"If you're going through <hell>, keep going." —Winston Churchill
This build is dedicated to my Dad who was diagnosed with inoperable Stage Four lung cancer in January. The name is a combination of two elements that make me think of him: the first is the above Winston Churchill quote, and the other is my Dad's prized '77 El Camino. This one's for you, Pop.
I've been wanting to build up a straight-bar Schwinn rider, and I've been planning and gathering parts for months now. Almost every part of this assemblage came from a different place; the forum, eBay, my parts bin, MLC, a few online retailers...I even picked up some tubes from my local REI. It finally started coming together though when Rick (expjawa) agreed to do a frame swap with me about a month ago. I had a black straight-bar Hornet frame, but I really wanted blue; and not just any blue, Schwinn blue. The first bike I remember having as a kid was a garage sale special that my Dad rattle-canned almost the exact same color. It definitely wasn't a Schwinn, but that hue has always stuck with me. This build won't be about cutting or welding, and probably not even painting. Rather it will be a re-imagining of what could have been with a bunch of mostly stock parts–old, new, and everything in between.
Some of the goods:
Schwinn BFGoodrich (of course) frame from Rick
Felt Cruiser wheelset with Nexus 3-speed
Project346 tires
NOS Shimano 3 speed shifter
Fenders, tank, chainguards, rack
Pedals (provided I can straighten the bent axles)
I've got a few more parts in the hopper and I'm still tracking down a bunch of the smalls. Pulling everything together has already been a good distraction for when I need a break, and now I'm ready to get buildin'!
This build is dedicated to my Dad who was diagnosed with inoperable Stage Four lung cancer in January. The name is a combination of two elements that make me think of him: the first is the above Winston Churchill quote, and the other is my Dad's prized '77 El Camino. This one's for you, Pop.
I've been wanting to build up a straight-bar Schwinn rider, and I've been planning and gathering parts for months now. Almost every part of this assemblage came from a different place; the forum, eBay, my parts bin, MLC, a few online retailers...I even picked up some tubes from my local REI. It finally started coming together though when Rick (expjawa) agreed to do a frame swap with me about a month ago. I had a black straight-bar Hornet frame, but I really wanted blue; and not just any blue, Schwinn blue. The first bike I remember having as a kid was a garage sale special that my Dad rattle-canned almost the exact same color. It definitely wasn't a Schwinn, but that hue has always stuck with me. This build won't be about cutting or welding, and probably not even painting. Rather it will be a re-imagining of what could have been with a bunch of mostly stock parts–old, new, and everything in between.
Some of the goods:
Schwinn BFGoodrich (of course) frame from Rick
Felt Cruiser wheelset with Nexus 3-speed
Project346 tires
NOS Shimano 3 speed shifter
Fenders, tank, chainguards, rack
Pedals (provided I can straighten the bent axles)
I've got a few more parts in the hopper and I'm still tracking down a bunch of the smalls. Pulling everything together has already been a good distraction for when I need a break, and now I'm ready to get buildin'!
