eatontkd

So, I found this as a trade in at a LBS, I have no idea what brand or make as the previous owner did a chemical wash to the finish. Took it home for a mere $75.00 and spent this past Friday stripping, brushing, priming and painting (leftover project rattle can stuff, not real exciting I know...) repacking bearings, (It's got really nice Dura Ace hubs and Weinmann rims that are probably worth the $75, right?), and adding bits I had in parts box in the garage. All I need is to get a new chain and it's a go. At 57 years old, I've ridden all types of geared bikes since I was 8, this will be a first! My wife thinks I'm nuts BTW...

TenSpeedV2

That looks pretty good for a rattle can project. Would like to see more pictures.

eatontkd

A few more pix. As an aside; while I was working on it, a guy whom I graduated with from HS rolled up on a new Raleigh Sprint electric bike. Now, here we are, two guys in their mid to late 50's, one riding an electric assist and the other just got a fixie...

79pmooney

Question: do you ride your geared bikes wit toeclips or clipless pedals? I ask because if you do, I suggest you mihg tthake a long hard look at doing teh same with your fix gear if there is a likelihood that this might become more than a coffee shop bike. The reason is this - if you are ging fast and your foot slips off the pedal, this bike is VERY different from any geared bike. That pedal will hit you in the back of the leg, often your ankle and it will be driven by your weight and the bike's weight, all multiplied by your speed, then that force multiplied 2.5 times by your gearing. Nothing will stop that drivetrain except all the force you've got and unweighting the tire so it skids. Once your foot comes off the pedal, the impaxt when it comes around again won't even slow the bike down.

And along those lines, always remember - the drivetrain is kinda like a freight train. Keep shoelaces, pants cuffs and everything else out of it. Get anything in it and something is going to break and it won't be any part of the bike.

Not trying to dampen your fun. I love riding fix gears. Have since my first ride (and I crashed hard on that one forgetting and trying to coast. I was strapped in. But I locked my knee and got launched into the air, bike still attached. I strongly suggest also that you put a piece of tape on the seatpost exactly 1/2 inch above the top of the seat tube, then drop the seat to the tape. You will do yourself a lot less damage when you try to coast. After a few learning experiences, you can put it back up where it belongs.

Looking at the picture of the rear hub and dropout - are you sure that is a fix gear? It looks like a singlespeed freewheel. If so, your hub probably does not have the second set of threads for a lockring. You can screw a bottom bracket lockring onto regular freewheel threads to act as a lockring, but be aware, this is a second class lockring. It will be possible to slow the pedals hard enough to unscrew both. A proper fix gear hub has a narrower set of threads for the cog, then a second set outboard oft the cog that is slightly smaller diameter AND threaded left-handed. You cannot unscrew that lockring slowing the pedals. (You can, with enough force, strip the threads if the cog or lockring isn't tightened enough. THe skidding crowd get them good and tight.)

If you do go ahead and ride this bike fixed, welcome! It's a new way of life! I've been doing it 40 years and it is my first love riding. I now have 3 fix gears and two geared bikes. Best bike is geared. Most of the miles go on the fix gears. I am making a point of warning you of the hazards because at your age, the learning curve I went through would hurt a lot more and for longer than it did when I was a 23 yo bike racer. In those days, no one even considered riding fix gears with unrestrained feet. They were for racing on the track or were road bikes set up fix gear as winter training bikes. (It also never occurred to us to take the brakes off those road bikes. Training happens at speed. No brakes means you have to sacrifice training any time you might need to slow.)

As the motorized cycle crowd would say, rubber down, shiny side up! Enjoy!

Ben

steve-in-kville 

That looks like a pretty sweet paint job! I rattle canned several kids bikes already and none got that sharp looking.

bonsai171

The lugs on that frame look a lot like my '87 Schwinn Letour. Might be one of them. What kind of spray paint did you use? Nice work!

Dave

scoho

Love the project, but judging from that closeup of your rear hub you're riding a singlespeed, not fixed gear. If it were fixed, you wouldn't be able to coast.

Rear brakes (in addition to front) are highly recommended for singlespeed, since currently there's no redundancy in your stopping system and no way to control the rear wheel.

eatontkd

Updated title: My first Single-speed. Somehow that doesn't sound as cool... Anyway, I used Krylon Colormaster spray paint. Applied paint with the frame hanging off a willow tree limb, no kidding. Of course there's the occasional bug which adds character, I guess. That said, I've learned to be patient with wind, and to apply many coats with 1500 grit sand paper helping to smooth the finish. Once it's "cured", a couple of days hanging on the rafters of the garage, I'll polish it. That's it, I've had good luck with a similar method with our lawn chairs...

eatontkd

Dave, I suspected Schwinn too. If I go by the numbers, beginning with GK... that would date to July of 1974. But for Schwinn in that year the number should be on the head tube, not the BB, right? I wasn't really all that concerned about make and such, but, now the more I search, the more it seems to matter...

scoho

If you're too disappointed now, I'll take it off your hands for you.

I bet you'd love riding fixed, but, as Ben suggested, I'm worried that rear hub might not have a smaller set of left-hand threads for a proper lockring. What he didn't mention is that the bottom bracket lockring setup he described is called a suicide hub.

bonsai171

Someone from c&v could probably tell you. I painted my ss/fixed and the serial number was on the bb shell too. Might be newer than you think. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter what the frame is, as long as it fits well and you enjoy riding it

Dave

SquidPuppet

Interesting. Head tube is lugged, but these look like filets.

bonsai171

Another case for Schwinn

Dave

eatontkd

I think, without getting too involved in serial # sleuth, if anyone asks, I'm going to go with "it's an old Scwhinn"! 😉

applesoggy

Nice job love the lugs and all that, but more importantly, what color of krylon colormaster is that?
Thanks

eatontkd

It's called "celery".

applesoggy

Thanks dig the color, similar to one of my bikes, would like to use it for other projects. Hard to nail down colors.

silvaeri

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eatontkd

I had nothing to do with them....

I am really starting to wonder what manufacture this bike is...