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PapaLJ

PapaLJ

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Jun 1, 2013
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Just dug out an old Murray mountain bike that I bought about 15 years ago. Wife and I both bought our bikes together and rode together for about a year or so, she gave hers away to her cousin, and I hung mine in storage for the last decade +, I pulled it out last weekend and aired up the tires, and other than some cracking in the tires, it is still in pretty good shape.
That all being said, I really don't like the style, or the riding position of this bike. I'm not much of a trail rider, so I decided that I would modify it to 1. make it cooler, 2. make it more comfortable for my old fat posterior.
So, I'm looking for some ideas, but please bear in mind, that I'm old, 50, very tall, 6ft. 6in. and tip the scales at 300#. The other thing to remember is that I'm broke, and cheap. so I ain't spending a lot of bucks on this, lol.
The bike is a Murray 18 speed mountain bike from Walmart, about 1998 with 26 inch x 2 inch tires, that will be replaced with something smoother and hopefully wider if I can fit them on the stock rims. here is a pic I took today.

photobucket-40144-1370128123622.jpg
 
Get some comfort bars, cruiser, apes, something that comes back to you more than none!
Laid back seat post.
If not in hilly terrain lose that chain thrower on the front and the extra sprockets that go with it.
Some fat street tread.....
Fenders? If riding in the rain.
I myself would look for a suspension fork, but at your size(big ) I wouldn't just use any, look for a good quality aftermarket one.
A better rear brake would make me feel better about the whole expierence! Like a bmx pitbull.
Also I personally hate grip shift, I made mine into a sweet shifter and mounted it on the frame, you'll need grips.
 
i'd say ,
- fatter tires
- naner seat
- better handle bar

these 3 things will give you space ,style and comfort :wink:

or perhaps , just sell it and find something better
 
Straight tube bike frames are good candidates for steam punk. You could paint is black and then use a lot of copper and brass brackets and pieces. A few pressure gauges finishes the look.
 
Thanks for the advice, definitely going with some fatter tires, think the rims are 1 inch, I think I can get away with up to two and a quarter, found some good deals on Amazon for those. Next step is also looking for fenders I don't like getting wet when I ride through a puddle.
 
The diamond frames are a bit more harder to work with for a cruiser look but there are some different options out there for them. Maybe you will come up with a great look for one. I'll be watching.
 
New seat and new tires have REALLY improved ride quality. Put on new brake shoes too, so now it's less likely I will inadvertently go flying out into traffic. Not much I know, but found the Schwinn "cruiser" tires, 26 x 2.125, and the Schwinn "comfort" seat at local Kmart for a good price. Have a line on one of my customer's old bikes, supposedly has an old Sears tandem they want to get rid of, hoping to make the rear handlebars and both fenders work on mine. if so will assemble and ride to the end of the season, then repaint it all this winter. Thinking of going with something I saw as a kid when I used to go to races with my family, a pit bike. Choose a classic race team, then paint it up in their colors.



 
Gots me some new (old) parts today. A customer of mine came through with some parts off of an old tandem they had in the barn, the rear seat handlebars, and 2 fenders. It's all a bit rusty and the fenders are dented, but that's what they make sandpaper and hammers for right?



Like the details on the fenders.
front


rear


url=http://s1078.photobucket.com/user/Johntrailers/media/Bike%20build/2013-06-11_21-24-56_626.jpg.html]
2013-06-11_21-24-56_626.jpg
[/url]

The handlebars have a nice mid level drop, with handles coming more to the back. I didn't want to go with full rise ape hangers, and these were a nice alternative to really wide cruiser bars.


Mocha, the garage mascot, approves :D

[
 
raggedjim said:
If I had those bars I'd put them on with the seat and put some bmx footrests on the front wheels and let my wife sit there!

(Actually, she'd never go for it, but it would still be cool!)

Rg
Click to expand...
Lol, I brought that up, she nixed the idea also.
 
IronDio said:
Here's what I did with my mtb:
1993 Raleigh M20

To this cruiser
Click to expand...
That is a very cool bike, I like the look. but, I don't think my skill level is up to it
 
Got the handlebars cleaned up and mounted this weekend, working out very well. Now can ride sitting up strait.





The back brake cable is a little tight, but that shouldn't take to much to fix. Ordered a couple of cheap shifters from Amazon today. hope to get them on soon.
 
Haven't checked in for a while, been a little busy. Just realized I haven't post any pics of what it looks like so far. I still have some work to do on the old fenders before I can get them mounted, but I do have it ride-able so that is what I have been doing. Hope to get it all redone over the winter.
So here is what it looks like so far.







I know, not much to see, but it goes, it stops, and it is a comfortable ride. I have some ideas in addition to paint that I hope to get on it over the cold winter months. I will post more as I go.
 

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