POISON APPLE: '79 Schwinn Fair Lady Trike

[Freqman1]

I'd shoot for a 26" MW front tire and see what it looks like. That front tire just looks too small. V/r Shawn

 

[Bike from the Dead]

I'd shoot for a 26" MW front tire and see what it looks like. That front tire just looks too small. V/r Shawn

I'll definitely play with front wheel and tire sizes down the road. I'm just not at that stage yet.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Dad did some powder coating yesterday, and shot this junk piece with the "Sparkle Granny Smith" green powder he had told me about.

It's a lot more metallic than I anticipated, but I love it! This is definitely the color for Poison Apple! Fitting too, since it's got "apple" in the name of the powder! It seriously feels like the whole theme I'm going for with this trike is meant to happen, and it's exciting!

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Just dropped off some more parts for my welder to fix. Hopefully, I'll be able to stack parts again soon.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

More progress to share tonight!

First, my welder once again fixed up everything of mine in record time, and even managed to make a rough yet sturdy rear frame all by the time I got to his shop at 8:30 this morning. I ran by Home Depot immediately after to replace a few nuts and bolts on the fork, then I reassembled everything. I did things a little differently though, pushing the front wheel and fork braces forward one bolt hole each on the little red fork extensions, and adding the handlebars from the fat tire donor bike, which have a slightly narrower "V" shape and grips that are angled further back. Got to say, the change to the fork is subtle, but I feel like it vastly improves the look! Still not sure about the handlebars though...

As structurally sound as the rear frame is, it's just to be used for holding the trike together until I can get the final version of the rear frame built. I tried figuring out the seating arrangement, but with that top bar and the wide support rod that props up underneath the seat clamp, I couldn't really figure out the best riding position. While I could tell that pedaling would be easy enough from the rear axle, I found that I could not sit forward enough to reach the handlebars, not with the bar where it was. I'm also sure that the rear axle and wheels are properly aligned with the bike frame, but I can finesse that later.

I still need to figure out the seat and the rest of the rear portion of Poison Apple. After my family's garage sale ended nearly two weeks ago, dad was gathering up leftovers to donate to wherever. Well, one of the pieces I didn't even know about until he was loading it into his truck was this folding table frame. I quickly saw that it's the perfect width for a bench seat or seat back for the trike, so I'm holding onto it in case I can use it.

Another seat/rear frame idea came from stumbling across pictures of this 1970s AMF trike. I liked how the seat flows from the top of the tank in one piece, and I had an idea of how I could securely brace the trike axle against the bike frame while looking aesthetically pleasing.

I grabbed one of my banana seats and set it on top of the seat stays, and I think I struck gold! It's an incomplete picture of a bigger idea, but I like where it's going. I'll need to find some time to sketch up a few new concepts for the seat and general rear view of this trike.

More updates to come, the next one hopefully as soon as tomorrow.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Well, I struck out a bit today. I met up with a guy on FB Marketplace who had some fenders that I thought would work, but they turned out to have too small of a radius for these fat bike tires. I checked out a local motorcycle salvage and repair shop, and while there were a couple fenders that could work, neither matched, and they were far out of my price range.

Still, during both instances, I got a bunch of compliments and "I want to see it when you finish it"s from the folks who saw the trike as I was hauling it around. So, no luck finding the fenders I need, but I at least got some positive responses to what I'm doing.

I'm still looking for a matching pair of motorcycle fenders on Marketplace and Craigslist, as well as any place that salvages or parts out motorcycles. Hopefully something will come up.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Just got a new front wheel for the trike. Looks to be around the same age as the rear wheels, so it'll fit in just fine.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Well, progress has slowed down somewhat. I've been sketching different ideas for the rear portion of the trike, but it's tough to figure out with that temporary frame in the way of a proper parts mockup. I'll share those sketches when I've got things mostly figured out.

Meanwhile, there was a motorcycle swap meet I went to earlier this morning, where I once again struck out on finding a set of rear fenders that both fit over the rear tires and were in my price range. I would've stuck around to get photos of all the cool stuff that was for sale, but I just wanted to get out of there and go home.

I did however get a new front tire and tube to go with the new front wheel I got earlier this week. I wish it matched the rear tires a little better, but I'm content with my choice. I like the proportions at least, and the trike's a roller now too, which is good. I still have one last idea for fenders, but if that doesn't pan out, then I might have to find a fabrication shop to make the fenders along with the other remaining custom parts.

 

[Superman1984]

@Bike from the Dead you lucky Schwitt! I have been trying to buy 1 of those 24 or 26" fat bikes forever and days just to snag the wheel sets for my Nirve Switchblade. They're wide enough to let my tires balloon out more. Nice progress being made & I would use the Alice In Wonderland font. Unless you find something cool font wise from Snow White font styles since the name is Poison Apple. Hang in there with building it! I have a front & rear Chrome Sportster set of motor cycle fenders that I originally intended to section for the Switchblade so I know how aggravating it is finding what you like, being able to afford it, and it fitting. Once I found the Monark Super Deep fenders I almost couldn't wait to snag them up but had I waited I could have bought a complete girls 26" bike with everything on it -the train light. Sometimes patience Really is a Virtue!

 

[Bike from the Dead]

@Bike from the Dead you lucky Schwitt! I have been trying to buy 1 of those 24 or 26" fat bikes forever and days just to snag the wheel sets for my Nirve Switchblade. They're wide enough to let my tires balloon out more. Nice progress being made & I would use the Alice In Wonderland font. Unless you find something cool font wise from Snow White font styles since the name is Poison Apple. Hang in there with building it! I have a front & rear Chrome Sportster set of motor cycle fenders that I originally intended to section for the Switchblade so I know how aggravating it is finding what you like, being able to afford it, and it fitting. Once I found the Monark Super Deep fenders I almost couldn't wait to snag them up but had I waited I could have bought a complete girls 26" bike with everything on it -the train light. Sometimes patience Really is a Virtue!

Thanks! Yeah, I seriously lucked out on that fat tire bike! They're really closer to 29.5" x 4.5" though, which is what makes finding fenders for these balloons really difficult. I'm hoping I don't have to pay someone to make a set of fenders for these tires, but we'll see. I can't say I plan to use the Alice in Wonderland font at this point, as it might be too difficult to cut out of vinyl at a size small enough for the chain guard. I am looking at different Snow White fonts, though. Patience is a virtue, but it's not as easy to practice when you've got an actual deadline to get everything done by. The Muscle Bike Build Off that I'm building this for ends January 15th, which will be all too soon if I can't get these last few parts assembled.