POISON APPLE: '79 Schwinn Fair Lady Trike

[bricycle]

I have neither the equipment, the expertise, nor the education, sadly.

at least you have the desire

 

[Bike from the Dead]

at least you have the desire

Well, you're not wrong. I would love to learn how to do metal fab work, but more as a hobby than anything.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Okay, so today was a "back to the drawing board" kind of day. I picked up a few parts and pieces out of storage that I hoped would help me figure out the new direction for Poison Apple, as well as the Mini Mystery Muscle Bike.

I'd like to get this weird "Toledo" bike fixed up and riding again, but the big stumbling block is this unusual bottom bracket setup. I'm not sure how to disassemble this correctly so I can service the bearings, and I'm not sure who to take it to so it can be done correctly. Anyone know how to take these apart and put them back together, or at least know the best place to take this to get the job done?

I took out my 1950/1951 Schwinn DX frame, Project Quick Change / Subject: Schwinn Dixie, and started playing around with different parts. Here's how it looked before I started playing around with it:

Here it is after fiddling with it for a bit. I'm still not feeling it just yet, but I like the idea I came up with of sticking one of my spare AMF Roadmaster tanks in between the top bars. I'll play around with it more tomorrow.

I started playing around with making Poison Apple a 2-wheeler again, but I'm not crazy about the stance.

When I mocked up a 24" tire next to the rear, I was thinking of fabricating a couple plates that would bolt into the dropouts to stretch out the rear end. What it made me think of instead was an earlier mock-up I did with the trike axle in its original form.

Looking back at this version of Poison Apple, I think I could make this design work without breaking the bank.

Here's my idea: Leave the frame stock, and most of the trike rear end. I have a pair of 26" Shelby or Monark deep-dish fenders that need some work, but could be smoothed out, trimmed and mounted over the trike axle frame/brace. That's the first fabricated/modified piece. Next, I'd redesign the fork extensions to a cleaner look, then take them to my go-to welder to cut them out. That's the second, and really only other fabricated piece that I can't do myself. Once all those parts are done, I'll get everything sandblasted and powder coated before reassembly.

After that's out of the way, I'll add a few of my own custom touches. First, I'll make a custom wood tank, like I did with my Hawthorne earlier this year, to convert this frame into a boys'-style frame. Next, I'll want to add something to sit over the trike frame/brace. Normally, a wire basket would go there, but I have other ideas. I'm thinking either a wood box like what used to be on there when this setup was attached to The Trashliner Trike, or in keeping with the Snow White homages, a wicker picnic basket, like what the evil queen carried the poison apple in. I've got a few other small ideas to go with that, but I got to get the rest sorted out first.

I ran out of daylight and relatively warm weather to mock everything up today, but I'm going to try to finish mocking stuff up and figuring it all out. Hopefully I'll be able to come up with some concept illustrations by this weekend.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Ok, it seems like everything that can derail this Build Off for me is happening all at once right when I'm within range of the finish line. I'm now at a point where I don't know if I'm going to try and make a "good enough" trike out of this Schwinn Fair Lady, or a decent but relatively stock bike out of this. Either way, it feels like I'm going to spend a sizable chunk of my funds just to settle for less than stellar results.

I almost feel like I should just shelve this project for either the next Rat Rod Bikes Build Off or Muscle Bike Build Off when I might have all the funds I need for it, and spend my remaining budget finishing all of the other bikes in my collection that I've put off over the past 2 years.

I've been meaning to finish the bike that got me into this hobby for some time now, so I could justify spending the remaining time and money I have setting it up as a muscle bike. The greatest expenses there would be installing an old Simano 3-speed coaster brake hub into another wheel, and sandblasting the frame to get rid of the rust. The rest would be fairly easy, as I'd just be mostly assembling the bike with whatever parts I've already got and maybe making a custom wood tank.

I've also got 3 bikes I'm in various stages of restoring, 2 for me and 1 for a family member. I've been meaning to finish those for some time now.

Actually, you know what? I think that's what I'll do. I hate to stop working on a project after spending so much time and money on it, but I think it'd be best if I switch gears and finish working on the small collection of bikes I've already got using the funds I've accrued from all the stuff I've sold lately. I can save Poison Apple for a later date. If I could enter it in next year's Rat Rod Bikes Build Off or something similar, that would be cool too. But for now, I'm going to try to put together all the bikes I've put off for quite some time.

I'll try to get everything together to start a build thread for my 1950/1951 Schwinn DX bike. I'm sure I could get that all put together for the MBBO before January 15th.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Minor update, but I wanted to share anyways. I got 2 more 26" x 4" fat bike wheels and tires, though only 1 tube late last night for a dirt cheap $15. I'll need to swap out the hubs and spokes, as they're not the single-speed cruiser type hubs I want, but the rims are in decent shape despite some peeling spray paint. The tires are in decent shape too, and the one tube still holds air.

What's nice about this is that I can still have a fat tire bike to goof off on, and have a fat tire trike too.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Well, after running into even more complications with my Project Quick Change/Schwinn Dixie muscle bike build, I decided to revisit my Poison Apple trike. As much as I'd rather save this project for when I can afford to do it the way I really want, I want to at least finish something for my first Muscle Bike Build Off. So, I decided to mock up parts I had on hand and see what looked good enough. I also made a new cardboard template for the tank, which I'll make out of wood like last time, except this time I based my design off a tank design @The Renaissance Man came up with. (Did he ever make those? I can't say I've seen a finished version of those tanks, just this render.)

To avoid having to modify or fabricate anything metal, I'm just going to use the original 24" version of the trike rear. I also decided to use a regular seat instead of a banana seat, for reasons I'll explain in a bit. The big question mark for what makes this trike look "good enough" for me, is the fork and front wheel combo. I started with the stock 20" fork and a 20" wheel and tire. I thought it looked okay, but I had more options to experiment with.

I don't have any 24" forks since I sold the ones I had already, so I just stuck another 24" wheel and tire on the 26" springer fork with the extensions. Can't say I was crazy about the proportions.

Another idea I had: I have this set of 26" deep dish... I want to say they're Shelby fenders that got ruined by a guy I took some bike stuff to during the 2020 RRBBO. I still want to use them on my Spitfire, but I'm thinking these could look good sitting over the trike frame, with a little modification. There are a few problems with that though. First, these fenders are in pretty rough shape, and I'd want to take them to someone who actually knows how to fix old metal before I try to use them. Second, between the required bodywork and further modifications needed to make the fenders fit over the trike frame, I'd imagine I'd be out the rest of my bike-building budget. Finally, this isn't going to be the final version of this trike, so I probably don't need to mess with these fenders right now.

Next wheel option: the 700c wheel and tire that came from the same bike as the springer fork and trike conversion assembly. I instantly said "no" as soon as I saw it on the Fair Lady. It was just too big, especially with those smaller 24" rubbers in the rear.

After going big, I went small with the 20" wheel again. The stance is... okay, but I wasn't as crazy about it as I was before. The dimensions still looked wrong.

I tried taking the fork extensions off, just to see how that'd look. After seeing how the 20" looked with the fork like that, I felt the wheel was facing backwards. I still wasn't happy, but I wasn't done yet.

I put the 24" back up front one more time. Once I did that, I felt I found the stance I was looking for. Yeah, the front tire is too wide, the seat's too small, and the frame looks a little funny angled up like that, but I think this looks good enough. It doesn't look like a chopper like I originally wanted; instead, it looks like a bobber, which is still pretty cool.

Just for a lark, and to prove a point I had already figured out back when all these trike parts were on The Trashliner Trike, I mocked up my Rally banana seat and a sissy bar. I have to admit, the banana seat and sissy bar don't look as bad as I thought they would on this trike, but there's one major problem that I just don't like. Look where the sissy bar is.

The sissy bar cuts right through the area where a basket, crate, or other container could go over the rear axle. I want to use that area to put something there, and the sissy bar cuts right through it. That's not good. Plus, it'd be kind of pointless to have the banana seat and sissy bar on this set up, since there's no real way to wheelie this trike. The rear wheels are too far behind the seat for me to lean this puppy back enough to get the front wheel off the ground, and I'd honestly be too scared to even try.

So yeah, I'm back to working on Poison Apple. I still need to buy a few things to get this trike to "good enough," mainly one more 24" front wheel to match the blue one I have mocked up (it's part of a set that I'd much rather use than the two spray-bombed wheels on the rear currently,) 3 new tires and tubes, some new bearings for the trike axle, and a seat, if I can't find one in my stash that'll work. I might even look at some layback seat posts so I move the seat lower without sacrificing ride comfort. I think if I play my cards right, I can keep to a $100 budget on top of what I've already spent, and still have a decent-looking muscle trike in the end.

I'll be doing some more mockups tomorrow, but until then, that's all for now!

 

[Bike from the Dead]

I put together a mockup of the rear basket/box using some foam core I had leftover from my college graphic design class today. I'll admit, my measurements aren't precise and I didn't use as much material as it would've taken to properly figure out the dimensions of the box, but I think I've got the general idea nailed. I don't want the box to stick out like a sore thumb, so I rounded the top and made it a little taller than the circumference of the rear tires. The box will also slide in-between the horizontal braces of the basket frame, that way I won't have to bolt it to anything. I'll make the final box out of either some wood scraps I already have, or I'll just get some plywood if I really need it.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Well, I got a front wheel for the trike for $4, but after closer inspection, I might need to get another one. For starters, the rim shape isn't exactly the same as the other wheels I want to use. That wouldn't bother me as much though, if one of the spokes didn't have such a bad bend to it. So, I'm going to have to keep an eye out for another wheel.

I also went and got a 24" x 1.75" front tire and 2 tubes at a local bike shop. All of their 24" x 2.125" tires are on backorder, and have been so for some time, so I'm most likely going to have to buy some online.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Ok, got a new front wheel that actually matches this time. Spent a little on it than I would've liked at $10, but I've payed more for wheels before. Ran out of daylight for photos, but I'm planning on shooting more either tomorrow or Friday.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Okay, I still haven't figured out what exact graphics I'm putting on the tank and chain guard just yet, but this is the overall flavor I'm going for on my final design for this trike. Hopefully, I'll be able to start sandblasting and powder coating parts on Friday.