My First Build

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J

Jimbo1959

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Jun 24, 2008
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I just "assembled" the first bike in my life and ran into some "issues". Like - Chain issues, Fork issues, Headset issues, and of course, Wheel issues. Never thought it would take me 3 days (a few hours each day) to put together a simple bike like this. I have learned a lot. The finished product weighs a ton and I'm not sure if I even like it. Not sure if it is worth my time and trouble to have the frame powdercoated. Perhaps a can of Krylon would do the trick...I guess I've hit that stage where I wonder if it was worth it. :oops: :?:

Any suggestions from the real professionals out there?

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Heck Jimbo, thats how builds go sometimes. Once in a while you get super lucky and it comes out way better than planned, or you see a frame and have an instant snapshot of an idea of what to do. Look at it this way, with the work you've put in overcoming fit issues, you've already had one heckuva great build and have crossed bridges that have stopped most other guys!

And if that doesn't work there's always beer and dynamite...hmmm, beer and dynamite, that would be a great name for a build..........

I'm all about the lines, so I'll throw in my two cents, but it's nothing more than my opinion. If that was my bike I would get rid of the J-shaped seat post in favor of a standard one and put on a straight bar for the handlebars. That would give it a sleeker, more aggressive look, but when you do that it'll change your riding position a little and angle you forward a bit. And maybe a trimmer seat too, as far as the looks go, but if you've got a big caboose like mine the big seat serves a purpose!!! I really commend you on the tire choice, those cream Schwalbes really play off the chrome frame in a way I never would have imagined.
 
It looks really good, but if you're not happy with how it rides you better redo it. Otherwise it will just sit in the garage and collect dust. If that doesn't work, go with the beer and dynomite!
 
Beer and Dynamite...glad to know I had at least half of the recipe right! I knew I would get a straight answer from the fine folks in Ohio.

I have some black 2.3 Bontragers, but not sure if they are going to help the handling any different or even the looks. I have spacers at the top of the headset where the spring attaches and it seems that I have to continually tighten the fork down. Should have just purchased an old Schwinn frame instead of going with an aftermarket copy of what appears to be a Huffy Frame...but I would be the first to admit I could be wrong. There just doesn't seem to be enough length in the headset area of the frame. Hence the spacers, which I am not happy about.

Is $120.00 - $150.00 the going rate for powdercoating these days for an abomination like this? :lol:
 
I dig it but yeah, if you're not happy, just go and make little changes here and there until you are. Sometimes it takes a while to bond with the bike till you are at the point where you really are satisfied and you know you made the right choices. Sometimes I will just sit and stare at a bike for hours thinking about how it should look. You'll figure it out. Off to a great start though!
 
GHC, thanks for your input. I not only have a big fat caboose, but I'm about 6'2" and I need that laid back/set back seat post or else I can't even began to get comfortable on these cruisers. I have less radical ones on my Schwinn cruisers, but I can't find any more of the 25.4 seat posts. They simply aren't available. Not even on eBay. Perhaps I'm looking in the wrong places. Either that or taking a hack saw or pipe cutter to the handlebars to shorten them or get an adjustable stem, which IMO looks butt ugly. I need more room in the cockpit...perhaps I should have bought an Electra...but I wouldn't not have had the "enjoyment" of building my own ride.

Aside from that, I lived in Berea/Strongsville from 1985 - 1988. I miss the Crown Jewel of Metro Parks - the Cleveland Metro Park System. The finest city park system in the US. A great place to ride/walk/get your head together, etc.
 
I have spacers at the top of the headset where the spring attaches and it seems that I have to continually tighten the fork down. Should have just purchased an old Schwinn frame instead of going with an aftermarket copy of what appears to be a Huffy Frame.
Click to expand...

My first build was a Murray that ended up with an after-market chrome springer. It too had a length problem where the springer fork had an extra inch over the head tube. My work around for it wasn't using spacers or shortening and re-threading the top of the fork, it was a "tighten it down so I don't kill myself and hope nobody notices" strategy. Now of course I know better and measure those things beforehand. Ahhhh, good times, good times.....

JoeyMac is right though, if you don't like it, just keep changing it. Even a diamond has to be repeatedly cut, buffed, and polished. With bikes, thats half the fun.

One thing you might want to look at is frame size. I've just learned about this myself. Even if a bike has 26 inch wheels the frame itself could be small, medium, or large. It seems the length of the seat post, from the crankset to the top of the seat tube is one way to tell. I just bought a bike that had an "M" stamped on the front fork so I'm guessing that was a medium sized frame. I just posted about this earlier on a different thread and haven't had time to read the responses, so I apologize if any information is inaccurate, but you might have a frame too small for you. I tried putting an extended seat post on a smaller framed bike before and it just didn't feel right, the ride was cramped, my toes kept scraping the front tires during a turn, and the steering felt funny.

If the frame is indeed too small you'll want to skip the powder coating and go straight to the beer and dynamite phase, after you've saved all the good parts for a bigger frame, of course.
 
id cut the steer tube on the springer down so you dont need the spacers and do need to keep tightening it all the time......as for the frame........schwinns arent the be all end all(but they did make a cantilever frame that was slightly larger than 26" check hoochs posts in fresh finds 'i found my bike' i think it was called........)
personally i think it looks good as is but if youre not happy with it work it until you are(btw im not a professional and doubt i ever will be :mrgreen: )
 
Thanks for all the nice comments and suggestions...

Sensor, I'm dumber than I look, and here are my questions:

1. If I cut the head tube on the fork down, doesn't that change the angle of the springer fork? I was under the "impression" that it had to be that length for "Safety" purposes. I guess I am having a hard time picturing this how it would work. Perhaps someone has a close up photo somewhere here of one that has been done like this.
2. Do you use a hacksaw to cut the head tube or a pipe cutter? I've never done anything like that and how much should be cut off? Should I leave something for the large nut to grab onto?
 
First I want to say welcome to a fellow Michigander. Second I want to say that I think the bike looks fine. Some clear on that bare metal frame would look cool. The frame your looking for is called a "king size" made by Schwinn. Hooch had one recently. When ever I cut a fork I make sure I do some mock-up and measuring before I cut. Be sure to leave enough thread to accommodate all of the head set parts as well as the bracket for the springer. After you have determined how much you need to cut off, thread on an old top bearing race and use it as a guide for your hack saw. Make your cut above the race so that when you unscrew it, it will clean and straighten the threads for you. It looks like you have enough threads but, sometimes you wont have enough, then you need to cut some new threads. If you run into this problem let me know I the proper die for doing this and I'm only about 20 minutes from you.
 
Just acouple of things from an old man in AZ. Change seat and post like other people susjested. clear coat the frame with rattle can and cut the head tube down. Then ride it. It will ride better and you will like your first build. I think it looks great. Wish i had a bike that looked that good. bartleydad
 
... not bad, the frame looks good that way, i'd put some big long moon handlebars on there, maybe with some cream colored grips to make the color of the tires kinda pop a bit, but that's just me...

p.s. what kind of frame is that? it looks really similar to the huffy that i'm building right now.
 
I like the seat and seat post!......But hey, you can get over 1200 different opinions here :lol: . I like the way the frame looks, the way it is. We can ALL agree, cut the head tube.........Oh yeah, 15in apes would look perrrrrfect. 8)
 
Well, I happen to value each and every one of those 1200 opinions! :D As I really don't have a clue as to what I am doing...I'm only going on what I see on the masterpieces you guys build here.

As for the "Apes" not sure that will ever happen. To make a long story short - I fractured my right collarbone in May 2007 after being attacked by two Canadian Geese on the Clinton River Bike Trail in Rochester, Michigan as they flew up in the air to protect their brood/goslings as they all popped out in front of me while I was bicycling 12 mph and went straight for my head. I swung at the first one - they look really big 2 feet away from you with their red tongues hanging out - and hit it and in the process caused me to lose control and my movement caused my handlebars to swing around 360 degrees on my Gary Fisher Mountain Bike which caused the disc brakes to lock up. Yours truly was still connected to the SPD pedals and I did a flip (or something like that) over the handlebars and the bike followed. I landed on my right shoulder on leftover Railroad Rocks and knew something was wrong. The 2 adult geese continued to harass me and I was able to get up and swung my bad arm/shoulder at them as they hissed at me and they disappeared. It took me awhile to determine why my brakes were stuck on and somehow got the chain back on both the front and rear sprockets with my fingers as there was no one around to provide assistance and my cell phone got damaged in the accident. I then pedaled the 3 miles back to my vehicle in immense pain. I have a stick shift in my Honda CR-V. I somehow drove the 8 miles back home shifting/starting up from 2nd to 3rd as I could not handle going from 1st through 4th. Called dear old Mom and told her I needed help. She drove me to the hospital and after waiting 4 weeks at Mom's house for the collarbone to heal- now two separate bones as it broke along the entire length - they didn't. In fact the spacing got farther apart. Thus, 13 months ago, I underwent surgery was fitted with a Titanium plate and have 8 screws to anchor the plate to my collarbone. I am now the $6,000 man. I still have shoulder issues and as you can guess I don't like Canadian Geese. Thus, I think Apes are for you guys who don't have extra hardware... :wink: This also explains why I have gone from 4 road bikes down to 2 and from no cruisers to 3, soon to be 4. It's a lot more fun and safer! :D

To answer your question, I "ordered" the unfinished bike frame from Bicycle Don at Al Petri and Sons, in Lincoln Park, MI. Not sure who makes it or where he orders it from. I picked up a Huffy off of Craigslist for $40.00 about a week ago and there is a slight difference in the rear brake/fender bracket on the Seat stays...don't think the Huffy could handle the 2.2 or 2.3 width/diameter tires. However, the head set tube area appears to be identical - too short for a Springer fork without cutting. Not sure what I'll do with the Huffy as the wheels are shot...learn something new every day. :cry: It will likely visit a dumpster shortly.

Having said all of that, I purchased a 1950's Schwinn DX frame off of eBay this week, and I'm certain that much of the stuff you see on this bike will be transferred to it.

Bicycle Don knows I wasn't that happy with my build and he has offered suggestions and feels that my eBay purchase will make me a happy camper. Of course, he knows I'll continue to be in his shop at least once a week buying stuff for it and the other 6 - 8 bikes I own...it's only 10 minutes from where I work. I told him he could put a "1959 Model" on every bike in his store and I would fall all over myself trying to buy them all...

My younger brother and I spent 3 hours there a couple of weeks ago...so much to see. We must have made 8 laps around the store...and we still probably missed stuff. My brother ended up purchasing a bike for his wife...a 8 Speed Torker Boardwalk (Green) that is really cute and has some cruiser influence - big white wall tires and best of all - light enough for his wife to pick up and move around in the garage and easy on her knees with the 8 speeds available to chase down their two young kids on their bikes.

Jimbo

"My name is Jim and I have a Bicycle Problem"...
 
Wow! Sorry to hear about your misfortune. I've had two massive tears in my left rotator cuff. But hours of surgery and MONTHS of therapy gave me back 100% use. :D ...Oh, by the way. I am a Canadian Goose hunter! This fall when I "pop" up from my blind, I promise, to yell: "THIS IS FOR JIMBO"!....boom....boom...boom :wink:
 
Thanks KOTA! Heck, I'll even buy the ammo!

I can't tell you how many times I have had the urge to run over Mom/Dad and their 6 - 8 goslings this past spring! They really seem to get upset when they see someone's legs going fast in a circular motion on a bike. Yet if I jog near them, they start running away.

I hate the .... things. Don't know why they are even protected...they don't even fly south anymore, just hang around on the golf courses, leaving their luggage everywhere.

I'm still on the lookout for a particular Mother Goose and her Husband who gave me such a hard time! :x

http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Portals/9/pdf/goose conflicts/gooseconflict-3.pdf
 

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