RobbieTunes

I've been talking to some young riders, college kids, and there are a couple of bike they seem to want right now....Girls are wanting mixte single speeds, for campus bikes. And here's what I think may be a cool trend. I kind of want one, too. A path racer.

mkeller234

Is that bike as long as it looks or is that an optical illusion? It looks pretty cool, sort of a mix of things that I wouldn't have thought go together.

cudak888 

A path racer is a brake-equipped, full-fendered fixie with a flip-flop hub. Road geometry, track drops. This isn't it.

-Kurt

RobbieTunes

It's a smaller frame, from a cruiser, sure looks long, though. It's on Chicago's CL, I think.
The more I look at it, the more I want one. In yellow.

RobbieTunes

Well, back to the drawing board on names, I guess. How about speedster? And I wonder what paths?

cudak888 

Posie.
Fosur.
Path Poseur.
Brakie.
Path Wannabe.

-Kurt

USAZorro

How about "Chixie"?

soonerbills

Strangely it attracts me......
Though I think it still needs gears

cudak888 

Farkzie.

-Kurt

robatsu

I think it is an interesting concept. Obviously not the most pragmatic design, but it has some attractive elements.

Panthers007

How about: Swaybacks?

It rather reminds me of a hybrid frame with that long wheelbase. That looks like a great around-the-town conveyance. I just felt a bug bite me. Off to look for a frame...

Oh - the seat being angled up and back like that add to the optical-illusion factor.

pastorbobnlnh 

What to call it? A gearless Varsity.

Skylar

I would dig a straighter-framed, low-slung, balloon-tired pathstyle single speed racer with some sort of moustache bar on it, barn-fresh paint from the 40's or earlier. Someday I'll build it. Fenders I'm still up in the air on.

cudak888 

C&V's very own pastor has proclaimed the truth. Amen!

-Kurt

23skidoo

Garsity?

Varless?

You guys kill me. It's snowing like crazy here in Nebraska after ten days of Indian Spring.

RobbieTunes

I'm going to call it Paul. Path And UtiLity.
And for the traveling hero, starting His Acts around 0001.....

tashi

I've been seeing more and more path-racer styled bikes around here these days so you may be on to something. Mostly they've got flipped north roads or something similar though, not drops.

Coaster brakes are showing up as well, all the style of a brakeless fixed gear, none of the safety issues. I'm building one for sure once I'm employed.

If you're looking for marketability, I'd think that you might be able to do well with single speed, flipped north road bars, shiny fenders and a "classy" colour scheme. The nice thing is, you can do this look to soo many types of frames, old 3-speeds, crappy gaspipe road bikes, mountain bikes (although you'd want to do a repaint on most mountain bikes to get the old timey look) or even mixties. I'm guessing that the drop bars would be a turn-off for many casual riders, and to me it really compromises the look.


There are some excellent examples of this look in the "Path racer" thread. Steppininthefunk's and onetwentyeight's bikes are some of the best IMnotsoHO. My Jeunet in that thread always gets the love from the ladies wherever it goes as well. Then the dudes want one

Let us know how it works out!


edit: the "path racer thread previously referred to: https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ght=path+racer Also there's a thread in the SSFG forum called "show off your townies" that has a couple as well. There may be excess BS to sift through there though.

RobbieTunes

Wow, Scully, we're not alone!

sailorbenjamin

That's a nice clean look. I'm too tall for those camelback frames though and there's too many hills around here for a coaster brake (though, somehow, not too many for my Fixy Raleegh Sport).
Are those 26" or 24" wheels? smaller diameter adds to the long wheelbase effect.
I'm a big fan of 26" wheels, preferably the EA1 (old schwinn size), They just seem to fill the fenders batter than the EA3s.
How bout diggin up one of those English cantilever frames? Probably still to small for me but still a great look.

RobbieTunes

26's, per Paul in the Windy City.
And I'm gettin' me a yellow one, somehow, brown Brooks and Schwinn Root Beer grips on the drops.
I think I'm going the coaster brake route, but with Panaracer smoothies.

wrk101

Its a lot like the 71 Schwinn Racer (except it has a flat top bar) that I picked up last week. Maybe this gives me a target to shoot for. I am going to keep the old black paint, as it is in good condition. and looks vintage IMHO. Struggling to get the two speed hub apart, looks like it takes a special tool to remove the last piece (but I have some ideas).

Night Tiger

Hey everyone,
Cool to see all the comments, it's my build. It started out as a '72 Speedster and, since it was way too small for me and I ran out of projects, I figured I'd see what I could come up with. An English Path Racer was the original idea, but the inability to find a Bendix freewheel conversion kit and the fact that I haven't come across full fenders yet pretty much leaves it as a stretched out city bike. I had considered going fixed, but the cranks are very short in length. Thanks for the tips on the saddle position, it needs to come down in the front some. Also considering trying the mustache bars upside down to work on the length issue. Any tips (+ or -)?

Oldpeddaller

Sounds just like the Pashley Guvnor, but that's a bit pricey

bibliobob

A real English Path Racer? No, and nobody ever said that it was.

However, as a from-the-ground-up build, it's a delight. While I share the concern for the effective top tube length, it's a fantastic example of a practical custom build. It's very reasonably priced, and much more imaginative than the common powdercoated, ss, contrasting deep Vs and Ourys hipster builds that have infested the City.

This would be a very cool, pedal around town, go to the bar/coffee shop bike. At $150, it's well priced. If it were my size, I'd be tempted.

Whoohoo! Spring's coming! Go have fun! (I'm in England at the moment, and very excited to meet Hilary Stone tomorrow, fyi).

RobbieTunes

Hilary Stone. Lucky dog.

Yesiree, this "PAUL" bike is a perfect ice cream bike.
Ride to the Dairy Queen/Tastee Freeze/A&W.
Get some ice cream.
Ride home.