El Niñer

[Starnger]

The inspiration for this bike was in early Klunkers, running classic one piece cranks and planetary gear hubs. However some modern Klunker twist was also welcome, for example i made it run 29' wheels. I used an old destroyed Electra ladies cruiser frame (hence the name) as a starting point, and added pieces from destroyed 1980's German touristic bike called Radiant. Great thanks to ones in comment section for the feedback and help with the build!

Starting point:

Featuring:
- SRAM i-motion T3 wheelset, taken off a donor bike, dutch Locomotief bicycle
- Schwalbe Rapid Rob 29" tires found in the trash can a couple years ago
- Fork made out of an older Radiant bicycle fork
- Schwinn sweetheart sprocket
- 175mm long OPC
- 1950's/60's Sturmey Archer shifter
- 1970's Altenburger brake levers made in Germany
- Electra Straight 8 handlebars with a hand made cross bar
- More parts found in my workshop, in general nothing but a donor bike for the wheelset is bought for this build

That was really cool build to make, though i am finishing in the last moment and there are few more things i wanted to do, like painting Great experience to have, lots of engineering and fabrication and a very nice satisfying result!

Build thread.

Finished bike pictures:

 

[kingfish254]

Wicked transformation and very cool blending of parts. Well done brother!

 

[One-eyed Sailor]

Fun to watch you make this happen, Serg! Bravo!

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Wicked cool! I would never have guessed it started life as a women's Electra if you hadn't photographed it! I think you nailed the old school klunker vibe. Great job dude!

 

[Tallbikeman]

Very nicely done. You have all the elements that were present in the first klunkers minus the 29er wheels. At first I thought you were using the Shimano roller brakes. I bought a pair one time and they were not good. You actually have to grease the braking surfaces just like a coaster brake. They did not have much braking power. I notice yours a Sram and maybe actual drum brakes. The 3 or 4 speed internal gear hubs were used by some klunker builders back in the day. I especially liked the design and look of your seatpost clamp. Good job. Welding is an art and you are on your way to being a good welder.

 

[Starnger]

Very nicely done. You have all the elements that were present in the first klunkers minus the 29er wheels. At first I thought you were using the Shimano roller brakes. I bought a pair one time and they were not good. You actually have to grease the braking surfaces just like a coaster brake. They did not have much braking power. I notice yours a Sram and maybe actual drum brakes. The 3 or 4 speed internal gear hubs were used by some klunker builders back in the day. I especially liked the design and look of your seatpost clamp. Good job. Welding is an art and you are on your way to being a good welder.

Thanks for a kind comment!
You are right, those SRAM brakes are actually drum brakes, identical to the older ones on inside, just external and with a cooler! No idea why they market them as roller brakes, since there are no actual rollers inside
I actually have rather good experience with modern roller brake models, but cooling fans have to be large and grease well applied. Older models or models with small coolers work less efficient, but enough for flat land cruising. I prefer rollers over rim brakes for a cruiser bike. However we are surely talking about a different thing applied to klunkers.

 

[Pestcontrol02]

Awesome work