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Radio Shack across the street? Lucky man!

Luke.

Yep real old school shopping center, precursor to a mall, like three strip malls combined...big grocery store, a dollar store, a laundromat, a McDonalds and some others. All their garbage blows across the street and fills the yard up here with plastic bags and laundry sheets, so much paper refuse. Did you know I live in the parsonage of a church? Beautiful landscaping full of the city garbage... (one of my jobs here is to try and keep it clean, and it's almost 6:30 am, time to go clear the snowy sidewalks, so folks can get in to worship) it's nice having the amenities so close, but there's a price...

Carl.
 



Punch List with less than 20 days to go...
1. 700c or 27" - 700c gets rim brakes in the rear
2. Chain line - waiting on tensioner
3. Battery box - Tail light?
4. Super details - may tweak the truss rods
5. Ride

Carl.
 
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Camera360_2014_2_7_053342_jpg.jpg

http://www.ratrodbikes.com/forum/index.php?threads/1917-iver-johnson.81137/
 
Yep. That was the frame style I was going for...

Carl.
 
Lookin great Carl! Is that vinyl lettering on the top tube? Looks awesome!
 
I got the tensioner today, put it on with the coaster brake 27". Oh yeah, the spring flexes when you slam on the brakes but no more than if I had a front gear change. But just to be safe, I may remove the spring. Rode it around the basement hall at the church (connected to my basement via doorway) Nothing like slammin' the skids on old tile...weeeee

Carl.
 
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Even tho I didn't do any major surgery to this bike, I did cut off the cable stays and cleaned up the frame for a more vintage look with no cables. Rattle canned on some flat black with flat white on the lugs. Bent some copper and scribbled some sharpie on the frame. Pulled a seat off of an 80's Columbia, sharpied it too. The handle bar tape matches the wrap on HeadBanger, my last build. When I saw it come up on eBay, I new I had to get it. I think it adds a bit of flash to the wide angle bars. I mounted a Dietz 9-50 headlight and bent some more copper for the truss rods. The biggest change came with the drivetrain, it was a multi-speed 700c hybrid, now it's a single speed 27" streetbike. The three piece crank and single sprocket is an inexpensive one from eBay. New 27" rims stand an inch taller at the top tube than the 700c's and include a coaster brake. There's alway's more that could be done, times not up yet we'll see what happens. There's a rear wheel disk is in my head, along with a tail light, and cash kept me from mounting a set mustache bars... But the 48t chain ring mated to an 18t rear sprocket gives me a 48:18 ratio that matches what some racers use for cadence training, nice.

Carl.
 
Very nice Carl! 48/18 is pretty close to the same ratio I aim for on most of my builds. I aim for between 2.5 and 2.8 for the ratio on a 26" build, suits my riding style just nice! (BigJim and the Swingbike excepted for obvious reasons.)

Luke.
 
Inch gearing huh? Well, I'm not so well read, and definitely not trained, in bicycle design and building. I'd never even heard of inch gearing, hence the ???. But Wikipedia explained it well, and 72" is right in the medium range, and as Luke stated, it pedals easy enough, right around the feel I leave my Cannondale 21 speed T400 in most of the time. Inch gearing huh? Well it's not a penny farthing, but I did learn something today. Cool.

Carl.
 
So at more that double the inch gear, will the 184.61 be more than twice as hard to pedal in high, as it would be at 70.58 in low? (obviously high gear is not a gear to start out in...)

Carl.
 
I believe inch gearing is the number of inches traveled in 1 full rotation of the gear. So I don't know if it would necessarily be twice as hard but he will travel about 2.5x as far with one rotation. That's a huge difference


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So at more that double the inch gear, will the 184.61 be more than twice as hard to pedal in high, as it would be at 70.58 in low? (obviously high gear is not a gear to start out in...)

Carl.
Yeah, pretty much right, seriously thinking about running it single speed, did test runs with only the 19 tooth set up and loved it, it gives a 126 inch gear figure, but was surprisingly nice to ride.

I believe inch gearing is the number of inches traveled in 1 full rotation of the gear. So I don't know if it would necessarily be twice as hard but he will travel about 2.5x as far with one rotation. That's a huge difference


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What you are referring to is rollout Rob, Inch gearing is a reference to the equivalent size on a highwheel bicycle. tire diameter x front sprocket / rear sprocket.

Luke.
 
Oh man don't be mixin' up yer rollout with yer inch gearing.... next thing you know somebody will be measurin' the distance of yer bunny hop with a multiplier from the diameter of the smallest coin in yer pocket divided by the width of the curb...

Merle. :crazy:
 

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