Kasual Klunker

[Bike from the Dead]

Finished working on my 1952 Schwinn Hornet, Kasual Klunker, for now. There are still a few things I'd like to do to it down the road, but I achieved my primary goal, which was to get this bike riding again for cheap.

This was a first for me, as I'm not really an off road bike guy, but as I was mocking up the parts I had on hand to get this bike together, I realized how much it reminded me of the original klunker bikes of the 1970s, so I just ran with the theme. Plus, I wanted to try something new, both in terms of build style and in terms of riding. I like the looks of those old klunkers, and what better way to try my hand at off road biking than with an old school klunker just like the guys back in the '70s did? Plus, it was nice change of pace stripping a bike down to the bare essentials rather than adding a ton of different parts. I just can't stay in my lane; I gotta try new things!

Here's a highlight reel of where this bike started, and some of the changes I made to it along the way:

You can check out the full build here.

 

[rickpaulos]

That fork looks like trying to run with your legs crossed.

 

[kingfish254]

Nice work. I dig the look of this alot.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Nice work. I dig the look of this alot.

Thanks!

 

[Tallbikeman]

I really like your klunker. Lovely old school original pain job, really nice sprung fork, aluminum rims all add up to a usable klunker. Good job.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

I really like your klunker. Lovely old school original pain job, really nice sprung fork, aluminum rims all add up to a usable klunker. Good job.

Thank you!

 

[Mesquite Hugger]

That bike is gorgeous - well done!

 

[Bike from the Dead]

That bike is gorgeous - well done!

Thank you!

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Got an update on what's happened to the Kasual Klunker since the Winter Build Off ended a few months back.

As I had stated at the start of this build thread, red is just not one of my favorite colors, and despite how much I liked how this Schwinn turned out, I just could not fall in love (or stay in love) with the original crimson red paint on this bike. So, as odd as it was for me, I decided to part out and part ways with one of the bikes I built.

Before I took Kasual Klunker apart, I took it out for a couple last rides. I took it out to the first-ever cruise-in that my dad hosted at his shop in Sapulpa on April 13th, where I showed it off and even rode a few laps around the parking lot. That was a lot of fun!

After that, I took the bike out for one last ride around the neighborhood, before taking it all apart.

I kept all the parts I threw on the bike for the ORBO, and partially reassembled the Schwinn with all the original parts I had left. (I had traded the skiptooth chainring about a month prior because I still thought I was keeping the bike at the time. Oops.)

Finally, I took the bike with me up to the Haysville, Kansas bicycle swap meet, where I traded it for another Schwinn straightbar frame (that might also be a 1952 model,) and a Sears Spyder muscle bike. Unlike the previous Schwinn straightbar, I can strip what's left of the paint off this frame and build it and paint it the way I really want, whatever that way may be. I'm also just really excited that I landed another "bucket list bike" with that 5-speed Sears Spyder! It's far from perfect, but I'm excited to fix it up and get it riding again!

So, that's the end of Kasual Klunker's story, or at least, the end of this chapter of this bike's life. It's gone on to a new home, where it'll either be built, sold or traded by someone else. It's kind of sad to see it go, but I'm positive that I'll be even happier with the 2 new bikes I got in exchange for it!