A 1936 Mercury is getting a new life.

[socal_jack]

One question though. How did you get the rear hub fit? I'm looking to instal Shimano 8 gear hub, but it is about 25mm wider than rear fork???

I think pretty much everyone use the method described by Sheldon Brown in the link below. Sheldon shows 2x4s being used but on the prewar frames the steel is so soft I find I can bend them by just putting a foot on each stay and pulling up on the top side stays with a hand on each. I can control the amount of bend better also as I can feel the give.

http://sheldonbrown.com/frame-spacing.html

 

[sandmangts]

The process is called cold setting and it is well documented on Sheldons site. If you do it right and take your time you can get it right and not have to adjust the alignment of the frame. If you measure carefully (assuming your frame is already aligned) you can determine how much you need to spread the frame. If you need 25mm total you will want spread each side 12.5 mm. You just put a 2x4 between the rear stay and the seat tube. Put the board on a chair and apply pressure gently measuring frequently. when you get your 12.5 mm switch to the other side. After tie a string around the dropout and wrap it around the headtube and then back to the other dropout tightly, then you can check the alignment by measuring the distance between the string and the seat tube. If it is equal on both sides you are done.

Note: The Mercury is made of some heavy duty pig iron. I had to stand on the frame to get it to flex.

 

[W1N]

Awesome! Great help!

Thanks!

 

[W1N]

Where did you guys get those vintage seat posts? Mine runs probably 20.5mm post, which is quite hard to find. Are your sthe same?

Thanks!

 

[davethecreep]

beautiful bike. very very nice bro.

 

[sandmangts]

Where did you guys get those vintage seat posts? Mine runs probably 20.5mm post, which is quite hard to find. Are your sthe same?

Thanks!

The source for many of your answers would be Mr. Alan Bonds. http://www.clunkers.net/tips/tips.html. The posts on these old schwinns were a little weak. What I used was a solid 13/16 aluminum rod. You can buy a length of bar stock at any metal supply shop. For mine I bought the rod and then wet sanded it from 600 grit all the way down to 1500 grit and then polished it with a bench grinder and a buffing wheel. It shines like a mirror and cost less than 10 bucks and it won't bend.

 

[sandmangts]

I have reached another stage in the evolution of this bike. A forum member over at mtbr.com had a nice fork with a 1 inch steerer. Pretty hard to come by these days. I just had to give it a try. I used a 31.6 mm seatpost clamp for the drum brake and it worked perfectly. I don't think I ever seen another bike with a suspension fork and a drum brake up front. Not sure of the wisdom of this setup but it works quite well. I snapped a few shots before getting her dirty today.

 

[gowjobs]

Your Mercury is in Retro-gRADe. That is one killer klunker!

 

[aka_locojoe]

Great looking klunker. Would like to build one similar some day.