Defiance - Aannnnnd it's done!

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Joined
Aug 5, 2008
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Location
The Land of Three Mile Island, PA
This year I'm doing up another klunker style bike. I'm starting off with a 1940 BF Goodrich badged Schwinn DX that I bought from a friend last fall.

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I hope to use these wheels that I picked up in Trexlertown last year. They are red Araya rims laced to Sturmey Archer drum brake hubs.

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I also have a pair of creme Fat Franks, an alloy fluted seatpost, and a B-72 set aside for the build.

The project gets its name from the fact that I have been stockpiling all kinds of parts for this build since last September and I'm coming to find that almost all of them will not work for one reason or another. So far I've discovered that the beautiful Campy triple crank I bought has a cracked left arm. The bottom bracket conversion spindle is the wrong offset. The awesome Suntour XC thumbies I have are 8 speed and the freewheel is a 7. It also isn't a Suntour like I thought but a Chinese knock-off and probably has Shimano spacing. I bought a Suntour derailleur to go with all of this but there is probably no way it's all going to play nicely together. The shiny old school stem I have won't work with the new bars I want to use. The wheels are missing the pinch bolts, axle nuts, and adjusting barrels. There are still many more unknown obstacles out there waiting to fight me at every turn, I'm sure - and I haven't even started building it yet... :rolleyes:

As far as color goes, it may keep the red housepaint, get a sanded patina job, or a clearcoated raw metal finish.
 
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The bike itself is cooperating nicely so far. Everything is coming apart just fine and I found nothing damaged except for a barn door bolt jammed into the pivot of the springer. Should be an easy fix. It's the shiny new parts that don't like me at this point. :blackeye: I'm hoping to start the build tonight. :)
 
With the bike stripped down to the bare frame, it's tool time!

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This big angry thing is perfect for spreading rear stays.

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Checking the alignment with another frame tool:

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Rear wheel slides right in now. I neglected to take a shot of my dropout alignment tools but I'll try to remember to get one soon.

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I'm excited about this build as it's the first one I'm doing in my tiny workshop that I set up in my storage shed. This is why there are so many bikes (and mess) in the background.
 
:agree: You are far too professional to be allowed in this build-off, you are using the correct tools and using them the way they were designed!

Just kidding, nice work so far!

Luke.
 
:agree: You are far too professional to be allowed in this build-off, you are using the correct tools and using them the way they were designed!

Just kidding, nice work so far!

Luke.
I went on a massive tool buying binge last year and have been dying to use them for months.

Don't worry, I have hammers, sticks, rocks, and duct tape here as well that will be used on the project eventually... :p
 
Trinket parts!
Not having little things like these can bring a project to a screeching halt. I tried to plan ahead by ordering these before the build started. I found most of the drum brake hardware, derailleur adapters (I bought extras. I always seem to need one), bottom bracket conversion, a new springer bumper and a spare springer bolt from the junk bin..

IMG_0239_zps23f0bf83.jpg
 
A local flea market came to my rescue on Saturday. I picked up an old school mountain bike loaded with crusty but functional Shimano Deore DX parts. The DX stuff was bomb-proof and I'll be able to use the shifters, rear derailleur, brake levers, and this crank.

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Also test fitted the BB adapter and located a spindle that should work.

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I may use a cartridge bottom bracket if I can find one with the correct spindle length. The one pictured is fine and spins like butter but the way the adapters are machined, it's tricky getting tools in there to do the final adjustment. I'm having visions of bloody knuckles when it comes time to cinch the fixed cup down... :eek:
 
BB adapters like that are tough to get diff.
bb designs into..(clearance) Since the cranks
can unscrew the lockrings or cartridge when pedaling along if not tight. My solution is blue locktite as an alternative. White Industries makes a nice chromoly BB with a wide range of adjustability left or right. I finally put one in a bike with similar problems with clearance and alignment.
FYI. 7 speed spacing is the same as 8spd on the cassette. You could have used the 8spd shifters with the 7 speed cassette if you wanted to. Nice wheelset...
 
BB adapters like that are tough to get diff.
bb designs into..(clearance) Since the cranks
can unscrew the lockrings or cartridge when pedaling along if not tight. My solution is blue locktite as an alternative. White Industries makes a nice chromoly BB with a wide range of adjustability left or right. I finally put one in a bike with similar problems with clearance and alignment.
FYI. 7 speed spacing is the same as 8spd on the cassette. You could have used the 8spd shifters with the 7 speed cassette if you wanted to. Nice wheelset...

Ooooh White Industries BB... Bike porn!

Um... anyway. I picked up a couple assorted cartridge BB's yesterday at a swap meet and *should* be good to go there. I've been running one of these setups with the old style bottom brackets on a klunker for years and never had trouble with it. A little locktite on these never hurts!

I had the Suntour setup on the bike over the weekend to satisfy my curiosity and it hit all the gears but was sloppy with the generic 7 sp. freewheel. I had too many flashbacks of fighting with Suntour index systems back in the early 90's to want to go this route. We'll put the Shimano on and be done with it. I have a cheapo "Mega Range" freewheel that should work well with the DX thumbies. :D
 
This is gonna be a classy looking build with those wheels and parts! Looking good man!
Never seen one of those frame straighteners before (other than a 2x4).
 
This is gonna be a classy looking build with those wheels and parts! Looking good man!
Never seen one of those frame straighteners before (other than a 2x4).

It's a wonderful tool to have when you mess with old bikes! I picked up a Park stay straightener over the weekend too. They're nice if you have a seat or chain stay with a bow in it. I have a thing for big chrome bike tools that are made with a specific purpose in mind...
 
How did you like my Park CI-1 Cup Installer?
 

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