A 'New World' Order- Updated 11/20/09

[kram]

While I'm waiting to finish collecting parts for a couple other builds I thought it would be nice to build something that I don't have to paint. Though I might knock of some of the big rust and clear coat it so the rust doesn't come off on your clothes. I posted this bike in the fresh finds a couple of months ago after I got it off craigslist for a whopping $10. It was pretty ratty and missing most of the original parts, but it was straight and rode ok. I stole the grips and used them on my build off bike. Here's how it look when I first got it. It was made in September of '48.




The wheels were a 26" in back and a 24" in front. They are kind of cool but I've had a pretty nice pair of chrome s-7's with the two speed kickback that I've been dying to put on a bike. Those s-7 tires were a huge pain to get to seat right (you can see in the pics that the aren't setting right). I finally just overinflated them and rode around for a bit, and it seemed to do the job. These frames are also really narrow and the 26x1 3/4" tires barely clear in the front and back. Also sorry for the crappy cell phone pictures, I didn't have any batteries for my camera.


I don't know if these are actually schwinn bars or not but I love the shape. They are almost flat without hardly any rise. The one side is bent in just a bit but should straighten out pretty easily.


I stopped by Rivendell Bicycle works the other day and picked up a couple cool accessories. The make really nice bikes but they are out of my price range, http://www.rivbike.com/ . I got a set of the cork grips and a nice brass bell.

[cman]

Nice update. Cool old frame with some new breathed into it.

It must be nice stopping by Rivendell to pick up a few parts. That would be like going to Harris Cyclery or College Cyclery.

[bighit]

i love that bell. i have the lever strike.

[Uncle Stretch]

Ok its a Schwinn...hummm send it over here ...I''ll add about 6 inches of stretch and another curved bar under the top one and ....
Looks good and the price was right. wonder what year it is....Ought to be fast with those small tires....carbon fiber stem and bars..throw away the kick stand . lookout roadbikes.

[sensor]

bars are schwinn.....
the one thing ill warn you about is those forks..if youre planning on ridding that swap them! theyll bend if you look at them wrong

[OUTLAW]

?, if this bike is from 1948 and the forks are still ok now, why would they bend now if ya look at em the wrong way? just a ?. i don't understand. thanks

Outlaw

[sensor]

every light weight schwinn from that area(+ or - about 5 years) that ive seen except 2(this one included)
has the forks bent beyond recognition........i go by what i see is all
and yes i know they werent really making these from 41-46 but i didnt want to have lop-sided years

[kram]

Cman- Rivendell has some cool stuff but their shop isn't what you would expect. It's basically two shop bays with garage doors. One is the showroom and the other is where they stock everything.

Sensor- I can see what you mean, just by looking at them they are pretty skinny. I wonder if adding a set of truss rods would help any. Anybody got a set that would work?

[kram]

I haven't had much time lately to work on bikes, but I had a couple hours free today to get some work done. A while ago I powerwashed the frame, knocked off all the loose rust and paint, took all the oil off with some lacquer thinner, and then clear coated it. I really like the effect though it might have looked better with satin, but I already had a couple cans of gloss. One of my favorite parts is that you can now see the decal clearly on the down tube. It was kind of hard to photograph though.




I had a super beat up fender that I think came off of an old racer. The entire back section was mangled but there was enough to make a bobbed fender. I stripped the paint off and clear coated the bare metal, and painted the under side red.




When I painted the frame I also noticed that there are two different serial numbers on the bottom bracket. One of them is partly welded under the chain stays. I wonder if it was a mistake or something.

[Uncle Stretch]

Ok you got the cool cork grips and the bell....Where are they. Dont be saving parts. Stick them on there.

[Hooch]

cool bike! I have an early 50s World traveler setting around and now you have enticed me to do something with it!

[kram]

Patience Uncle Stretch, I'm getting there . Last night I got the grips glued on and coated with a couple layers of amber shellac. I stopped by the flea market this morning and for the first time I actually found something that I wanted. I got this old spot light for $2 and thought it would make a good headlight. It was already missing the hand grip part so I just shortened the tube. It's only temporarily mounted for now, but you get the idea.

[Unchained]

Mark,

That's looking awesome! I love the cleared frame and the headlight is awesome!

[stretch]

love the spotlight! your going to hook it up right?

[kamamakuza]

Say, that's a nice bike.

....I'm jealous. Keep them coming, look forward how it turn out afterwhile.