When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Builds from the frame up

#eBayPartner    Most Recent BUY IT NOW Items Listed on eBay
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
eBay Auction Picture
I just wrapped up a build from the frame up with all NEW parts. Including a new frame. On a new bike it can actually be less expensive this way, if your parts selection differs enough from the OE build, or (as in my case) you just want to DIY (and the mfr. charges $250 labor for a custom build).
While that doesn’t seem related to the topic at hand, I have to admit I’m now really looking forward to doing a custom old bike build in the near future. Cost be damned...
 
I just wrapped up a build from the frame up with all NEW parts. Including a new frame. On a new bike it can actually be less expensive this way, if your parts selection differs enough from the OE build, or (as in my case) you just want to DIY (and the mfr. charges $250 labor for a custom build).
While that doesn’t seem related to the topic at hand, I have to admit I’m now really looking forward to doing a custom old bike build in the near future. Cost be damned...
Well cool let's see it. Old or not. And that's the idea. Cost be damned. You can't put a price on satisfaction.
 
This was a really good idea for a thread Balloonoob. Since I'm the only one that put something out there, so far, I would like to add my two cents to the discussion. I'm perceiving some perspectival Poo Pooing from some pious purists. Regarding this Skylark frame, it was for sale on the Cabe for awhile before I bought it. I've heard it from many serious collectors, that's it's a fools errand to buy something completely parted out & try and build it back up. It's a very common head badge & one or more of the three down tubes had weld repairs. So the reality is that I could have mounted on a mantle, drank some beer while lovingly looking up at it and imagining what it used to be, or: I went with option B, actually doing something with this POS. I happened upon these bike parts for sale, luck have it, they fit & looked great. It was a choice between painting them that God awful persimmon or, well, you can guess the rest. I never thought that I would actually own a Skylark. I think that they are hands down the sexiest girls bike ever made. They remind me of the WW2 pinups. Another reality is, that no matter how rare or desirable a girls bike is, if enough of the parts on it will fit a more expensive boys bike, well you know the ending. Iv'e since put these tires on this 41 Western Flyer, another frame up.Chances are that some of you won't like the replacements either, I have to post some photos. The next two bare frame ups are a 1941 Western Flyer with much attention to detail, in some areas. 1917-18 undetermined with a liberty or two. Come on, lets get this thread going. I'd like to close with a quote attributed to Timothy Leary, but I can't confirm; ''The Sixties actually started in 1967, and ended when Nancy Reagan took over the White house".

DSC00420.JPG


DSCN2793.JPG


DSCN1739.JPG
 
This was a really good idea for a thread Balloonoob. Since I'm the only one that put something out there, so far, I would like to add my two cents to the discussion. I'm perceiving some perspectival Poo Pooing from some pious purists. Regarding this Skylark frame, it was for sale on the Cabe for awhile before I bought it. I've heard it from many serious collectors, that's it's a fools errand to buy something completely parted out & try and build it back up. It's a very common head badge & one or more of the three down tubes had weld repairs. So the reality is that I could have mounted on a mantle, drank some beer while lovingly looking up at it and imagining what it used to be, or: I went with option B, actually doing something with this POS. I happened upon these bike parts for sale, luck have it, they fit & looked great. It was a choice between painting them that God awful persimmon or, well, you can guess the rest. I never thought that I would actually own a Skylark. I think that they are hands down the sexiest girls bike ever made. They remind me of the WW2 pinups. Another reality is, that no matter how rare or desirable a girls bike is, if enough of the parts on it will fit a more expensive boys bike, well you know the ending. Iv'e since put these tires on this 41 Western Flyer, another frame up.Chances are that some of you won't like the replacements either, I have to post some photos. The next two bare frame ups are a 1941 Western Flyer with much attention to detail, in some areas. 1917-18 undetermined with a liberty or two. Come on, lets get this thread going. I'd like to close with a quote attributed to Timothy Leary, but I can't confirm; ''The Sixties actually started in 1967, and ended when Nancy Reagan took over the White house".

View attachment 1220835

View attachment 1220839

View attachment 1220841
Nice Mike. I think all 3 projects turned out great. I have admired the 41 Western flyer for a while now. Question on that one - were the bottom rods on the springer fork from a later year and bent to face forward?
 
I've built a few bikes up from a frame or frame plus parts. I thought this one came out the best of the bunch:

1941 New World:

new%2Bworld%2Bproject%2B2016.jpg


20180504_174717.jpg


I went with mostly period, except for a really nice set of the upgraded stainless wheels from the late 1940s.

20171119_152353.jpg



The others were not bad, just didn't enjoy the final products as much as the red New World. The other bikes were a green New World with "Hoffman" Schwinn variant decals; Manton & Smith diamond frame from the 1940s; and a 1920s Elgin. But I thought that the red New World above was the best of the bunch. I eventually sold it and some other bikes to buy a 1951 Raleigh Clubman.
 
Nice Mike. I think all 3 projects turned out great. I have admired the 41 Western flyer for a while now. Question on that one - were the bottom rods on the springer fork from a later year and bent to face forward?
Thanks Balloonoob. You are probably right on the later year, I picked up the fork, with a bunch of other parts, at Dudley. The bottom rods were like that when I got it.
 
Admittedly I prefer correct bikes but don't bin myself into the "pious purist" category because I appreciate a tasteful custom or rat bike. What I do have a problem with is when someone builds a custom or takes liberties and then tries to call it a restoration. That said saving just a frame can be a rewarding experience--just not financially rewarding! There are some cool frames, like the Skylark, that deserve to be saved. The problem is making one of these correct from a bare frame is prohibitively expensive unless you have a significant stash of rare parts hanging around. V/r Shawn
 
Back
Top