Hey! I've been looking for a site like this for a while but now I've finnally found a forum for old school bikes. Sweet!
Anyways, I don't have any pictures on my computer yet but I just put the finishing touches on a 1960's (I think) Schwinn American. I got it from a friend who had spray painted it flat black without masking everything off or disassembling the bike so i had to strip paint off everything. Upon rebuild, I decided to convert the bike to have V-brakes by welding brake posts on. I used a regular brake lever on the handlebar for a while but then I got bored of that and put a "suicide" brake lever on it. I welded a bracket between the two small rails on the frame and built a lever that extends diagonally outwards that puts the wooden handle about two inches away from the headset. It's a slight challenge to hold on to the ape hanger bar and reach down to pull the lever but it makes riding it more interesting. haha. I will post some pics up soon.
Anyways, I don't have any pictures on my computer yet but I just put the finishing touches on a 1960's (I think) Schwinn American. I got it from a friend who had spray painted it flat black without masking everything off or disassembling the bike so i had to strip paint off everything. Upon rebuild, I decided to convert the bike to have V-brakes by welding brake posts on. I used a regular brake lever on the handlebar for a while but then I got bored of that and put a "suicide" brake lever on it. I welded a bracket between the two small rails on the frame and built a lever that extends diagonally outwards that puts the wooden handle about two inches away from the headset. It's a slight challenge to hold on to the ape hanger bar and reach down to pull the lever but it makes riding it more interesting. haha. I will post some pics up soon.
