Just last week, I picked up this Schwinn Cruiser for $20 locally, because it had one specific part I needed to really kick this project off: a 26 inch BMX-style fork with a ~7 inch steerer tube! As an added bonus, it also came with two lightly-rusted but perfectly true chrome wheels that I think will look great on this JC Higgins, as well as some other parts I can use on some other bikes.
After throwing on some new tubes and tires to take the Schwinn for one last ride, I quickly disassembled the bike and threw my newfound parts on the JC Higgins, and I got to say, I'm loving it!
If I just paint or powder the fork chrome, and stick with the black 26" x 2.5" GT Smoothie slicks I had on before, this thing's a winner! I think having all the attached parts in black and chrome will help the colors on the frame pop that much more. It already has this sort of "splatter paint" look I've seen on custom BMX and mountain bikes, except the effect is from layers of different colors of paint peeling off over time!
The chainring is off a 3-speed AMF bike I got years ago. I had planned to put it on another BMX-inspired build of mine, but I think it looks right at home on this bike.
While the fork isn't the color I want, it spaces the wheel away from the frame in a way I really like, and it has that classic BMX look to it!
I don't know if I'll use this seat or something else, but I'd like to have something comfortable to sit on, especially since I want to put some miles on this bike.
Got these handlebars from a guy while I was down in Texas earlier. I just liked the chrome and the sticker on them. Figured they'd be perfect for this project!
I'm not sure what the stem's off of, Dyno, I think? I got it in a bundle of parts from the Springfield, Missouri swap meet last month.
I had thought briefly about saving this project for the next Off Road Build Off, but the weather has only just begun to cool down in Tulsa, and I want to knock out as many projects as I can while the weather's cooperating. I've found that the best weather for riding and building bikes is usually in the fall, so I want to take full advantage of it while I can. If it means I miss out on a few Build Offs, I can live with that as long as I can build more bikes.
Something I might do in the future though is convert this bike from a single-speed coaster brake bike into a 10+ speed bike, using parts from various donor mountain bikes and this funky Wild Side bike I got. I figured the purple cables and chainring would look pretty nice on this mostly blue-and-red bike.
In the meantime though, I'm keeping this bike simple. Hopefully I'll have it ready in time for the next BMX Vintage Nationals here in Tulsa later this year.
