Long ride today on the fat little 1937 Westfield single speed. Got this as a frame a year or so ago & pieced it together with low mile old stuff. Pedaled out ot the coast, up Newport Back Bay then San Diego Creek to my long turnaround at 27mi. 74/70 angles, 45" wheelbase, 11" BB height. Guessing 35lbs? I went through the entire bike before riding it today as I planned a long one. Lubed up the chain and left it on, tightened up both hub cones, precision tuned the rims and put 55lbs pressure in the tires and off I went.
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Rider Fit. Yes, this does fit well. Another super long post helps as do the long, wide crescent shaped bars at 28" across. The seat is of course comfortable and suspends the rider. Feel like I am more over the BB and pedals on this sled. 4.5
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Moving out. Straight away, it's up to 16mph and no gears! I can't hear anything and barely the tires whatsoever. Very smooth and I think "Wow, really smooth" and nothing to do but pedal easy circles cause you can't shift. I take my hand off the bars and it runs dead straight. No wind so I set it up at 16-17 mph to the coast 5 miles out and am there in no time. I kept reaching for the shifter but it wasn't there. I finally gave up. There is something about this machine that makes sense....Hmmm..4.0
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Mechanical Highlights. Stripped, original paint Westfield moto frame with a Krakatoa-tuned Westfield custom length fork mated with a Snyder truss rod assembly. Musselman rear 36 and recycled butted spokes/two-flat nips & Torrington front 36 with recycled butted stainless spokes and new brass nips, both laced up to some dead straight tripple steps and Bontrager Hank skin-wall high pressure baldies. 25 Shelby 52t sprocket/20t cog.. straight leg unidentified cranks. Short, higher rise moto stem, big wide crescent bars with Thompson ball end repros, a bell and a wireless computer. I can't really find fault with this stuff at all and I tried really hard. 4.25 here.
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Performance. To be honest, I am a bit confused. This bike was impressively simple, elegant, fast and eager to climb when stood on. It didn't feel the 35ish+lbs it is. These old wheels are the ticket with the skin-wall Bontrager tires and lightweight tubes I have in them. They spin up reallyfast and stay there with little effort. Hmmm. Fat steel rims? How can this be? They are light, that's why. And this is also the reason it is hard to find undamaged pairs these days. These happen to be perfectly round and within a 1/2 a mil runout trued up. With no reason or ability to shift up or down, you stood up to climb out of every little hole, and the bike simply elevated itself out and was back up to speed before I knew it! My 1st Musselman hub. The brake kicks in only when you really ask it to then it really pulls the speed down fast. Off/on but powerful. It also engages instantly and never slipped. A very impressive performance considering what this simple machine is. I really enjoyed riding this single speed speedster and have a better sense of what the big deal is for those big enthusiasts. There is a certain pureness that you feel when there is so little to think or worry about on a single speed that is dialed in and running fast. Wow I say! 4.5
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Stealth Factor What else could be as quiet as a bald-tire-equipped single speeder all lubed up? Not much. The first thing I noticed when heading out was that it was absolutely soundless. The big springer saddle got a blast of dry lube all over the metal chassis parts and wiped down before the ride, so it stayed completely noiseless which was a real bonus for sure. I tried to give it less but 4.75 is just short of 5, which this is, so a 4.75.
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I sure enjoyed this today. A whole bunch in fact. It is just so frigging simple and is quick as a cat. What else can I say, I am a bit surprised at the overall performance this machine provides. What other machine with a design this simple can outperform any other human powered contraption? Nothing.
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