Western Flyer "Pat"

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Joined
Aug 29, 2012
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Nashville, TN
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I was in my uncles barn one day and noticed a couple old bikes rusting away in the corner. Being the lover of old and rusty things I am, I inquired as to what his plans were with these gems. He informed me that they were "garbage" and he just hadn't had a chance to haul them to the scrap yard yet. So.......
 
All the bikes were girls bikes since he only had daughters. One in particular was a Western Flyer. I have no idea when this bike was built, but I was drawn to it right off. I've always had a thing for bikes with twin tube designs and I was able to see a way I could do a sex change on this one. I never really thought of what category this bike would fall into, I just wanted a cool looking, fat tire bike with gears that I could actually ride somewhat comfortably.



 
I wish I had taken photos along the way of disassembly and fabrication, but when I start working on something, I'm really not good at stopping and snapping pics. Anyway, here's the frame after removing the top tubes, inverting them, and welding them back into place.

 
Made a new acquaintance down the road in Murfreesboro at Smoopy's. I'm pretty sure you guys know him :wink1:
Anyway, he hooked me up with these Thick Bricks and 24" alloy wheels
complete with Shimano 3 speed hub. Finally, Pat is progressing!


Of course those fat boys don't come anywhere CLOSE to fitting either end!!
So.......dragged another bike out of the garbage. This time an old Murray mountain bike. Just needed a front fork to clear the 3" tire. removed all the paint and scuffed it a little with a scotch brite pad. Plans are to sand it a little more just to remove the pitting and SharkHyde it to keep it from rusting. The frame is plenty patina'd enough. Shiny fork should provide a nice contrast.


I think I like this neck. Its from an old Rollfast 10 speed. Another one of the bikes I salvaged when I got Pat.


So, after some heating with the torch and "massaging" of the rear.....
Pat is starting to look like a bike again!!
 
Great work on that frame man!
 
Thanks a lot! I'm actually going back and forth lately trying to decide if I want to add in a straight bar.....

My first reaction was NO, but if you look at your last pic the seam of the garage door mimics where a straight bar could go, and it looks pretty cool.
 
Small update today. My new (to me) well weathered saddle came! Brooks B15




Also did a little mock up for the addition of a straight bar.....thoughts??
I say no straight bar. The flowing line of the top tubes is beautiful and shouldn't be cluttered with an extra. Great looking bike!
 
So....I stopped posting about this build when Photobucket got stupid and started charging so much money. Actually even lost interest in working on Pat. Can someone get me up to speed with what's going on now with them? Looks like my photos are visible again?
 
Here is the thread that discusses the new normal...
http://www.ratrodbikes.com/forum/in...ing-permissions-restored.106593/#post-1079720

...here is a news article that I posted in the above thread...
https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/...cket-drops-pricing-that-angered-millions.html

Regardless of whatever 'master plan' photobucket had, the result is that they lost their customer base, they lost the majority of their employees...and now they are trying to regain a customer base.

Welcome back...hope to see you progress on this bike...the frame is turning out very cool! :cool2:

Jason
 

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