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OK, the new shifter is installed. The two red notches must be aligned in fourth gear, then you know your gears are set correctly:
20190910_183420.jpg

20190910_183916.jpg
I ran out of black zip ties...
20190910_183502.jpg


P.S. I didn't even have to connect the cable - it was set to the proper length and the guy had even put an end cap on it. I don't know if this is how they received them from Shimano back then, but anyways hats off!
 
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And some work done on the fully.
I got a seat post with the right size, 28,6mm. I had shimmed a 27,2mm seat post, but the problem was not the shim, it was the lack of length:
20190914_194448.jpg

Why was this post cut so short I can't remember.
The cruiser bars were not held securely enough by the bar clamp (leverage plus a lot of my weight resting on the grips) and I am too scared to overtighten the bolts and ruin the threads on them. I was browsing the web when I saw something I liked. After an eternity of sanding:
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I have to replace the chain, find a suitable tail light, connect the front brake. But I can take it for a spin tomorrow.
 
Those bars are way better. Now I have another thought, though. If you mount the speedo on the top bar, it could be centered, might look good, or it could stand out way too far up there.
 
I am not so sure about the speedo position on the bar because I like the curve, I'd like to leave it clean. I am even inclined to move the bell to the bottom bar, but I want to have it in my reach. (I don't like suicide shifters either I like their look though). We'll see, I still have to find out which riding position suits me best first.
Imanaged to finish some work today. I connected the front brake:
20190917_194207.jpg

Since I have some more of these brake pad nuts I put one on the coaster brake arm too:
20190917_194229.jpg

That's my fetish for now. I liked achorn nuts before and put them everywhere :D Then I used butterfly nuts, but I finally outgrew them too.
I ran out of zip ties, but luckily I have these reusable ones, great for securing something temporarily:
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I think I will raise the handlebars a bit and turn the seat clamp around. Unfortunately being the moron that I am I forgot to pump the rear tire and it was a bit soft, so I did just a few spins. Also a storm is coming. The shifter works nicely, as expected. I am not quite sold on that seat:
20190917_192950.jpg

Actually it is identical to the other one that I had in the beginning (it had a crack in the cover so I ripped it off). The bolt heads look quite ugly, but it feels comfy and I like the thin profile, so I don't know.
20190830_151621.jpg

The ride is really soft, it feels like the Rolls Royce of bikes:
20190917_193006.jpg

20190917_193023.jpg
 
Those bars are way better. Now I have another thought, though. If you mount the speedo on the top bar, it could be centered, might look good, or it could stand out way too far up there.
Something like that, you mean?
20190917_204757.jpg

Not sure about that. Not bad though. I have to sleep on it.
The speedo has a rubber ring around it, for protection perhaps:
20190917_204922.jpg

But I think I like it more with the ring.
 
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This is pretty sweet. I love the front brake solution! The bike looks very professionally built, the absolute opposite from my rat retro fully. I would totally appreciate a normal top tube on mine, but doubt that anything could be improvised with my limited tools and skills.
I also like this:
"Seriously, why aren't bicycle headlights designed to mount to the stem? It annoys the crap out of me to have the headlights mounted off-center on the handlebars. It looks bad, and the people who design bicycle headlights should feel bad." - I feel exactly the same way. I guess because if we want it to look decent we need to use two headlights, which means more profit for the headlights makers :)
By the way I got a theme song for the fully:
 
Believe it or not, Lemmy felt that Hawkwind was the best band he was ever in. Really? Ever?! I beg to differ!

I saw Motorhead. Twice. The second time, they came out with accoustic guitars for a blues set, dedicated RAMONES to Joey and Johnny, who had recently passed... Pretty darned awesome.
 
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interesting build. If it were me, I'd look at possibly cutting off that bottom piece of seat tube, and using a seat post with a little setback.
 
Preparing for a new version.
I have a 24" Felt rim with a Nexus 3 and a roller brake in the rear, with a 24x2,3 tire . I have a 26x1,75 in the front, on a narrower rim and with a drum brake.
20200223_184453.jpg

The chainring has 38t and will be matched to a 16t sprocket. The smaller number of teeth plus the shorter chain line should give me the possibility y to use my Kool Knight chain.
To get the general idea, the rear:
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And the front:
20200223_184241.jpg
 
OK, that front tire won't do, because the reflective stripe on it doesn't fit anywhere. It should be all black, possibly a slick.
But I got a short chain for sure, something like 95 links:
20200225_214032.jpg

I need a few washers and anti rotational Shimano washers for the vertical dropouts...
I will have to come up with a clamp for the reaction arm of the front brake.
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These are the brakes I will be using, but I would need to get the shifter away from the handlebars.
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The stem is a good match for the fork, but maybe a little too long.
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Your Sachs front brake looks just like mine. I was surprised at the stopping power over some previous drums I have used.
-When you first started this build I was kind of afraid to look, but you have done a great job with this unique machine.
 
Your Sachs front brake looks just like mine. I was surprised at the stopping power over some previous drums I have used.
-When you first started this build I was kind of afraid to look, but you have done a great job with this unique machine.

Yes, I wasn't impressed by the Sturmey Archer drum brake I had originally in my Felt, but the Sachs is much better indeed. I was pleasantly surprised.
 
Depending on the diameter of the fork leg, it might be possible to use a seat clamp as a brake clamp. And I agree, the adjustable stem must go!
 

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