Stretched Hawthorne Based Beach Cruiser

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Joined
Jan 5, 2011
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Location
Los Angeles, California
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Hey everybody, this is my second post on here after my introduction post. First off I'd like to say that there are some amazing bike builders on here who have created amazing works of art and this website is very inspirational to say the least. I'm glad I stumbled upon it. I'm posting a scratch built bike I made based on a 1952 Hawthorne I bought at a swap meet. It was incomplete and after searching for some parts without any luck (mainly a tank), I decided to take the parts I had and make a frame the way I like beach cruisers....long and low (what can I say, born and raised in SoCal...haha) I didn't just want any standard stretched beach cruiser you could pick up in a shop, I wanted it to have an old feel to it. The only two rules I was pretty set on were no straight tubes (other than the head and crank piece) and no seat tube. So I got the tape out and made a full size mock up. The pieces I used from the Hawthorne were the springer fork, wheels, handlebars, crank and sprockets (which are skiptooth). I also used the crank tube because it has the original Chicago Welding Company serial number which keeps the old feel to the bike. The seat is an NOS junior banana gold sparkle item from the 70's I picked up on ebay. During the design phase I didn't take into consideration the bottom curve interfering with the chain...whoops. I ended up making a chain tensioner out of an old skateboard wheel and the chain is redirected and rides on the wheel. I'm pretty much done with the bike for now as I'm in the process of moving but it rides nice and it has the look I was going for. Thanks for a great website!
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i like it alot! 8) what else you got in store for it? just throwin an idea out there but mabey a wild chain gaurd. not the noraml kinda as that would be a bit booring here bat mabey somthing with an edge? :?: just an idea. on the otherhand i like the openess
 
Dude, that is a really sweet shape - I like it alot. Very clean and simple with organic lines. The one thing that may or may not be an issue is the riding position - it looks really short from the seat to the crank.? Maybe it's just that the bike is so long. Beautiful Bike! Nice work.
 
Great Design!
I see a lot of guys raising the bar. Sure as a rider it is more show than go but it shows real nice!
Keep up the GREAT work!
 
@Chauncey...thanks! I'm in the process of a move and most of my tools are packed up so I'm done for the meantime. Future plans would be fenders (very minimal ones), maybe a tank, and I was thinking a chainguard too but I'm not sure how the lines would go with the frame.
@Galt....thanks! Been looking around the website a lot and I have to say the Whippet is awe-inspiring! Amazing work man!
@Schwinnray....thanks!
@Hoeha.....thanks! Absolutely love the motorized board tracker! Such a sick build! The next bike I build I definitely want it to have a motor. Also, love the stretched bike you built especially the smaller crank to route the chain upwards...very cool idea!
@DPBrown....thanks! You're definitely right about the riding position. It is a pretty short shot from the seat to the pedals but it's not too bad. I had to sacrifice in that department to keep the lines I wanted. I'm probably going to cut the cranks down a couple inches and then it will not be too bad at all to ride. Luckily the boardwalk on socal beaches is cement and flat...LOL. BTW, your builds are absolutely phenominal, gorgeous works of art!
@CP....thanks! Great frame and fork combo you built. Great welds and love the dropouts....1/4" plate with a jigsaw, sounds fun...LOL! Not to mention you bent the tubes with wooden fixtures. True artwork there....very nice!

Really appreciate all the kind words...now I got hit all the forums and start posting about everyone else's builds! Great site!
 
Very nice!
 
Very cool bike. I have been thinking about building a bike like this for a while just for the fun of it. Is this your first frame you've built? How difficult was it?

Thanks,
Tony
 
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