Meet Virginia, Smooth Bahama Blaster, Lake Loafer, Pirate's Princess, Whiskey Girl

[Klunkruiser]

Think I've decided to use this wheel and hub on the front. This wheelset is over 30 years old but barely used. Just needs a bit of spit and polish. Cheap JT hubs spin great.
Could always screw on a single cog freewheel on the back and relace it centered. Then put a pair of caliper brakes on it for the full race BMX effect.

I'd rather black or polished high flange hubs. But, as far as high flange, other than the old small front axle Normandy road hubs, this is what I got.

That pretty much eliminates yellow or brown paint in my mind. So I've got white, silver, gloss red or metallic Barcelona red, three shades of metallic blue, and metallic black. Thinkin the darker the better, for me. To offset the white hubs.

Still haven't decided on a fork. This frame is a little longer than an old Schwinn cantilever, but with a slightly steeper headtube.
Wouldn't mind a little more slack in the fork.
I got three Tange infinity style with brake posts. And chrome v-brakes. They're ok. Found some Ashtabulas.
But wouldn't mind something more dynamic in the looks department. Considering buying this one new part for the bike(along with a set of tires probably). Maybe Landing Gear or similar. Maybe some type of triple tree. I don't know yet. Would really like a little extra rake and maybe a little extra length.

 

[Klunkruiser]

Small sledge and a chisel made quick work of the seatpost clamp.

Welds from the tabs were easy to smooth out without overdoing it with a cordless drill and small grinding wheel.

Little more scuffing, sanding, and polishing to do before I start laying some etching primer on the metal, then a coat of adhesion promoting primer, maybe some primer filler in a spot or two, and so on.
Hoping to get'r fully primed and paint ready tonight.

 

[kingfish254]

Virginia sure does have some shapely twin top tubes.

 

[Klunkruiser]

Welp...I'm sorry to say that no real progress has been made as far as getting the frame ready for paint.
Right after I typed that last post, a guy called and I went and picked up yet another donor bike!

This one came with ready to install wheelsets in great condition. Schwinn Typhoon brick tires in real good shape. And a Nexus 4 with coaster brake.

Trying to figure out some of the finer details of these Nexus hubs, as I'd dearly love to lose the gripshift in favor of a thumb shifter.

 

[Klunkruiser]

And to complicate things even more... (seems like all the good deals I find on bikes with lightly used desirable hubs are womens bikes)... I just got this, pretty cherry for a mid-late 60's model, Schwinn Breeze with a yellow band Bendix automatic kick shift 2-speed.

Actually the rims are just a little crusty. And would probably clean up alright. But I have zero use for them.
The paint is very good for a 50 year old bicycle though.

 

[Klunkruiser]

I still like the idea of eventually using the 8-speed Nexus on this bike, as it will likely fill the role of my road bike. But I'm probably going to take the easy route for the immediate future and go with the four speed, which by my eye is a hair wider than the non-coaster 8-speed
.
The 52 tooth chainring that came on the Cruiser Four is a little much though. I'll have to do some learnin to figure out where I want to be.

The Bendix 2 speed will be saved for a later build.
I'm set in rear axles for the next year or two. Just need to get a few nice forks.

 

[sandman]

Welp...I'm sorry to say that no real progress has been made as far as getting the frame ready for paint.
Right after I typed that last post, a guy called and I went and picked up yet another donor bike!
View attachment 99307
This one came with ready to install wheelsets in great condition. Schwinn Typhoon brick tires in real good shape. And a Nexus 4 with coaster brake.View attachment 99308
Trying to figure out some of the finer details of these Nexus hubs, as I'd dearly love to lose the gripshift in favor of a thumb shifter.

Four speed shifters are hard to come by , but micrshift made a Nexus 4 speed thumb shifter .

 

[Klunkruiser]

Four speed shifters are hard to come by , but micrshift made a Nexus 4 speed thumb shifter .

Thanks! I'll keep an eye out for one.
Was hoping for something more shiny...aluminum maybe.
Also I've read that some shifters for the 7 or 8 speeds could work if the pull length was close enough in four consecutive gears.

I had considered trying an indexed 7-speed shifter/brake lever I have. But it was made for a cassette. And was told by the guy I bought the bike from that the pull lengths would likely not match up.
Although he did say that I could possibly use one of my friction thumb shifters, which have a nice classic look, if I could learn to shift just the right amount. It makes sense but I'm not so sure I wouldn't tear up the gears before I got the hang of it.

 

[RustyGold]

I think you'll need to use something indexed over friction as these hubs are pretty sensitive to being out of adjustment...there isn't a lot of 'feel' as there would be with a derailleur setup.

 

[Klunkruiser]

Yes. I plan to. That Microshift made for the 4-speed is probably my best option if I can locate one.
The twist-shifter works fine. But so far my experience is that these stock Nexus shifters are pretty fragile.

 

[OddJob]

@Klunkruiser , I'm using the Nexus 4 speed on my current build, Trans-MIG-RaT in Class 2. I previously used this on another build, and in both instances I used an old friction downtube shifter, with an extension / stick shift to run through the gears.

It's just like a friction shifter from ages past, you 'feel' your way through. The best part of this is that the 4 speed is progressive; 1st gear is your low gear, and each shift made gives you more resistance as you shift up into higher gears.

The hub will tell you when it's in between gears, it slips and doesn't give you the engagement you need for smooth pedaling.

I've had a lot of fun running this hub, and it's unique. You will have to spread the rear drop outs to 120 mm, but an extra 10 mm is pretty easy to achieve on most steel frames.

One important thing to remember, because your 1 x 1 ratio is in 1st gear, you need to run a smaller chain ring in the front than normal. I have a 36t ring on Trans - RaT and it's about right for getting a nice low gear for inclines, and a really big gear for higher speed flat sections or downhills.

 

[sandman]

I running a Nexus 4 on my EC junker , it's a fun bike , but as
OddJob stated you have to run a real small chainring . Horsefarmer
as a good right up on here somewhere ?

 

[Klunkruiser]

@Klunkruiser , I'm using the Nexus 4 speed on my current build, Trans-MIG-RaT in Class 2. I previously used this on another build, and in both instances I used an old friction downtube shifter, with an extension / stick shift to run through the gears.

It's just like a friction shifter from ages past, you 'feel' your way through. The best part of this is that the 4 speed is progressive; 1st gear is your low gear, and each shift made gives you more resistance as you shift up into higher gears.

The hub will tell you when it's in between gears, it slips and doesn't give you the engagement you need for smooth pedaling.

I've had a lot of fun running this hub, and it's unique. You will have to spread the rear drop outs to 120 mm, but an extra 10 mm is pretty easy to achieve on most steel frames.

One important thing to remember, because your 1 x 1 ratio is in 1st gear, you need to run a smaller chain ring in the front than normal. I have a 36t ring on Trans - RaT and it's about right for getting a nice low gear for inclines, and a really big gear for higher speed flat sections or downhills.

I running a Nexus 4 on my EC junker , it's a fun bike , but as
OddJob stated you have to run a real small chainring . Horsefarmer
as a good right up on here somewhere ?
View attachment 99346

Thanks Odd job, for the tips about the friction shifters on the 4-speed.
I think I'm going to give it a try as I have some nice but subtle aluminum friction shifters off of my Sierra donor bike. And the plastic Nexus 4-speed shifter I have looks really bad and cheap.
Or I might see how a shifter off of the Suburban looks.

And thanks to both sandman and Odd job for the suggestions on the chainring.
With the 8-speed, I had planned on using the really large chainring off of the old Suburban.

But I forgot how to take a left side pedal off and will need to purchase a tap. And now, for the 4-speed, I'm considering converting to the donor bike's Sakae SX 3-piece crank and using the middle chainring. Which is a good deal smaller than the 52 that came on the Cruiser Four. Or I may break down and buy one new part to stay with the steel crank.

Just gotta make a decision on the stem

forks, and handlebars. And then I'll be ready to rock-n-roll.
I got an idea on the bars that would be unique, and a little old school make it work.

Maybe a these flipped and with a couple of strategically placed bends.
I don't know how safe it would be. But who cares about that, right...?

 

[OddJob]

That middle ring on the mountain crank should be a 36 or a 38t which should work pretty well. Will be fun to watch your progress!

 

[Klunkruiser]

That middle ring on the mountain crank should be a 36 or a 38t which should work pretty well. Will be fun to watch your progress!

Thanks for the help and encouragement!

 

[RustyGold]

I'm using the Nexus 4 speed on my current build, Trans-MIG-RaT in Class 2. I previously used this on another build, and in both instances I used an old friction downtube shifter, with an extension / stick shift to run through the gears.

It's just like a friction shifter from ages past, you 'feel' your way through. The best part of this is that the 4 speed is progressive; 1st gear is your low gear, and each shift made gives you more resistance as you shift up into higher gears.

This is good to know...I have several of the 7spds, and when they get out of adjustment you can't access either 1st or 7th (which is understandable) ...but, you will usually have one, sometimes two gears, that skip and the rest will be fine. Fortunately the adjustment is super easy on the 7spds.

I would assume that the 8spds would be more like the 4spds, as it is my understanding it is essentially the 4spd with a doubler gear path added.

 

[Klunkruiser]

This is good to know...I have several of the 7spds, and when they get out of adjustment you can't access either 1st or 7th (which is understandable) ...but, you will usually have one, sometimes two gears, that skip and the rest will be fine. Fortunately the adjustment is super easy on the 7spds.

I would assume that the 8spds would be more like the 4spds, as it is my understanding it is essentially the 4spd with a doubler gear path added.

I think the 8-speed is like a 7-speed but with an extra low granny gear added. 4th gear is 1:1 on the 7 speed and 5th gear 1:1 on the 8 speed. And the 4 speed is like the top 4 gears in the 7 and 8, with 1:1 in 1st.

I mainly like the 4 speed over the 3 speed because it doesn't have that shifting contraption on the end of the axle. Though it is a little wider.

 

[Klunkruiser]

I been over lookin at @OddJob 's Ratina masterpiece seein if there was any ideas I might lift from there. Took about an hour of flippin through pages front to back then back to front and then in between to try and gleen some valuable insight.
Could see something come about if I can swing it.

 

[RustyGold]

I think the 8-speed is like a 7-speed but with an extra low granny gear added. 4th gear is 1:1 on the 7 speed and 5th gear 1:1 on the 8 speed. And the 4 speed is like the top 4 gears in the 7 and 8, with 1:1 in 1st.

Nope...the 7spd is a weird animal. Its range is smack dab in the middle between the 4spd and the 8spd. It is a close ratio unit with pretty even gear spacing...I think of it usually as a 4spd with three half gears thrown in .

The 4spd gears are similar to 5th - 8th on the 8spd.

 

[Klunkruiser]

I been over lookin at @OddJob 's Ratina masterpiece seein if there was any ideas I might lift from there. Took about an hour of flippin through pages front to back then back to front and then in between to try and gleen some valuable insight.
Could see something come about if I can swing it.

I'd like to try and split the posts with a four on the floor. If I had a tiny pinion gear, like out'a one of those angle drills, might even be able to use the rollashifter with the cable pointed straight back.