A little back story...
I've been sitting on a couple of girls 70's banana seat bikes for a while...A light purple Schwinn Lil' Chick and a roached out Penny's Swinger in green and white. I had promised Chickie ( Mojo Girl ), my 11 year old daughter that when I got Mom's Firebolt done I'd get to work on a bike for her. Unfortunately, she wanted the Swinger because it had some green on it and some flowers on the fenders, all of which would make it more suitable for hunting butterflies in the hay field.
A little deeper into the back story...we a lucky enough to live on a big property, and our house sits in a 4 acre hay field. I keep a path mowed, 4/10 of a mile, meandering around the field, for her to have her adventures on. We always know where she is, and she gets the feeling of independence kids desire...a tough thing to manage as her brand of autism messes with her executive function and decision making. She rides bike, picks flowers, and hunts butterflies by day and fireflies at night.
So, all that to say...I'm building a butterfly hunting bike! My assignment is to provide a bike mostly green and white, with pink flowers, a basket for the butterfly cage, and a way for her to carry the net without the pole catching in the dirt and jabbing her in the ribs ( an important consideration!), . She also wants a kick stand...a feature this old mountain biker generally avoids.
Bearings are soaking in cleaner over night. Bars, stem, sissy bar, and crank have been polished. Still need to scrub down the rims, source some tires and decide about the saddle. I have the pan from the original seat. I'd love to do some heavy canvas with the same paint treatment as the fenders and have the seat done with that, but we might start with a new saddle from the Amazon for now.
Thanks for stopping by, Ken
Edit: just to say this is a legit barn find, lowered out of the hay loft on a hemp rope and purchased for $10
I've been sitting on a couple of girls 70's banana seat bikes for a while...A light purple Schwinn Lil' Chick and a roached out Penny's Swinger in green and white. I had promised Chickie ( Mojo Girl ), my 11 year old daughter that when I got Mom's Firebolt done I'd get to work on a bike for her. Unfortunately, she wanted the Swinger because it had some green on it and some flowers on the fenders, all of which would make it more suitable for hunting butterflies in the hay field.
A little deeper into the back story...we a lucky enough to live on a big property, and our house sits in a 4 acre hay field. I keep a path mowed, 4/10 of a mile, meandering around the field, for her to have her adventures on. We always know where she is, and she gets the feeling of independence kids desire...a tough thing to manage as her brand of autism messes with her executive function and decision making. She rides bike, picks flowers, and hunts butterflies by day and fireflies at night.
So, all that to say...I'm building a butterfly hunting bike! My assignment is to provide a bike mostly green and white, with pink flowers, a basket for the butterfly cage, and a way for her to carry the net without the pole catching in the dirt and jabbing her in the ribs ( an important consideration!), . She also wants a kick stand...a feature this old mountain biker generally avoids.
Bearings are soaking in cleaner over night. Bars, stem, sissy bar, and crank have been polished. Still need to scrub down the rims, source some tires and decide about the saddle. I have the pan from the original seat. I'd love to do some heavy canvas with the same paint treatment as the fenders and have the seat done with that, but we might start with a new saddle from the Amazon for now.
Thanks for stopping by, Ken
Edit: just to say this is a legit barn find, lowered out of the hay loft on a hemp rope and purchased for $10
