Kona Humuhumu-Nukunuku-Apua'a KLUNKER project

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VinnyR said:
Nice. I want to use the same hubs what size spokes did you need. Bike looks cool.

Hey I noticed this post, sorry for my slow response. I'll get back to you on that because quite frankly I forget at the moment. I'll have to find the left over few I packed away in my stash somewhere. Or I could measure them but that'll be only so accurate now that they're built up.
 
Dr. Tankenstein said:
WOW!
This looks great! I really dig the green/white combo and the paint work. May I ask what shade of green that is?

Keep going!

Cheers,
Dr. T

Thanks man, It's a Rustoleum product "Dark Hunter Green" 7733 I believe it said on the can.
 
DONE. FINALLY. Just took it for a quick few miles around town. Rides great. I do have one question for you guys though, do drum brakes eventually break in? This is my first set and theyre a little...well...lacking. The front is decent but the back is pretty meh. We'll see. Still rides well in spite of that one little thing.
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All forked up...

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Front end installed.

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So close I can almost taste the dust from the fire roads already...
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I had to route the cable for the rear hub in a little bit of an unorthodox way. I went up the seatstay to the old cablestops on the top tube instead of running a solid line along the downtube/chainstay. It seems to work fine. ALSO, this hub came with an awful plastic cover to go over all this shifty-stuff. Any thoughts on this affecting the longevity of the hub? I figure the 3 speeds have lasted how many decades uncovered with this same system? Not to mention I like being able to see the 'gizmo' side of the bike.

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All finished. Finally.
 
cman said:
Looks great. The pads will need a little break in. You can light sand them to remove the original glaze. Drum brakes on the rear don't give you the positive stopping that you are used too.

Here are some tips. http://bikesmithdesign.com/tips/drum-brakes.html

Hey cman thanks a lot for this link! That helped me a lot, judging by the fact some of his more minor solutions to the problem seem to reflect my line of thinking I think this brake will get better after a few. I guess according to him I may be running it with just a tad too much slack in the cable as well. I'll figure it out. But seriously, thanks again for the info, that pretty much answers any question I could possibly have about it now and in the future.

I guess bike drum brakes are a lot different from the drum on the back of my old Kawasaki I used to have...that thing was more like a "stop button" than a brake, locked completely or disengaged completely. I was kind of looking forward to that on a bicycle :lol: I'm not sure if I mentioned it or not already but the front brake is actually working halfway decent and seemed to get better over just the first ride, so that'll probably wear in fine.
 
Super nice build. Congrats. It totally inspired me to do one for my Summer project. They're great looking bikes, and since they're not 70+ years old, catastrophic mechanical failure (metal fatigue/cancer) isn't as much of a concern as the 'real' deal. I finally got myself a donor bike, but it's the A'ha with the 7-spd Nexus. It won't be a full wheel-up build like your's, though. I might just strip it and clear coat it and add seat, bars, etc. Ride on!
 
Very nice build! What bars are those, I'm searching for ideas for my klunker project.
Where are you in Mass, I'm in the North Shore area.
 

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