The Schwinn Dixie Dreamcycle: My Entry for the 16th Annual Rat Rod Bikes Build Off

[Bike from the Dead]

Can't say I've made a ton of progress this week since Sunday. I've mostly just been getting ready for this house/pet-sitting that I started just yesterday, so aside from ordering a few parts, all I've done is just mockup Schwinn Dixie with all the parts Allan fixed for me. It looks like a mess right now, but I love how the fork and fenders look on the bike! There's an even amount of space between the frame and front fender, which I couldn't get with a Schwinn-style fork. The fenders are nice and round, with the tires filling them in nicely enough. This bike is getting so close to completion I can hardly believe it! Odds are this will be the last mockup before I strip the fenders and forks of lead paint and disassemble the wheels in preparation for sandblasting and powder coating.

I already got a few of the finishing pieces for the bike this week. I got the handlebar grips from my local bike shop.

The most critical piece however is this white seat. It's got bigger springs than I expected, but it should be plenty comfortable for my purposes. There's just one small problem...

I don't have an easy way to mount the seat to my 5/8" layback seat post. The mounting hardware is meant for one of those modern seat posts. I have these 2 adapter pieces that I thought would work with what I have, but they don't fit on the mount that came with the seat (it's the shiny one on the left.) If that wasn't bad enough, none of the other seat mounts will work, not without some modification. I did find that I have a seat post that fits the frame and can accommodate the seat's original hardware, but I can't get it to go down inside the frame more than 4 inches. So, I'm stuck with two options: modify the seat mount to fit the layback seat post I have, and buy a seat post shim that will hopefully work, or take this other seat post I have that already fits the frame and the seat, and just modify that to fit better. I know Allan can modify the seat post, as he did so on his own bikes, and although it won't look as "vintage" as I'd like, it would be functional and arguably cheaper...

So, I'm not sure which way to go on the seat/seat post. One sounds good because it'll look vintage, but the other option sounds simpler, easier, and less costly.

That's it for now. More updates soon to come!

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Okay, so I failed to mention it a week ago, but Allan and I were unable to take those old pedals apart to get to the bearings. Kind of a bummer, but that just gave me an excuse to order these bad boys online. I just got these in the mail this past weekend, but I only just opened them up earlier today.

I'm not sure if it's a manufacturing error, or one of those "do it yourself" kind of deals, but only the left pedal seems to have any grease in the bearings. The left pedal moves well enough, but the right pedal is pretty stiff. You can see the bearings inside the right pedals, but not the left. So... do I just try to squeeze some Park Tool grease into the pedal myself, or do I just try to exchange them out?

Still, I mocked them up on the bike to see how they fit, and they fit perfectly!

Also, since I didn't show it last time, here's that seat post that fits the seat's stock hardware and the bike itself. As you can see though, I can't get the seat post to go any lower.

Part of me just wants to cut off just enough to get the seat down as low as it can possibly go, and forget trying to make a layback seat post out of this one seat post. Another part of me wants to sit this seat down as close to the frame and rear fender as possible. I'm just worried that if I try to use a layback seat post that only goes so far down the seat tube, I'll mess up the frame over a short span of time. It may not be the most stylish option, but I think just shortening the seat post until I can get the seat about where it is in this mockup is the safest option. I can sit comfortably with it at this height, and I can always come back and try to solve the layback seat post option later. Right now, I just want to get this bike done so I can finally ride it and enjoy it.

I might drive over to Dad's shop later today and shorten up that seat post today. After that's done, I might also start stripping the fenders and fork of the old lead paint later either this evening or tomorrow morning.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Took the seat post over to my Dad's shop, where he helped me shorten it to the right length. I'll admit, the seat doesn't sit as low as I'd like from an aesthetic point of view, but it's good enough for riding, and that's what really matters.

I flipped the mounting hardware upside-down and used a mount that had no stopper to help get the seat as low as I could. Far from perfect, but It's plenty functional.

By the way, here's one of the two pets I'm looking after for this week. This is Lola, a 6-year-old lab who absolutely craves attention. I let her out while I shot these photos. As you can see, she's very photogenic, when I can get her to stay still for more than 5 seconds.

That's all for now. Stay tuned for more!

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Okay, so the pedal problem persists. I went to my favorite local bike shop today to drop my wheels for a truing (decided I'm just going to leave them as they are; no white powder coat for now,) and I took the pedals with me to see what could be done with them. According to the bike mechanic I talked to, not only was the one pedal missing grease, it was missing the piece that covers the bearings! So yeah, big manufacturer error. I'm going to have to return these pedals. I contacted the seller, so hopefully I'll hear back from them soon.

 

[Superman1984]

Okay, so the pedal problem persists. I went to my favorite local bike shop today to drop my wheels for a truing (decided I'm just going to leave them as they are; no white powder coat for now,) and I took the pedals with me to see what could be done with them. According to the bike mechanic I talked to, not only was the one pedal missing grease, it was missing the piece that covers the bearings! So yeah, big manufacturer error. I'm going to have to return these pedals. I contacted the seller, so hopefully I'll hear back from them soon.

You can see there on the left the pedal is missing the bearing "cap" & as far as greasing them goes you have to unbend the tabs on the rear of the pedals & I'm assuming there is a nut on the front end; whether welded or able to be loosened. Otherwise buy a $5 something needle adapter for a grease gun .... I would tell you some info concerning experience but I hijack threads & offend people

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Finally took the time to try and strip the paint off the fork and fenders. Here's what they looked like just before the process started:

This was about... 15, maybe 30 minutes after I started adding CitriStrip paint stripper to everything. The spray paint on the fork was already peeling off, but the fenders... weren't as dramatic.

This is about when I remembered how much I hate using paint stripper. The spray paint came off the fork easily enough, but the original paint hiding underneath is a lot more stubborn. And, not only did most of the paint not want to come off the fenders, but the stripper was already drying before 30 minutes even passed!

I need to remove the paint from these parts, as they tested positive for lead, but I can't help but think there's a better way to do this; a way that is still environmentally friendly, isn't quite as messy, and can yield better results than this. Part of me just wants to wipe the gunk off with some mineral spirits and just use a drill and wire brush wheel to get rid of everything, but that wouldn't be the smartest idea, especially in a residential area. Anyone here got any ideas?

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Well, after consulting with Dad on the paint stripping issue, I've come to learn that he's probably already blasted lead paint with his blasting cabinet. He doesn't care if I blast the parts with his equipment or not, but that does little to quell my concerns. As much as I hate to say it though, I'm probably going to have to resort to the sandblaster for these bike parts. I'll just want to wear a mask while I blast all the parts. Maybe I could test other paint strippers like LEAD OUT and Goof Off on some other parts once the Build Off is over, so I can figure out what works best for removing lead paint in the future.

 

[Freqman1]

You're over thinking it. Look at Keith Richards and all the harsh chemicals he's smoked, snorted, and injected! Seriously I've been a little careless in my time with some of this stuff but unless you do it fairly regularly I think you'll be ok. V/r Shawn

 

[Superman1984]

You're over thinking it. Look at Keith Richards and all the harsh chemicals he's smoked, snorted, and injected! Seriously I've been a little careless in my time with some of this stuff but unless you do it fairly regularly I think you'll be ok. V/r Shawn

Maybe he'll listen to you. I've repeated it God Only knows how many times; Goof Off Professional Graffiti Remover from Lowes or Walmart for Chemical stripper that should be damn near any where which Will remove paint. Wire wheel or sand blaster if you have it available. Now Shawn I know you don't have PM open but there's a Reason I said this. Somebody hold this boy's hand and walk him through it or build the bike for him

 

[Bike from the Dead]

I'm about to start sandblasting parts. I can't get the lights inside the blasting cabinet to turn on though, so I'm shooting almost blind. Plus, the blasting cabinet uses up air faster than the air compressor can generate it. That said, I got my mask on, my goggles on, and my music jamming, so I'm ready to start blasting!