I did that around 1997 to make a set of fast tires to ride Slickrock in Moab. They were stupid fast and grippy on that sandstone.I know you've seen the video where the guy turns a knobby mtb tire into a slick with a belt sander...
Carl
I did that around 1997 to make a set of fast tires to ride Slickrock in Moab. They were stupid fast and grippy on that sandstone.I know you've seen the video where the guy turns a knobby mtb tire into a slick with a belt sander...
Carl
It happened so fast, I didn't even have time to comprehend what happened until I was already on the tarmac. Thanks Matti, I appreciate it.Wow, bud that is pretty intense! Can't imagine what it would feel like to have a bike break in two underneath you. Glad it wasn't worse. Good luck with recovery, hopefully it's quick enough to keep you in the game
Yeah, I have one other bike with a repaired fork, but so far I've had no issues with it. That said, I have been thinking of switching that fork out too, mainly so I could fit a 26" tire up front.That's why I don't trust forks that have been repaired or bent. That part of a bike takes more stress than any other part of the bike, right at the crown.
Perfect time to get a springer.
Yeah. Hopefully, this will be the first and last catastrophic failure I experience when riding a bike.Catastrophic Failures can be harsh.
I love this drawing. Reminds me of my days in design school studying industrial design.If I find I'm in a pinch and pressed for time, I can easily see myself doing that. Part of why I want to make my own rockers is for spoke clearance, but the other reason is for style and consistency. Note how on my sketch I made the rockers match the shape of the frame itself?
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Thank you! I don't do a ton of industrial design, outside of bikes and fantasy concept cars, but I do cartoon character design in pretty much the same style.I love this drawing. Reminds me of my days in design school studying industrial design.
I'm still feeling sore and stiff from my crash on Saturday, but I did feel better enough Monday night to make some more progress on my bike. I wanted to mock up the Schwinn mag chainring on the bike, so I needed to take apart the bottom bracket. This is when I learned that the pedals were cross-threaded to the wrong sides. I was able to bust one pedal free, but not the one that allowed me to remove the crank. So, using a wrench, some zip ties, and a hacksaw, I cut the crank arm so I could disassemble the rest of the bottom bracket. Turns out the frame had a bit of sediment tucked away inside, which I should've taken a picture of. I then mocked up a few new parts before heading to bed.
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I mocked up the seat post, banana seat and sissy bar from Poison Apple, since that project isn't going anywhere for a while. I also mocked up the mag sprocket and a different crank. But there's one newer part that I mocked up that I'm really excited about. Can you guess what it is?
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If your guess was the 20"x2.4" TCS Prowler tire mounted on the rear wheel, you win! Granted, it's just over 2" wide fully-inflated, but I love it so much more than that Duro slick I had on there before! I just got it in the mail on Monday, and I just had to see how it looked on the bike.
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It's just big enough that I had to gently squeeze it to clear the chain stays as I installed it, which is big enough for me.
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It may not have that squared-off profile most drag slicks have, but I feel the zig-zag tread pattern helps maintain a vintage, almost period-correct look.
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This tire also helped me decide on a name for this bike: The Prowler. Reasons why I chose the name (aside from the tire) include:
1. One of the coolest cars from my childhood, at least in my opinion, was the Plymouth Prowler, especially in purple. Yeah, I know now that it was basically a cheap knock-off of one of Chip Foose's original designs, it should've come with a V8, and the bumpers somewhat took away from the overall look of the car, but to see a modern-day factory-produced street rod back then was, and still is, one of the coolest things I had ever seen.
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2. The Spider-Man villain/ally, The Prowler, who dressed in a purple and black costume, and even rode a bike (though it was more "cafe racer" than "chopper") in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. I'll be honest, I know more about Marvel/DC characters through their movies and cartoons than the actual comic books, so my introduction to The Prowler was the Aaron Davis version from Into the Spider-Verse. Awesome movie, awesome character, scary theme music.
3. The Prowler just sounds like a period-correct name for a 1960s muscle bike, or even a 1960s muscle car. Heck, 1960s-era Plymouth could've called one of their muscle cars The Prowler, and it would have fit right in with the Plymouth Barracuda or the Dodge Demon as far as model names go.
So, with all that said, I hereby dub this Murray muscle bike, "The Prowler."
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One major issue I'm having right now is that the Schwinn sissy bar, as nice as it is, doesn't mount to my frame very well. The mounting brackets on the frame stick out too far for the mounting brackets on the sissy bar to sit flush. Worse yet, none of the other sissy bars in my collection have good chrome on them, and figuring out how to clean those up might not be that easy. I still want to try it, but I have no idea if it'll work. None of the aftermarket sissy bars I've seen are the right length, and the seat mounts are too low on all of them. And there don't seem to be many folks selling vintage sissy bars around Tulsa, Oklahoma. I might be able to find what I need on either here or the C.A.B.E., but I'm worried about the shipping costs. Maybe if I could trade for one...
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I had to flip the mag sprocket so it'd clear the frame, but thankfully this chainring is in nice enough shape that it looks good this way. I also put my cardboard back plate behind the chainring, which I think has a neat look.
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Unfortunately, the crank I picked doesn't clear the frame. I'm going to try mocking up a few other cranks in my collection, so hopefully one of them will work.
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I'm not sure what else I'll be able to do on the bike this week, as I'll be spending time with my family during Thanksgiving weekend, but I'm glad I made what little progress I did earlier this week.
Thicker washers... Good grief, the answer is so easy and obvious, yet somehow I didn't connect the dots. Thanks, I'll run by Lowe's and Hone Depot and test that out.Push the bolt through the clamp, fit nut one and tighten, push the bolt through the frame bracket, fit nut two and tighten. Or you could use a thick washer instead of nut one.
I would also be tempted to file that bolt head to fit the clamp better.
That's a neat idea, but a curvy tank and chain guard would look weird on a mostly straight barred frame, at least in my opinion. That chain guard isn't staying the way it is currently. I just havent modified it yet.what if... that faux tank curved up gracefully from the downtube, and then down to the same ending point it has now, in an attempt to compliment/mimic/be parallel (concentric?) to the top curve of the chainguard?
I agree. They're still attractive cars, and it'd be fun to drive one!The Plymouth is still a head turner, saw one prowling around town the other day, people were definitely looking. I'd love to try one out, see how it handles
I'm feeling much better now. Still sore, but I can keep working on my bikes at least. Thanks!Wow, Nasty stack!
Hope it doesn't affect your build too badly. Its looking awesome, Great work so far.
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