Defiant Gnome

[Hank Street]

Here is my late 40s model Schwinn DX Spitfire build. I bought this at an estate sale and was told it was only good for garden art. Therefore, the Defiant Gnome needed to come to life. The forks were bent and hubs were shot, so I decided to go more extreme and do a modern build on the great patina frame. I didn’t want to widen anything a lot so I decided on a fixed gear build. I still need to add a few things, but it rides really smooth and definitely catches people off guard. It’s far from garden art now.

 

[Hank Street]

 

[Hank Street]

 

[Hank Street]

Still need to add grip tape and temporarily adding a front brake so I don’t kill anyone or myself while riding it initially. Lol

 

[Pondo]

Fixie? Came out pretty sweet, nice job!

 

[Hank Street]

Fixie? Came out pretty sweet, nice job!

Yes, fixie. Adding a brake until I get use to stopping.

 

[Hank Street]

 

[Hank Street]

Now the she is done, it’s just cosmetic stuff for now. Should I leave the patina as is or pull some oil on it to make the patina shine more?

 

[Karate Chicken Industries]

Adding a brake until I get use to stopping.

My SoCal commuter fixed gear bike had a front brake at forst, but I ditched it after getting used to stopping. One thing the brakeless did for me was upped my awareness to a slightly sub-psychotic level. The only time a vehicle and I met in a collision while riding brakeless (or otherwise) was when a friend and I were hit from behind by a hit and run driver.