POISON APPLE: '79 Schwinn Fair Lady Trike

[BillCigar]

Often I have to talk through an idea or problem long enough to hear myself say what I needed to hear. Might seem like a nonsensical statement, buy in practicality it works for me.

I did mock it up with a banana seat a while back. I think it'd look alright with a banana seat, might even improve the seating position, but I can't say I like the sissy bar cutting through the box in the back. I might still consider it, though. Right now, the question is whether I'm going to build it up like my "good enough" render shows, or if I'm going to wait and build it up the way I ultimately want when I can afford it.

Thanks! Yeah, the deadline's a pipe dream at this point. I like the idea of just building the trike the way I ultimately want instead of just settling for "good enough," but I really don't want to be sitting on a pile of parts indefinitely while I save up the funds. I know that letting a project sit until it can be done "right" may not bug most folks here, but nearly all my bikes have been piles of parts and half-baked ideas ever since I got into this hobby 3 years ago, with only one bike project ever being "finished." I like the idea of just getting this trike built with the parts I already bought so I can ride it around while I save up to redo it. Plus, it might help me figure out more ideas for how I'd want to do it up next time.

I remember when I was building my 1950 MW/Hawthorne, Dumpster Diamond, for the RRBBO last year, I had a number of really big ideas for how I ultimately planned to build it, only to have to settle for a "good enough" design. Well, after having looked at that "good enough" design for about 6 months now, I've found that I really don't want to go as crazy with the final look as I had initially planned. I like how it looks right now, even more than I did months ago, and now all I really want to do to this bike is a few smaller enhancements and touchups to make it look finished. I'm thinking if I at least get Poison Apple done "good enough," it might help me figure out what I really want to do with it in the end.

I've looked back through this build thread a few times now, and the funniest thing about it to me is just how much of a roller coaster this whole project has been. I didn't know what I wanted to do with this Schwinn Fair Lady when I started, then I kept changing directions over and over again. I guess in the end, I don't really know what I ultimately want this trike to look like. I have some ideas, but I've had several ideas before, and not all of them stuck.

I'm used to projects going through multiple changes. I got a custom Lego train I'm currently rebuilding for the fifth time, and that's not even counting digital mockups. My own cartoon characters have been redesigned so many times in the past 20 years, they hardly even resemble their first designs. I guess that's part of being a creative individual; as I continue to improve and grow my skills, my designs continue to evolve and get refined further. I'm sure if I even built this trike into its "final" design, I'd probably want to change it again later.

Sorry if I went overkill on the reply, but I guess I just needed to see some of my thoughts on this trike project in front of me. I still don't know what the next step will be on this trike, but I guess that's the spice of it.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Often I have to talk through an idea or problem long enough to hear myself say what I needed to hear. Might seem like a nonsensical statement, buy in practicality it works for me.

Yeah, I've found that thinking out loud tends to help me organize my thoughts more than just mulling over them in my head. It helps even more if I'm sharing my thoughts with someone else, even if they don't have much of a response to what I'm saying.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Minor update, but I figured I'd share anyway. I couldn't steer the trike with the handlebars angled back, given I'm a 6-foot guy on a bike originally designed for kids, so, as much as I liked seeing the handlebars in line with the springer fork support rods, I decided to angle the handlebars forward so I'd have some leg room. I tried angling the handlebars to match the angle of the handlebar stem, so there's still some level of continuity. I don't like how it looks as much as it did with the handlebars angled back, but I don't dislike it as much as I though I would. Besides, I'm just going for "good enough" for now. It doesn't have to be perfect, not yet anyway.

More updates coming soon. I ran out of time to shoot some photos of today's small progress, but I'll be sure to remedy that tomorrow.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Even smaller progress report, but I thought it was worth sharing.

I want to try and figure out in 3 dimensions how this tank is going to go together for this trike. I had originally planned to use some cheap foam core from Walmart, but when I thought about trying a foam cutter on it, I decided I should probably get some actual craft foam too, just in case that foam core is flammable. I have never done this sort of thing before, but I'm excited to try it out! I'd like to get to work on this soon, but I'd like to reorganize my workspace before I do.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Went and pulled more frames and parts out of storage (some of which I had just put into storage only a week or two ago,) so I could hopefully get a better idea of what I'll do with some of the parts I'm currently using on Poison Apple when I rebuild it with a different trike axle in the future. It was already dark by the time I got home and unloaded everything, so I plan to mock up both this trike and another '50s Schwinn DX bike, PROJECT QUICK CHANGE/Schwinn Dixie sometime tomorrow when I have more daylight.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Okay, while I'm still going for a relatively straightforward build on Poison Apple right now, I know that someday, eventually, I'm going to want to rebuild this trike with this stance...

...this 3-speed coaster brake trike hub and axle...

...and a pair of old school Cragar SS wheels.

When I can afford to rebuild Poison Apple into the crazy trike I have in mind, that means that the current trike axle and some other parts will be taken off to make way for the new parts. That got me thinking recently about what I'd do with those parts when that time comes. I know I'd want to use that trike axle again, and for whatever reason, I couldn't stop thinking about using it and the fat bike tires I had originally intended to use for this project on one of two identical 26" Schwinn Hollywood frames I disassembled for parts a couple years ago. So, I decided to grab the parts I needed out of storage and just mock it up for a lark.

I even made a rough mockup for a conversion tank, though I can't say I like it all that much.

Honestly, while this was just a quick mockup, I'm just not crazy about the overall look for this as a trike. The rear wheels sit too far back, the front wheel doesn't sit forward enough, the top bar doesn't really go anywhere at the back, it needs a bigger diameter front wheel than the 26" I used, the rear triangle looks absurdly large compared to the rest of the frame, it just goes on.

I would have loved to use my $10 rusty purple Space/Flightliner frame for this mockup, and I even brought it out of storage to test it out today, but the dropout extensions get in the way of the rear axle. I'd either need to angle the rear axle so it'd clear, or cut off the dropouts to make it fit for this mockup.

As much as The Trashliner Trike's frame-twisting and desire to flip over and throw me off at every turn spooked me, there was just something fun about riding a trike that sketchy.

Maybe I could Reimagine T.T.T. with this somewhat nicer frame, a rat trap springer fork, and a TRM convertible tank, with a nice metallic purple paint job to polish it off. In fact, the whole reason I bought Trashliner was because I had planned to turn my purple Sears Roebuck bike into a trike, and it seemed like a good test bed and parts donor at the time. It wasn't until I learned just how sketchy a Space/Flightliner trike frame actually performed, and after I acquired the '79 Schwinn Fair Lady that would eventually become Poison Apple, that I switched gears and chose not to turn my purple Space/Flightliner into a trike. Now though, I'm reconsidering it, at least for a later date.

Don't worry though. I'm still going to build Poison Apple with the parts I've been mocking it up with the past few months. I'm just working on a few other bikes that require less work to complete since the 2020-2021 MBBO is over, and I don't have a set deadline anymore.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Sorry for the lack of updates. Ever since the sandblaster broke a few months ago, progress has been all but non-existent. Luckily, the sandblaster is just about ready to use again, so I decided to take care of one small detail before I start blasting the parts. I lost the little screw that attached this little chain guard to the trike axle, so I needed to drill the hole to be a little bigger so I could just use a regular bolt and nut to hold the chain guard in place. It's a small thing, but I'm glad I finally took care of it.

I'm not sure what my next step is for this trike at the moment, as I'm building another Schwinn for the RRBBO right now as well. There are still a few other details I want to figure out before I sandblast/powder coat everything, like the little exhaust pipe, a rear license plate, and a few other things, but that may have to wait until I get this other bike done first.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Big news: I can start sandblasting again! Dad and I got the new sandblasting parts installed into his sandblaster, and after testing it out on my other Schwinn frame, it proves to be fully-functional!

For comparison, here's the old sandblasting tip and nozzle on the left, and the new tip and nozzle on the right.

Here's the sandblaster in question. 1950 26" Schwinn DX bike frame for scale, because there are no bananas at my dad's shop.

I didn't completely sandblast the frame, as this was just a test for now. I'll sandblast everything when I've fixed a few parts, and when Dad is ready to powder coat everything.

So, what's next for Poison Apple? Well, I'm still trying to figure out this kickstand exhaust pipe idea, preferably before I begin sandblasting and powder coating everything. There are a few other details to iron out, but right now, I'm focusing most of my attention on my RRBBO entry, which you can view here. I might still go ahead and sandblast everything and have Dad powder coat most of the parts, but I'll have to wait and see.

That's all for now, but stay tuned for more!