Hawthorne Twin Bar (2)

[bruce]

Guys sorry I've been absent for a while but life's been busy. Still is actually but I started checking out the build off and got some motivation to start putting together a bike that's been sitting around for about a year now.

I got this Hawthorne Twin Bar last summer. I felt like I had a pretty rare frame but I see KingFish is using this frame and it appears that Fordsnake mentioned it too. Not that I'm close to being in their league but these frames seem to have a certain appeal this time around.

The proportions are nice and some of the details very cool to me. The two continuous bars under the bottom bracket for example as well as the sweeping line of the two top bars.

Here is the starting point.

My plan is to make a bike with a little bit of style that I will be able to ride comfortably for a couple of hours straight. I've been able to pick up some other parts for the bike and hope to have a custom detail or two before it's over also.

More to come soon...

Bruce

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Very cool frame, welcome to the build-off!

Luke.

 

[kingfish254]

Welcome back to the build off Bruce! That 16" twin flex Huffman you did last year was too cool.
I can't wait to see what you do with your Twin Bar! It's pretty wild that we're gonna have two of these in BONINE. You have a great starting point with you bike. Get to building buddy!

 

[bruce]

The biggest issue for riding comfort will be the seat height/location as my legs are pretty long and most of the old bikes really aren't built for that.

Raising the seatpost works of course but generally doesn't look that great. I figure I will end up with a combination of a taller and laid back post.

I bent one up for testing. The fit is decent but since these frames don't have seatpost clamps I will need a custom post to be able to tighten it down.

 

[Uncle Fide]

Nice starting point fella, another 5 bar, should be cool.

 

[Jake Sensi]

Welcome back to the jungle! GTB! PEACE

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[junknutz1975]

Beautiful starting point!

Love those frames

 

[HuffDaddy]

Very cool frame. looks like it might have some nice patina going on too!

 

[bruce]

The patina is pretty nice. Home done paint job with accents and some striping, not well done but looks good now that it's decades old. I really like the colors and really don't like painting so it will stay as is.

Started looking at parts. I have a mismatched set of prewar blue rims (one drop center and one triple drop) that look great with the frame's colors.

And I did manage to find the somewhat elusive pie crust guard. Making one of these would be a cool project too.

I like the color of this fork better than the one that is a perfect match to the bike, plus this one's straight which is a plus.

This is a pretty flattering angle for the lines of the frame I think.

 

[kingfish254]

Those rims look great with that old paint. Nice batch of parts. Can't believe you found a piecrust.
You are so right about 45 degree angles being the best to truly see the bars.
How are you planning to do you seatpost. Are you still going to have to incorporate some sorta quill bolt?
I am digging your plan for this one.

By the way, don't forget to put your pin on the BONINE WORLD MAP
https://www.zeemaps.com/map?group=984254

 

[The Renaissance Man]

That chain guard is very cool!
Great looking build!

 

[bruce]

Kingfish-

I had to buy a bike to get the piecrust. Actually just a frame and fork and crankset which happened to have the piecrust. Not that there's anything wrong with owning another prewar frame BTW.

I ordered some steel tube for the seat post and figured I would cut it and fabricate a bottom piece that resembles a quill bolt from the same material. I can't see another way to attach to the frame without modifying the frame which I don't want to do, especially since I need to get some height.

Hopefully I will get to that this weekend and let you know how it goes.

BTW do the headset bearing cups fit tightly in your frame? I've heard that the frames typically are too large and the bearing cups are loose, which is the case with mine. I ordered a little shim that will hopefully do the trick.

Bruce

 

[bruce]

And I put my pin on the map. That's a great idea. Nice to see where everyone is from.

 

[bruce]

Over the past year I was able to find both the pie crust guard and the Streamliner seat. At first I thought I might use another seat on this build but after trying a couple a few days ago the Streamliner definitely looks best to me.

This one has a nice slope off the back so I thought it might work.

The Brooks was the one I thought I would end up with.

But the Streamliner really does work with the frame.

Today I got the hubs broken down, cleaned up and reassembled. I'm not sure how many of these I've done, not tons but definitely a handful. Not until today did it dawn on me that using a vice might help quite a bit with the reassembly. You guys have probably figured this out long ago, but in case you haven't here are some shots of the process.

I also got some 3G tires in brown and mounted them up just to check out the look (still need to lace the hub into the rear wheel, and may swap rims as I sent the original set to the powder coater to try a dark grey).

The seatpost is still a question mark. I have figured out how to make a traditional layback post with a quill bolt, but started kicking around other ideas today. I like having the post coming out closer to the rear wheel, and also like the idea of a panel or box behind the seat tube. Sets off the profile of the pie crust pretty nicely.

Still have to think about this one some more...

 

[kingfish254]

That is a wild seat! I seem to remember seeing pics of one that had a tool pouch built in the back too. I like the brown BOAs with the blue. I like how you do a lot of mockups to see what works for you. It's always cool to see other builders exploratory phases. Keep on building buddy!

 

[Jake Sensi]

Man this is sweet!!

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[Funkme]

And then thr wer 2... Great frame to start with,Stars n Bars has a brother...

 

[kingfish254]

And then thr wer 2... Great frame to start with,Stars n Bars has a brother...

Pretty cool, isn't it? And we both have built Twin-Flex inspired rear suspension bikes in previous build offs. Build brothas from different muthas.

 

[bruce]

A few things in common for sure.


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[bruce]

Making a little progress on the seat post. More parts due in today or tomorrow.

Trying to post a photo directly from the phone. Hopefully it works.


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