Who is into vintage bicycles?

[special-K]

Originally Posted by Warrens69GMC

I have a vintage Schwinn I will be fixing up. I want to paint it with Champagne Metal flake

Looks like it was someone's cool cruiser at one point, different handlebars and seat. A great one to start with. I'll have to get a picture of the Schwinn Typhoon I threw parts from a cheap mt bike on. I think I road it twice then let it sit for decades. The first klunker I did was a Columbia and I painted that burgundy metallic. That paint is now pretty beat up from hauling it around with no rack. I thought I'd want to just get it ridable and leave the paint as is, since everything else is in great shape still. But it's not original paint, so now I'm thinking it could be super nice if I did repaint it. Maybe even powder coat. Or... even have my trick paint buddy replicate the original Columbia paint job

Originally Posted by kipps

I've always been partial to the 10-speed Schwinns with the 27x1-1/4" tires. Any other tire size simply looks "wrong" in my opinion. One advantage of these bikes is they can still be picked up for under $50 at yard sales, thrift stores, and junk heaps.

Yeah, my Columbia klunker came from an abandoned mountain top farm's trash pile. I saw a diamond in the rough, although I had no idea what I would do with it at the time.

I like all older bikes. The ones with 26 x 2.125 rubber are from the era prior to European influenced Schwinns with the 27 x 1.25s. Then the bigger tire bikes became the 'heavyweights' and the narrow tires were the 'lightweights'. They also had a different frame design, like Euro bikes. I like them both and they both have their purpose. Along with everyone else, I used to ride the C&O Canal on a skinny tire bike. Flat tires were a common thing and the experienced riders knew to carry a spare tube or at least a patch kit. That is why I learned about the fat tire bikes (by old standards) and got so stoked. The skinny tire bikes were displaced by mt bikes on the C&O once they came out. Wider tires, wider set handlebars, and lower center of gravity make for another kind of slower riding fun as well. That's one thing I love is you can do trials type riding on a fat tire bike with freewheel hub and hand brakes combined with low gearing.

I have some pictures of cool bikes saved

[LONGHAIR]

I love the look of vintage cruisers, but compared to modern bikes, they ride horribly. I have a fairly extensive collection of newer ones though. The oldest of them is a '14 Cannondale Lefty.
Back in the day, I had a Schwinn StingRay. Not long after came the BMX thing and that changed bikes in general (for kids) for years. No matter how much you modify your StingRay, it will never be a BMX. I tried, it just wasn't right.

[special-K]

This Schwinn Cruiser 6 rides nicely. It's certainly not the lightest and it only has six speeds. It will be great for the C&O canal and rail trails since those are relatively level. You can ride those on a single gear bike. A mountain, or now gravel, bike is really overkill. You see a lot of people on those trails so it feels cool to be riding something different and cool looking... that does the trick just fine.

I did some Cruiser 6 research and saw various paint schemes and features. The couple I saw with the same paint scheme were made in '99. So mine is even newer than I thought. It was made in Taiwan by Giant.

I got it to customize but not sure if I'd like to keep it original. The 20 year older Cruiser 5 is and that would be my unmolested pair to ride. I have the ratty Typhoon that will be custom and could build another custom to go with that. I'm thinking a klunker built off an old woman's Schwinn.

[LONGHAIR]

I guess I could have worded that better. I didn't mean "ride" as in comfort or handling. The seat post angle is what bothers me about them. At the bottom of the stroke, your feet are still too far out front and never get down under you where the leverage is best. Speed is just not in the cruiser's wheelhouse either, the efficiency is just not there and it just feels odd. A lap or two around the block is fine, but more than that gets old quick.

104 miles in a single 90 degree day, carrying 50# of gear, through the hills of southern Ohio, not a job for a cruiser. But what is essentially a mountain bike with some fairly big slick tires, made it just fine.

Like I said, I love the look, the swoopy flowing lines, the ones that look like they have gas tanks like the really old Harleys, fantastic. The rocket-ship graphics, etc

[GOPAPA]

Ever see one of these ? A friend of mine had this one giving to him and he got it running . I took this photo of it and forgot I had it until I ran across it by accident in my pictures I have saved .. this was around 15 years ago now and the bike is gone

[LONGHAIR]

Is that just a pair of lead-acid 12v batteries? Yikes

[GOPAPA]

I think they were big car batteries ,
Here is another picture showing a better look at the size the battery holders were,

You could peddle it too.. Jim a friend of mine liked fixing electric wheel chairs and things like this bike

[special-K]

Originally Posted by LONGHAIR

I guess I could have worded that better. I didn't mean "ride" as in comfort or handling. The seat post angle is what bothers me about them. At the bottom of the stroke, your feet are still too far out front and never get down under you where the leverage is best. Speed is just not in the cruiser's wheelhouse either, the efficiency is just not there and it just feels odd. A lap or two around the block is fine, but more than that gets old quick.

104 miles in a single 90 degree day, carrying 50# of gear, through the hills of southern Ohio, not a job for a cruiser. But what is essentially a mountain bike with some fairly big slick tires, made it just fine.

Like I said, I love the look, the swoopy flowing lines, the ones that look like they have gas tanks like the really old Harleys, fantastic. The rocket-ship graphics, etc

Yeah, two different animals, like a new Vette vs a '55 210 Sedan or a modern touring bike vs a '40s Harley. I have a ton of places where the old cruisers style works fine. I've ridden all day long plenty on mine. A great conversation piece everywhere they go. We took a vacation to Cape Cod to ride those trails, nice and flat. Took the ferry to Nantucket and rode all over there one day. My wife was on a my Klein Mountain bike.

I know what you mean about the geometry. To get power you are pulling back on the handlebars. Better have good grips that won't slide off the bars! I guess that's why the old handlebars are bent how they are. I always look at those goofy newer re-invented cycles and wonder what it's like riding them with the peddles way out in front of you. I guess you push your back against the 'chair'. No thanks, I like riding bikes too much to feel the need to try something that different.

I've got one of these, too. But I never ride it. '73 Fuji Finest

[Warrens69GMC]

Originally Posted by Warrens69GMC

I have a vintage Schwinn I will be fixing up. I want to paint it with Champagne Metal flake

Built April 2 1961

[LONGHAIR]

Originally Posted by GOPAPA

I think they were big car batteries ,
Here is another picture showing a better look at the size the battery holders were,

You could peddle it too.. Jim a friend of mine liked fixing electric wheel chairs and things like this bike

Attachment 2137869

Attachment 2137870

I just can't imagine dragging around 80+ pounds of lead and hydrochloric acid in addition to the motor's weight. Sure, the motor helps move the bike (and you), but let it tip to one side a little bit and see what happens or God forbid get it a wreck......scares me.

[GOPAPA]

Originally Posted by LONGHAIR

I just can't imagine dragging around 80+ pounds of lead and hydrochloric acid in addition to the motor's weight. Sure, the motor helps move the bike (and you), but let it tip to one side a little bit and see what happens or God forbid get it a wreck......scares me.

I wouln't want that for riding now either .. That was some years ago when that contraption was built . thinking was different then ..

[GOPAPA]

This one is half Bicycle and half motor Bike

[special-K]

I got to give my new Cruiser 6 it's first shakedown run yesterday. A friend and I rode a stretch of the C&O Canal Towpath yesterday. We only did about a 10 mile round trip because we were riding into a coming cold front/rain. Started raining as we were loading bikes back into his van... perfect. Anyway, the bike performed flawlessly. I am very pleased with this bike. I think it has hardly been ridden. All I've done is put air in the tires. It has index shifting which is one great advancement for the classic style bike. I had plenty of time to think about what I want to do with the bike as I rode. This will be my primary C&O Canal Cruiser. I'll save the original parts so it can go back to original, but I want to change all three contact points... bars, saddle, and pedals. This will make it a better rider. Pedals not a big deal, but I just want nice alloy ones. The fat ass cruiser seat needs to go, which will preserve it well. I'll replace that with a classy Brooks saddle. Then the bars will just be the flat Mt. Bike bars in alloy.

[LONGHAIR]

Originally Posted by GOPAPA

This one is half Bicycle and half motor Bike

Attachment 2139212

That's pretty much the way they all started. Harley Davidson, Henderson, Excelsior, Indian all glorified bicycles.

[GOPAPA]

Originally Posted by LONGHAIR

That's pretty much the way they all started. Harley Davidson, Henderson, Excelsior, Indian all glorified bicycles.

I have seen articles about "GoodRoads " quite a bit thru the years and some time ago I ran across an article explaining what Good Roads was all about ..

"Good Roads" was lobbied before cars were ever made .. Bicyclists wanted better roads for bikes ..

[special-K]

Looks like a conversion, such as Whizzer made.

[LONGHAIR]

Originally Posted by GOPAPA

I have seen articles about "GoodRoads " quite a bit thru the years and some time ago I ran across an article explaining what Good Roads was all about ..

"Good Roads" was lobbied before cars were ever made .. Bicyclists wanted better roads for bikes ..

That's what gets to me about every idiot in a car that yells at me to "get out of the road" or "get on the sidewalk"

The roads were originally "improved" for bicycles and sidewalks are made for walking (it's right in the name)
In fact, it's illegal to ride a bicycle on the sidewalk as an adult, exceptions are made for children.

[special-K]

Nice Medium Olive '72 Suburban on Ebay

https://www.ebay.com/itm/14425167556...cAAOSwOydhArnX