41 Schwinn Excelsior Patina build with Union Drum hubs.

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Well, so far the bike has held up to quite a bit of abuse. Overall I am very pleased, it climbs well and I can really rail the turns on it. Downhills are a bit scary but the braking is good. The fork has a springiness to it that makes hard braking on the front coming down hills a little interesting. Here is the finished product with a longer post, different saddle and the original stem. The best thing about it is the shifting. the 5 speed rear just works flawlessly and once you get used to the thumb shifters shifting is second nature.
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I love how your drum hubs turned out :) I think I will have to steal your idea for the paint when I do my Sturmey Archer front hub.. I don't like how shiny they are when they're new :p
 
Sweet bike :wink: That's cool that you have your little buddy helping you :wink:
 
You know, I'm not normally into klunkers, but that is sooooooo incredibly nice! I especially like how you went and got it all dirty when done!!
 
Sweet Ride!! That down hill speed pic is priceless, that grin says it all !!!
 
The rims are old pro class rims off an early Mongoose ATB. They are basically drilled Araya 7x rims. I did not drill them they came that way but only on old Mongoose bikes. They are kinda hard to find.
 
Gary, Joe, Charlie, Alan, Otis, and the rest of the pioneers would be very impressed, I'm sure. What a score on the Unions! I looked forever, but never found anything approaching a reasonable price for a pair, so I went with the S/As. Keep a lock on that thing. Ride on!
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Your bike is stunning. Is that a flying 8 I see on the seat tube? Did Mister bonds paint that one? It looks very similar to Billy Savages bike. I really want to find a straight downtube frame to build up from scratch to see how far I can take it. I hope to find one that needs to be painted. Although I like the current fork on mine I have found myself abusing the bike a little more than I thought I would. It is just too much fun and the bike feels so dialed in and solid. Thus far it has taken these beatings in stride but I have doubts about the fork. I will probably throw a Tange fork on it and just hang on to the original. Here is my 36 Mercury
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sandmangts said:
Your bike is stunning. Is that a flying 8 I see on the seat tube? Did Mister bonds paint that one? It looks very similar to Billy Savages bike.

Klunkerbill is Bill Savage. Your klunker came out really nice.
 
I figured that had to be Billy's bike but it was a bit different. Awesome machine. I am very gratified and flattered by some of the compliments I have recieved. Truthfully this was one of the easier bikes I have built. The Mercury was a colossal pain in the butt but I ride it more than most of my other bikes. I have a new baby on the way so the bike building is on hold. I am focusing more on riding as much as I can because when the baby comes I doubt I will have the time or energy.
 

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