(To be named) Beach Cruiser

[MatthewRobertHenry]

Hey everyone. This is my new project. It's a beefy schwinn of some order. I picked it up at a neighborhood yard sale for $30. My neighbor who owned it is a HUGE dude so he had bought the strongest frame he could find and upgraded to some beefy front fork. I like that it is super solid, and rides uber smooth with no rattles or shakes at all. I also love the wide halfseat, it's super comfortable even on rides that last over 2 hours. Here's a pic of it as I got it with the only upgrades being swapped out pedals for blue annodized ones (from my Blue Ghost see my intro forum), a black basket, and an experimental flame job that I cut out of chrome vinyl (a big sticker) ->

The Chrome flame looked great from a few feet back but was wrinkled by the compound curves and started coming up in places where my pants would rub the frame. Here is a close up pic ->

The more I ride this bike the more I love it. I'm all about flames and the chrome sticker wasn't working. It's important for me on this bike as a primary rider to have a paint job I can easily touch up. I decided some silver pinstriped flames would look cool and I got started on them. I'm only a little way into it now (front fork and lower frame) but so far I'm loving the look. Here are two pics ->

 

[MatthewRobertHenry]

Now that I've gotten started I'm dreaming up where I want it to go. The most important things to me are rideability, budget :?, and durability since seeing the Blue Ghost rust away to nothing was really depressing . I live on a boat and the bike gets stored on a dock 1 foot away from saltwater so rust is a major concern. Here are the things I want to do to it:
* 24x3 all black rear tire
* 24" black rear rim with 3 speed Nexus hub or a kickback hub
* 26" all black front tire
* Finish pinstriping flames on the top tube and small upper side tubes.
* A speedometer
* Some LED front light that looks classy

I may simply paint the front rim black since the aluminum has proven fairly rust resistant so far and they don't seem to sell the 24" rear and 26" front wheel together. There is a 3 speed nexus hub mounted on a 26" silver wheel fs locally on cg for $40. I may pick it up and forgo my dreams of giant rear tires but I think I'll never be satisfied till I get that setup. Still this might put me on my way, i can always get a 24" rim and have someone, or try myself (I hope not) to lace it in.

I've also been watching craiglist for donor bikes. In San Diego there are whole beach communities who use these bikes as daily transportation and I see them occasionally come up for good deals. Let me know what you guys think so far and if you have any suggestions or input

 

[deorman]

I tjink you were told a fisj story about tje fork. (pardon tje broken keyboard) I jave essentially tje same bike, it came tjat way. Anyway, tjere are a number of 2.4-2.6x26 black tires available tjat will fit tjat bike wit no mods required. Enjoy!

 

[Galtbacken]

Looks like that'll turn out a cool bike!
deorman: Your broken keyboard made my afternoon! :lol:

 

[Ace]

Please translate for us Galtbacken: what did he just say in swedish ? :lol:
Matt: I dig the silver on black 8)

 

[Galtbacken]

Please translate for us Galtbacken: what did he just say in swedish ? :lol:

Haha! I thought he was writing in dutch! :lol:
deorman, I don't mean to laugh at your misfortune with the keyboard, I just started reading your post and wondered why you spelled so strangely and then when the explanation came I just couldn't help myself!

 

[MatthewRobertHenry]

That keyboard is some funny stuff! Yeah you may be right about the fork. Either way it's a solid bike and I'm happy with it. I think i'm gonna try and pick up that 3 speed cruiser wheel off craigslist - even if I can't do the 3" fatty tire right away it will still improve the ride to have a couple of gear options and it won't look too messy since there won't be a derailer.
I can't find it now but i used to watch this guy's blog who would drill holes in the frame and run the shifter cable through so you only really saw it run from the handlebars to just behind the gooseneck, then it disappeared. That seems like a cool goal. Anyone know of any forums about that? If you could link one in a reply you'd save me some time.

 

[deorman]

Don't have a link, but some factory bikes have oval holes that go in the main tubes just behind the steering head, and come out just before the seat post. Seems like a hassle to me, and given your salt air situation, a possible source of corrosion. :|

 

[nwlee]

Could you attach a zink? (or whatever they are called, the doolybobs made of zink that electrically protect metalfrom salt corosion)

 

[Galtbacken]

I'm not a hundred percent certain (but to be honest, I never am ) about this translation, but in swedish that's called "offeranod" and that might be "sacrificial anode" in english.
deorman probably have a valid point on drilling holes in the frame, but if you'd like to see one way run cables inside the frame you could see how I did it on the J.B.40 in the build section.

 

[MatthewRobertHenry]

Never thought about the zinc that's an interesting thought though. I'm not sure if it would work. You have to wire the zinc to any metal that it doesn't touch directly so it might result in wires all over the bike. I'll ask around the docks see if that get's anyone's wheels turning on a solution...
Also a good point about drilling holes in the frame introducing a new point of weakness. I'd probably be able to overcome that with a dab of sealant. I'll check out that build you mentioned to see how you did it.

 

[MatthewRobertHenry]

ok so it sounds like zincs only work when submersed in saltwater so that's a no go. There are some other systems to control corrosion but they would require a power supply. In the end I'm just going to have to be ok with my beach cruiser looking like one that lives at the beach and in the end I think i'm ok with that.

I did get a sweet deal on a new wheelset. 26" wheels with the Nexus 3 speed hub, shifter and cables, tubes, and whitewalls (everything looks next to new) all for $100 on Craigslist! It was definitely a good deal and I can't wait to get the 3 speed hooked up. The only downside is the rims are white with white spokes, and the tires are whitewalls with a hibiscus flower print. White rims and flower tires are sort of opposite of where I was trying to go. I'll get them on there asap to improve the ride but I may continue to look for a 24" 3 speed rim and shift this set to my wife's old school JC higgins tank bike.

Does anyone know if there is a good forum on the correct setup of a nexus 3 speed hub and shifter? It looks like I might be missing a pin that goes through the hub and the guy was trying to explain how I could make one out of a spoke and I got kind of lost. Shoot me a link if it's been discussed b4. Thanks!

 

[MatthewRobertHenry]

Sad day, I went out to the bikerack last night to ride my bike with the family and someone had stolen it

So lame! I cannot believe how utterly bummed I am. I'm trying to find the most recent picture so I can fill out a police report. Man I loved this bike and I'll really miss that Nexus 3spd weelset

 

[Craiggo]

Really sorry to hear about the stolen bike . Do u live in a bad part of town? I live in the wisconsin country side. nothing gets stolen here. I suggest moving well, thats enough bad humor. good luck searching for that bike! I wish I could help

 

[MatthewRobertHenry]

No, that's just it, I live in a super safe part of town. I actually live on a boat in a yacht marina so you literally need a key to get IN and OUT of the marina and there are multiple security guards on duty 24/7. The bike rack is on the dock in the center of the marina so I've kept our bikes unlocked on it for what, 4 years? I'll certainly lock them now but what a total bummer!

Today I went to CVPD and filled out a police report. I also plan on putting some posters on the gates, chances are someone may have seen it getting rolled out a gate. Also there is the slimmest chance the marina staff had it cleaned off the rack by mistake. They periodically clean the rack of unregistered bikes. Mine was registered but it's possible they missed the sticker? I just talked to a security guard who said they recently cleaned the rack but store the bikes temporarily until they get rid of them so I'll be calling the office first chance I get tomorrow.

 

[old school 64]

I feel your pain man..we live in an older mobile home on property, nice neighborhood..keep my ProFlex attack LE mountain bike on the backside of the porch..long story short, came out one night to feed the cats..and yep..it was gone..funny thing is, there was a 20" Predator next to it, and a 24" Predator 5 feet away ?? So..now ALL my bikes are cabled to the fence, and we are in the final stages of buying a house with a GARAGE...hope you have good luck finding your cruiser..