PDA

View Full Version : My daily driver



Plays_with_Toys
12-18-2008, 10:47 PM
http://img355.imageshack.us/img355/6918/40119878eq9.jpg

Started life as an old man 27 inch commuter bike-

Frame is 56cm (a bit big, I ride 54), I flipped and chopped the handlebars, converted over to 26" wheels, then picked up the schwinn typhoons (LOVE brick style tires). Bought the french saddle from ebay. New Belgium bell for good measure. I've got some fenders, but because the bike was originally made with thin 27 inch tires, the fenders need quite a bit of chopping to fit. Unfortunately the chrome springer fork I had picked up wouldn't fit, and was beyond my ability to mod it to fit. Oh- and my custom green dice valve covers :smt023

I can't stand slow cruisers- this is a 21 speed and I have been clocked on campus at 26mph.

Magoozle
12-18-2008, 10:50 PM
:lol: Not at all what I was expecting! That thing really is sick!

henryq89
12-19-2008, 11:35 PM
:lol: Not at all what I was expecting! That thing really is sick!



LOL..same here i was like nice bike?

but looks sweet thou 26mph? damn thats quik lol

Plays_with_Toys
12-20-2008, 06:51 PM
Haha. Yeah- this is where my mod money went for a while. I live in a pretty small college town and you can usually bike to where ever you need to go in as much time as it would take to drive there. Though now that it's ridiculously cold, I'm riding a bit less.

Okin DaVanh
12-21-2008, 08:17 AM
Mi Lykes :smt023

Brakes are mismatched?


I have carbon brakes on my MB tho it's no cruiser, it stops on a dime. If your hitting 20+ moh in the spring, you might wanna look into them. It'll help you keep the nostalgic look (as opposed to a disc conversion) and gain some stopping power.

TheAngryPidgeon
12-21-2008, 04:44 PM
I live in Davis, CA, which is a city of roughly two bikes per person. They used to classify the most bike friendly cities with Gold, Silver or Bronze labels, but had to create a Platinum label for Davis because it stood out so far above the rest, lol.

With that said, I have never seen a cruiser that I liked/respected until yours. I'm a road biker for life, and just can't give up the smooth efficiency that they provide. Conversely, I've always hated cruisers because they're everything a road bike isn't, and I usually have to swerve around the blonde sorrostitute who is weaving back and forth while talking on her cell phone and is inevitably riding a cruiser.

Yours, on the other hand, is a bad ass piece of machinery.

Plays_with_Toys
12-21-2008, 05:17 PM
Okin, because I switched from 27" wheels to 26", I couldn't use the stock brakes and had to switch to the side pull. The chrome springer fork I had didn't have brake mounts, so I only have a back brake. Then the fork didn't fit and now the rear brakes are incredibly soft and I will use my right foot on the front tire if I need to make a quick stop. I've been looking for a used disc brake setup, but unfortunately, I did buy the wheels new- if I switch to a disc brake setup I would need to buy another new wheel. I'd also have to machine an adapter bracket to hold the caliper. I'm not as concerned keeping the nostalgic look as my goal was to make a "1930's dirt oval motorcycle" styled bike. And at some point greater stopping power would be nice :smt023

TAP- Fort Collins is a Silver bike community and there is quite a large concentration of hipster bikers on single speed or fixed gear bikes. I respect these bikes as they are usually quite fast, but I tend to be given the smug look of "another cruiser rider" when they ride by... Then I pass them and their look of disgust usually goes away :grin: I'm also a road biker. This is my bike that is only parked indoors and out of site:

http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/5925/img3759ai4.jpg

Thanks for the compliments on the cruiser! If you want, check out ratrodbikes (http://ratrodbikes.com/forum/index.php). There's quite a few people who have designed go-fast retro bikes. There's also just tons of amazing fabricators on that site

Perdue
12-27-2008, 06:33 PM
I wish I could ride my Trek 3900 to work and class. That'd be awesome. I hate WV.