21st Century Hawthorne Flyer

[SILVERKINGPC]

This bicycle I purchased 10 or so yrs. ago on Ebay as an "Original Paint" frame and fork. It really wasn't, and we all know how that goes. I built it up for a good friend who had it a few years and kinda thrashed it. The photo below is the bike running. Very fast ride that I got on a bit before handing it over to him. There was just something about it I liked.

2 years later I got my hands on it to do a maintenance once-over. It was damaged by some bike mechanics who did not understand the Sturmey S3C rear hub. They also cross-threaded the fork steer tube threads.
So, I gave him a bike that was less sensitive . I took the Flyer back, stripped it, and it has sat for the last 4 years. I got at it last year and fouind there was some OG paint under the two other layers of "OG" paint. I wet-sand-stripped the frame, and this is how it looks generally today. I have a plan to bring this frame into the 21st century!...skpc

I'll be back in the next coupla days with more photos and the fork I needed.skpc

 

[SILVERKINGPC]

In order to bring this Hawthorne back into the 21st Century, I plan to run a more modern drivetrain and cockpit on itl. This should make it a capable machine on any surface, and a bike that can be set up to fit any rider.
The fork is important, as it needs to look stock, damp things down and have strength to accept disc brake post mounts welded to it. This is a big experiment! It's a women's long-steerer Shelby fork that I want to adapt to run a threadless stem on the very short head-tubed frame. I like these single-pivot springers which generally have more travel and are quieter than the linkage designs.

All my rats are short on braking power, so the post-mount disc brake setup coupled with a 3spd. German Dreigang coaster rear should solve that age-old problem. Disk brakes are a total experiment on this fork. Who knows if it will work or not. The cockpit may include a roller-bearing 1" threaded headset with a thread-less 1-1/8th stem, carbon low-rise bars and a modern saddle. I may also go with the orig. headset cups & bearings.

 

[Fv2]

Those forks are definitely stout, and they look good on this style frame.

 

[SILVERKINGPC]

 

[SILVERKINGPC]

This is the 4130 steel disc brake post mount to be welded onto the front left Shelby fork leg. From Paragon Machine Works, who provides many types of brake mount hardware and frame building parts. Lots still to do experimenting with the fork fitment post-welding job.

 

[SILVERKINGPC]

Most of the parts mix balance. Focusing on the fork 1st...

 

[SILVERKINGPC]

Frame/Fork/Stem/Bars possibility. I could go with spacers, not cut the steer tube and run it like this, but I don't like it really. Gonna cut it all down (steerer tube and upper truss rods) so it is positioned properly. I am also reconsidering using the OG headset with re-chromed cups..

 

[SILVERKINGPC]

I had the post-style disc brake mount from Paragon Machine Works welded to the back of the left fork leg today. Came out ok, but the guy welded it the wrong direction facing out instead of in. I have to run spacers on it now, but it will work for the time being. I may have it cut off and re-welded later if it bugs me too much. You can see the spacer washers I had to use to get it to work the way he welded it. No Bueno, but workable.....skpc

Now on to the fork fitment. More machine work needed to shorten and re-thread the upper truss rods, and a carefull calculation to cut the steer tube exactly as needed to run the thread-less 1-1/8" stem on the threaded 1" steer tube.

 

[SILVERKINGPC]

 

[SILVERKINGPC]

Thanks to my very helpful machinist buddy Enrique, I got my upper truss rods re-threaded down to where I need the threads to be. Just gotta cut em off after a final measurement...(twice). The fork is re-threaded as well, and will be re-checked for proper length then cut for a custom fit to the reluctant Hawthorne frame. I am thinking about having all the truss rods for this fork re-chromed.

 

[SILVERKINGPC]

 

[SILVERKINGPC]

 

[SILVERKINGPC]

Ended up not cutting the steer tube down. I just used a few 1" spacers and the original Hawthorne re-chromed threaded top nut. The nut also snugs the threadless stem down before the bolts are tightened. The stem can also be flipped or raised, and the spacers add some adjustment. Bars are 720 mm long.

 

[Fv2]

I used spacers on on setback too, they did the job just fine.

 

[SILVERKINGPC]

It took awhile to get the upper truss rods to match the angles of the upper support, which completely changed. Bent & re-bent. Same with the disc caliper mounting & adjustment,
taking way too long this small stuff...........

Final caliper mount.

Housing needs to be cut, shortened and bled.
Now on to the wheels, the best part!

 

[SILVERKINGPC]

Put some other wheels on it to measure angles and bb height.

 

[SILVERKINGPC]

The 21st is going tubeless..

Caliper on with housing shortened. Poser wheelset.

Need to motivate on the wheels. Spoke order today maybe..

 

[A.S.BOLTNUT]

Looks killer !

 

[SILVERKINGPC]

1970's Sachs H3111 3-spd./coaster. 35mm wide Sun Equalizer rim & Wheelsmith 14/15's.

 

[SILVERKINGPC]

I've been slowed down a bit on this build. The disc brake, while a key feature of this bicycle, has been more difficult than I thought, and it's kept me from finishing as I would like to. When I started to build the front wheel, I realized the hub was poorly machined junk!
You could see the hub flanges and spoke holes waver around when you spun it. Rotor was running clean through the caliper, but wobbly flanges? I got what I paid for, and have to get another. In the mean time, below are some progress pics. I have been riding it a bit with a loaner wheel on the front while using the coaster brake wheel rear..