Ok, so like I said in my intro, this never started out as a build project. She was a junker that I found and originally my goal was simply to make it ridable and nothing more. . . One thing led to another and my vision for this bike grew. Having said that, this bike still is not a full blown custom. It's simply an exercise in turning junk into something I actually like 
This was the state it was in when I found it. Pretty much all there, although the front wheel bearings had collapsed and as you can see; the tyres are so old that they're actually falling apart.
So I replaced the wheel bearings, but got carried away and bought white walls when replacing the tyres. I rode it every day like this with no further thought on the matter. Then I had the opportunity to powder coat some stuff red for free, so I stripped the rims off and away they went
While waiting for the rims to come back, I got rid of the front derailleur and excess chainrings, removed the decals, replaced the bars with a set off a Kawasaki W650 (these work great because their diameter is 1" so they fit in the stem, but the ends taper down to 7/8" so the levers and grips still fit. Also the grips are two "cafe racer" style left grips off a motorbike. The rims came back and I continued riding the bike every day and it still only owed me the cost of the tyres and the front wheel bearings.
That's when it occurred to me that the brakes were going to wreck the powder coat on the rims. . . Damn. (I guess this is about the time when the build took on a life of its own.
So I sourced a cheap coaster hub rear wheel set and simply swapped my red rim to it. Now I had a single speed, so I had to get a new chain. In the mean time I realised that I wanted a larger chain ring to make it more ridable. So I bit the bullet and took her off the road and stripped her down completely.
I'm just waiting till I go back to work (I'm on leave right now) so I can shave and paint the chassis. I've already shaved and painted the forks
The cups of the bottom bracket were worn. I really wanted to keep this bike "low tech", but the one-piece crank with cup and ball technology just seems inadequate to me. I came across the solution from BMX websites: a two piece crank with sealed bearings conversion kit
I also stumbled upon an old sprung saddle (another freebie) that I'll have a go at restoring, a new chain ring coming from the States and a set of peddles and chain sitting here waiting to be fitted.
So I just have to get that frame done so I can start the rebuild.
This was the state it was in when I found it. Pretty much all there, although the front wheel bearings had collapsed and as you can see; the tyres are so old that they're actually falling apart.
So I replaced the wheel bearings, but got carried away and bought white walls when replacing the tyres. I rode it every day like this with no further thought on the matter. Then I had the opportunity to powder coat some stuff red for free, so I stripped the rims off and away they went
While waiting for the rims to come back, I got rid of the front derailleur and excess chainrings, removed the decals, replaced the bars with a set off a Kawasaki W650 (these work great because their diameter is 1" so they fit in the stem, but the ends taper down to 7/8" so the levers and grips still fit. Also the grips are two "cafe racer" style left grips off a motorbike. The rims came back and I continued riding the bike every day and it still only owed me the cost of the tyres and the front wheel bearings.
That's when it occurred to me that the brakes were going to wreck the powder coat on the rims. . . Damn. (I guess this is about the time when the build took on a life of its own.
So I sourced a cheap coaster hub rear wheel set and simply swapped my red rim to it. Now I had a single speed, so I had to get a new chain. In the mean time I realised that I wanted a larger chain ring to make it more ridable. So I bit the bullet and took her off the road and stripped her down completely.
I'm just waiting till I go back to work (I'm on leave right now) so I can shave and paint the chassis. I've already shaved and painted the forks
The cups of the bottom bracket were worn. I really wanted to keep this bike "low tech", but the one-piece crank with cup and ball technology just seems inadequate to me. I came across the solution from BMX websites: a two piece crank with sealed bearings conversion kit
I also stumbled upon an old sprung saddle (another freebie) that I'll have a go at restoring, a new chain ring coming from the States and a set of peddles and chain sitting here waiting to be fitted.
So I just have to get that frame done so I can start the rebuild.
