Putting the Wald rear rack/baskets on the Columbia marked the last major task associated with the bikes in my stable (for a while, knock wood), and I must say, I'm incredibly relieved. If you follow this blog, you know that I've been working on at least one project now since July 2008. First, the
Runwell, then a short break, then the
Huffeigh, then recently the
Schwinn, with the
Mundo thrown in there in the middle (the Mundo is still a project, but a very slow one, so I don't count that).
As much as I really do enjoy doing refurbishment or restoration work, I also get tired of never having things finished. I'm really looking forward now to actually riding all of my bikes, rather than fiddling with bearings, hubs, spokes, paint, etc.
On that note, I'm announcing a slight change in the direction of the blog. There are three words in the masthead of my blog: "Recycle, Refurbish, Ride!" I've focused a lot on the first two, and now I'd like to focus more on the third, which I think is just as signficant. It's easy when you're working on old bikes to get caught up in what I call the "fetishization" of all of the little bits, while forgetting the actual point of the whole endeavor, which is to RIDE THE BIKE!
I believe it is important to show that refurbished or restored old bikes can and should be ridden, not just polished up, tucked away in a garage, and trotted out for a ride down the block now and again. Old bikes should not just be toys for grownups to play with, they should be real working machines, as they were intended. My task now is going to be to show my old bikes in everyday use: grocery runs, commuting, a jaunt to the post office, a picnic in the park, whatever. I don't have a "modern" bike to ride (the youngest bike we own is my wife's Schwinn Suburban, which is a 1977) so everything I do by bike is done on an old bike.
The point is, you can live a bicycle lifestyle without spending a ton of cash and riding some carbon fiber monstrosity. I've never paid more than $100 for a bicycle (excluding parts), and don't intend to anytime soon. All it takes is a willingness to learn some new skills, the time to invest in the work, and a large dose of patience. What you're left with is not only the gratification of a finished product, but also a perfectly sound, functional bicycle (or five).
When hunting old bikes in the wild, it is best to approach downwind and observe them unawares. If they catch your scent, they will often run off, but can be easily tracked by the trail of rusty nuts and bolts they leave behind, as well as their trademark squeals. Spotted in Balboa Park last weekend; a Schwinn Racer, I believe, with a slightly different handlebar shape than mine.
Putting the Wald rear rack/baskets on the Columbia marked the last major task associated with the bikes in my stable (for a while, knock wood), and I must say, I'm incredibly relieved. If you follow this blog, you know that I've been working on at least one project now since July 2008. First, the Runwell, then a short break, then the Huffeigh, then recently the Schwinn, with the Mundo thrown in there in the middle (the Mundo is still a project, but a very slow one, so I don't count that).
Sweet Fancy Moses, this has been a long project! I started this back at the end of November, which makes it just shy of a full five months. Here's what I did:
Since the OBB has roots, if not origins, in the Windy City, I'm quite happy to post this announcement for the First Annual Winton's Tweed Ride. Says the press release:
Spotted at Streetsblog and I wanted to pass it along to people who might not see it there. Old bike + tiny grill = Freakin' Sweet!
Here's the finished product on the 1962 Schwinn Racer refurbishment. The bottom bracket, headset, hubs, everything, were almost completely pristine once cleaned up, and although there's nothing more I can do with the paint (can't bring it back if it's gone) short of repainting it, which I'm not about to do for a long time, I kind of like the "beater" look. I took the front fender off because it raised a godawful ruckus, even on perfectly smooth pavement (which is hard to come by around here).
Looking down into the bed of the crate:
Another way to waste time online. This looks like it's been around for a while, but I'm usually behind the curve on these sorts of things, so I just found out about it. It's a fun little tool you can use to create a mockup of your perfect bike. There aren't as many options for configuration as I would ideally like, and the color on the fork in the mockup above doesn't match the frame, but you can at least get an idea of how a project might turn out. I tried to get close to what I hope the Mundo fixed-gear project will look like when finished (still a long way off--the stuck seat post is still posing problems, but I'll get it). It's less useful for old bike restorations than for all-custom projects, but it's still fun to play around with.
10:50
kaniamazdar
Just found this beautiful site, definitely worth a look.
