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I was not terribly happy with the license plate dangling from the seat.
20190513_092922.jpg



So I moved it to the left seat stay.
20190513_100723.jpg

And, speaking of that seat . . .
20190513_092952.jpg


I like its looks enough, but it bottoms out (weak springs.)

So I'm gonna change it. I'll use this one . . .
20190513_065141.jpg

20190513_065133.jpg

. . . but I'll change the color first!
 
Yeah, dig the new plate location! I really like your first saddle, any way to get stronger springs for it? Or add a 'bumper' on the top or bottom of the springs to prevent the 'bottoming out' (pun intended)
 
I agree with you, OJ. The saddle has the right look and proportions. I do have a "saddle box" filled with seats and springs. I'll have a look today. Of course, I already changed the color of the replacement seat:
20190514_061326.jpg

The new color does coordinate well with the bike, but it seems disproportionally large. God (or the devil) is in the details.
 
SUCCESS! I dug through the saddle box and found a shorter, stiffer spring that's a perfect match to the short spring on the front of my saddle. Took the front spring off the front, leaving it springless, and put two short, stiff springs at the back, replacing the longer squishy rear springs. It's not bottoming out and I think this mod makes for a better looking seat. Yippee-I-Aye, back in the saddle again.
20190517_154245.jpg
 
Looking good!

I've got the same seat. I did the same with my seat, but don't have any better springs, so I tried to add the extra spring from the front to the middle of the rear. It didn't work, there's nothing for it to attach to. I'm looking for stronger springs.

I don't think you can change the cog as easy as a regular one speed. I remember those only having an 18 tooth cog or a 19 tooth version gear for the women's bikes. You might change the chain wheel to get a higher gear.

Have you tried stretching the rat trap by reversing the brackets? While the look is more to some people's liking, the stops on the brackets won't line up, allowing the tire to contact the fork when fully depressed, which might send you over the handlebars. I've done that myself in the past.

To add to the confusion on the serial number, the catalog shows the 57 as a cantilever frame, and the 53 shows a DX style with curved bars, as stated earlier. So, the straight bar version you have is probably a 53 model, because the catalog didn't come out and specifically say what type of frame it was in 53.
 
Here's the saddle on the bike:
View attachment 95750

And here's the almost complete bike. It's rideable, but needs testing. I haven't put on the cog that will gear it higher, and it will probably need a few more tweaks, and after that, I can sit back and enjoy everybody else's progress!
View attachment 95752

It's come together nicely! I agree on looking at a larger chain ring vs changing the rear cog. Either the 44t or 46t should work.

Get in some rides on that 'new' bike before it gets too hot!
 

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