Ladycruiser

[toro1978]

Hi, guys. I got this bike originally for my wife who wasn't quite thrilled as much as I hoped. So I skipped plans for electrifying it for now and just did some mods for more comfort. I changed the seat position, installed the seat and fork, installed the disk brake and the revo-shifter and put other bars. It is my "go to the supermarket bike" now.

We had great weather today, so when I got sent for some groceries I used the opportunity to cruise around the neighbourhood and take some photographs.

I have no idea what brand is it, it has a steel frame, fairly light i would say. It has 1" steer tube and has BSA bottom bracket. And it has a 7 speed Shimano hub. It has a coaster brake and V brakes.

The double pipes on the "tank" made the linkage fork an obvious choice. I deliberately went with a 28" instead of 26" because I wanted that elevated look in the front.

Seat frame, brake levers, chainring, fork spring and brake disk all make for small accents.

I don't know why this photo shows like this, I did rotate it, and on my computer it shows vertically.

Not really happy with the rear light positioned under the seat, it is quite the fummeling to switch it on. It has to go on the seatstay on the left side. The front lamp was the original one from my Felt.

Since the fork only came in black the seat post and bars would have to be black as well.

The disk brake was taken from an MTB donor. I played a lot with the stem position, direction and orientation, as well as the bars angle till I got it right.

An earlier stage. Notice the ugly fenders. The stem was a trully beautiful piece, it is 1" threadless with variable angle. The Felt seat is useless, I Felt my internal organs rearanged after that ride.

First photo I made after it changed owner.

 

[rrtbike]

Definatly has the chopper effect going on with that fork!

 

[toro1978]

Well, I guess the bike wasn't quite finished yet. I was unhappy with the linkage fork because the springs are rather stiff. Then You combine this with less weight on the front wheel because of the seat position.
I found an 1 inch double crown telescopic fork on ebay, brand new, no name product. It is probably the worst DC fork in existence, but gets the job done better than the linkage fork, partly because it is shorter (hence steeper headtube angle, hence more weight on the front) , but the springs are softer too. Handling got naturally better too.
The chopper bars were comfy, but the bend was way too close to the bar end, which was a problem with a brake lever and a twist-shifter. Not enough space there so I got cruiser bars.
After I got the new bars it occured to me that I don't really need the rear brake because I got used to the coaster brake.

 

[toro1978]

I didn't like how low the front lamp was sitting, will be thinking of a way to reposition it. I had it easy with the fenders, there are convenient mounting points on the frame and on the fork. I had to make the fender mounts though. I moved the rear light on the fender.

 

[toro1978]

I had a slight problem with that fork. Becaause it is for 26 inch wheel it bringes the tire closer to the frame. The fender has that curve at the end and in the curves I hit it with my foot whle pedaling. It also reduced the seat post angle.
So I went back to the 28 inch springer which brings the tire further forward. I need to find some clamps and install the front fender.
Handlebars always felt too far. I swapped bars with the Felt, but unfortunately the cruiser bars were too low to be comfortable pedaling. So the chopper bars went back to the Felt. I managed to found a shaft extension so I was able to raise the handlebars a bit, which also moved them slightly backwards so they are finally in perfect reach. The rear light position turned out to be very unlucky because it was just a matter of time before I roundhouse kicked it oblivious to it being in the way of my foot when dismounting. I fixed i and he next day it happened again. So I bolted it directly to the fender, which I should have done in the first time.

With the chopper bars.

Again with the cruiser handlebars raised, gotta get some clamps to install the front fender.

The linkage fork also allows me to position the front lamp right where I want it.

 

[toro1978]

This bike is somehow never quite done yet.
So I had the fenders mounted, but never really satisfied with the result.

It always seemed to me there was to be a simpler and more elegant solutiuon and the frame is way too skinny for such long fenders. I improvised some solutiuon with the front fender and it kinda worked, but I didn't like it. Then I used two front parts from the front fenders I had on hand (they are cut in two) and bolted a chopper fender together. I liked it, but hated the realization. By the way on that fork the holes to bolt the fender on are on the fork attached to the frame and not on the fork that holds the wheel. How moronic is that???
I saw that wonderful Taurus and used the opportunity for a few quick photos.

In the end I removed it, the front wheel looks too skinny for a fender.
Front lamp holder broke off so I replaced it with a nicer one. I hit a pothole and I just saw the lamp sag, like a soldier being shot, head falling to his chest... Then it flew off. The lamp survived though.
Then I decided to use one of the rear pieces from the front fenders as a rear fender, like those ducktails on the Harleys.

Not a good picture, but the line between the lense and the housing actually follows the fender edge.

I also removed the black pedals, which are actually quite ok, but they went on the Felt. This one got the pedals off the donor bike, I decided that their metal look will be a good finish to the cranks, which were kinda not really belonging there with the whole red and black combo.

Gotta remove those black caps as well. Just saw it.
I got this at the flea market, not sure if I could use it for something. As big as two packs of cigarettes.

This is it for now(I am not quite sure about the steering shaft extension though):

I tried to position the front lamp in a way that finishes the lines of the frame. The lamp rests where the lines would have crossed.
By the way I also tried this:

It did look good between the crowns of the DC fork, but unfortunately the plastic was too flexy so I scrapped the idea.

This is my everyday bike now. It is pretty slow and tiring in the hills, but hey I am 200 pounds. Those are the moments I want to slap an electric motor on it.
On the flats however it is like any other bike, it rides nicely on its Shimanos. The feeling is awesome because the seating position is like on a motorcycle. I rode my wife's bike recently, that green one and was reminded how different the seating and pedaling position is and of course how much faster these bikes are. I am not attracted by speed anymore, I fell a few times with a bycicle, had some really risky situations behind the wheel, saw too many Icaruses. I just like to drive or ride smoothly. I am the type of driver/rider that doesn't need to hit the brakes much, unless they wanted to come to a halt. And I don't drive stick anymore.

If I have the wind in my back I can easily cruise in 7th gear, with the wind in my face 4th max. The bike feels most responsive in 3rd and 4th gear in the city. In the woods 1st and 2nd gear combined with the sprung seat make the climb over roots and rocks feel like a walk in the park. It appears to be a sturdy bike. I took it on 35 km ride on a mixed terrain and it had no troubles whatsoever. Those tires are not good on the asphalt, but they do show good grip on the gravel or in the woods.

Where could I get other springs that I could use for that fork? Those are way too stiff.

 

[toro1978]

I found a swap meet in my city, so I was able to score some goodies for cheap. I got some parts for the Felt and I also found a few for this one.
I got these pedals:

I also got a nother seat that went on the Felt so this one got the soft big Primus seat.

I bolted this little metal box to the frame:

Some full shots:

The coaster arm was in the way of the kickstand, so I had to bolt a piece of metal between the frame and the coaster arm.. I took this kickstand from my donor MTB because the original was too short for the long fork. I found out this kickstand has the advantage of not being in the way of the pedals when rolling the bike in reverse (for example working on it or parking it). So I am keeping it.

I also got rid of the shaft extension. I guess that's it for now with this bike. I also slapped a 28" front wheel on it. Yes those nice fellows there at the bike meet even had a 28" front wheel with disk brake and 100mm wide axle. It has a pretty black rim, but I decided to keep the 26" wheels.
Oh, I also saw this beauty there:

I only took this photo. The bike was some old lady's, she said she has had it forever, it just needed tires and brakes. It was in a very good condition and had sweet paint. The rack is the original.

 

[toro1978]

I finally realized this bike would never look pretty, so I set it up to be pleasant to ride. My village has a few hills and especially when I come back with a backpack full of groceries it is quite the battle to climb them. So when the left crankarm died I got a 38t crankset.
On this pic it still has a 21t rear sprocket so the chain is a bit loose, but I got a 22t and it solved it. The tbike is very torque-y and really easy to ride - in the 7th gear it is probably 20 km/h tops.
On the photo it has a 28" fork with a beautiful (to me) curve, but I couldn't use a front brake with it so I ordered another fork for 26" wheels with the same curve. Unfortunately the "good condition" fork that arrived has the threads stripped so badly that I couldn't fix them.

So it is going to run the original 26" fork until I get a good one.

 

[toro1978]

Well, I would love to have it welded, someday. I must add I have ridden like this for months and it holds better than expected. There is actually a plastic shim between the frame crossbar and the ahead clamp. I don't remember what I took it off, but fits perfectly. It is the trade off to sit really low.
The coaster brake holds up ok, but I don't fell comfortable with only one brake. I prefer to brake with the front brake anyway, I mostly use the coaster brake to slow down a bit. But now with the original fork it has a fairly good V brake.

The gray fork went on the green bike where it has a side pull brake mounted on it.