Ok, the creative vision has cleared just enough for a skinnybike build. I don’t know why these things always happen in the middle of the night.
I will base it on the ‘60s Wayfarer Flyer and the 90’s Centurion Accordo.
(More photographs and descriptions of these in the fresh finds category…)
The vision here involves a gender-bending, lowered, stretchbike, with a raked skinny girder.
But the vision is still not clear. I haven’t laid out anything yet, and all I’ve done is start stripping, and play with wheels.
Of course I first have to file out the forks with the Dremel grinder, and spread the drops with a threaded rod.
The centurion was disassembled when I bought it, and I only got the frame set and crankset with derailers. The Wayfarer was 100% complete.
This bike had not seen a drop of oil or grease in 25 years and the tires were 100% rotten. Fortunately, it had been stored indoors most of its life and it’s not too rusty.
In fact, the old Wayfarer came apart rather easily, considering its age and state of decrepitude. Two exceptions were the drive side crank cotter, and drive side bearing cup.
The other cottter came out with a few taps from a punch, but the drive side was seized tight. I didn’t want to bend it and so I gave it two cycles of heat, with the torch, then compressed air and a cup of ice, to break the joint loose.
Even after that, the Volkswagen ball joint breaker was not able to move the pin.
I was successful by using this Whitworth ball joint press for old English cars. (50 years ago I owned an MG midget that I hopped up and ripped around. Every part of it that I touched was SAE so I never did buy any Whitworth tools.)
I used this to drive the cottter down into a nut. That 15 mm socket is six point, and slightly loose on the Whitworth screw.
But it all worked out & there are the cotters, beautifully undamaged.
This stuff is filthy but it never got ridden much. It’s all perfectly usable but not show quality.
I had purchased this threaded bottom set last week because it says BSA on it. I’m crossing my fingers it will fit.
I don’t know yet because the drive side bearing cup is still seized in the bottom bracket. I hit it with the torch and then some ice Saturday night, and I will do it again today. The second time it will most likely break loose without trouble.
The first heat cycle causes things to expand and contract, and breaks down the rusty interface a little bit. The second heat cycle actually causes things to move around a few thousands of an inch, and that’s usually enough that you can break free from that point. Anyhow my goal is not to beat on anything.
There’s the wayfarer with the alloy wheels, Skinny Schwinn seat and inverted bars
These alloy 559er wheels weigh 6 1/2 pounds less per set then the wayfarer steel wheels. That’s with brand new tires on the alloy wheels and completely worn out tires on the steel wheels.
I will base it on the ‘60s Wayfarer Flyer and the 90’s Centurion Accordo.
(More photographs and descriptions of these in the fresh finds category…)
The vision here involves a gender-bending, lowered, stretchbike, with a raked skinny girder.
But the vision is still not clear. I haven’t laid out anything yet, and all I’ve done is start stripping, and play with wheels.
Of course I first have to file out the forks with the Dremel grinder, and spread the drops with a threaded rod.
The centurion was disassembled when I bought it, and I only got the frame set and crankset with derailers. The Wayfarer was 100% complete.
This bike had not seen a drop of oil or grease in 25 years and the tires were 100% rotten. Fortunately, it had been stored indoors most of its life and it’s not too rusty.
In fact, the old Wayfarer came apart rather easily, considering its age and state of decrepitude. Two exceptions were the drive side crank cotter, and drive side bearing cup.
The other cottter came out with a few taps from a punch, but the drive side was seized tight. I didn’t want to bend it and so I gave it two cycles of heat, with the torch, then compressed air and a cup of ice, to break the joint loose.
Even after that, the Volkswagen ball joint breaker was not able to move the pin.
I was successful by using this Whitworth ball joint press for old English cars. (50 years ago I owned an MG midget that I hopped up and ripped around. Every part of it that I touched was SAE so I never did buy any Whitworth tools.)
I used this to drive the cottter down into a nut. That 15 mm socket is six point, and slightly loose on the Whitworth screw.
But it all worked out & there are the cotters, beautifully undamaged.
This stuff is filthy but it never got ridden much. It’s all perfectly usable but not show quality.
I had purchased this threaded bottom set last week because it says BSA on it. I’m crossing my fingers it will fit.
I don’t know yet because the drive side bearing cup is still seized in the bottom bracket. I hit it with the torch and then some ice Saturday night, and I will do it again today. The second time it will most likely break loose without trouble.
The first heat cycle causes things to expand and contract, and breaks down the rusty interface a little bit. The second heat cycle actually causes things to move around a few thousands of an inch, and that’s usually enough that you can break free from that point. Anyhow my goal is not to beat on anything.
There’s the wayfarer with the alloy wheels, Skinny Schwinn seat and inverted bars
These alloy 559er wheels weigh 6 1/2 pounds less per set then the wayfarer steel wheels. That’s with brand new tires on the alloy wheels and completely worn out tires on the steel wheels.
