BO15 Camelback: 26" BMX (Scrambler XL)

[ParkRNDL]

ok so I got all excited ordering the wheels online, and I got a couple other items from another vendor. I was about $10 short of free shipping, which was going to cost about $10. So I started looking for $10 worth of stuff to add to the order. this caught my eye:

Kinda weird, but kinda cool. Black and white happens to color-coordinate with my build. Once again, we shall see.

I was reading here on RRB yesterday where for a while, the go-to guy for seatposts, especially layback ones, was chopshopcustomz. Have any of you guys gotten stuff from him lately?

 

[OddJob]

ok so I got all excited ordering the wheels online, and I got a couple other items from another vendor. I was about $10 short of free shipping, which was going to cost about $10. So I started looking for $10 worth of stuff to add to the order. this caught my eye:
View attachment 118929

Kinda weird, but kinda cool. Black and white happens to color-coordinate with my build. Once again, we shall see.

I was reading here on RRB yesterday where for a while, the go-to guy for seatposts, especially layback ones, was chopshopcustomz. Have any of you guys gotten stuff from him lately?

Yep, I got a seat post from Chad in November. I have used his posts on 5-6 of my builds. Super sturdy, well-shaped, and you can get them in a couple of custom 'degrees' of bend as well as customize the length of the shaft and the reach and the seat post diameter and clamping diameter. Use a caliper to get those as close as possible.
Here's his facebook page link. Tell him OddJob sent you
https://www.facebook.com/ChopShopCustomBicycles/

 

[Indyjps]

Im liking this one. The forks make all the difference. Good call on the bars the first set was pretty narrow. The silver stem is mongoose or similar dept store type, Im running one until a better option comes up. Looking good.

Ideas to kick this up a notch and farther into bmx territory. dump the chain guard, get a spider, chain ring, chainring bolts, seat without springs.

 

[ParkRNDL]

Im liking this one. The forks make all the difference. Good call on the bars the first set was pretty narrow. The silver stem is mongoose or similar dept store type, Im running one until a better option comes up. Looking good.

Ideas to kick this up a notch and farther into bmx territory. dump the chain guard, get a spider, chain ring, chainring bolts, seat without springs.

I want to do a spider and chainring like it's 1985! My build last year used one, and I don't want to take that bike apart for this one; I have plans for it.

I don't know where I got that one, but I'm sure it was free or cheap. I'm kicking myself because I know I've seen spiders like that for sale at swaps for 5 or 10 bucks, like recently even, but everything I see online now is closer to 25 or 30. Keeping my eyes open.

I am also considering an old-school option: in the early days of BMX, didn't they sometimes use the cranks and inner 39t sprocket off a Varsity? I have a Varsity junker in the shed that is looking more and more like a parts bike. Pic stolen off Fleabay, but this is the sprocket I'm talking about:

Chain guard is going, just haven't unbolted it yet. I have a seat and seatpost on the way.

Also, a friend who I have been asking about stuff for this project just told me today about a set of new black 26" BMX rims (FitBikeCo.) that he can get for $100 plus shipping. Too late for this build, as I got shipping confirmation today that the silver rims I ordered have shipped, but now I am having visions of the black rims on my yellow Speedster frame...

(someone stop me before I buy more bike parts)

 

[Indyjps]

What is that a Sugino spider and some Primo Pedals. What am I talking about.....you got this.

 

[ParkRNDL]

What is that a Sugino spider and some Primo Pedals. What am I talking about.....you got this.

LOL. I didnt get full into BMX as a kid, but my younger brother did, and I remember his '83-ish Schwinn Predator pretty well. It also helps that the group I ride with now has a couple of old-school BMX aficionados in it who I turn to for advice.

 

[ParkRNDL]

mail call! w00t w00t!

(expecting a couple more today and tomorrow )

 

[Karate Chicken Industries]

I want to do a spider and chainring like it's 1985! My build last year used one, and I don't want to take that bike apart for this one; I have plans for it.
View attachment 119049

I don't know where I got that one, but I'm sure it was free or cheap. I'm kicking myself because I know I've seen spiders like that for sale at swaps for 5 or 10 bucks, like recently even, but everything I see online now is closer to 25 or 30. Keeping my eyes open.

I am also considering an old-school option: in the early days of BMX, didn't they sometimes use the cranks and inner 39t sprocket off a Varsity? I have a Varsity junker in the shed that is looking more and more like a parts bike. Pic stolen off Fleabay, but this is the sprocket I'm talking about:
View attachment 119044

Chain guard is going, just haven't unbolted it yet. I have a seat and seatpost on the way.

Also, a friend who I have been asking about stuff for this project just told me today about a set of new black 26" BMX rims (FitBikeCo.) that he can get for $100 plus shipping. Too late for this build, as I got shipping confirmation today that the silver rims I ordered have shipped, but now I am having visions of the black rims on my yellow Speedster frame...

(someone stop me before I buy more bike parts)

I have an extra one of those right now. Drop me a PM if you need it.

 

[ParkRNDL]

And the pile is growing

Tires and a possible seat option tomorrow

I have an extra one of those right now. Drop me a PM if you need it.

Sending a PM now. Thanks!

 

[ParkRNDL]

I don't know if I'm sold on this seat.

It's definitely a cool seat, but I don't know if this is the right bike for it.

 

[kingfish254]

Clean looking build. I like how the tire lettering and stripe accent the Schwinn on the downtube.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

The seat looks too "modern road bike" to me.

 

[OddJob]

I concur with Matti ^ . The seat is too modern. I'm thinking '70s BMX seat if you can find one. Or a repop. Or a Brooks / faux Brooks. Otherwise the bike is shaping up well!

 

[ParkRNDL]

I just came in from wrenching, and I'm glad to see these comments about the seat, because I came to the same conclusion.

I borrowed a roll of hockey tape from a coworker today to use as rim tape on my fancy new BMX wheels, then mounted up my fancy new Michelin tires on them. These things were so pretty I almost hated to dirty them up by mounting them on my grungy bike.

Then I bolted up the wider bars I found and the Dia-Compe BMX lever (I bought a pair, just don't have a front caliper yet). I decided I like the old Hunt-Wilde BMX grips, so I kept them. They fit the vibe of the bike. And I finally got around to unbolting the guard.

Then I took it out for a shakedown lap around the block. WOW. I've never had a light(ish) BMX bike like this. LOVE the way this thing rides. I was having so much fun that I didn't feel like stopping after the first lap, just blasted around for another one for the heck of it.

But then there was that seat. Hmmmm.

Well, I also found an old-school diamond-quilted BMX/10-speed seat in my stash today, and I had a feeling about it. So I tried it out.

PERFECT. Now I love the way it looks, too.

At ths point I have an idea for the front sprocket and I need to put together a front brake that comes close to matching the rear. Then I don't think I want to do a whole lot more with it, other than cleaning and detailing and tweaking...

 

[OddJob]

That seat topped it all off ! Fits the build well.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Yes to the diamond quilted! Beautiful like a quilted roll of TP! I was going to suggest one of those old hard plastic seats that are almost a proctologist's assistant, your "ride review" proves that you chose wisely

 

[SoulGarageOH]

YES!!! Looks really good... and nice pics.

 

[Wildcat]

Looks great! The new wheels and tires actually made the first seat look better.

 

[Lee Jackson]

Great look. I've got a Speedster as well with some ape hangers on it and may take inspiration from your build one day.

 

[ParkRNDL]

So I mounted up a front brake... an ugly, mismatched front brake, but a front brake nonetheless.

And then I threw it in the van and took it to the bike path downtown for a proper shakedown cruise.

Conclusion: I LOVE this thing. I think now I understand the appeal of big honkin' BMX cruisers like Big Rippers and Cook Bros. and my buddy's new Felt Rail. It is TONS of fun and it is the quietest, simplest bike I have. Nothing squeaks or rubs, nothing is bent or out of line or tweaked. Not having multiple gears means it's a little more work, but it's worth it.

This is as close as I'll ever get to the "good" BMX bike I never had as a kid. I was 12 in 1981, and my friends had bikes with names like Hutch and Redline and Mongoose. Even my little brother had an '82-ish Predator and he swapped out pretty much every part for something lighter or stronger or cooler-looking. Perfect excuse for me to post this... I post it every chance I get. That's him on the right, I remember that bike pretty well.

I had what I think was a Huffy, based on the frame gussets, but I'm not sure since it was already spray-bombed flat black when I got it. Bolted a used pair of yellow Troxel mags on it and called it a BMX bike. I never wanted to spend allowance or paper-route money on an expensive BMX because I knew I'd never race it like some of my friends did. Before long I ended up spending it trying to fix up a junky KHS 10-speed, but that's a story for another build-off.

At any rate, this thing is going to need a proper alloy front brake to match the rear for starters. The brakes also aren't very effective; I either need to match the angle of the cheap Sunlite pads to the rims or get new pads. I have a plan for a sprocket that fits the early BMX vibe of the bike better, and during today's ride I decided it needs a different stem for the same reason. And it struck me that it should have at least a handlebar pad, if not frame and stem pads.

having too much fun. wonder how much more will get changed as I ride this thing over the next few months.