You're building some quality into this one OJ. I bet it's going to be one smooth, fine ride when you're all done! I love those pedals and wheels and the chrome fork is a really nice touch. 
50, Skinny, and Single
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MattiThundrrr
Rattus All Terrainus
Those wheels look sweet!
I forgot what it’s like to live in the great frozen Northland. Down here the water doesn’t freeze over until you get up on the mountain. Up there you have 10 times as many fish.
We moved to Minnesota back when they were building the trash mountain (so you could actually ski.) Otherwise it was just too flat everywhere.
But Chester Bowl in Duluth had actual wooden ski jumps. Two of them, and it was quite a thrill as a school child to climb with them and go down on your toboggan.
We could climb to the top, but we would never dare to slide right from the top. It was just too tall!
The whole crank set and pedals look fantastic!
Thanks friend! Got a few other things coming soon too. Should be a fun one!
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everything looks fabulous OJ!
-and I’m with you! you need to talk the Mrs. into that white-wash paint job on the back 40!!!!! Fresh and new is OVERRATED!!!!!
wheelset looks great, great job findin the matching front…. Chrome fork looks awesome! Do you have to cut and weld?
Thanks Jude! I don't think I'll be doing any cutting or welding on this build. I do have some custom 'creating' to do and made some steps towards that yesterday. Stay tuned!
These 'themed' build offs are really fun for me. I guess most of my builds all around are theme type builds. That's how my mind works, whether it's writing songs, building bikes, or designing / renovating living spaces. I usually get the big picture in place first, my kind of vision of what the end product might look like, and then I work out the details of getting there along the way.
Fifty years ago, I got my driver's license. It was in August, the same month that this Schwinn Racer was born in 1971. A few days later, on a Saturday, my dad told my brother and I we were heading into town to pick up some things and he needed our help. This was not unusual, as my dad always had a fix-it project or building project going on during the summer months on our small truck farm, as he was a school teacher and tried to get most of the farm related work done during the summer.
When we got to town, it wasn't the lumber yard, or the paint store, or the farm implement dealer we stopped at;
it was R & F Schwinn Bike Shop. In his words, "With all your running into town for sports and activities, I figured it was time to get you your own transportation." Most 16 yr olds that had just got their license in my town, were all excited about their first car. I was thrilled to have my first 'geared' Schwinn bike! We both got the Schwinn Varsity, Dave's was yellow, and mine was the metallic brown. We rode those bikes everywhere, to tennis practice, summer baseball practice, and including around our 'block' which was a 4 mile square of gravel roads rolling along Turtle Creek and through farm fields. Here's a shot of us on our new Schwinns ....
Yes, it was taken on a 35mm camera with slide film, so when we reproduced a few hundred of my dad's slides into photos around 15 yrs ago, some of them got 'reversed'....left side drive train.
Anyway, here it is, 50 yrs later, and I'm building a bike out of an August birthday Schwinn again. Serendipity.
My tires for 50 SS came in on Tuesday, and I had just a little time yesterday morning to get them mounted. They are Panaracer Gravel Kings, 700 x 32c. They are a skin walled tire, with a real grippy and nice riding black rubber tread. Should be great for any surface I find myself riding on; street, bike path, or gravel side road.
It feels a little weird putting a skinny tire on a rat rod bike build, but skinny is as skinny does.
Then I've had this old Brooks saddle on a few bikes down through the years. It seems to fit this mode well. That's the original seat post from the Schwinn Racer it's mounted on, with a jimmy'ed seat clamp to make the rails fit.
RaT oN.....sKinNy oN~!
Fifty years ago, I got my driver's license. It was in August, the same month that this Schwinn Racer was born in 1971. A few days later, on a Saturday, my dad told my brother and I we were heading into town to pick up some things and he needed our help. This was not unusual, as my dad always had a fix-it project or building project going on during the summer months on our small truck farm, as he was a school teacher and tried to get most of the farm related work done during the summer.
When we got to town, it wasn't the lumber yard, or the paint store, or the farm implement dealer we stopped at;
it was R & F Schwinn Bike Shop. In his words, "With all your running into town for sports and activities, I figured it was time to get you your own transportation." Most 16 yr olds that had just got their license in my town, were all excited about their first car. I was thrilled to have my first 'geared' Schwinn bike! We both got the Schwinn Varsity, Dave's was yellow, and mine was the metallic brown. We rode those bikes everywhere, to tennis practice, summer baseball practice, and including around our 'block' which was a 4 mile square of gravel roads rolling along Turtle Creek and through farm fields. Here's a shot of us on our new Schwinns ....
Yes, it was taken on a 35mm camera with slide film, so when we reproduced a few hundred of my dad's slides into photos around 15 yrs ago, some of them got 'reversed'....left side drive train.
Anyway, here it is, 50 yrs later, and I'm building a bike out of an August birthday Schwinn again. Serendipity.
My tires for 50 SS came in on Tuesday, and I had just a little time yesterday morning to get them mounted. They are Panaracer Gravel Kings, 700 x 32c. They are a skin walled tire, with a real grippy and nice riding black rubber tread. Should be great for any surface I find myself riding on; street, bike path, or gravel side road.
It feels a little weird putting a skinny tire on a rat rod bike build, but skinny is as skinny does.
Then I've had this old Brooks saddle on a few bikes down through the years. It seems to fit this mode well. That's the original seat post from the Schwinn Racer it's mounted on, with a jimmy'ed seat clamp to make the rails fit.
RaT oN.....sKinNy oN~!
A quick flip and they're back to right hand drive!
I want my own Back 40. Townhouse living sucks.
MattiThundrrr
Rattus All Terrainus
Camera technology has come a long way! Shorts too!
Cool build! Awesome Back 40!
It might be cold outside, but things are heating up inside the BACK 40!
Wood is damped and clamped.
Those will look sweet when done
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Love it all!!!!
—born and bred on big10 football; played 4 years DIII football in Ohio.
temps are dropping here at the back ”.40“ too. I don‘t have a TV out back and burned 5 hours watching my Tampa Bay Rays lose a heartbreaker in 15! Now the rays are out, I’ll be all football all the time until February.
bike looks (and sounds) amazing: I’d leave the chips!!!! the replacement stem isn’t necessary, but is definitely a nice touch.
Wood fenders…. Can’t wait to see it!
Rat On!
I always find images on the internet to draw inspiration from, and get ideas for my own custom work. Here are a few skinny wood fendered bikes I found that got the juices flowing.
The scene in this one reminds me of one of my favorite photo spots in our Applewood Park across the pond from the BACK 40. I actually got kind of excited when I saw the snow in the photo, too! I like a lot about this bike, aiming for something real similar.
This last one is probably the closest to what my fenders will look like in finished form. Minimal mounting points and bracing, let the wood be 'seen'.
The scene in this one reminds me of one of my favorite photo spots in our Applewood Park across the pond from the BACK 40. I actually got kind of excited when I saw the snow in the photo, too! I like a lot about this bike, aiming for something real similar.
This last one is probably the closest to what my fenders will look like in finished form. Minimal mounting points and bracing, let the wood be 'seen'.
That is one nice looking piece of ash! I really like this idea, it's going to look great on your bike. I might give wooden fenders a whirl sometime, thanks for the ideas!
Busy day from dawn till dusk. Between all the activity, I managed to bring one of the woody fenders to completion.
Picked up some left over hardware from the bike shop of a returned SKS Longboard plastic fender set. Drilled out all the rivets and freed up the metal bits and pieces.
Had a couple of left over 1/8" diameter steel rods from another project, bent a hook into one end and slipped it through the fender mount hole on the fork dropout. Drilled for the bracket holes on the wood, sanded all sides, rounded off the square corners, and stained it with Golden Pecan. When it dried, a top coat of Zinsser Amber Shellac to weather proof and seal.
Picked up some left over hardware from the bike shop of a returned SKS Longboard plastic fender set. Drilled out all the rivets and freed up the metal bits and pieces.
Had a couple of left over 1/8" diameter steel rods from another project, bent a hook into one end and slipped it through the fender mount hole on the fork dropout. Drilled for the bracket holes on the wood, sanded all sides, rounded off the square corners, and stained it with Golden Pecan. When it dried, a top coat of Zinsser Amber Shellac to weather proof and seal.
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Is it drilled for a fender light or ornament of some kind? Beautiful!
