Collegiate remix

[user 26311]

Sweet build…. We build ‘em to ride ‘em…. That’s an awesome bike.

just curious, I’ve had my eyes peeled for an old camel back for a few years now…. Where are you finding them?

the collegiate’s are all over, but the camel backs I’ve had trouble finding.

-saw one a few years ago for $250 that needed a ton of work…. Haven’t seen one since!

I’ve seen them pop up locally from time to time on FB marketplace or Craigslist. If they are reasonably priced I’ll check them out. I’ve really wanted a 24” for some time but haven’t been able to snag one. Someone from this forum is suppose to be sending me one but last time I checked it’s not been shipped!

 

[kingfish254]

That's really come out nicely!
I love the pics of your pod of humpbacks

 

[ParkRNDL]

Sweet build…. We build ‘em to ride ‘em…. That’s an awesome bike.

just curious, I’ve had my eyes peeled for an old camel back for a few years now…. Where are you finding them?

the collegiate’s are all over, but the camel backs I’ve had trouble finding.

-saw one a few years ago for $250 that needed a ton of work…. Haven’t seen one since!

I guess I am lucky; I have 4 that I have picked up over a span of 5 years. Two of them were Craigslist finds, one was FB Marketplace, and one was at a bike swap a year or two ago. They turn up in the wild from time to time. I had to leave a nice one at the Carlisle swap meet a couple years ago because I just couldn't justify another Campus Green one... IIRC it was a 3-speed missing a few parts, but they only wanted 40 bucks...

 

[ParkRNDL]

I’ve seen them pop up locally from time to time on FB marketplace or Craigslist. If they are reasonably priced I’ll check them out. I’ve really wanted a 24” for some time but haven’t been able to snag one. Someone from this forum is suppose to be sending me one but last time I checked it’s not been shipped!

I have been looking for a 24" also, for a BMX cruiser project.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

pod of humpbacks

That's freakin funny

 

[Jude Ephesus]

I guess I am lucky; I have 4 that I have picked up over a span of 5 years. Two of them were Craigslist finds, one was FB Marketplace, and one was at a bike swap a year or two ago. They turn up in the wild from time to time. I had to leave a nice one at the Carlisle swap meet a couple years ago because I just couldn't justify another Campus Green one... IIRC it was a 3-speed missing a few parts, but they only wanted 40 bucks...

That yellow one is pretty cool…..

 

[ParkRNDL]

Thank you Mr. Postman.

New tires mounted up, derailleur cable housings changed, Cr-Mo seatpost added.

I liked the gritty retro look of the old tires, but I think the new tires change the whole look of the bike. Kinda bring it up to date, maybe. Agree with the previous advice that they are not the most free-rolling tires. Given their reputation for durability, that's a trade-off I'm willing to make.

The plan from here on out is to just ride and make little changes as necessary. I have a pair of Wald 803 bars coming just to take a look, but I think they will be saved for a future project and these will stay on.

 

[wvoldguy]

Nice lines. I'm sort of drawn to the looks of camelback bikes.

 

[GeePig]

Lovely looking tires for the project, I was looking at something similar the other day for mine - but I didn't have the budget left after buying tools and tubes...

 

[ParkRNDL]

A few more miles, a brand new bag, and some experimentation with camera angles.

And a quick shout out to an eBay seller I have had good experiences with. Since I have gotten into vintage/retro cruisers, I have tried to find a bicycle tool/utility bag that looks like it fits the bike. Hanging a modern nylon MTB bag under the seat of an old cruiser kinda ruins the look for me. I found an eBay seller, avikashop, that sells cylindrical bags like the one above in various leather finishes for about 20 bucks. Last year I bought a couple in different colors for some of my old cruisers, and I liked them so much I bought a couple more so I wouldn't have to switch them around. Then I bought one for my daughter's Collegiate. And now for this project, when I picked up the mattress saddle, I figured a black one with rivets would match perfectly. So I ordered the one you see above from the same seller. But that's not what I got at first. Instead I got the black one in this picture, shown next to the brown one which was the size I was supposed to get:

I contacted the seller, and they responded the next morning. They apologized and told me they would send the correct item out right away, and that I could either resell or keep the other bag. Sure enough, this showed up a few days later:

I have been impressed with the product since I first bought them last year, now I'm pretty impressed with their customer service too.

On a different note, I have been thinking about this:

https://www.schwinnbikes.com/collections/cruiser-bikes/products/mens-collegiate
https://www.bicycling.com/bikes-gear/a33004270/schwinn-collegiate-review/
Schwinn kinda did the same thing I did; they "remixed" the Collegiate with some updates and rideability improvements. And mine isn't gonna cost me $998! There's gotta be a way for me to work that into the theme of this project...

(Also, the Collegiate is sold out on the Schwinn site, but the Orange Krate and Coal Krate are not? That surprises me.)

 

[TV Casualty]

Looks great, I dig the bag.

If you decide to sell your fenders, please let me know! I am considering adding fenders to my Collegiate.

 

[ParkRNDL]

Looks great, I dig the bag.

If you decide to sell your fenders, please let me know! I am considering adding fenders to my Collegiate.

Sorry, just seeing this now...

I'm in the process of switching fenders around on a couple of the stockers I have. I will let you know when I have a set to let go.

 

[ParkRNDL]

Not much progress, just a couple of cosmetic changes and a front wheel swap.

I bought the wheels for this bike at a bike swap in the spring. At $10 each they seemed to be a good deal. Over time, though, the front one has been making more and more little plinking sounds while riding, and they change when I brake or turn. Closer inspection revealed that some of the spokes were possibly a little looser than ideal. That's actually why I didn't choose this bike for this recent adventure. But after rooting around in the basement a little, I found a very similar alloy front wheel with quick release, so that was an easy fix.

For that same adventure, I switched the mattress saddle that was on this bike to another one, and just stuck this brown one on here. The more I looked at it,. the more I liked it, and I knew I had a set of brown leather grips in my stash that just happened to match. So this is where we are at now.

Only problem is that this seat doesn't have those little loops to hang a bag from, but I will figure something out.

Thinking this one is pretty much done, just needs a final photo session...

 

[MattiThundrrr]

That looks really fast and fun. Like that a lot

 

[kingfish254]

CONGRATS on another cool build!!!
Love the red.

 

[Dr. Tankenstein]

LOVE it!
I wished we lived closer, our bikes would look awesome together!

 

[OddJob]

Hang your seat bag from the seat rails as an option. I really like the brown seat and grips for another color splash, very classic looking too.

It's not uncommon for even fairly high end, factory made wheels on new bikes to come needing spoke tensioning before they hit the sales floor. So I'm not surprised about your less expensive, probably single walled, wheels 'pinging' and 'popping'. The pressure caused by leaning the bike really accentuates that too.

 

[ParkRNDL]

That looks really fast and fun. Like that a lot

thanks! I have been meaning to mention to you... a ways back you recommended Michelin Country Rock tires for this thing. I have a set on another bike and like them, but I went with something different (Vittorias) because the price was good and I liked the look. Well, after doing some riding on the Vittorias, I gotta say the Michelins roll better and I will be using more of them in the future. Shoulda taken your advice.

CONGRATS on another cool build!!!
Love the red.

thanks!

LOVE it!
I wished we lived closer, our bikes would look awesome together!

I haven't been keeping up with build threads, but I remembered you were also doing a camelback and I just checked yours out... WHOA. The whiteout effect is amazing. Beautiful build!

Hang your seat bag from the seat rails as an option. I really like the brown seat and grips for another color splash, very classic looking too.

It's not uncommon for even fairly high end, factory made wheels on new bikes to come needing spoke tensioning before they hit the sales floor. So I'm not surprised about your less expensive, probably single walled, wheels 'pinging' and 'popping'. The pressure caused by leaning the bike really accentuates that too.

Thank you! I was actually surprised myself at the combination of the red and brown.

 

[ParkRNDL]

Took a ride with my son and daughter today and got some pictures for my entry. Working on the final post now.

 

[Walter Zoomie]

That's a good looking rig!