"Rolling Heavy in the Burbs" 1973 Schwinn Suburban

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OddJob said:
...and those long skinny stays are pretty easy to 'spring'. ;)

Nice tire choice. I might have missed it, where did the chainrings / crank set come from? Old mtb?
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No that is the stock Suburban 1973 crankset & rings (in the first pic I posted), of which I will be using a portion of. Stay tuned on that.... :nerd:
 
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Here is what's going on with the original crankset, which made me really happy to be able to use the original cranks and inner 39T sprocket, since it's going to be a single speed. Looks like a Scrambler sprocket.

Schwinn used bolts as opposed rivets, which made it nice.
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Cleaned up nice, love the classic peaked crank arms and the Schwinn stamp on the sprocket!
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Nice work and idea on the sprocket!

No 'Suburban' would be complete without a rack / car top carrier to haul gear. Any ideas for such?

We sell the Trek brand at our store. In the last couple years they have offered the 1120, which is an 'all-road' trekking bike. Yours reminds me of more of a vintage version of this idea.

trek 1120.jpg
 
OddJob said:
Nice work and idea on the sprocket!

No 'Suburban' would be complete without a rack / car top carrier to haul gear. Any ideas for such?

We sell the Trek brand at our store. In the last couple years they have offered the 1120, which is an 'all-road' trekking bike. Yours reminds me of more of a vintage version of this idea.

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Thanks, cool Trek, interesting idea to consider! I do have a Schwinn front rack from the 70s!
 
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Little touch added:
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I have been holding on to this badge for the right build. I live 30mins south of Houston in the suburbs by the bay, the screws lined up, so I figured why not.

"Herbert L. Flake owned a bicycle distributing company in Houston Texas from 1912 to 1988. At some point in that time period, they had their own "Texas Special" bicycles made (mainly by Schwinn) and then badged them with one of these head tube emblems. The original company still exists as a locksmith supply house - more about their history is in this link: http://www.hlflake.com/about_us_history.asp "
 
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That's ^ cool! Looks great on the head tube.
 
irideiam said:
Thanks, cool Trek, interesting idea to consider! I do have a Schwinn front rack from the 70s!
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Man the rack is an idea but I am leaning more this direction, after mocking up some ideas of front rack vs schwinn truss rods.
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irideiam said:
Not sure about the truss rods yet, still bouncing ideas around on a front rack.....
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Truss rods look slick on there. A front rack would set you apart from the crowd. Front and rear rack, you can have your own private category! :bigsmile:

Maybe modify a stock rack to match your vintage clean vibe you have going here? Like integrated lights built into the racks...custom removable bags / carrying device?

We had a '72 suburban in light blue, with white accent color. That was an amazing vehicle. Cruise at 75-80 mph with a full load of 9 skiers and all our skis loaded from the back, under a platform my dad built that the rear most seat guys put their feet on. Beast.

'72 suburban.jpg


Not our 'burban, but one just like it.
 

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Mocking up some different fender and rack ideas. Not happy with the lines/look yet.
- Columbia truss rods/Schwinn bracket
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- Columbia truss rods/Schwinn bracket & Rat trap rack
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As much as I wanted a front rack I may go to a rear rack to keep the HD look of the truss rods.
 
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Truss rods are sweet on everything. Racks go on the back, the only deviance would be a cycle truck style build, or a beer hauler but anything weighty really needs to be on a rear rack anyway. There may be no discussion on rat definitions but what about the rod part? Like a hot rod? You're talking quick gearing and that's really what bikes are all about, going fast. Front racks just doesn't have that feel. I'm not sure I'd put any rack on a diamond frame at all, front or rear.

Carl.
 
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GuitarlCarl said:
Truss rods are sweet on everything. Racks go on the back, the only deviance would be a cycle truck style build, or a beer hauler but anything weighty really needs to be on a rear rack anyway. There may be no discussion on rat definitions but what about the rod part? Like a hot rod? You're talking quick gearing and that's really what bikes are all about, going fast. Front racks just doesn't have that feel. I'm not sure I'd put any rack on a diamond frame at all, front or rear.

Carl.
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More interesting insight, more to ponder, thanks
 

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