u/Papa_Wheelies

I wish there were more like minded people around here that were into old bicycles. It gets lonely being the only weirdo.

Lately I’ve been tweaking and adjusting on my 1949 Schwinn New World that I just built up.

Schwinn really knew how to put the paint down.

I have no Jeep problems or questions to ask about. Just a new guy checking in. I’ve had some pretty neat vehicles in my life and my Jeep is probably my favorite of them all. 1994 Sahara. I try to take pretty good care of it.

Has the wrong wheels,pedals, and brakes, and saddle. Needs fenders. It started as a total basket case. Converted it from single speed to Sturmey Archer 3 speed. Converted from coaster brake to caliper brakes.

I’ll keep my nose to the ground and try to turn up the correct parts for it but I wanted to get it riding and in my rotation of daily bikes to enjoy it while I’m improving it.

Took it down to the frame for a good detail job and rebuild.

Cruised over to the local park to watch some amateur sporting action.

The weather is staying below 100 now so I’m enjoying my daily rambles a whole lot more.

Did a little 40 mile ramble on my old Schwinn Suburban this morning to check out some new art work over on the West Side.

This is just a hobby for me and I never take it too serious. In that vein, I’m goofing with this juggernaut of a Schwinn “lightweight”. Most people throw these things in the dumpster. This one is pretty decent so I (over)paid at 100 dollars.

First phase was to swap the heavy chrome plated steel Schwinn double wall wheels for a pair of Weinman aluminum wheels. And the tires are now Panaracer Paselas.

Total weight loss from the wheel swap alone was 2.5 pounds.

Next up is aluminum handlebars and stem. Ultimately I’ll wind up doing a bottom bracket swap and 3 piece crank of some variety before it’s all over with.

It will never be a lightweight bike no matter what do, or any sort of performance bike. But it’s fun and gives me something to goof around with. I have lightweight bikes if that’s what I wanted. I dig the novelty of riding old steel and other people’s reactions when they see me laying down the miles on it.

This is my 2015 model Straggler 650b. They didn’t make this frame for very long (650b and size 58). I ordered the frame from a local bike shop back in 2015 and it’s been several different configurations over the years.

I’m going to do a week long tour in September so I put it together with the slow and scenic vibe. As I get older my handlebars seem to be getting higher and my bikes heavier, but I sure ride way more miles than I ever did when I was younger.

Other than the brakes, I had all the parts on hand to build it up.

The brakes are another story. Raleigh used some funky stuff so I couldn’t use any of the parts I had on hand so I had to order new front and rear brakes.

I finally found a frame that fits me with that 80s color vibe that I like so much. This is a full parts bin buildup so far. I’m going with 1x10 Deore. The picture is just an initial mockup.

I’m gonna need to figure out the brakes. I tried to slap some Deore XT canti’s on the front but the little spring holes in the fork are on the wrong side to work. And the back brake is that U brake or whatever it’s called. I haven’t goofed with one of those before. I’m sure I’ll just wind up buying some used stuff off eBay and freshening it up with new pads.

I finally found a frame large enough for me so I started gathering parts from my stash. I’m excited about this one because I was a teenager during the 80s so the color scheme of the frame is definitely my style.

Still plenty more to buy or round up, but so thankful for the parts I have saved over the years. I’m pretty sure it will wind up with 1x10 Deore stuff.

I’m going to have to learn about U brakes I guess.

Adjusting things and tweaking here and there to get a good fit.

Yesterday I posted a picture of the new frame box delivered to my front door. This morning I built it up as a 650b with 1x drivetrain.

I powdercoated an old Blackburn rack and bottle cage to match the orange Wolf Tooth parts.

I still need to shake it down a few miles and go back through it to get everything adjusted and finalized. I’ll put some real miles on it tomorrow.

I’m pretty sure the future holds much wider tires than these and removing some more stickers from the frame and fork.

The UPS truck delivered right before the holiday weekend.