!!!! THE (UN)OFFICIAL BIKES FOR LADIES BUILD OFF !!!!

[aka_locojoe]

My Entry, Frame Sanded and primed, for now. Found a garage sale with a pile of new bike parts. So a few new shiny parts for a old bike.
Western flyer

Cool frame. What style of bike was it originally? Girls Muscle bike would be cool.

[Sinner4]

Good guess, Girls Muscle bike it is. CMAN has the boys version in his stock pile. Found new ape's, $5, Banna Seat, $5, Sissy bar, $3, and shiny Chrome fenders for $5 a set yesterday at a Garage sale. And Yes I stocked up on new parts. Spent $120 on a bunch of stuff.

[NLCTVWguy]

I'm really starting to not like this format for a build-off. The edit and re-post deal just doesn't work for multiple builds... we'll do better next time I guess.

Everyone's bikes are looking great. Myself, I keep finding for every solved problem, 2 more pop up, but I'm working them out. The latest is that the cool crank backing piece, which was fitted and didn't scuff the frame, does when the bearing race is tightened in place. So have to pull that again and get some more room with another washer in there.

Also, there are some clearance problems with the kickstand that have to be worked out. I'll leave it off if I can't solve it.

The front wheel has been at the bike shop for over a week trying to match up a single heavy gauge spoke and true it up.

And the rack ended up requiring a re-think: the rack stays are too short to reach over a balloon fender and down to the dropouts on a Schwinn frame. Innovative solution on its way, including re-use of some old parts I had laying around...

I have to say though the more I look at it, the more psyched I am about how this chainguard came out.



========================
Update without pics:

Got the kickstand issue resolved... a different stand with a slightly different bend, and then some fine grinding of the back side of the crank to get that last 1/16"... then screwed the pedal in and found out it stuck out a little... more grinding!

The chain ring backing plate fit fine and cleared the frame- until I really tightened up the bearing race! Then it dished out and started scraping the frame during final assembly. So take everything back apart and add a washer between the front of the disc and the sprocket. This made the disc turn when tightened so finding a perfect position for it became much harder.

Assembling the chainguard to the frame went easily with a shortened bolt to clear the back of the sprocket. Not being able to tighten through the holes of a Schwinn sprocket does make things a little harder.

The guard and sprocket look great together. Pics updated.






The rack got pinstriped around its outer edge and is getting assembled. New decals were found for early style fork darts. I might copy these in red.... Thanks Memory Lane for having those in stock!

Got one wheel painted today... the other as soon as I get it back.





Here's another accessory item... a little hint of things to come.




More pics soon... will be fitting cables and hte last hardware this week.

--Rob

[Walker]

That's looking good. I agree about the posting system, sorry . It sounded good in theory but obviously not so good in practice. Might have worked better if there weren't so many talented craftsmen building bikes for their sweethearts!

[bighit]

i just figured out how you guys were doing it. now i know why we have 14 pages and you have 4. just pile them on the end like we are doing. looks good, cant wait to see them done.

[udallcustombikes]

I tried to post like this in my build with DN. That's why I kept bumping for updates.

[Walker]

[quote="bighit"]i just figured out how you guys were doing it. now i know why we have 14 pages and you have 4.

It's not about the quantity, its about the quality!

The end is near!

[NLCTVWguy]

Little update today... I'm so far behind putting the pics up, a lot more than this is done, so I will show things as I can get the pics posted.

--Rob

[udallcustombikes]

Rob-
The elusive spoke is on it's way. Should be in your hand in a day or four.

[Walker]

T-minus 21 days and counting.

[NLCTVWguy]

Rob-
The elusive spoke is on it's way. Should be in your hand in a day or four.

The spoke has arrived. My wheel is complete, thanks so much! Udall saves the day!

+1 for another great guy on Rat Rods. When you need something, don't hesitate to ask.

--Rob

[NLCTVWguy]

The 1947 ladies cruiser is just about finished!

So much work today- got it to where it's actually a rideable bike. A few adjustments and one cable stop and I'll turn this over to my wife... who is not only understanding but very excited about it!

The rear rack I acquired from ej599 had a great look for the bike... sleek but not too modern for it. Sandblast, paint semigloss, pinstripe it... and after meticulously protecting those JC Higgins stays, they were much too short and I drilled out the rivets!

A new support was made from a Stingray sissy bar someone cut off real short. Mounted the bottle opener on it so now the bike will be good for something.




The front wheel has been lagging a little as I couldn't true it, with the spoke missing. Again, thanks to Udallcustombikes, I got the wheel together. Finally getting the wheel masked off...



Primed and painted...


Mounted up...


Okay, that one's jumping ahead a little bit! Among other things you can see the new light I found for it, an awesome old D-battery type with built in horn and it came with not only flames on the sides, but tiny moon eyes on the lens! Got to love something already rat-rodded for you.

I found 2 really nice (one NOS) old red cables in my stash and they look perfect against the black with red stripes.



The rear drum is a bit stiff but working, and I'm hoping it'll wear in a little once it's ridden some. For now it drags a bit but it will lock the wheel up with enough effort.





As you can see, a whole bunch more detail work went into the bike in the last few days. Pinstriped the fenders, plus the fender peak, added the old style fork darts, a "5-speed" seatpost decal, and Rat Rod Bikes logos. Also found a better derailleur, or actually made it from 2 semi complete ones from the swap meets, and installed a new KMC chain.



It did actually get to roll around outside for a moment, but it's been rainy and flooding here, so not for long...




Afew more finishing touches, a little more work truing the front wheel and i think I have to re-seat the tire on the rim... and all will be well. This one gets to live inside now...



Visiting the Stingrays!




This bike will be a really fun ride this summer! I'll be putting up a summary of the parts used and some good pics of it out in the daylight, assuming the clouds ever clear... springtime in New England, you know...

--Rob

[udallcustombikes]

Looks awesome. Nice work with all small things. The details really make the difference.

[thirstee]

I haven't updated my post for over a month so I figured I'll reply this time and give us all a bump. Rims are almost ready for paint and hubs need to be reassembled. Bike in mock-up to get wife's approval. She wants the aggressive look of the mountain bike tread. Fenders? I think maybe just on the rear. With two young ones in the house I'm not able to paint inside, and it is still not warm enough outside. This build just might end up naked. I kinda like it bare, needs some rust though.

[don-vee]

dang, all this looks like a blast! I got inspired by this build-off, so I dug an old ladies Columbia out of the trash pile and started tinkering with it. Wish I joined in on this one!