Aluminum Winter: Full Tilt Sunset

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MplsCoaster

MplsCoaster

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So this one is on my Project list of "No More (new) Bikes" thread
Trek1.jpg


Put together my MTB for winter night riding with some semi knobbies
Like the front suspension but it's heavier (36 vs ~27) and high rolling restistrence,
Plus standing up and riding hard uphill is futil and sitting the whole time is tough on my knees
I'll save it for the deep snow...
IMG_8133.jpg


Liked my GoTo winter beater with last winter's light snow and it Michelin 26x1.75
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The Aluminum catilever bike started at 24.5 lbs so I was stoked
Decided to finally get the Aluminum frame stripped down,
Figure a shiny framed bike will be more visible in the winter nights :lol:
Can sit more upright so my hands and arms don't take sucha beating
like 2010's winter setup's drop downs plus handle unseen bumps better
29Dec10004II.jpg


Special thanks to others that have stripped and polished their aluminum frames,
so I could see how awesome it looks 8)

Forgot to mention before how nice my wife is!! :D :D
She got me a Park Home Edition bike stand for my BDay
Along with a RRB Tshirt, How cool is that?? :D
IMG_8205II.jpg


The BB was crunching :shock: and didn't have the right tool
Went to my LBS and saw the cool mech and he helped me out
He started cringing when heard heard the crunching :lol:
Wrenched the junky one out and aluminum chips fell out

Hooked me up with a Shimano BB that I have the tool and got the old one out: Thanks Man!
Looks like they drilled and tapped the frame with the BB in there :shock: :x
You can see some of the other aluminum chips that came out in the upper right corner
IMG_8209II.jpg


Hate chemical stripper but had to happen, wanted to polish the least amount possible
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Took half the bike to get a good method working but it's 90% there
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Took some 0000 steel wool and tried to shine it, think it'll look pretty good
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Had to laugh at the Michelin Man
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Was tired but thought I'd mock it up with the new Country Rock tires
Last minute decision to use the black rims, maybe it will make it look like it's floating :lol:
Here's what it's going to look like, not bad for a day's work but not ridable yet
IMG_8214II.jpg


Plan to clearcoat and finish it up during Thanksgiving weekend and be ready to winter night ride :D
Until it snows a lot, then maybe snow tires and an easier gear :lol:

Thanks for looking
Steve
 
Re: Aluminum Winter

I really like the look of this one! Frame will be awesome when you get it all polished. I love the bare metal look & you will never have to worry about rust! Cool build! 8)
 
Re: Aluminum Winter

i really like that frame..
only issue i see would changing out for another fork thats a loonng headtube..
 
Re: Aluminum Winter

Thanks Pick! Here we go again... You now have the original tires off this bike :lol:
And I looked at Poco Rata again and you had bare metal with black wheels too 8)
Didn't realize it was a thing and it looks really good, Bean and 3G did it too now that I looked :lol:

Hounddog, It's a Trek Classic Cruiser ("Classic" :lol: ) I always wanted a aluminum frame but didn't want to pay $400-$600
Found this 2009 on clearance and the best part was it's 21" seat tube (most have 18")
This is what it looked like when I bought it (18" trek pic), stripped most of it off that evening , went from 36lbs to 26lbs :lol:
trek_classic.jpg


Thanks Iven. Think I'm going to keep the original steel fork, polish it, and manage my expectations about it matching perfectly. It steers well without being twitchy so I want to keep that feature. Plus I want to be able to stand up without it wasting my pedaling effort

1SpdSqueal, it IS light, I've had it down to 24.5 lbs, will see how it turns out this time
Can't remember who built one for the build off (sorry) but he made a tank for it 8)
When the cold NW winter wind is pushing at ya and its slippery, you want the least amount of side push possible :lol:

Thanks Randy. Glad you like the tires too. There are meant for hard pack dirt so probably good for your dirt road adventures

Okay so I found another part that I want to use, the Sugino Maxxy crank, (like on the JUP) again just $10 used :D
I think I never really liked the components on this bike and have been slowly swapping them out, glad to get rid of the little chainring
Here is a couple of old pics, got a little crazy with this one :shock: :? :lol:
IMG_1974.jpg


Had to show another picture of my awesome ride with the Sach 2pd auto hub, studs and old (big) chrome bars (on lake Calhoun) :D
IMG_2740.jpg


Measured and calculated the chain line and the Sugino crank will work with the 118mm wide BB that I had from a previous mis order :roll:
Put a dished 19Tooth gear on back so should be decent gearing with the 52 tooth chainring
Will have to think about what to do with the FUJI cast into them, took off the inner gear and it was 200g lighter than stock
IMG_8277.jpg


Am getting some of the last stubborn paint off with a razor blade, then a quick polish with the 0000 steel wool
Found my polishing wheels so definitely a skill I want to actually learn on this build
IMG_8288.jpg


Road the GoTo bike tonight and those tires work great, so can't wait to get this bike done

Thanks for looking
Steve
 
Re: Aluminum Winter

Great lumi cruiser. I have a 90's Mongoose Zuma aluminum cruiser. I repainted it but am not happy with the result. I think I will do the strip/polish on the frame this winter too.
 
Re: Aluminum Winter

to keep the bright finish with out putting a clear over the top and changing the look of the raw polished metal you could try some of this stuff called shine seal or an equivelent product, basically puts an invisible layer over the surface that protects it from oxidizing.
 
Re: Aluminum Winter

Looking great Steve! & yes, I still have the Bontragers. Just haven't gotten far enough on my new project to determine whether they will go on it or not! If not, they will be used on a future project.
 
Re: Aluminum Winter, checking out the tires/gearing

Thanks WheelBender6! I think that's a good idea and will look cool

Thanks for the input Gobble_doc and Voyager_Al.
Think I'm going to stick with what I know (clearcoat) for this build
But will check out your suggestions for another build. Any pics of the before/after?

Thanks Pick! Figured you'd find something cool eventually

So I went an tested out the tires again since we go a little snow and cold
Took the GoTO Roadmaster with the Michelins (about 18F with 5F windchill)
Ran into mostly spotty shadow snow and refreeze puddles,
went through every one to check out the handling :lol:
IMG_8290II.jpg


Was checking the the "engine thermals" too :lol: Body, legs and head/face was warm
But hands got cold too quick and feet eventually (after ~6 of 8 miles)
Started tucking in my hands under my arms and going no handed
Went through some patches on ice while steady pedaling and there was no drama (like these tires)
Thought you might get a kick of Yogi Bear :lol:
IMG_8297.jpg


The GoTo bike's gearing is way too easy so it's hard to stand up because I'm spinning too fast
Also my leg angle and seat height seems to be good but am pushing my self to past the back of the seat when hammering uphill
So pulled a comparison of a few bikes to check what my gearing plan was,
It might be a bit too hard so maybe start looking for a 20T for the rear
ALwintercompII.jpg

It will depend on the amount of snow I try to run in too but can put big snows or 1.95 studs too (maybe 21T then)

Got some more of the frame cleaning done.
The razor blade is slower but it works well and disappears easily with the steel wool
Next to get the welds completely clean, will try a brass brush like when stripping the frame

Thanks for looking
Steve
 
Re: Aluminum Winter:checking out the tires/gearing

Steve,
This build thread, like all your posts (love the FIL journal), are awesome. Your insight is great and your bikes are cool, purpose-built and most of all, RIDDEN!

Got a quick question, just wondering where you got that crankset. The chainring looks 'kinda' like a Schwinn cloverleaf. That setup would look good on a 'kinda' Schwinn build of mine. Any info would be much appreciated.
See what I mean?
IMG_8277.jpg

$T2eC16N,!zQE9s3srYcJBQ!LdsdoTg~~60_35.JPG


Cheers,
Dr. T
 
Re: Aluminum Winter:checking out the tires/gearing

Thanks a bunch Dr. T!! I was hoping all my crazy over-analysis would eventually help someone :lol:
BTW: I'm super jealous of your Higgins and with those Solanas mounted up, it will be rockin' cool

Totally agree that it looks ‘kinda’ like the Schwinn. More than likely on purpose…
Haven’t seen them on anywhere else other than original equipment on Trek cruisers
Found out that some parts for Trek bikes are not available for sale, only for warranty :roll:

The crank set is actually not too bad. The cranks are aluminum and gear is steel
It’s been trouble free and has put up with a fair amount of torque

Also with a 127mm width BB, the gear was 40mm off the bike centerline
Think maybe one of those BMX JIS square taper conversions might work (130mm width (or spindle length))
http://www.porkchopbmx.com/Square-taper ... ONVKIT.htm

Another nice thing is that the pedal threads are 9/16” so there are more choices available
But the chainring is 38 teeth and can't be swapped out
Tried running 38/13 gear combo last summer and even with only 24.5lbs, had to make it easier with 14T rear gear change

This cruiser is made in China so I would figure the crankset was made there too
Not sure if the aluminum frame welds were done by machine or hand but they are well done

Thanks Randy, Glad you got a kick out of it :lol:

No other updates yet, other than getting some more paint removal supplies from the hardware store
Hope to get the frame completely cleaned up and possibly start clear coating this weekend

I had laughed at myself when I wrote 90% done because the old adage holds true:
The first 90% of the work takes 10% of the time; the last 10% of the work takes 90% of the time :lol:

Thanks for looking
Steve
 
Re: Aluminum Winter: polishing almost done

Got some work done on it today
Cleaned up the steel fork and it looks pretty shiny compared to the aluminum frame
IMG_8331.jpg


So I started wrapping me head around aluminum polishing, wiki'd it and a couple of youtube vids
Went straight for the finest white (blanc or blizzard (?!)) compound
Started with my dad's old Hawthorne electric drill (which still works great after ~40 years)
Applied the compound to the buffing wheel and it seemed to work well, at first
Then the compound turned black ad started leaving black gooey deposits on the frame :x

Thought about going to look on the net about how I'm supposed to clean the buffer and then said skip it
I have plenty of old towels so I applied the compound directly on the frame, buffed it like a Sunday shoe
Used one part of the towel until it got dark then switched to a clean spot and it worked pretty well
IMG_8335II.jpg


Not sure what I'm going to do with the remaining dark primer in the weld creases
Tried to spot some more stripper but it didn't work, brass brush started wearing them down flat
Thinking either I'll leave the bit left on or maybe paint them to kinda highlight the nice welds
The fork looks closer now too :D

Got to finish polishing the back part of the frame but at least I've got a method that works
Probably won't get the clearcoat on this weekend but i'm making progress
Thanks for looking
Steve
 
Re: Aluminum Winter: Done! plus snow pics

So I polished it more Friday night and sprayed the clearcoat all Saturday
I'm the worst painter in the world and I hate it
but I got 3 coats on but had run issues :(
Ripped it together this afternoon in between shoveling :lol:

We are getting dumped with snow right now so I changed some plans
At 5pm we've already got 8" of wet heavy snow, and it's still coming down :shock:

So I went back to the smaller (38T) front gear because I only have a 19 rear gear
Put my awesome Big Kahuna snow tires on (plenty of room too)
Decided I'd use the original rims for now
and maybe leave the black rims for next summer and mount some BoaGs on :D

It weighed in at 24.2 lbs and I wasn't sure if it would be okay with a only one speed
IMG_8362.jpg


Turned out it was awesome!!! I'm really happy about the way this bike handles and rides in deep snow!
It tracks great and it finally looks nicer the bare aluminum
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It was a blast to ride by people shoveling and say "Hello". Got a few smiles back :D
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Easy to pose the bike, ride into a snow pile and get off :lol:
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The perquisite "In front of garage pic
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Can't wait to update with some sunny snowy shots
Plus I want to get some Christmas light shots too
Thanks for looking
Steve
 
Re: Aluminum Winter: Done! plus snow pics

Awesome bike!!! I happen to have some brand new,never mounted BOA Gs in the for sale section...
 
Re: Aluminum Winter: Done! plus snow pics

I really like your snow pictures. It was close to 80deg f today in my part of TX.
 

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