Ever have stuff you thought you'd never own just kinda fall into your lap? It just happened to me this week! I have a friend with a Hornet that has a New Departure 2-speed, and I LOVE that thing.. after checking out prices, I simply accepted that I'd likely not own one of those setups. Same story with with a front and rear Union Drum setup.. PLENTY of other things too, but this was the week for both of those parts, and more, to come my way, on the cheap.
First is a '38 Excelsior. The paint is mostly original, but someone (long ago) repainted the white parts (with a brush) and outlined them with a crude black stripe.. pretty rough. I'll hopefully have luck getting the bulk of it back off, without messing up the original maroon paint. The front drum is a high flange Schwinn hub and is totally sweet... needs a little work, but it looks so cool. The New Departure 2-speed shifts like butter.. I can't believe how nicely those shift! Super straight wheels, and a sweet set of mismatched vintage tire that look super cool. I hope to find the proper seat eventually, and I'm going to swap out the bars soon.. the bars on it aren't very nice to ride. That's about all I'll do to this thing, other than fixing the drum and paint, and riding the livin' heck out of it!
Next is an S-4 wheelset from a Tandem, purchased from the same guy.. Union drums, front and rear! I'll mount these to something else, likely... my understanding is that tires for S-4's aren't very easy to come by. I've read somewhere that 650b tires will work, but I don't have any to try. The wheels are in pretty sweet shape, so if anyone has the answer on S-4 tires, I'd love to know.
First is a '38 Excelsior. The paint is mostly original, but someone (long ago) repainted the white parts (with a brush) and outlined them with a crude black stripe.. pretty rough. I'll hopefully have luck getting the bulk of it back off, without messing up the original maroon paint. The front drum is a high flange Schwinn hub and is totally sweet... needs a little work, but it looks so cool. The New Departure 2-speed shifts like butter.. I can't believe how nicely those shift! Super straight wheels, and a sweet set of mismatched vintage tire that look super cool. I hope to find the proper seat eventually, and I'm going to swap out the bars soon.. the bars on it aren't very nice to ride. That's about all I'll do to this thing, other than fixing the drum and paint, and riding the livin' heck out of it!
Next is an S-4 wheelset from a Tandem, purchased from the same guy.. Union drums, front and rear! I'll mount these to something else, likely... my understanding is that tires for S-4's aren't very easy to come by. I've read somewhere that 650b tires will work, but I don't have any to try. The wheels are in pretty sweet shape, so if anyone has the answer on S-4 tires, I'd love to know.