Newbie Questions

[Silverdoc]

Hi, all!

As the title suggests, I'm a newbie, at least as far as bike building is concerned, and I've got plenty of questions, but I'll start by only asking a few. For example, I haven't a clue as to how to i.d. one frame from the next, and I wonder if someone may have a "chart" or other way for me to tell one from the other. (besides looking at photo after photo and comparing!)
I should point out that I'll be starting with just a J.C. Higgins Colorflow Springer, and a few ideas as to how I want my bike to look. One, is to build it board racer style. I'd like to run 26"x 4.00 rims and tires, and don't know what frame(s) will serve my purpose, or even if the wide rims and tires are the way to go. I love the looks of them, and have checked out prices for most of the parts needed, except the hubs. This may prove to be cost prohibitive, so I'd appreciate any suggestions, and/or alternatives. I suppose this post is a bit vague as to what I want, but I'm sure I'll come up with more later. I don't want to start out boring everyone TOO much!

 

[slowriderz]

Check out this section for help. I find that it comes in very handy! viewtopic.php?f=62&t=22281

As for the 26x4 wheel tire combo. You will be hard pressed to find a vintage frame with the capability of handling that combo without frame modification. Stick around a while and snoop thru all the threads. you will start to find what helps and what does not. Sorry if I didnt Oh and of course.. welcome to the forum! 8)

 

[Silverdoc]

Thanks for the welcome, slowriderz! Glad to be here! I appreciate your help! I tend to plunge blindly into something without a lot of prior research. Even since I sent you a PM, I've learned somewhat more than I had previously, like the 26"x 4.00 tires. I figure that I'd like to build a trike with that size, and go with something smaller (like a 26"x 3.00, or 2.75) on a two wheeler.

Dave