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Hello,
To introduce myself my name is Aron and I enjoy restoring old bikes. Aside from fixing them up I recently have gotten into building custom or altered bikes. Most have just been for fun. This however is my first serious build. I acquired a Schwinn breeze from my local recycling yard for $5.00 and wasn't sure what I was going to do with it. The rear wheel was completely bent but the three speed Sturmey Archer hub was still intact. I took the whole bike apart and was staring at the frame when it hit me. The shape of the cruiser bars and the flow of the frame spurred something in my imagination. I can't take full credit for my idea as my inspiration comes from someone else's build. Anyway I decided to cut the frame and flip it. I forgot to take a photo of what it looked like before so I found one on Google.

My inspiration:
dragulaed5.jpg


What the bike was:
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What it will be:
IMG_8603.jpg

IMG_8605.jpg

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keep in mind the bike is just taped together for mocking at this point. Forgot to mention I named it Nnimhcs because the is schwinn upside down.
 
Re: Nnimhcs born from Schwinn

Not only does that make for a frame with great basic lines, but that new rake to the head & seat tubes is downright sleek!
 
Re: Nnimhcs born from Schwinn

Yes, the rake is exactly what I love most about this build so far. I actually just finished up restoring an old D-cell powered bullet headlight that is going on this thing I'll post pics of that later. My next challenge is going to be building a homemade rig for cutting notches in the ends of the tubes so they will but against the other tubes.
 
Re: Nnimhcs born from Schwinn

yeah I am a photographer, but sadly that is not my photo and my Schwinn didn't look that good before I cut it up.
 
Re: Nnimhcs born from Schwinn

got some more pics of the Hub that I will eventually lace into a wheel but haven't decided what size yet, and the headlight I fixed up. Granted the light is really weak but it's just for looks in this application.

IMG_8628.jpg

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Re: Nnimhcs born from Schwinn

That looks So Cool! For a tube coping jig I bought the Harbor Freight one for $39 but I ended up doing this
viewtopic.php?f=50&t=26172&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=15
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By xc204 at 2010-05-09
using the online Tube Coping Calculator http://www.metalgeek.com/static/cope.pcgi and an angle grinder much faster than the jig and no added cost of buying the hole saws to match your tubing size .You just print the template on your printer and tape it to the tube to be mitered and grind away using the edge of the wheel of the hand held grinder.
Gary
 
Re: Nnimhcs born from Schwinn

im liking this build. ive been thinking of doing something just like this.
ill keep checking up on this.
 
Re: Nnimhcs born from Schwinn

Ladies and gentlemen we have an update! So i picked up a gently used Harbor freight 90amp flux welder off craigslist the other night and have been playing around. I have welded with an Oxy torch a few times but never arch welding. So far I'm not too great at making beads but I can make welds that hold so that is something! I also picked up a self-darkening face helmet which is awesome. I can't be too picky about my welds so far though I have only had it for a couple of days. Also it still has the crappy wire in it that comes with it. I have heard that if I go buy some Lincoln wire I will get much cleaner welds and less spatter. Anyway here is where i am at.
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the seat may not be the one I use it was just laying around. Also I had planned to use 26 inch wheels but I kind of like these 24's I had. I would eventually like to lace the 3 speed Sturmey Archer hub into a 24 inch.
 
Re: Nnimhcs born from Schwinn

So I welded a washer onto where the down tube used to connect to the bottom bracket. Then I put a bolt through it. I finished up the welds on the top tube and what not. Lastly I took apart the free wheel on that 24" it's some kind of chinese Shimano Knock off. Anyway I figured out that the wire feeding wheel tension on my welder wasn't tight enough so I fixed that and now it is much easier to get a bead. I will post pics later I am just about to head to class now.
 
Re: Nnimhcs born from Schwinn

Update! I have decided to go a slightly different route with this bike. I am going to either get a chain saw or weed wacker motor and mod it to fit and what not or buy some type of kit. None the less I spent some time drawing up what I want it to look like. Adding a brace, pushing the seat back, and building a springer type 3 tube or whatever you call it front fork. Anyway here it is
The_Fast_02.jpg
 
Re: Nnimhcs born from Schwinn

did some work this morning cutting some tubes off a little girls donor bike that I had to make the cross brace bar. I got the tube I wanted but had to weld on another piece so it was long enough. I didn't want to weld it to the bike yet because I need to get a motor first and make sure it will all fit in the area I want it to.

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Re: Nnimhcs born from Schwinn

Looks great! I'm happy my bike gave you some inspiration, although I can't take credit for the idea either. Nice to see another mopeder on here also.
 
Re: Nnimhcs born from Schwinn

Yeah I was the one that chatted with you on moped army not to long ago and you linked me a bunch of pics of bikes you built. that one stuck out the most to me.
 
So I changed the name of this bike Nnimhcs didn't make sense to anyone and it was hard to say. A friend of mine looked at this bike and said man I would call it "The Fast" I think if I follow through with this motor idea it deserves that name. Also it just looks like it's going fast.
 
K-dregg said:
Looks fantastic! And fast.. :D

Thanks I'm still deciding what kind of motor to use. I really don't want to use those ebay kits for a couple of reasons.

1)They cost quite a bit
2)the one I am familiar with has a manual clutch
3)they don't look vintage
 
so I got something pretty cool in the mail today. I bought a cadet speedometer from a guy on craigslist for 20bucks shipped. I opened it up as soon as I got it and set the odometer back to zero. I am now just in the process of finding a drive and cable that will work with this. It uses the large standard car size threaded sleeve rather than the smaller bike style. Anyway here she is. It measures about 3inches across the face.

IMG_8962.jpg

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