Cleveland Klunker. Finished

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I gathered bikes and parts expecting another off road build off, oh well. Just going to go for it now. I will start off with my cwc frame
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This frame had a hard life. Looks to have been hit or run over then welded back together
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The whole thing is a little out of wack so going to replace the rear triangle
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I also jumped the gun when buying my doner bike as well not realizing the frame was aluminum
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Ended up with a free score to get the parts the aluminum bike couldn't provide
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Going to run an old school bmx quill stem
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And these bars
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Well I got to get the shop cleaned up before starting on this one so more to come
 
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Nice! I was hoping for another ORBO as well. I like your frame as a starting point, my friend has one very similar that has been klunked and recently converted to 3spd. I wondered if his was a cwc frame, hard to tell but looks very much like yours! Good luck with the build!
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Nice! I think those wheels/tires are going to look sweet paired with that Cleveland frame. Cant wait.
 
I have the same GT frame hanging up,its a unfinished 26" bmx.
Interesting starting point.
 
Love the CwC frames and if you can figure out how to weld aluminum to steel you're going to be a rich guy. Getter Done [emoji1303]


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Save the rear triangle and make up a wheel truing stand. A CWC truing stand would be something else!

Your friend's bike is CWC. The curve of the chain stays is a giveaway.
 
Any news on the bike build front, Chad? :rolleyes:
 
Any news on the bike build front, Chad? :rolleyes:
No I haven't got down in the basement to work on it yet! The gt made it half a step, from my van into the basement, but that's the closest I have got to progress.

I suppose your keeping to your normal pace and are about done already! Lol

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No I haven't got down in the basement to work on it yet! The gt made it half a step, from my van into the basement, but that's the closest I have got to progress.

I suppose your keeping to your normal pace and are about done already! Lol

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Yeah, the Mesa Buggie needs cable guides / straps to replace the black electrical tape and then it's done. Desert Rat - ified Columbia has a new rear wheel on the way. Then I need to 'rustina' both wheels and kick stand, and mount the chain guard and that one will be wrapped up as well. OCD OJ they call me! :21:
 
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Got the rear stays on the doner triangle widened out for hub clearance. Did some measuring and marking ready to cut

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So the race only get about 3 turns will have to shorten the head tube a bit to work but should be ok

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While your at it rebuilding that frame I would replace the chain stays. That curve in the chain stay will probably cause your chain to rub on the low point of the curve in some low and medium gears. I had this problem on my CWC Klunker. That frame is designed to work with a big chain wheel. I also had problems banging pedals with the original 6.5 inch one piece crank as the bottom bracket was too low for my single track coaster brake riding on my CWC. I used 5.5 inch cranks and it was a lot better. Also, thin pedals help a little. My Schwinn DX and Colson Klunkers have none of these problems with 6.5 inch one piece cranks. I did have a lot of fun with the CWC for 3 years and I rode it single track a lot. You get used to short cranks. If your frame is the same as mine was, and it it looks like it might be, the 175 cranks could be a problem on single track rocks and roots. 175 is one centimeter, 1/3+ inches longer than what I tried originally so you might be OK on smoother tracks. All I know is I was always banging with the CWC and I never do with the new klunkers. Someone else here on RRB recently built a CWC Klunker and used 7 inch cranks without a problem so perhaps it is individual riding skill or maybe there are different CWC frames that look similar but have a higher BB or it could be better with a freewheel? I might have been able to get use to it but I am not a strong peddler and need to keep peddling, I can't get enough speed to coast up hill to clear the boulders and roots and there is no back peddling to clear obstacles on mine with the coaster brakes. Yours will be better with a freewheel. It will be interesting to see if your frame works better for you than mine did. The biggest issue might be the curved chain stays. I just let my chain rub and pound the paint off and kept riding, but I would have preferred that it not touch the stays. I did change my gears to get better clearance, but the chain just cleared the stays with my single rear cog. I ended out with two similar sized gears front and rear that made the chain parallel top and bottom and were big enough to just clear the stays. The best compromise I could come up with for my riding was 24 front and 23 rear. If the chain stayed tight it was OK, when the chain stretched it banged.
 
While your at it rebuilding that frame I would replace the chain stays. That curve in the chain stay will probably cause your chain to rub on the low point of the curve in some low and medium gears. I had this problem on my CWC Klunker. That frame is designed to work with a big chain wheel. I also had problems banging pedals with the original 6.5 inch one piece crank as the bottom bracket was too low for my single track coaster brake riding on my CWC. I used 5.5 inch cranks and it was a lot better. Also, thin pedals help a little. My Schwinn DX and Colson Klunkers have none of these problems with 6.5 inch one piece cranks. I did have a lot of fun with the CWC for 3 years and I rode it single track a lot. You get used to short cranks. If your frame is the same as mine was, and it it looks like it might be, the 175 cranks could be a problem on single track rocks and roots. 175 is one centimeter, 1/3+ inches longer than what I tried originally so you might be OK on smoother tracks. All I know is I was always banging with the CWC and I never do with the new klunkers. Someone else here on RRB recently built a CWC Klunker and used 7 inch cranks without a problem so perhaps it is individual riding skill or maybe there are different CWC frames that look similar but have a higher BB or it could be better with a freewheel? I might have been able to get use to it but I am not a strong peddler and need to keep peddling, I can't get enough speed to coast up hill to clear the boulders and roots and there is no back peddling to clear obstacles on mine with the coaster brakes. Yours will be better with a freewheel. It will be interesting to see if your frame works better for you than mine did. The biggest issue might be the curved chain stays. I just let my chain rub and pound the paint off and kept riding, but I would have preferred that it not touch the stays. I did change my gears to get better clearance, but the chain just cleared the stays with my single rear cog. I ended out with two similar sized gears front and rear that made the chain parallel top and bottom and were big enough to just clear the stays. The best compromise I could come up with for my riding was 24 front and 23 rear. If the chain stayed tight it was OK, when the chain stretched it banged.
Valid points, most of them I hadn't even considered. I guess I will have to mock the bike up more before going to nuts. I have other frame options I could switch to. The reason I chose the cwc is I didn't want to weld the brake studs on the shelby frame I originally chosen

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