69 SCHWINN PEA PICKER

[Rat Rod]

Connected with a FB follower a few months ago about a 69 Pea Picker that he had bought new as a kid in Canyon, Texas. I offered to buy the bike from him, but he wasn't quite ready to let go of it then. I touched base with him last week and he said that he was ready to sell. We worked out a deal and it arrived today....appropriately on St. Patrick's Day.

He said that he had changed out the seat, sissy bar and fenders several years ago with repop parts and unfortunately ditched the originals. Everything else appears to be in pretty decent shape...just dirty.

Looking forward to cleaning this one up and taking it for a spin.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Nice front brake! And springer! And seat! And shifter! And grips! And... NICE BIKE!

 

[wheelbender6]

Sweet!

 

[Imaginos]

West, Texas. Not to be confused with West Texas.

 

[Rat Rod]

West, Texas. Not to be confused with West Texas.

I just updated my text above to clarify a bit....he's actually in Canyon, TX out near Palo Duro.

 

[Rat Rod]

Here's more of the back story...

I recently connected with RRB follower, Joe Carter from Canyon, TX about his childhood bike. Joe's been a resident of Canyon his whole life. He said that as a kid he shined shoes at 25 cents a pop for over a year to save money to buy a Pea Picker.

He originally bought the bike from Johnston Hardware in downtown Canyon in 1969. He said that the shop had an Orange Krate and an Apple Krate on the showroom floor, but no Pea Picker. One of the salesmen tried hard to change his mind, but he wasn't having it and so they had to order a Pea Picker for him.

Joe finally got his bike and didn't ride it too long before he got his driver's license and we all know how that goes.

After some negotiating, Joe and I worked out a deal and he packed the bike up and shipped it to me in Dallas last week. Before he did, he took it down to the building where the hardware store was originally located and had a photo taken of him sitting on it in front of the door he wheeled it out of back in 1969. That building is now a coffee shop called Palace Coffee on Canyon Main Street.

Over the weekend I tore the bike completely down and cleaned and polished every nut and bolt, cleaned and repacked all of the bearings, trued the back wheel and installed a new set of brake and shifter cables.

Also an interesting side note... Johnston's Hardware is still in business and being run by Mr. Johnston's son now in another building just down the street.


A shot of Joe in front of the building that once was Johnston Hardware. He wheeled the bike out of that door back in 1969.

A shot of the building where the hardware store used to be in downtown Canyon, Texas.

The Pea Picker after a little magical Texas water treatment.

Me taking it out for a little shakedown run

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Yup. Story makes it even more rad.

 

[RustyGold]

Interactive art...excellent

 

[Jasper B. Bunhead]

Killer bike. Had a ‘73 Apple Krate in pretty nice shape, back before the Internet was much of a thing. Sold it for $350 then and I was over the moon.
They aren’t much fun for any kind of extended riding...but there isn’t much cooler...like cruising around on a two wheeled Hemi ‘Cuda.

 

[Oldbikeguy1960]

Here's more of the back story...

I recently connected with RRB follower, Joe Carter from Canyon, TX about his childhood bike. Joe's been a resident of Canyon his whole life. He said that as a kid he shined shoes at 25 cents a pop for over a year to save money to buy a Pea Picker.

He originally bought the bike from Johnston Hardware in downtown Canyon in 1969. He said that the shop had an Orange Krate and an Apple Krate on the showroom floor, but no Pea Picker. One of the salesmen tried hard to change his mind, but he wasn't having it and so they had to order a Pea Picker for him.

Joe finally got his bike and didn't ride it too long before he got his driver's license and we all know how that goes.

After some negotiating, Joe and I worked out a deal and he packed the bike up and shipped it to me in Dallas last week. Before he did, he took it down to the building where the hardware store was originally located and had a photo taken of him sitting on it in front of the door he wheeled it out of back in 1969. That building is now a coffee shop called Palace Coffee on Canyon Main Street.

Over the weekend I tore the bike completely down and cleaned and polished every nut and bolt, cleaned and repacked all of the bearings, trued the back wheel and installed a new set of brake and shifter cables.

Also an interesting side note... Johnston's Hardware is still in business and being run by Mr. Johnston's son now in another building just down the street.


A shot of Joe in front of the building that once was Johnston Hardware. He wheeled the bike out of that door back in 1969.

View attachment 115664


A shot of the building where the hardware store used to be in downtown Canyon, Texas.

View attachment 115662


The Pea Picker after a little magical Texas water treatment.

View attachment 115665


Me taking it out for a little shakedown run

View attachment 115663

That by itself made this whole thread worth reading! Riding a wheelie on one of these bikes was always, well no words man. You k on what I mean.
I ride all my bikes, I hate seeing a bike come out of a row for some "cleaning" and then stuck back into its hole to collect dust.
I find most of those people do not love bikes, but look at them as dollar signs. They are the reason a Disc brake Orange Krate is so expensive sive to even buy a wheel for.