I'm a new member here and caught the vintage cycling bug about a year ago when I bought my wife a original and complete Firestone Speed Chief. At the same time I picked up a '57 Schwinn Phantom that had been rattle-canned to death and built with other various parts over the years. At the time I didn't know how old it was and had no idea that it was a real Phantom at it's core. The springer fork & hardware, frame, and some misc pieces were the only original parts left, but it did come with a nice '39 Shelby sprocket that caught my eye. We live in Speedway, Indiana and are 4 blocks from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and about a mile from Main Street. We ride every chance we get down to the restaurants / bars / and breweries that populate Main Street, and love the looks and conversations that my wife's Firestone start. While "Peggy" (my wife's Firestone) is perfect as she sits unrestored with gorgeous patina, the '57 looked like any other old bike. I knew I wanted to build something from it but had never decided what. So, finally I'm off on the build path, and interested to see how things go.... wish me luck with build-off #11, my first.
Here's what has inspired this build....
Here's what has inspired this build....