Bike bug diary part one

Over the last few years I've become obsessed with the velosolex moped.... Which isn't really a moped in the conventional sense it's more of a cyclemoteur. Anyhoo they do show up on CL from time to time but they are either way over priced or in pieces in a moldy old Falstaff beer box.

There are a ton of friction drives out there but most look like you have a lawnmower strapped to your bike.

Tanaka had a bike engine that had a little bit of awkward elegance to it . It was called tas spits, bike bug, little devil or as the one I have, Sears Free Spirit.

It's not without it's problems it needs a new gas cap,

Primer Pump Kit,

Fuel Pump Kit,

Air Filter ,

Drive Wheel,

Fuel Lines  and I'm planning to put an electronic ignition on this to replace the points and condenser. 

All the parts I need are available from a guy in Houston. I recon it will take me another 200 to get it up and running again. I consider it tuition to learn a new skill. I've never worked on small engines before and I think it may be a handy skill to learn. Plus, as I said previously,  I have a need for slightly increased speed. 

I'm hoping to put it on this bike 

This means I have to remove the v brake mount and put the old brake on. 

I needed a project and I've got one! 

More to come. Until next time keep your gears greased

The little engine that could ....kind of

For years kids wished their bikes would magically be transformed into a motorcycle. In the 40's and 50's kids put baseball cards in the spokes to give it that roar. How many Ted Williams, Mickey  Mantle and Stan Musial rookie cards were destroyed in order to sound cool. In the 60's muscle bikes were "inspired by drag racers" but they weren't fooling anyone. It was the wild choppers and bobbers these bikes were really copying. The "big 3" bike American bike companies (Schwinn, Murray & Huffy) didn't want their wholesome product associated with the rebellious bicycle gangs of the era, but every kid pictured himself on a big ol Harlery or a zippy Yamaha or even a practical Honda.

I rode my rollfast scoot until I was way too big for it (I got really tall really fast) wishing I was on one of those AMF Harleys that Evel Kinevel used to jump over things on "Wide World of Sports". 

Sometimes I would pretend I was riding the Honda moped I saw advertised in my brothers Boy's Life magizine. Whatever I was doing, I had a need for speed. 

Motorized bicycles have always been around - the earliest motorcycles were bicycles with an engine but it wasn't until after the war that small engines on bicycle type vehicles took off. Mopeds started as bicycles with engines until they  evolved into the cool (in my opinion) vehicles that they are today.

  The French Velosolex had a lot more bicycle than moped in it but that didn't stop millions from being sold. An engine sat on the front wheel. The engine had a roller on it that when rubbed against the tire would propel a Frenchman at a baguette hurling speed of 18mph. Did you have to pedal? Yep, was it dependable? You bet. Was it fast? Um, no. These weren't made for speed, they were made for the urbanite to get around at a time when vehicles and gasoline were scarce. 

not mine

These bikes were exported all over the world and, after a period where they were made in China, continue to be made in France. I would love to own a Velosolex but I can't justify the expense of finding and restoring one . Maybe someday. 

In the meantime I wanted to try something else. There are dozens of different kinds of bike engine kits. There are electric hub motor kits, super cool but expensive heavy batteries with limited range make it kind of impractical. 

There are in frame gas powered kits. Some are better than others, I've heard nightmare stories of them blowing up on people and storys of people putting thousands of miles on them. They have a belt drive engine but they are pretty spendy and I don't have that kind of scratch laying around. 

I went with the simplicity of a friction drive engine. People love the velosolex so there must be something to this seemingly strange method of moving a bicycle. There are a couple different people supplying these but honestly, they look silly. If you want a lawnmower strapped to the back of your bike, great but I wanted something a little more subtle. 

I decided on a little engine kit called "bumble bee bolt on". It's a 26cc homelite engine that has a simple hinge like bolt on bracket that holds the engine on the bike. It's direct drive, so there's no clutch. You can raise and lower the engine off the tire with a lever contraption. When you stop, the engine stops. You use the lever raise the engine, pedal a little and drop the engine on the tire, then the engine starts and you take off. Top speed on the flats is reported to be 18-20 but I've gotten it up to at least 24mph on a level stretch. I even got it up to 32mph once on a downhill run. That was a scary and stupid thing to do. 

The one issue these friction engine have is that it tears the crap out of tires. I barely made it home one day. Forget about riding it in damp conditions, the roller just spins. I hear some of the better kits will work in wet weather. The Velosolex and AMF roadmaster apparently also held up well in the wet weather. 

I lost interest in the engine after a particularly wet winter and a few worn out tires made me sour on the concept of a friction engine. It sat on a shelf for a while. 

A year or so later I was bored and looking for a new project. I aquired a cool looking folding bike and thought it would be fun to motorize. 

I removed the bar that raised and lowered the engine and replaced it with a lever and cable system. It worked much better than the big metal lever that was really awkward to operate. This bike wasn't well made and kept giving me problems. It got pretty scary a couple times. Next thing you know the engine started acting up and it went by the wayside again. 

I just got a vintage sears free spirit engine  so I never got the need for slightly increased speed out of my system. I'll post a full report when I get everything up and running. 

Until next time - getchermotorunnun!

Parts is parts

In a previous post I sang the praises of the humble beach crusier and I said I would like to build another. Well, I went and done it. 

I started out with a Schwinn typhoon frame I got from a fellow ratrodbikes.con forum member. 

Usually I would rattlecan the frame, but something about this frame's patina made me smile. It was part of a well loved bike. It earned those dings and that rust just gives it personality. 

 I could have just gotten schwinn parts but I didn't want to restore anything...if the fork was correct then I'd try to get the  bars right, seat correct ect. That would take time and money. I decided to make this a frankencrusier. 

The headset was a challenge. Schwinn often used proprietary parts so if I wanted to find a headset, I'd have to dig. 

After a while at the co-op I was able to cobble together a headset from bmx races and parts leftover on the fork I dug up. 

I had to go to eBay for the crankset. It's got a little patina on it but it works as it should. 

The wheels have been on 2 other bikes I've built - my first crusier and that green roadbike that had many different incarnations. 

This bike is an absolute pleasure to ride. Smooth as butter and geared just right. My only complaint is the seat post tends to sink. I just can't get the collar tight enough. Some kind of shim may help. 

I really dig the hodpodgy look of this bike. Nothing matches but somehow it works. 

I'm sure I'm not done futzing with this bike. I'll keep you posted. Until then may those bins be full of parts you need! 

The thing that couldn't die

If someone drops an atom bomb three things are sure to survive: Roaches, Twinkies and 70's Schwinn 10 speeds. 

Schwinn had been making the Varsity and Contenental several years before the bike boom of the 70's but the oil embargo made these and many other bikes a staple in garages across the country. Heck, in my neighborhood if I ride through the alleys and someone happens to have their garage door open, the chances are pretty good I'll spy a Varsity hanging up in there. 

Unlike today's light road bikes, the Varsity  and the Continental (referred to often as Varsental due to the fact they were very similar. The Continental has some slightly better components) could weigh up to 40 lbs. Why? Because Schwinn had the reputation as the best and the best meant built to last. Possibly over built. Search bikes on craigslist.....go on, I'll wait. 

How many Varsinentals did you see? 

I saw 5, and that was just from this week.  

I bet they are in great shape too? How many other things that are 40 years old look that good? I sure don't. 

How many ads say "vintage" or even "rare"? Is it vintage? I guess so, it's old, does that count? Rare? No way, Jose! 

By the way, people find these bikes in Uncle Fred's basement and think they struck gold. Just because it's old doent mean it's gold. Never pay more than $50 for one of these bikes. Even that is generous. Don't get me wrong, these bikes are rideable, enjoyable and completely indestructible,  but there were so many made that there's a good chance that at least once in your lifetime you'll end up with one of these bikes for free.

  Another thing I discovered...you can spend time and money on fixing up a Varsental and what you end up with is a slightly lighter Varsental. 

I came across mine the usual way we come across bikes. An old friend was cleaning out he parents basement. She knew I futzed around with bikes and asked me if I wanted either of her dad's bikes. I asked her the usual questions that nobody who isn't into bikes can answer but all I got was "one is a Schwinn, that's good, right?" 

I came over and saw a pristine and completely original silver 1978 Schwinn Continental. I also saw a hand built 1980 Mercian. I tried to play it cool but her dad saved EVERYTHING - including the Mercian's recipt. She found it and when she realized dear old dad paid $900 for the bike she decided she's sell it.

Look, I'm an honest guy but if she didn't find that recipt that little devil on my shoulder would have totally talked me into havering her sell it to me for $100. 

But I'd feel really bad about it. 

This is the bike as found. Stuff was stiff because it hadn't been ridden in years but there was no rust. There was barely a paint chip. The tires were old but I bet they were rideable. I already had 27 inch alloy rims with newish tired so I swapped out the chrome rims just because I could. 

I got a one peice triple chain ring from a low end mountain bike and replaced the derailures with lighter shimano tourney parts. Cheap? sure, but they work fine. 

New tape and old brooks and I was ready to roll! 

Thing is, I hated it. 

I could not get used to the drop bars. I know the spandexy bike shops will tell you that the bike doesn't fit and they'll fit you on a contraption for an gigantic amount of moola but I wasn't racing and this is a continental for crying out loud. 

 I hated the feeling of being bent over. My back hurt, my neck hurt and I couldn't see where the hell I was going. I had a crappy AMF 10 speed as a kid that I rode until it fell apart but I was in my 40's and I don't bend like that anymore. 

I made a few more tweaks. I got a freakishly long stem making the bike look awkward, but a lot easier on the back and neck. I also got one of those one peice to 3 peice bottom bracket thingamabobs. It lightened it up a little but still....it's a continental. 

Here's a thing about those adapters, mine didn't fit at first. I wacked the crap out of it with a mallet and it was just too big. I took them to my bench grinder and ground off a little and they fit fine. 

The crankset, by the way, is also shimano tourney. 

I rode this beast for about a year until I came across a 80's schwinn world sport (made by giant). I traded my conti for a set of wheels. I think I got the better deal. 

 Remember, there is nothing wrong with these bikes. You can leave them as they came off the Chicago line and ride them for the rest of your life, pass it on to your kids and they'll ride it until they're too old and so on and so on. Someday they'll refer to a lemon yellow varsity as a family heirloom. 

I've got more bike news coming up so until then, lift with your legs 

In Defense of the Beach Cruiser

The beach cruiser is iconic. I'ts flowing lines, balloon tires and swept back handle bars just look like a good time. A good time? sure. Serious cycling...."no way man, that's too heavy, you need drop bars, carbon this, titanium that, tight little pants and colorful shirts, that bike is for kids or people who buy their bikes from a department store, no way they can be used for serious cycling."

Ok, you're not going to win the Tour De France and possibly not even the Tour De Donut on a cruiser, But come on... who doesn't see someone on a vintage Schwinn Typhoon and suddenly have bike envy.

Exercise is exercise isn't it? Riding a cruiser (I'm dropping the "beach" in the name since there aren't any beaches round these parts) can be just as beneficial and satisfying as riding a thousand dollar road bike. It won't be as fast as a light roadie and as far as "efficiency" is concerned, you would get more of a workout per minute bent over with your be-hind in the air,  but your smile will be wider and your street cred would go through the roof. 

Riding a cruiser is good for the legs & good for the heart. It's great your your over all fitness - and you're gonna need it to kick the ass of the person who calls your cruiser a "Pee-wee Herman" bike.

When we think of a cruiser, immediately the name that comes in our head is Schwinn. Schwinn was building cruiser style bikes in their Chicago factory since the 1920's. Some had a tank, some had a straight bar and some had the popular "Cantilevered" frame. They were single speed or possibly would have a 2 speed kick back hub or even fancier, a Sturmey-Archer 3 speed hub. Most cruisers had a coaster brake - not the best brake in the world but could stop you most of the time. They were heavy but built to last. it's not unusual to find these bikes still perfectly rideable even after hanging in a barn for 50 or so years. 

Tastes change - in the 60's kids wanted the fancy new "Muscle bikes" with banana seats and ape hangers. By the time adults (a long neglected market in the US) rediscovered cycling, Imported drop bar "10 speeds" from Italy, France or Japan became the go-to bike. Alas, cruisers became the thing of newsboys and kids who couldn't afford new bikes. Old cruisers were stripped of all their bling and rode down big California hills. These "Clunkers" became the modern day the mountain bike. I clearly remember the second bike boom of the early 90's. It seemed like everyone had a mountain bike hanging on their wall even if they never rode it. If it was good enough for Jerry Seinfeld, it was good enough for them. 

Tastes expand - Brands like Trek and Giant started seeing a market for a casual bike, Something that can be ridden by Nana and Pop-pop or by the guy who wants to start riding to work to save on gas (or they guy who just got a DWI and has to spend his money on court costs rather than a 49cc scooter). They call them comfort bikes or Hybrid bikes but they sure have a lot of cruiser spirit in them. Some companies go as far as making full out old school beach cruisers. Electra and Felt have some of the coolest bikes around and are clearly being taken seriously. 

I'm not really the expert on cruiser bikes but a lot of the folks at ratrodbikes.com are. I would suggest going to the forum and get lost in the thousands of photos of these rolling works of art. 

And of course, here's the short story of mine:

I was looking for a new project and this thing came across Craigslist. I was told it was from the 80's and I have no reason to doubt him - though I thought cruisers were pretty much dead by then.  It was an American built Murray Moterey. Nothing fancy, just a single speed all steel old school looking bike. The two tone paint scheme was actually achieved by using decals, I didn't care for the color so I removed all the decals (and there were quite a bit) sanded the frame here and there and rattle canned the sucker a nice dark green.

pre

post!

This was my first real complete restore. I got the Shimano nexus 3 wheel set from a guy on the ratrodbikes forum. The grips and tires came from the usual internet sources ( I'm a sucker for cream tires). The saddle was from Bell and was incredibly comfortable for a cheap, non leather saddle. This was one easy bike to ride. It got instant looks every time I rode it. But I had bigger plans for this bike-more on that later.

When it was time to move, however, everything but the wheelset was donated to Bworks. Cruiser frames are a dime a dozen and I can always build one up again. It may well be my late summer project. 

one more  before I go

I really dig cruisers. Everyone should have one in their stable. C'mon, you know you want one.

Until next time, keep on cruzin'

Fighting with a bottom bracket

I've always been a "Know enough to be dangerous" kind of person. I have always been willing to jump into a situation without completely knowing what the heck it is that I'm doing. Sometimes that makes me look like a total badass...most of the time it makes me look like a total jackass.
The green bike I posted about earlier had a cottered crank, I wanted to replace the double crank with a slick Shimano triple I picked up. If you've never had to deal with one, consider yourself lucky. Some older bikes used wedged shaped fasteners called "cotters" to hold the cranks on the bottom bracket axle. They have a nut to hold them in place and they have to be driven or pressed in. If they've been in there for a while they are a real pain to get out.

The cottered crank on my Raleigh twenty

 The non drive side came out fine, "Super easy" I thought to myself. "I'll have this thing off and ready to climb steep hills with my triple in no time" The bicycle gods had a different idea of course. I worked on the drive side and the thing wouldn't budge. I used oil, penetrating oil, WD-40...I'd use WD-50 if they made it. I tried to get it out with a punch and hammer, I tried drilling it, I tried every trick in the book (except taking it to an old bike shop and having them use a cotter press, a tool used for just this purpose) I tried cutting it with my dremel...that was a waste of time. I finally had to take it to my bench grinder and grind and grind until it fell apart. 

Well, there was no going back now, the crank was trashed but at least I could get to that non adjustable cup. I tried to get it off with my wrench but it wouldn't budge. I took it to my favorite bike shop and they couldn't move it either. I took it to another bike shop and they decided to try it the other direction and it twisted right off. 

What we seemed to have there was a Swiss bottom bracket. What does that mean? It means that although it's threaded like a French BB at 25.4 TPI the fixed cup is threaded opposite of  the French by being threaded left handed. In other words I'm kinda screwed.

I later found there were other solutions. I could a) keep the cups (i was able to save them) and find an Japanese made square taper spindle that was intended for Italian bikes...still with me? I found one or two of them but I couldn't find the right size. b) purchase a new bb cartridge from Phil Wood for like $200 (ain't happening) or c) I can get threadless bottom bracket from VO (still a little pricey) or Sunlite ( cheap...now you're talkin). Why the price difference? because you always get what you pay for.

So I stripped the frame of all the components because by this time I got my Schwinn Continental (more on that bike in another post). I rattle canned the frame a nice dark green and was about to rebuild it yet again as as a single speed or possibly a fixie when we decided to sell our house. My whole summer was spent cleaning, throwing stuff out and getting things fixed that needed fixing for the past 10 years. There was no time for bike building or riding. All our work paid off because we sold the house in 3 days.

Once we got settled in I was able to start tinkering again. The new house left us a little cash poor for a bit so buying a flip flop wheel was out of the question. If I was going to rebuild this bike, I would have to do it with parts I had it laying around. Fortunately,  I had a lot of spare parts. I had a 26 inch wheel set - 3 speed coaster brake- so I was good there....sort of. The old green bike was intended for 27 inch wheels, that inch makes a difference. I needed short cranks, the shortest I could find was 152mm. If I spent a little more time I could have found a crankset with a slightly larger chain ring (this one only had 32 teeth) but I didn't want to spend a lot of money and this was super cheap. Remember when I said you get what you pay for? 

It couldn't be more true. I don't know if it was the cheap BB or the cheap crank but the non drive side crank would always come loose. I guess something was stripped or the crank didn't quite fit on the taper. Either way having to tighten it every few miles got old quick. It was a fun ride while it lasted though.

I kept the wheels and saddle but everything got donated to B-Works St. Louis thus ending my affair with this old green unspectacular 70's road bike. I think I learned more about wrenching a bike with this thing than any other bicycle. For that Mr Kalkhoff I thank you - whoever you are.

Thanks for reading. Until next time, keep your spanners where you can find them!

The many faces of that green bike

I once had a green bike that went through so many incarnations during the time I owned it my wife swore I bought 4 different bikes.

It started out with a craigslist ad about a Raleigh Sprite 5 speed. I dig British bikes and this one was right up my alley. When I got there the lady couldn't have been nicer. The bike was on the lawn, nice and shiny and the tires were filled up with air. I had the cash in hand and ready to park my hinder on some fine English steel. One problem though -  the frame was WAY too tall for me. I'm 5'11" which most would consider an average height but this bike was made for someone at least 6'4". I asked how tall her husband was and she said about my height. How he rode this contraption I'll never know. 
She had another bike out side too. It was your typical 70's import road bike - 10 speeds, suicide brake levers, vinyl bar tape- the whole megillah. I came to buy a bike and gosh darn it if I wasn't coming home with out one. The brand was Kalkhoff -made in West Germany. I never heard of them but apparently they are still in business. 

As you can see it's noting spectacular.
Just a 70's road bike. Steel, lugged frame with cottered cranks. It wasn't going to stay that way for long. 
First off, those drop bars had to go and so did that cheap plastic saddle. By this time I felt confident enough in my mechanic skills to re do the brakes and derailleurs so I yanked out all the cabling and got a new chain for it . 

 This was the result. It looks pretty good in a circus wagon kind of way. I got the reverse brake levers from Velo Orange, The saddle off Ebay and the white tires from china somewhere...I think I got those from Amazon. It rode pretty good and it was very unique. I should have left well enough alone but it's not in my nature.

I'm a fan of the blog Lovely bicycle and the author of the blog, who goes by the name "Velouria" got me thinking of some other improvements I can make to this campus green German creature.
I got a Brooks B-15 saddle off ebay cheap. B-15 you ask?

  I did some research and apparently B-15's were stock on some higher end Raleigh road bikes. I don't think they were available by themselves but I could be wrong.

 It was a little rough but I was assured it was rideable. After a little bit of proofhide the leather was soft and looked as good as a 40 year old saddle could look. This saddle has moved from bike to bike and I still use it on my main rider. I Heart Brooks saddles- but I'll cover those in another post.

Along with the saddle I got some "Belleville" bars from VO and some Planet Bike Fenders. On Lovely Bicycle, She posted about cork tape, twine and shellac. I figure i'd give it a try. 

Some people love it some people scratch their head at what came next. I liked the Bellville bars but they were kind of narrow. The bar tape was a little squishy for my taste but other than that I was happy with the results. I got a few canvas bags at the military surplus store and a frame pump and I rode it like this for a good while. 

My next goal was to get rid of the cottered cranks. That was an adventure in itself. I'll cover that next time.

until then - ride it like ya stole it

Hello Anybody

My name is Mark. I'm a nerd. I like to mess with bikes.

And we have a blog title! 

At my age labels like  "cool" and "nerd" don't matter much, but the name is catchy enough so we'll just go with it.

When I turned 40 I kind of had a mid life chrisis.  I had a 4 year old and a newborn  and my life revolved around diapers, formula, no sleep and constantly saying "get that out of your mouth!". I needed a hobby - something that would get me away from the smell of spit up and baby poop, of 4 year old tantrums and the constant "DADDY!!!!". I originally wanted a motorcycle...my wife put the kibosh on that good and quick. 

I chose to ride a bicycle. I hadn't ridden a bike since 1985 so it was like discovering a new world. It was a world of unflattering spandex, snobby bike shop employees, super cool bike shop employees, eBay, craigslist, chrome, alloy, toe clips, tiny hats and helmets that make my head look like a Macy's parade balloon. 

 First I needed a bike. My Dad had a mountain bike he bought when he retired. It was a 90's Schwinn Frontier. 

He passed away a few years earlier so my mom was happy to get it out of the house. It was heavy and ugly, but so am I so I recon it would be a good fit. It would have been if it wasn't for my need to mess with stuff. 

This is what I came up with. Ugly isn't it. I wanted it to look like an old roadster. At that time I didn't know much about bikes but I knew what I liked. I liked old stuff. I liked cheap stuff and occasionally weird stuff. 

I re-learned how to ride a bike on this 15 speed monster. I remember back when I was a kid having no idea how my gears worked on my old AMF 10 speed and at first I couldn't wrap my head around when I should shift. After a few huffy, puffy heart atacky rides, I figured it out.

I rode that bike for a few months but I wanted something different. Something nobody else rides. I'm not a guy who races, I rarely where cycling jerseys (I have a couple but I don't wear them much) and I'm not a weight weenie. I just like to ride. I like to work on bikes. I like to buy bikes, take them apart, ride them and take them apart again. I have become a bike nerd.
Join me in my love affair with the bicycle

A few quick notes: I am not an expert by any means...so if you think I'm wrong about something, you could very well be right.
Also, sometimes I make grammar or spelling mistakes. Some people consider it a bigger sin than murder...I don't.  We all make mistakes and I've made a lot of them in my time. A lot of people think if you can't write or speak well you aren't intelligent. Many times that is the case but not always. If the thoughts in ones head get jumbled when they come out and end up breaking the "rules" of a language it doesn't mean those thoughts are invalid. Some people have trouble grasping the rules....Who? whom? Whom cares.
That's enough of that...off to bikey land....