Schwinn Excelsior bomber

us56456712 · Sep 29, 2018

I gave away the Excelsior head badge to a collector friend. It's got five layers of paint. A 52 tooth sprocket wouldn't fit, so I had to use a smaller one. The drop outs are too worn for use so new ones are being welded in. I have to build a wheel from my junK. I'm using what I have. Easest build for me with what I have is a bomber clunker.

us56456712 · Sep 29, 2018

You can build them pretty or just build them. This is a rat bomber.

us56456712 · Sep 29, 2018

These aren't the wheels I will use. Had to see what it looked like with wheels.

Dizzle Problems · Sep 29, 2018

Super cool!

Robertk · Sep 30, 2018

Was the frame a 24” frame? Head tube looks short. Super cool build keeping with the bomber vibe!

us56456712 · Sep 30, 2018

Robertk said:
Was the frame a 24” frame? Head tube looks short. Super cool build keeping with the bomber vibe!

Yes, it is 24 inch with 26 inch wheels, good call. I had to cut down the fork and thread it. It was just a frame and skip tooth sprocket when it was given to me. The sprocket was small so I used it on one of my rat cruisers as we have a lot of hills. That bike works well here. The drop outs were shot on the Excelsior so I gave the frame to a friend a few years ago and he didn't use it so I got it back and decided to use it. I finished welding in new drop outs yesterday and everything lines up. I now wish I hadn't given away the head badge but I thought I would never see this frame again. I have a set of heavy duty drop center rims that are painted red and look as ratty as the frame. They are true. I want to build wheels using these but am not looking forward to that, well see what wheels I use. Still on the fence with wheels. I'm short so this bike fits me well. I ride small or medium mountain bike frames and usually do a little better on the small frames. I have a Colson frame that I will use for another bomber build and that will be a little nicer. Thanks for looking.

us56456712 · Sep 30, 2018

Building wheels today. Half done with the rear.

rear done.

I'll start on the front tonight.

Pretty ratty eh! This Bendix coaster is so old I can't find an exploded view of it. No red band and the cog is the same as a Morrow, it's not connected with a snap ring. Must be an early one, right after Bendix bought out Eclipse.