Hey, everyone!
First, i have to say thank you to all of you who have posted your knowledge and advice here. I've been reading this forum for a while, and I've learned a ton about my bike and I've found incredible inspiration for my resto/customization project. More importantly, your collective experience has helped me to figure out exactly where my own skill ends, and I think that knowing my own limits has saved me a lot of mistakes, breaks and heartache, so thank you for that, too.
My name's Angela and I live in Atlanta. Last summer, my boyfriend gave me the greatest "just because you're awesome and I love you" present ever: a 1965 Spaceliner. She'd had only one owner and was fresh out of the only garage she'd ever lived in, completely original and, with the exception of the head and tail light lenses, all of her original parts were intact and in repairable working order. She was my dream bike.
Small problem, though. See, I grew up in Cape Canaveral, FL, where it's completely flat and you don't need any more than a single speed. The last time I owned a bike I was 12 years old, and the steepest hill I'd ever encountered was my driveway. The solution then was to ditch my bike in the yard half way up and just walk to the door, but in Atlanta, there are hills everywhere, and when I rode my Spaceliner for the first time, I had to dismount and push it up my own street. More than once.
Still, I love her. I LOVE this bike. And last month, awesome boyfriend saved the day again and had a Shimano Nexus 3-speed internal hub installed (I insisted on no derailleurs to ruin the aesthetic of the bike's streamlined design) and a smaller chainwheel to reduce the gear ratio even further. He also added a replacement Electra cruiser seat, new pedals and new 26" wheels and whitewalls.
Here's Stella Mae, my Spaceliner, the day I got her:
With the exception of some of the mechanical work, I'm doing the entire project myself. (I grew up in a family of mechanics and bodywork guys, and I do most of the work on my own car, so I think I can handle this.) She'll be my daily rider, so I'm going for comfort over authenticity where it matters. I still have to:
1. Decide what color to paint her, figure out how to remove the tank and rear rack and then get to sandblasting
2. Sew my own panniers and seat cover
3. Get out my soldering iron and retrofit a Philips Xenon headlight into the front cavity, then find a replacement lens (ditto for the tail light)
4. Design and machine my own custom head badge
5. Look fly riding my totally boss wheels!
Again, thanks for everyone's collected knowledge and advice. I look forward to sharing updates and progress photos as my Spaceliner gets her makeover!
First, i have to say thank you to all of you who have posted your knowledge and advice here. I've been reading this forum for a while, and I've learned a ton about my bike and I've found incredible inspiration for my resto/customization project. More importantly, your collective experience has helped me to figure out exactly where my own skill ends, and I think that knowing my own limits has saved me a lot of mistakes, breaks and heartache, so thank you for that, too.
My name's Angela and I live in Atlanta. Last summer, my boyfriend gave me the greatest "just because you're awesome and I love you" present ever: a 1965 Spaceliner. She'd had only one owner and was fresh out of the only garage she'd ever lived in, completely original and, with the exception of the head and tail light lenses, all of her original parts were intact and in repairable working order. She was my dream bike.
Small problem, though. See, I grew up in Cape Canaveral, FL, where it's completely flat and you don't need any more than a single speed. The last time I owned a bike I was 12 years old, and the steepest hill I'd ever encountered was my driveway. The solution then was to ditch my bike in the yard half way up and just walk to the door, but in Atlanta, there are hills everywhere, and when I rode my Spaceliner for the first time, I had to dismount and push it up my own street. More than once.
Still, I love her. I LOVE this bike. And last month, awesome boyfriend saved the day again and had a Shimano Nexus 3-speed internal hub installed (I insisted on no derailleurs to ruin the aesthetic of the bike's streamlined design) and a smaller chainwheel to reduce the gear ratio even further. He also added a replacement Electra cruiser seat, new pedals and new 26" wheels and whitewalls.
Here's Stella Mae, my Spaceliner, the day I got her:
With the exception of some of the mechanical work, I'm doing the entire project myself. (I grew up in a family of mechanics and bodywork guys, and I do most of the work on my own car, so I think I can handle this.) She'll be my daily rider, so I'm going for comfort over authenticity where it matters. I still have to:
1. Decide what color to paint her, figure out how to remove the tank and rear rack and then get to sandblasting
2. Sew my own panniers and seat cover
3. Get out my soldering iron and retrofit a Philips Xenon headlight into the front cavity, then find a replacement lens (ditto for the tail light)
4. Design and machine my own custom head badge
5. Look fly riding my totally boss wheels!
Again, thanks for everyone's collected knowledge and advice. I look forward to sharing updates and progress photos as my Spaceliner gets her makeover!
