41 Schwinn Excelsior Patina build with Union Drum hubs.

Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum

Help Support Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Joined
Jan 26, 2010
Messages
114
Reaction score
5
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
The Elgin is pretty much done so I starting thinking about a build path for my 41 Excelsior badged DX. I found a sturmey internal and some nice Araya 7x rims and a drum for the front and I thought I was set until today. I was looking at craigslist and saw an ad that said he had some vintage drum brake wheels and he was close to me so I drove down and found the holy grail of drum brakes. Needless to say my chosen path has been altered but I think it is going to be a fun trip.
IMG_4017.jpg

IMG_4076.jpg

IMG_4013.jpg

IMG_3853.jpg

IMG_3854.jpg

IMG_3855.jpg
 
After a few hours soaking in oxcillic acid (wood bleach) all the rust is off the chrome with no scrubbing. It came out really good. One drum has some pitting but it could be re-chromed. Functionally though they are both good, the internals are clean and the shoes have very little wear.
IMG_4434.jpg

IMG_4437.jpg

IMG_4454.jpg

IMG_4455.jpg
 
skillsthebarber said:
Hubs look great, and please tell me that your going to leave the paint alone. thats too nice to strip and repaint.
Yes, the paint stays, I put alot of effort into cleaning and preserving it. The whole point of this build is to use old parts.
 
I am pretty happy with the drums. One has some pitting but they both work great. This rustoleum hammered finish paint coats nicely and looks very similar to the original finish.
IMG_4083-1.jpg

IMG_4085-1.jpg

IMG_4084-1.jpg
 
The paint looks pretty nice on that frame. Looks like it will be a sweet build! 8)

When you get the wheels built up, I want to know your secret for dealing with the keyhole spoke holes on the small flange of the hub. The spokes like to fall out and you run out of fingers to hold them all in place. I did a Dynohub wheel recently and I don't think I want to do another for a while. :x
Lacing the large flange side first and using some tape on a few of the spoke heads on the small flange helped but it was still tricky until the whole wheel was laced.
 
I have almost all the parts ready. I still have not decided which levers or deraillers to use but I have cold set and checked the frame alignment and it is ready to build.
IMAG0124.jpg

IMAG0123.jpg

IMAG0122.jpg
 
Looks good A.
What do you have in line to tie those TA's together with?
Do you need to use a TA specific BB?
I got lucky and acqired a TA BB when I found my cranks for the C project, I also just came across a set of tandem TA Cranks with no BB.
Thinking I am going to put together a Left hand drive fixie with em and wondering what BB will work.
Your frame is beautiful.......
Parts selection Top Shelf.
T
 
I actually landed a nice TA triple set with 165mm cranks so I am just going to swap the rins onto the longer cranks. I also have a vintage sturmey drum for the front. They came with a Phil Wood hub that the previous owner ran on a DX so they should be fine to use with a Truvative bottom bracket adaptor.
 
I finally got the wheels finished. They had proven to be the most difficult part of this entire build. I got sick of holding out for a Union front.
IMG_5151.jpg

IMG_5152.jpg

I don't have the right tires yet so I threw on some Kendas for now.
IMG_5159.jpg

After that things just started falling into place.
IMG_5161.jpg

IMG_5162.jpg

IMG_5169.jpg

IMG_5182.jpg


I finally finished. The last thing I needed was a longer post. I had to order some 13/16 rod stock off ebay. Setting up the front derailler was tricky and shifting will take some getting used to but it shifts pretty well. The Union drum has a nice progressive feel and it is very powerful. I can see why they were popular on tandems. The sturmey is a little more grabby but it works well. I am not sure how well they will perform once they get hot. Overall the bike has a very solid feel and it is not too heavy. The front end is stiffer than I expected, ride quality is very good. I can't take all the credit though, I had help.
IMG_5201.jpg

IMG_5199.jpg

IMG_5198.jpg

IMG_6451.jpg

IMG_6450.jpg

IMG_6449.jpg

IMG_6448.jpg

IMG_6447.jpg

IMG_6446.jpg

IMG_6440.jpg
 

Latest posts

Back
Top