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Okay, not really a build, but more of a restoration/upgrade process…had to remove a rigid fork with a well attached basket and use extra apparatuses to make this monark style springer fit somewhat properly….oh well from trashed farm bike to something partially inspired by the Temple Anzani racer from the ‘20’s…here goes. The last is the Anzani racer of course…
 

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By the way, I have decided to enter the leftover bits build in the muscle bike category.

(LOL at myself.)

So now I have a skinny bike and a muscle bike. The thing is, I have one more frame, but I wasn’t planning it for the off-road bike. It’s the aluminum Trek BMX, still hanging up partly stripped.
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You can barely see it there behind Scary Larry
 
Getting closer to joining the fun! Dug through some boxes of parts looking for a fork I want to use in the Skinny class. So happy it was where I put it 10 years ago.🤓
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And some other stuff I grabbed since it was there.
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20" fork with extensions added that was pulled from a trike project many moons ago.
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Cool bottle cage..
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Some 3 speed stuff. (1970 AW & 80 AB3 hubs)
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Shifters..
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Hope to have some time soon to dig out a bike for the Skinny buildoff & see if the fork works as the base for my vision. Still have 1 build to get done & a friend found 3 old bikes she wants resurrected. Will get started in the buildoffs when I finish my next build.........
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Slow-Rider said:
waiting on parts sucks. it slows build down. any who just for fun. are these Muscle bike or skinny tire?
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Both. Those are Fastbacks on the top, and a Manta Ray on the bottom. Both used 1-3/8" tires (an exclusive size for Schwinn). So they meet the skinny tire requirement, and they are true muscle bikes.

I wish I had one, then I could hit the Trifecta! But the skinny tire eludes me. So I have 4 entries, 2 in off-road (MX and BMX) and 2 in Muscle Bike.
 
Ok, I keep noticing a pattern with me. I say "I'm going to sit out this year's Build Off," whichever Build Off I'm referring to, then I start fiddling with a bike that'd be a perfect candidate for one of these competitions. Back in October, I started building this 1952 Schwinn Hornet as a quick-and-dirty "street bomber" bike, called The Ratical Rustin' Hornet. My plan was to throw this bike together in 10 days for a local bike cruise that was supposedly happening on October 30th.
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Long story short, things didn't go as planned. I was only able to get the bike half-assembled before realizing that I'd have to take it apart again and fix or redo some parts of the bike.
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Now that I've missed my initial deadline, and I need to take the bike apart again, I'm thinking of building this Schwinn as an "all-terrain" klunker/bomber bike; something I could ride on dirt, gravel, or even paved trails. I've got some other wheels and mountain bike tires that I think would look good on this bike, and I think it'd be nice to try something different and build a bike for off-road use. So, why not enter it into the Off Road Build Off?
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The one concern I have is whether or not this bike would qualify for the ORBO. As the rules for the ORBO state: "This is not a build-off for your everyday cruiser, perfect restoration, or your ride to the shops bikes... This is for bikes that are meant to be ridden hard and fast, jumped, skidded and abused in an OFF ROAD setting!"

I'm not a "hard and fast" kind of rider, and if I had to pick one or the other, I'd choose "fast." I don't like to jump or abuse my bikes, and the only skidding I do is locking up the coaster brake to leave a mark on the pavement. I just want to build this bike to handle some flat dirt/gravel trails that my other bikes can't. I'm sticking to a single-speed coaster brake, so I'm not climbing hills or going faster than maybe 15mph at most with this bike. So what I want to know is whether that would disqualify me from entering my Schwinn into the ORBO? If I don't meet the qualifications, that's all well and good, as I can just post my progress on the thread I already have going for this bike. Still, it'd be fun to enter a different category for the Winter Build Off than what I normally do.
 
Bike from the Dead said:
So what I want to know is whether that would disqualify me from entering my Schwinn into the ORBO? If I don't meet the qualifications, that's all well and good, as I can just post my progress on the thread I already have going for this bike. Still, it'd be fun to enter a different category for the Winter Build Off than what I normally do.
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See post #143 in this thread

If you start building and it doesn't seem to be in the spirit I'm sure somebody will point it out
 
Captain Awesome said:
See post #143 in this thread

If you start building and it doesn't seem to be in the spirit I'm sure somebody will point it out
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Captain, that's not really helpful. I read the rules; problem is I'm not sure how to interpret them. I wouldn't ask if I had the answer. Besides, as much as I'd rather ask forgiveness than permission, sometimes asking permission saves everyone some time and trouble in the end. I don't want to enter the Build Off only to get kicked out because someone else doesn't think my bike meets the criteria. If you don't think my bike meets the criteria, just tell me. I'd rather be told no before I start than be told no halfway through the build. Like I said, it's alright with me if the bike doesn't qualify for the ORBO; I can post my build progress elsewhere.

That said, after interpreting your reply and looking at the other entrants in the ORBO, I get the feeling that it'd be better to just keep my Schwinn out of the ORBO. This is more of a "Kasual Klunker" than an all-out off-road trailblazer.
 
Bike from the Dead said:
This is for bikes that are meant to be ridden hard and fast, jumped, skidded and abused in an OFF ROAD setting!"

I'm not a "hard and fast" kind of rider, and if I had to pick one or the other, I'd choose "fast." I don't like to jump or abuse my bikes, and the only skidding I do is locking up the coaster brake to leave a mark on the pavement. I just want to build this bike to handle some flat dirt/gravel trails that my other bikes can't. I'm sticking to a single-speed coaster brake, so I'm not climbing hills or going faster than maybe 15mph at most with this bike. So what I want to know is whether that would disqualify me from entering my Schwinn into the ORBO?
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"bikes that are meant to be ridden hard and fast" is just saying that you  intend to ride it that way at some point. So, theoretically, a builder could build a bike with the intent to ride it as such, and then, at some point after the deadline, realize that, although they really really wanted to do so, maybe riding it rough isn't what the bike is for.

Tldr: quit telling us you won't ride it hard, and build an off road bike.
I don't think there will be a requirement of a ride video with a panel of judges to discern if it is far enough off the road.
 
MattiThundrrr said:
"bikes that are meant to be ridden hard and fast" is just saying that you  intend to ride it that way at some point. So, theoretically, a builder could build a bike with the intent to ride it as such, and then, at some point after the deadline, realize that, although they really really wanted to do so, maybe riding it rough isn't what the bike is for.

Tldr: quit telling us you won't ride it hard, and build an off road bike.
I don't think there will be a requirement of a ride video with a panel of judges to discern if it is far enough off the road.
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Well, after thinking about it, I'll just stay out of the ORBO for right now. I'm almost done building this bike anyway, so I'd rather just keep all the progress I've made building this bike on one thread for now. Maybe I can enter something in next winter's Build Off.
 
Back in 1952 there where very few tard streets, just the main roads and streets, all side streets were dirt. LOL so all bikes back then seen more dirt then paved then you think, I can remember when I first road a skinny wheel 3 speed, get on dirt and there was not much control, tires sink in and wonder all over. Same with 10 speeds did you know that some of the first Schwinn had fat tires on them? I kick myself over and over for not buying a bike like yours at a swap meet for $150. Now days to find dirt to ride you have to out, except in alleyways. Just saying, I like your build, your finds, ............Curt
 
Bike from the Dead said:
Well, after thinking about it, I'll just stay out of the ORBO for right now. I'm almost done building this bike anyway, so I'd rather just keep all the progress I've made building this bike on one thread for now. Maybe I can enter something in next winter's Build Off.
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Bike from the Dead said:
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I think you should consider entering your bike in the off road section. It's got Klunker written all over it, especially with the knobby tires you're running on it now. The original klunkers were cruisers built to ride predominantly off road. They started out with single speed coaster braked bikes and eventually added front brakes, drum brakes, gears, etc. until they eventually started building purpose built mountain bikes.

Some of the original klunkers:

Here's one of Joe Breeze's original klunkers:
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This one is Robert Stewart's, one of the Larkspur riders. Built back in the day and still gets ridden from what I understand:
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Otis Guy's original DX klunk:
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Ian Stewart's original:
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The Crested Butte style klunker was even more cruiser-ish and casual but they still rode these on the inaugural Pearl Pass rides. Quite an achievement considering the length, terrain and elevation gain on this ride. Very off road ride.
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My current klunker build is a tribute to this style of klunker and I will definitely ride it aggressively off road and hopefully not break anything. Especially myself! :rofl:
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I evolved mine a few years to include gears since I live in the mountains and don't want to push my bike up all the hills but nearly all of the original CB bikes were single speed coaster brake bikes.

Here's one I built a couple of years ago. A fun bike that is going to get a traditional Marin county style makeover with drum brakes and derailleurs:
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I think your bike definitely fits within the spirit and form of the early klunkers which were the direct predecessor to the modern mountain bike. There's no way to build one wrong as those bikes were all 'roll your own' style using what was available. Even if you're just going to do gravel roads and dirt trails and not race Repack or thrash your bike up and over Pearl Pass I think your build definitely qualifies as a klunker and off road worthy. Plus it's cool and fun!
 

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