After mowing the yard Monday evening, I decided to swap out a couple parts to give the bike that more "period-correct" look I wanted. Remember that "clown nose" handlebar stem I tired earlier in the build? Well, I decided to strip off the clown makeup and get it down to bare metal.
After a hefty amount of drill-powered and manual wire-brushing, and a little bit of steel wool, I got the stem cleaned up the way I wanted.
I also swapped out the white plastic pedals for these vintage white pedals I had on my Fastback muscle bike. I cleaned off as much of the rust as I could with a brass wire hand brush and some steel wool, and while I couldn't get it all, I think they look just fine for this old Schwinn.
Today, I took care of the last thing needed to call this bike "finished." I removed the tires, busted out Dad's whitewall cleaning solution, and cleaned up the tires as best as I could. Again, they're not perfect, but they're good enough for this bike.
I swapped out the bad rear tube, mounted the tires to the wheels, and after making some final adjustments to the rear wheel, I got this bike ready to ride once again!
I think the new stem and pedals really sell the "'80s-period custom" look I was going for with this bike. And the red-lettered headbadge goes perfectly with the wheels, seat, and handlebars!
Wheels and tires: red, white and chrome.
Seat: red, white and chrome.
Handlebars: red, white and chrome.
Headbadge: red, white and chrome!
I'm very happy with how this old Schwinn turned out! It's got the classic car vibes I was after, it looks like an '80s survivor, it rides well, stops well, and it just looks good! All that's left to do is take some better photos of it, post my finished build thread, and ride it!
Anyway, on my way home from the theater, my friend Ruby messages me to let me know my headbadge for the Camelback is ready. I give him a call and agree to meet with him that evening. I decided that since I got the frame and fork from him, he ought to see his old Schwinn in person.
He also decided that I ought to see what he's been doing with a bike he got from me a while ago: a rusty little Columbia named "Goldie," named as such because someone scrawled the name into the headbadge who knows how long ago.
Ruby's actually changed the look of this bike of number of times in the short time he's had it, but one thing that isn't short is the mileage he's put on this bike since he got it. It's already travelled from Tulsa to Oklahoma City down Route 66 last year, and there's no telling where else he's ridden it since then!
Here's how old Goldie looked when I saw it again this Sunday. We actually talked for quite a bit about his future plans for this bike, as he was trying to figure out the best way to chop and stretch the frame a couple inches past the seat tube. He's also got plans to paint this one up like his other lowriders he's done. It's always cool to see one of the bikes I've sold (or in this case, traded) being enjoyed by its new owner, and I'm excited to see how Ruby transforms this one even further!
Ruby had just finished pinstriping the badge earlier that day, and while it may not be perfect even by his standards, for this bike, I couldn't have asked for anything more fitting. I was able to install it there in the parking lot so we could both step back and take a look at it. Ruby and I both agreed that this was just what the bike needed! Like the rug in The Big Lebowski, this badge ties the whole bike together! Ruby gave his seal of approval for the direction I took his old Schwinn, and he's already got plans to turn the camelback frame he got from me last month into a strandie like this one!
After mowing the yard Monday evening, I decided to swap out a couple parts to give the bike that more "period-correct" look I wanted. Remember that "clown nose" handlebar stem I tired earlier in the build? Well, I decided to strip off the clown makeup and get it down to bare metal.
After a hefty amount of drill-powered and manual wire-brushing, and a little bit of steel wool, I got the stem cleaned up the way I wanted.
I also swapped out the white plastic pedals for these vintage white pedals I had on my Fastback muscle bike. I cleaned off as much of the rust as I could with a brass wire hand brush and some steel wool, and while I couldn't get it all, I think they look just fine for this old Schwinn.
Today, I took care of the last thing needed to call this bike "finished." I removed the tires, busted out Dad's whitewall cleaning solution, and cleaned up the tires as best as I could. Again, they're not perfect, but they're good enough for this bike.
I swapped out the bad rear tube, mounted the tires to the wheels, and after making some final adjustments to the rear wheel, I got this bike ready to ride once again!
I think the new stem and pedals really sell the "'80s-period custom" look I was going for with this bike. And the red-lettered headbadge goes perfectly with the wheels, seat, and handlebars!
Wheels and tires: red, white and chrome.
Seat: red, white and chrome.
Handlebars: red, white and chrome.
Headbadge: red, white and chrome!
I'm very happy with how this old Schwinn turned out! It's got the classic car vibes I was after, it looks like an '80s survivor, it rides well, stops well, and it just looks good! All that's left to do is take some better photos of it, post my finished build thread, and ride it!
Bike from the Dead
I live for the CABE
When I got this Schwinn frame back in January, I had no idea it would turn into this cool '80s BMX-inspired Strandie! I wasn't sure how I was going to build it at first, but as I got more parts and help from my friends, it developed into something far more rad than I could've ever anticipated!
This bike would never have happened without my friends, so a few thanks are in order:
First, thanks to my friend Ruby, who not only traded me the frame and fork in the first place, but also pinstriped the red letters on the headbadge that tied the whole bike together.
Second, thanks to my friend Allan, who not only gave me the wheels and tires, but also helped me rebuild the wheels with some chrome spokes and hubs to help this bike really pop.
And finally, thanks to my friend Shawn, who helped me shorten and rethread the fork to fit this frame perfectly.
I'd also like to give a shout-out to 2 local bike shops here in Tulsa for their aid in helping me get a couple other parts I needed to make this bike happen: Tom's Bicycles, and Second Wind Bicycles.
This bike has probably the most amount of collaboration involved out of every bike I've built so far. It was sort of like a potluck dinner on 2 wheels! I still haven't decided on a name for this bike yet, but I feel like it ought to reflect how it all came together with the help of my friends.
I didn't just shoot photos of this Schwinn at the local skate park, I actually carved the bowl with it a little bit! I'm going to need more protective gear and a few classes before I try doing anything more daring than that though!
Figured it was worth showing the "camera-unfriendly" side too, which shows the only thing I'd like to change on this bike: the kickstand. The one I have on there gets the job done, but I'd love to find the correct kickstand for this frame in the near future.
I'm very happy with the badge Ruby pinstriped for me. It matches the wheels, seat and handlebars, and it ties the whole bike together!
I couldn't find a BMX bar pad in plain red that I liked, so I took this faded red pad from a Schwinn Aerostar I had and flipped it inside-out to get the look I wanted.
While this Mesinger bike seat might not exactly say "BMX," it does help give the bike that classic car vibe I was also going for.
The 2:1 gear ratio makes this bike a solid trail rider, both for cruising on flat or downhill streets, and for climbing the occasional hill. I made the right call putting 44 teeth up front and 22 in the back!
That chrome BMX fork is what really drove this bike in the direction it went. Thanks again to Ruby for the fork, and to Shawn for trimming it to fit!
And this bike just wouldn't have the same vibe if I had left the black spokes and hubs on those red rims. Allan really came through rebuilding those wheels for me!
Just to show how far this bike has come, here's how it looked when I started. It doesn't even look like the same frame now!
This bike would never have happened without my friends, so a few thanks are in order:
First, thanks to my friend Ruby, who not only traded me the frame and fork in the first place, but also pinstriped the red letters on the headbadge that tied the whole bike together.
Second, thanks to my friend Allan, who not only gave me the wheels and tires, but also helped me rebuild the wheels with some chrome spokes and hubs to help this bike really pop.
And finally, thanks to my friend Shawn, who helped me shorten and rethread the fork to fit this frame perfectly.
I'd also like to give a shout-out to 2 local bike shops here in Tulsa for their aid in helping me get a couple other parts I needed to make this bike happen: Tom's Bicycles, and Second Wind Bicycles.
This bike has probably the most amount of collaboration involved out of every bike I've built so far. It was sort of like a potluck dinner on 2 wheels! I still haven't decided on a name for this bike yet, but I feel like it ought to reflect how it all came together with the help of my friends.
I didn't just shoot photos of this Schwinn at the local skate park, I actually carved the bowl with it a little bit! I'm going to need more protective gear and a few classes before I try doing anything more daring than that though!
Figured it was worth showing the "camera-unfriendly" side too, which shows the only thing I'd like to change on this bike: the kickstand. The one I have on there gets the job done, but I'd love to find the correct kickstand for this frame in the near future.
I'm very happy with the badge Ruby pinstriped for me. It matches the wheels, seat and handlebars, and it ties the whole bike together!
I couldn't find a BMX bar pad in plain red that I liked, so I took this faded red pad from a Schwinn Aerostar I had and flipped it inside-out to get the look I wanted.
While this Mesinger bike seat might not exactly say "BMX," it does help give the bike that classic car vibe I was also going for.
The 2:1 gear ratio makes this bike a solid trail rider, both for cruising on flat or downhill streets, and for climbing the occasional hill. I made the right call putting 44 teeth up front and 22 in the back!
That chrome BMX fork is what really drove this bike in the direction it went. Thanks again to Ruby for the fork, and to Shawn for trimming it to fit!
And this bike just wouldn't have the same vibe if I had left the black spokes and hubs on those red rims. Allan really came through rebuilding those wheels for me!
Just to show how far this bike has come, here's how it looked when I started. It doesn't even look like the same frame now!
Bike from the Dead
I live for the CABE
I also took these 2 shots of the bike while I was giving it a serious shakedown at a trail close to home this past Saturday. It rides nicely, but there are a few parts of this trail that made me wish I had more gears. Still, that was an hour of riding well spent!
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