𝟏𝟗𝟑𝟕 𝐔𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐗𝐋𝐖𝐁 - BO17 Build Journal - Finished in 3rd Place - 1937 Uncle Stretch Colson XLWB

[OddJob]

Ride on, brother! Ride on!

 

[Captain Awesome]

Test riding the changes when it's 105+

Dedication to the craft here people. Respect

 

[kingfish254]

Back from the ride. Here are the details of the guardwork I did. Trimmed off the end (and saved it just in case I incorporate it to the additional sheetmetal later). Cut up the previous rear bracket to make a new one with a new hole drilled into the front section of the dropout plate. Feels good to have this mounted with something more than foil mockup tape.

 

[Shrunken_Head_Pedaler]

Back from the ride. Here are the details of the guardwork I did. Trimmed off the end (and saved it just in case I incorporate it to the additional sheetmetal later). Cut up the previous rear bracket to make a new one with a new hole drilled into the front section of the dropout plate. Feels good to have this mounted with something more than foil mockup tape.

View attachment 202982View attachment 202984View attachment 202985View attachment 202986View attachment 202988View attachment 202989View attachment 202990View attachment 202991View attachment 202992View attachment 202993

The guard looks “meant to be”! Looking awesome!

 

[kingfish254]

Back from the ride. Here are the details of the guardwork I did. Trimmed off the end (and saved it just in case I incorporate it to the additional sheetmetal later). Cut up the previous rear bracket to make a new one with a new hole drilled into the front section of the dropout plate. Feels good to have this mounted with something more than foil mockup tape.

View attachment 202982View attachment 202984View attachment 202985View attachment 202986View attachment 202988View attachment 202989View attachment 202990View attachment 202991View attachment 202992View attachment 202993

 

[kingfish254]

I also did a simple tape on mock with the skirt before heading out for the ride.

 

[kingfish254]

Rode well with no clanking, rubbing or grinding sounds.
Found this cool old Jeep and Harley

 

[kingfish254]

Here are some backside pics of it against my favorite rusty fence.

Along with my favorite cop car.

 

[kingfish254]

Can't be a bike ride without some fountains

And I found a new house patina wall that is actually just around the corner from my house.

 

[kingfish254]

Ride on, brother! Ride on!

Test riding the changes when it's 105+

Dedication to the craft here people. Respect

I rode around for about an hour and a half. While riding it's not that hot, but time you stop for a photo or stop sign, you immediately feel the heat and are drenched with sweat and humidity.
The guard did great. I was actually expecting it to start hitting the crankarm at the beginning of the up pedal (it's pretty tight tolerance right now), but it didn't.
Looking over some of these side shots though, I feel I have the guard angled forward a little. I went by my level alone when installing it, and really should have looked at it in relation to the bike. I'll probably raise it up a hair in the front. That should also give more crank clearance.
I kept checking the whitewall throughout my ride and didn't see any chain grease rubs. But the last portion of my ride I made sure to ride down some of the very bumpy brick line streets like Jones and 34th. Only a couple of big bumps made the chain slap the guard. Once I got home I checked the whitewall again and there were about 2 or 3 small grease spots. Must have been from Jones Street.

I had no idea those existed, outstanding!

Offset chainrings are great for wider tires and wheels. The first one that I had was on a Felt El Guapo first gen with the 24x3 wheels.
I'll probably end up installing one on this bike just so I don't have to worry about riding down brick or cobblestone streets which we have around town.

 

[kingfish254]

The guard looks “meant to be”! Looking awesome!

Thanks. I'm pleased with how it fits the feel of the bike as well.

 

[ingola]

Rode well with no clanking, rubbing or grinding sounds.
Found this cool old Jeep and Harley

View attachment 203000View attachment 203001View attachment 203002View attachment 203004View attachment 203007View attachment 203008

Your wheels are almost as wide as the jeeps that's awesome.

 

[kingfish254]

My old 2nd Place Firewing build from BO8 is up for sale out in California

 

[Tallbikeman]

Yesterday and today as I layed out the placement and clearance of the guard, I made sure it was level and of course tested a few full turns of the cranks to check for clearance or rubbing issues. The tests went well yesterday.

As I was bolting up the new rear bracket, I looked along the guard to check levelness and I noticed it looked like the guard bowed in some just about the halfway point of the length. No problem. I unbolted front and back. Massaged the bow back out to be stratight, then bolted it all back on. Checked a spin of the crank and could tell the chain was rubbing at the entirety of the chainring. Took off the guard and drilled out the front bracket holes to allow for some left right adjustment. Bolted it back together and tested again. Rubbing not as bad but still there. Took the bike to the lane and rode it down and back.

Definitely the guard was too close to the chain at the front. Got off the bike and eyeballed down the line of the guard and can easily see that by having the guard on the outside of the seatstays, it kicks the rear end out a good bit away from the chainling in the rear. The end result is that it pivots the front of the guard against the chain and chainring.
So I need to do some thinking and testing, but I was running out of daylight by now. There are a few options. The guard is long enough that I could put the bend back in it and it would probably be fine. But I plan to use the skirt guard fins. So I need the rear of the guard to play well with the fins where they mesh together. My guess is that I will keep the guard straight and trim it so that it doesn't hit the seatstay. Then I will be free to allign it with the centerline of the frame and chainline. The skirt needs to be on the outside of the seatstay, so I'll probably just have a slight stepped transition from the skirt to the guard. I'll also need to make a different rear guard bracket, but that wont be a big deal. I still posted all the work above so that people could see my redneck sheet metal brake for reference.

View attachment 202727View attachment 202728

I love long chainguards. Owned a Dyno stretch for a while and the chainguard was noisy from chain rub. I finally installed sticky back velcro on the appropriate surfaces and quieted down the guard. It was impossible to get the guard to be quiet with normal mounting adjustment ranges. Just too much chain flex both up and down and side to side. The solid round stock seatstays surprised me but anything is possible. I'm a big fan of louvers on cars, trucks and if possible on bicycles. Your art deco louvers on the rear of your bike are cool. Really loving your build so far.

 

[JA331]

I had the similar problem with the chain rubbing the tire on my Electra straight 8. Never cured it before I sold it. Wonder if one of those offset sprockets would have fixed it?

 

[JA331]

Can't be a bike ride without some fountains

View attachment 203016View attachment 203017


And I found a new house patina wall that is actually just around the corner from my house.

View attachment 203018View attachment 203019View attachment 203020View attachment 203021View attachment 203022View attachment 203023

Have to agree, trimming the chain guard was a positive move.

 

[Ulu]

Kingfish, I had to stop reading this thread because there’s so many big photographs it just grinds my Internet connection to a halt.

I will have to catch up when you post the finished bike pix.

 

[kingfish254]

Kingfish, I had to stop reading this thread because there’s so many big photographs it just grinds my Internet connection to a halt.

I will have to catch up when you post the finished bike pix.

Sorry about that man, That's just the way I document my build.
See you at the finish line.

 

[Ulu]

My old 2nd Place Firewing build from BO8 is up for sale out in California




View attachment 203089

I guess the bicycle market isn’t what I thought it was. They’re only asking $1000 for that bicycle and I’ll bet you spent that much to build it.

 

[kingfish254]

Your wheels are almost as wide as the jeeps that's awesom

Not quite, but close enough for government vehicles.