HOW TO CONVERT MY JC HIGGINS MIDDLE WEIGHT BIKE

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NICK1985

NICK1985

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I have recently purchased a mens JC Higgins bike from the US and I am wanting to replace some of the parts and I am needing some advice before I start getting things shipped to the UK. When I purchased the bike I put balloon tyres on meaning there isn't much clearance on the front and back (See images below).

I was told my bike is a middle weight JC Higgins? How can I keep these larger tyres on my bike and get fenders off a colorflow or another JC Higgins bike to fit on mine??? Will the back bracket have enough clearance? At the very bottom is how I am wanting my bike to look like.

MY BIKE AT THE MOMENT


THE FRONT FORKS SHOWING HOW A FENDER WONT FIT.


THE BACK BRACKET IM WORRIED ABOUT. WILL A FENDER FOR A JC HIGGINS BALLOON TYRE CLEAR THIS???


THIS IS WHAT I AM WANTING MY BIKE TO LOOK LIKE. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THIS FRAME AND MINE? IF I BUY THESE FORKS WILL THAT RESOLVE THE CLEARANCE ON THE FRONT?


Sorry if none of that makes any sense. Any advice would be great before I start paying the expensive shipping to the UK.
 
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The simplest remedy would be a different fork or springer on the front and making a street sweeper rear fender. Otherwise, you are probably going to have to move/replace that rear bracket and possibly notch the fender around the seat stays. Getting fender clearance on most any middleweight with 26X2.125 or bigger tires can get down right frustrating! It seems that every time you tweak the fender to stop a rub, it rubs somewhere else. And if the wheels aren't dead true, you are in for even more frustration.
 
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yeah the bigger tires and fenders on a middle weight is just about non doable without cutting everything up to work.I was just working on a Schwinn and trying to accomplish this task and gotta say I got defeated.haha
 
It's not impossible. I put 26x2.125 tires on two middle-weights so far. A huffy and a Schwinn Typhoon. With the Schwinn I just put wide Ballooner fenders on it. The huffy still has the oe fenders. The only issue I had was the lack of chain adjustment. Otherwise the tires just fit further up into the fenders. Keep in mind that these are only two instances. Not sure about the fork on your bike, but don't lose hope!
6a59667bdb1c18b33aabcf9d60295010.jpg
f843d74aebc84c86cd94efda7955d153.jpg


~Ron~
 
Big Ape said:
The simplest remedy would be a different fork or springer on the front and making a street sweeper rear fender. Otherwise, you are probably going to have to move/replace that rear bracket and possibly notch the fender around the seat stays. Getting fender clearance on most any middleweight with 26X2.125 or bigger tires can get down right frustrating! It seems that every time you tweak the fender to stop a rub, it rubs somewhere else. And if the wheels aren't dead true, you are in for even more frustration.
Click to expand...

yeah thats something else I hadn't thought about, my wheels aren't exactly true haha. Thank you for the advice.
 
hhhmmm Im thinking that I might have to run the bike without fenders annoyingly. It might be too much of a gamble to buy and pay the shipping only to find they don't fit.

Does anyone happen to have any detailed photos of a JC Higgins fender so I can see how it would need to fit within that rounded bracket section?



thank you
 
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Nick1985,
You may want to check out niagaracycle.com
They say they ship to the UK
I recently bought these,
Sunlite City Slick Tire 26 x 1.75
Just so I would not have issues on old middleweight bikes with fenders.
They have lots of choices in narrower 26" even whitewalls!
 
This one had 26 x 1.75's on it when I got it. Now running Quick Brick 26 x 2.125. I started by "rolling" fenders outward, spread the fender stays, made sure the wheels were perfectly true (very important), then set the bike in my stand upside down, and started tightening the axle nuts slowly & evenly. It took a few tries, but everything clears, nothing rubs, and you can see very little but even clearance around the circumference. The above, and lots of patience. And nothing rubs.
 

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