Elgin motorbike made roadworthy.

[Boardtrack fan]

I posted pictures of this bike in the middle of summer. I had just picked it up at the Wauseon antique motorcycle swap/race. I tried to leave the original patina, but make it so I can ride it. The bearings were in surprisingly good shape. I did replace the small set of bearings in the ND coaster. The tires are cyclocross tubeless and fit really good. Kinda pricey though. I need to do something with the seat and then I can really call it done.
Before.

After

 

[KZ1000]

Looks good, are those 28" tires on wood clad wheels

 

[thesuicideride]

wow that is awesome! how do you mount tubeless tires? are they solid rubber and you do the boiling water thing? thats a cool stand too. did that come with?

 

[Boardtrack fan]

It has the original 28" metal clad wood rims. Someone replaced some spokes before I bought it. The tires are very similar to the sew-up tires used on velodrome race bikes. Imagine a really tough inner tube with tread on the one side and you get the idea. They slip on pretty easy. The hard part is keeping them centered on the rim while you are inflating them. You are supposed to glue them to the rim, but for riding around the neighborhood I think I will try them without. I bought the stand a while ago on ebay. A guy in Canada reproduces them.

 

[deorman]

They may work without glue, but if not you may damage the valve stem. :|

 

[Boardtrack fan]

They may work without glue, but if not you may damage the valve stem. :|

Yeah, the stem is a presta valve to start with, so it does not fit the hole very well. I was thinking of cutting a sharder valve stem out of a old tube and use it as a spacer. Not sure if the presta will fit inside though.

 

[deorman]

Maybe a wiring grommet? :?

 

[sensor]

looks great :mrgreen:
glue them before you ride it(i dare you to ask my why i say that)!
and as for the seat id just spin the post and drop it and watch it when you sit down(im guessing the leathers separated on the back) so you dont tear it more

 

[thesuicideride]

looks great :mrgreen:
glue them before you ride it(i dare you to ask my why i say that)!
and as for the seat id just spin the post and drop it and watch it when you sit down(im guessing the leathers separated on the back) so you dont tear it more

i just busted threw my early troxel eagle climax saddle TODAY! fml....

 

[Unchained]

NICE! The new tires are sweet and I'm really liking the look. Are you planning on replacing the front fender?

 

[Boardtrack fan]

NICE! The new tires are sweet and I'm really liking the look. Are you planning on replacing the front fender?

I have a fender, but it is green. I have not made-up my mind if I want to use it or not. It belongs with another Elgin that was badly damaged in shipping.

 

[Bigcam59]

looks great :mrgreen:
glue them before you ride it(i dare you to ask my why i say that)!
and as for the seat id just spin the post and drop it and watch it when you sit down(im guessing the leathers separated on the back) so you dont tear it more

I have to agree! As a bike mechanic I've heard horror stories about guys that forgot to glue on tubulars. As for a valve hole spacer, any decent bike shop should be able to get you one (or two) cheap.
Nice lookin' bike, btw!

 

[ifitsfreeitsforme]

awesome bike, and the Contis look good. But definitely glue them. They will roll right off in a corner, or if a defect in the pavement grabs them the wrong way. In fact, I've even rolled tubies off a rim that were glued, but the glue had dried after a couple seasons.

 

[SSG]

Very nice bike, It's great that you're getting it rideable. The factory single tube tires were held on with some form of shellac, but modern tubular glue is probably far superior. This link might be helpful. http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=101

 

[skoda]

Oh, that looks so cool. Digging the "stand" also. Get some of that aluminum tape and sneak it up inside/under the seat for some backing if you can get it in between the horsehair and leather (good luck) or just try to not sit down!

 

[scott brownsey]

kool

 

[kingfish254]

Cool bike! Love the stand too!
I have one of these frames coming to me and can't wait to start playing with it.

 

[Walker]

Nice job!

can you post up some details on the tires, this could solve a couple of problems for me, and maybe others

 

[user 135]

Nice job!

can you post up some details on the tires, this could solve a couple of problems for me, and maybe others

He may or may not reply as this was posted a couple of years ago. But I bet he is using tubular tires which tend to be more expensive.
http://www.glorycycles.com/cosptucyti.html

 

[Walker]

didn't notice I got sucked into an old thread

I did some looking, it appears 700c = ±28", and I found widths up to 32 which would look pretty good size wise.

They are still cheaper than re-pop 28" singletubes!

Someone posted a question about fitting 29er wheels into a 26" frame, while I can't figure that one out, a 28" clad wood wheel fits in my Zep frame with room to spare. Kind of gives it a monstercross look.