2 Wheels Maybe

Part 2: The Build It started here: It all started here - I need to get better at taking "before" pics. (This part is for youse guys who want the gritty details.) The cranks, chain, and derailleur were gone by the time I bought the frame, so I came home with a bare frame. A few days after the frame came home, I was given this Magna bike. A local bike shop had told the owner it was not worth repairing. The owner contacted me and asked if I'd like to haul it away before she threw it in the dumpster. How could I refuse a deal like that? It  needed tires, brake work, a rear axle, and a serious tune-up. But the wheels were straight, the tubes were thorn resistant, and nothing was rusty. Big score! I've been wanting to build a single-speed mountain bike, a strandie, and a BMX cruiser. After looking at the Huffy frame and the free Magna, I started seeing the parts to build all three bikes in one. Huffy + Magna = match made in heaven (or maybe in my junky garage.) After a few ...

Mae Simmons Park Part 1: The Joy If you're like me, at times your right-hand fingers tingle. Sometimes that means you need a medical checkup. Other times, though, it means your fingers are itching to build something. For me, it's a little of both. (And those fingers have been buzzing lately.) A few weeks ago I spotted this pic in a local ad - old Huffy frame $15. A week later I was (joyfully) riding this thing around Clapp Park. In between the before and after pics my fingers buzzed less, but my brain took up the slack. I started scheming and planning and digging through leftover parts. I dismantled a dumpster-bound donor bike and transplanted the parts onto the Huffy frame. As the bike came together the buzzing turned into something else - satisfaction. It felt good to turn two unwanted things into one wanted and useful thing. And with each ride and each tiny upgrade, the satisfaction grows. No, I'm not saving the world, and the bike isn't going to win any races or bea...

A lot going but not a lot of posts lately, so I figured a little update and let you know what you might see in the future. I rebuilt my first wheel. This one needed a new hub, so I replaced the old one with a disc-compatible hub. After watching three youtube vids, I spent about 90 minutes lacing it up. The next day I spent an hour straightening, truing, and tightening it. It may sound weird, but it was one of the most satisfying and calming projects I've tackled in quite a while. I can't wait to tackle my next one. (Spoiler alert, it will either be a rear hub motor or a front drum brake into a 26" rim. Stay tuned!) Farewell, Old 9917 The black Worksman klunker unexpectedly found a new home. (Remember - lock up your bike - even at your local coffeehouse. I hope it went to someone who needed it.) A new Worksman to build! (Woohoo!) So, I purchased another frame from my favorite seller on Rat Ride Bikes . Coincidentally, it came with a terrible paint job that matches the reb...

Klunker #1 Look, Ma - no cables! Two Days ago saw the maiden voyage for another Mesquite Hugger klunker. I'm stoked - this one is fairly legit by OG klunker standards: well-used frame, single-speed, coaster brake, and most parts sourced from other junky old bikes. Yes, I feel hip or hep or something like that! The frame is cool for a couple of reasons - it's a Worksman INB - one of those oh-so-rare made in America (New York!) industrial bikes. This particular bike was (very well) used to get around a warehouse. It still has all the scars, stickers and tags from that former life. Production! Love the tag! The other thing that makes it cool is that it feels big when you ride it, and comfortable. It feels like the bikes I rode as a kid. It makes me want to learn to wheelie again! I've been wanting a 26" BMX bike, but now there's no need. And, honestly, it's ugly enough that I can't imagine anyone wanting to steal it. Win, win, and win! Klunker #2 A nice surpri...

First ride - Saturday evening Taken at 9 am Taken at 5:30 pm Really, I went backwards. It all started with this youtube video: Klunkers 3 on YT      I've watched the video a few hundred times or so. The big guy on the yellow bike with no cables, shifters, or brake levers became my idol for a week or two. The video made me want a klunker. Specifically, it made me want a yellow Transition Klunker , but that bike was no longer being produced. It didn't take me long, though, to figure out that the TK was mostly an upgraded copy of on old straight-bar Schwinn frame. A little web surfing let me know that Schwinn is still producing a version of that bike for industrial use and I could buy a new one for around $450. (And it comes in yellow!) But I'm too cheap for that kind of fun!      Then, I rediscovered the Rat Rod Bikes forum and found a lot of people building bikes based on used Schwinn Heavy Duti frames they purchased from a forum member. So I bought one a f...

So, let's talk turn-key klunker again. After spending a year riding and upgrading a (pseudo) klunker, it's become my favorite type of bike. The old HuffKlunk morphed into my favorite mountain-BMX-short-distance commuter, and it's the easiest bike for a grab-and-go ride. Surprisingly, it's also one of the lightest and most comfortable bikes I've owned. So, now I keep an eye out for klunker news and...guess what - a new one popped up this week - the Schwinn Rumbler. And it's down in my almost-willing-to-spend-that-on-a-bike price range. Schwinn Rumbler (at City Grounds) The few specs I found Schwinn Rumbler (Blue) While the thing is gorgeous, I have one concern - it looks pretty small. (My legs like bigger bikes.) I can only find it on the City Grounds site and on eBay (where it costs a lot more). There are no photos of it next to anything for reference. It's not even listed on the Schwinn website. But I love the look and the BMX components and retro straight-...