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What bike did you work on today?

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I finished a much needed overhaul on my 1919 Arch Frame Mead Ranger yesterday. It looked like this the past 7 years or so since the last time I built it up with fenders from an Elgin moto bike.
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I fell in love with the bike IMMEDIATELY in this configuration. Like the thing was crafted just for me. An extension of my body......
Apparently others enjoy it as well since it won Best Bike at the 2019 Denver Tweed Ride. 🙂
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And got to select an Original piece of Art as a prize!🙂
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I did have to replace the 103 year old headset bearings with loose bearings. (HUGE difference!!) & bottom bracket cups. And lost the bracket that attached the front of the rear fender since it will be fenderless now.
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I bought an Elgin from my buddy Blu at the Old Bikes Club Summer Swap last year so I had to try the fenders on a bike they actually would have been on since the Mead was disassembled. Elgin as found.
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Elgin with Elgin fenders from the Mead.
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Looks like they've been with the bike all along so they will stay with the Elgin along with the fork I got with the fenders.(Project coming soon to a bike forum near you!)

I hope to find some time soon to get back on my Mead to stretch it's legs. I have really missed riding it. I may flip the bars since it's kind of a ripper in it's trimmed down form. The Panaracer Gravel Kings are pretty impressive so far at max. 60 psi. Will be even better when I find the ideal tire pressure and renew my love affair with my oldest machine!🥰😻🤩🥰😍🤩🤩 THIS bike is what they will pry from my dead hands before tossing me into the incinerator.
 
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I’ve been fixing up a friend’s old Bridgestone from 1977. He bought it new with his paper route money and actually saved it all these years, although 40 years in the rafters of the garage meant it was pretty much toast when he dragged it down.

anyway, the poor thing was originally retired because the seatpost was buggered up, it was both seized in the frame and the boss damaged so the seat couldn’t be tightened up properly. The frame is designed for a quill type seatpost so, after I used the boiling water over the frame trick to free off the old seatpost, I cut another old seatpost at the required angle and adapted it for use as a quill seatpost. I love when a bodge works well.

My homemade quill seatpost and the old ruined original, I only need to add a standard seat clamp.

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The old lump is coming along nicely now...

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My wife was showing her brother some photos of my bikes and he mentioned that he thought the hobby was cool and that he would like an old bike. I took that comment to heart and built him up a bike that I would be happy to own. I added the Sachs duomatic hub, and some fun accessories. He was so stoked when I dropped it off last weekend! He is such a fun guy and is a great dad, so it was totally worth it.
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While putting the "Hercules" fender bomb on I acquired from Bicycle Recyclery I noticed I didn't take the time to detail the inner fenders when I put the wheels on the 1939 CCM double bar "Motorbike" so 83 years of mud and grease flushed away with some tlc, suds, solvents, wax, and toothbrush. Dang, I forgot to take a "before" pic, they were nasty, but all that crud kept them pretty minty! I also noticed a broken rivet on the rear fender I replaced.
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