Girthy Gerty

Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum

Help Support Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
The ubiquitous glamour shot. Hopefully my city finally paid it's electric bill and has the park lights on tonight so I can get a good night pic
IMG_20220716_123924654_HDR.jpg
 
Coming home from the bike ride, I just happened across a yard sale and very nearly passed it up because it looked like it was nothing but nick nacks and baby clothing. I'm so freaking glad I stopped. Tucked back in the corner of their garage was this Park Tools stand with a "Make offer" tag. Well, I hate to admit it, but I gave the guy an absolute spit ball offer, fully expecting him to slap me for the insult, but he didn't even hesitate when he said SOLD!
IMG_20220716_184946063_HDR.jpg
IMG_20220716_184941377_HDR.jpg
And even more to my surprise, it even holds my fat ....... of a bike without flinching. There's very minimal wear on the stand, which I'm still gobsmacked that it's in my driveway
 
So... I mocked up this fender on my 80mm rim and tire and it was tight, but I figured there was still enough room to fit with the 100mm rim. I was wrong. So I thought I'd I have to order a set of fat tire duck tail fenders, which I know are rare as hens teeth.
IMG_20220716_190331420_HDR.jpg
Then I was looking around my yard and noticed this Schwinn Air Dyne I scored earlier has a fender on the fan shroud🤔
IMG_20220716_191206431_HDR.jpg
I popped that bad boy off there, slapped it on the tire and hot dam, it almost fits perfectly.
IMG_20220716_191112994_HDR.jpg

It's a titch too wide and a smidge smaller diameter than the wheel, but hopefully when I massage it to be a bit narrower, it'll stretch out and hug the tire better
IMG_20220716_192107691_HDR.jpg
 
In case anyone else has a JC Higgins color flow, or just a Delta Superlite without glass and a bezel, a Rayovac LED camp flashlight will screw directly on without any modifications and hold super tight
IMG_20220716_203206224.jpg
IMG_20220716_203220406.jpg
IMG_20220716_203147317.jpg
IMG_20220716_203144337.jpg
IMG_20220716_203249621.jpg
IMG_20220716_203259571.jpg

And the battery from that camp light tucks nicely into the tank, with enough room for a switch to be mounted in the hole on the tank
IMG_20220716_204255789_HDR.jpg
IMG_20220716_204300642_HDR.jpg
IMG_20220716_204312187_HDR.jpg
IMG_20220716_204642528_HDR.jpg
 
Last edited:
Well, poop. Scratch the exerciser fender. I sent her a little too hard man and folded it in half. On the plus side, I went back and spent a little more time massaging on that black fender. Turned the mounting bolts around, deleted the part where it narrows for the chain stay, and got the feeler gauge out. Shock of all shockers, the tire now turns without rubbing the fender!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Just snagged this ladies Rollfast with a Springer fork. I was able to get the stem out without any trouble, but the headset stuff is giving me fits. It's soaking in the sun with PB Blaster right now. Hopefully it'll loosen up, and I'm even more hopeful that my wide front wheel will fit in there🤞🤞
IMG_20220718_123848970_HDR.jpg
IMG_20220718_123856823_HDR.jpg

The green doesn't match, but at least it is green
IMG_20220718_123932899.jpg
IMG_20220718_123916684.jpg

If I can't get the headset loose, I'll just cut it off and weld a new steering tube in place. IF I can get it loose, and IF my wheel fits, AND IF the steer tube is too long, I'll just make a spacer to take up the slack.
 
Last edited:
That springer is fantastic, I don't think I've seen one like that before, really like how the crown on the second fork mimics the triplane on the main one.
That springer is fantastic, I don't think I've seen one like that before, really like how the crown on the second fork mimics the triplane on the main one.
The fork was 90% of the reason I bought the bike. I've been (very slowly) working on a Springer fork collection to cover most types of spring forks. I'll likely never own a Huffy Dial-A-Ride or an original Girder fork because I won't spend much more than $50 on anything
 
May I please see pictures of your springer collection?
Relax young Padawan, I'm working on it, lol. I moved my bikes and parts collection, now everything's scattered. Half of the springers are still on ridable bikes
 
May I please see pictures of your springer collection?
I'm missing the knee action Schwinn Springer and I think one other one, but this is what I have on hand today.
Not sure of the name of this style
IMG_20220718_170134172_HDR.jpg

JC Higgins beehive Springer
IMG_20220718_170148922.jpg

Monark double spring
IMG_20220718_170211696_HDR.jpg

Rat trap Springer. It's missing the strut, rockers, and some shoulder bolts. I will make this one usable soon
IMG_20220718_170223746_HDR.jpg

Not sure of the name of this style either. It's very similar to the Columbia Springer (first green one)
IMG_20220718_171155780_HDR.jpg

I even got ambitious one day and started designing my own, using nothing but parts on hand
Polish_20220718_170607907.jpg
 
I don't know how, but I was able to turn almost every single nut and bolt on the Springer and take it apart.
IMG_20220718_172409204_HDR.jpg
IMG_20220718_172352233_HDR.jpg
IMG_20220718_171921331_HDR.jpg

The one nut under the spring cap is still fighting me, but I WILL emerge victorious.

On the plus side, my fat rims will fit in the fork. The downside is, the tire won't. I'll try it with the Thickslicks I have and see if it won't just squeeze in there.
IMG_20220718_172348454_HDR.jpg

Surprisingly, the fender still has plenty of clearance for this wheel/tire combo. I'll try to take off the horrible sparkly shamrock rattle can paint
IMG_20220718_172418734_HDR.jpg
 

Latest posts

Back
Top