kRATe

[furyus]

Finally found my bike. Out of the million or so Krates Schwinn built, here's the frame off one of the first - a January 1968 Orange Krate. This will be my rider, and what I lack in building skills I shall make up for with gross irreverence. More to come...

furyus

 

[detroiter60]

Cool,I had a Feb '68 with original orange line knobby. I still love those bikes wish my kids didnt outgrow them

 

[Punxs]

Nice start.... I got a 69. I can't wait to get it finished. Good luck with the build.

 

[iven]

...I shall make up for with gross irreverence. More to come...

Okay, then I'm interested.

same thought here :roll: :lol:

 

[sensor]

Add a 3rd to the list!
You can't call it an orange kRATe though...Call it a PUMPKIN KRATE! The first pumpkin krate prototype! It's the rarest of the rare! :wink:

 

[Jimmy the Gent]

Add a 3rd to the list!
You can't call it an orange kRATe though...Call it a PUMPKIN KRATE! The first pumpkin krate prototype! It's the rarest of the rare! :wink:

Add a fourth....
Maybe incorporate. Charlie Brown and Linus and call it "The Great Pumkin Krate".....

 

[furyus]

Wow, I appreciate all the interest, though I suspect it may be akin to driving past a bad car wreck.

I can't change the name. It's kRATe. An old Schwinn krate with a lot of RAT mixed in. Here's some more pics of what I'm starting with...

The frame came with steering head bearing cups, crank cups, a head badge and kick stand. The paint is all kinds of scratched up with plenty of rust - in other words, perfect.

Lots of scrapes and rust up top, including where the "Stik Shift" used to reside. Note the rusty chip on the lower down tube near the lower steering cup where the springer used to bang into it, a true mark of krate authenticity.

A shot from the back...

The rear fender tab has been violently removed, but it doesn't matter - she'll be fenderless.

The crank bearing cups are krusty, but nothing that won't buff out, right?

The kick stand has very little finish left, which means that it'll get to stay.

The Schwinn seat tube decal is really nice. Unfortunately, the decal from the selling bike shop is for the most part unreadable. It and the horrible revenue-generating "bicycle license" will go bye-bye.

This bike will eventually be my rider. Maybe you've seen the bike I put together for my Baby Doll, a '68 Slik Chik: viewtopic.php?f=21&t=56520 One of these days soon, we'll be banging around the neighborhood on lovely summer evenings, or prowling through the pits at the races, or just cruisin' the boardwalk at the beach on our '68's. I can't wait.

Thanks for watching.

furyus

 

[sensor]

Nope, no car wreak rubber necking. looking forward to seeing more and I see someone at some point knew about metal fatigue to get rid of tabs. :lol:
Push, pull, repeat a whole bunch and the tabs gone!

 

[oleskool]

wanna join our musclebike build off its in challenges..

 

[furyus]

Got the horrible bicycle license and bike shop decal off - in a bajillion pieces. Managed to only take a little paint with 'em, but since there's already plenty of paint missing, no big deal. Added some much classier decals...

As found...

License gone, coolness added...

Right side...

Not quite perfect, but good enough. Should've taken ten more minutes applying them. Someday, when I grow up, I'll remember all these little things I learn along the way...

Appreciate the invite to the build-off, oleskool, but I don't want to lock myself in on a deadline right now.

furyus

 

[furyus]

Spent a couple hours or so cleaning my frame up. Used some degreaser on the rear chain stays, crank cups and kick stand spring. After the crank cups were grease-free, I hit them with a couple different grades of steel wool. I wouldn't want them inside my motorcycle transmission but they're more than good for continued bicycle use. I pulled the kick stand and got all the grease cake out of the spring and housing, and re-assembled with fresh Park grease. After that, I hit the whole bike with Gibbs Brand Lubricant, practically the only thing I'll use on a project with old paint or bare metal. The stuff is amazing - it lubricates, repels water and dirt, and arrests rust, adding a nice patina in the process. I might add it has never damaged an old decal, either, and I've experimented a bunch. Then I installed black Tange steering head bearing cups, a black seat post clamp and a head badge from a Cotton Picker. I had a coaster Cotton Picker when I was a kid; I'll have to dig up a pic of that sometime.

Before:

After:

I cleaned all the grime out of the crank housing, too. Check the two pics for more examples of what Gibbs does on these old frames. On the right chain stay, you can see what looks like an "H" stamped into it. Check the before and after. The shine on the paint looks oily to touch, but surprisingly it isn't after an hour or so. best stuff ever for preserving patina. I'm not a Gibbs dealer by the way - just wanting to turn you on to a great product.

Before:

After:

In the next couple of pics, you can see why I like Gibbs. I have not applied compound or wax to the paint - just Gibbs. After an hour or so there is no oily residue either, unlike silicone sprays or WD40. Check the kick stand - it used to be brown crusty rust, now it almost black and smoother to the touch.

Before:

After:

I'm not sure who makes this seat clamp, but I wanted a black clamp. It says "254" on it - I'm sure one of you know exactly where it came from.

I know, you all are fabricating bikes from scratch without plans or anything, and I'm blasting bandwidth with before and after pics of dirty/clean crank bearing cups. But like Clint said, "A man has got to know his limitations."

furyus

 

[furyus]

That is cool. The whole thing I mean. And I finally got the kRATe thing. Sometimes, I am a little slow.

Thanks, Peat. Glad you dig it. And you ain't slow, man, it's just a little extremely sophisticated word play. Like Clint said, " A man has got..." uh, never mind.

furyus

 

[BabyDoll]

You crack me up Furyus.

I love, love, love the black and orange. I was wondering why you would swap out the original head badge, but now I can see. The heavy black bits really pop against the orange.

Sorry I don't have any technical sounding comments about vintage parts, bearing cups, or lubricants, etc., but as you know I'm kind of a girly girl and it's all about the color coordination!

I'll try to stay out of your "manly" bike thread from now on! Just wanted to tell you that it looks great and that I can't wait to go riding with you.

Love ya,

Baby Doll

 

[SCHWINNRAY69]

Cool looking frame! I like the orange and black theme :wink: It's cool how the RRB decals look like part of the paint 8)

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Cool looking frame! I like the orange and black theme :wink: It's cool how the RRB decals look like part of the paint 8)

+1!

Luke.

 

[junknutz1975]

hows this coming along?
long time no hear :wink:
looking great so far 8)