Project 346 Good Old Days Cruiser

[Starnger]

Starting a build thread for the bike i've made for BO15.
Still lots of ideas to be brought to life with this project. In fact i love the outcome so much i even got myself another ladies 346 cruiser frame to make a similar mod to it later.
But for now i want to start this thread by some nice photos of this bike i have made a couple of month ago but just developed the pictures now

 

[Dr. Tankenstein]

Love this bike, has a ‘natural’ vibe to it.
And those tires need to be on one of my bikes!

Great bike my friend!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Starnger]

Love this bike, has a ‘natural’ vibe to it.
And those tires need to be on one of my bikes!

Great bike my friend!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I love those tires too, but they are so hard to get lately!

 

[BartRidesEternal]

Starting a build thread for the bike i've made for BO15.
Still lots of ideas to be brought to life with this project. In fact i love the outcome so much i even got myself another ladies 346 cruiser frame to make a similar mod to it later.
But for now i want to start this thread by some nice photos of this bike i have made a couple of month ago but just developed the pictures now
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That last photo is awesome, absolutely timeless!

 

[whitecoyote]

Awesomeness!

 

[Starnger]

The bike got an update for the coming winter, it now has nice fenders on it Looks even more vintage with them on! I've also put an old Persons seat instead of Electra one and it got so comfy that i can't stand but to ride it every now and then. The more i have it the more i fall in love with it and considering not to change much in that bike.

 

[Starnger]

Here is another example of how we fight for American parts here in Europe.
Getting a nice stylish chain guard is too expensive, at least 65 bucks before tax, so it would end up to be almost a 100. I always loved JC Higgins guards among the others, especially because they have those nice lines extending backwards that can be used to mount it on longer bikes, similar like Shelby guards. Luckily not just Murray produced JC Higgins bikes through the years, there were even bikes imported from Germany, like that one.

Seems cool, right? Especially that chain guard that is same style as the American one. My guess would be that they have produced the entire bikes in Europe rather then putting them together in US, so they would make press forms for that guard. Since some factory in Germany would have forms for such a beautiful guard it would be a pity not to use it for some of their own bikes, am i right?

So the rest is easy Got this for a bit less then 25$ shipped Probably am going to use for this bike or maybe for my Firebolt electric build.

 

[Starnger]

It have been like half a year since i put the guard on and now i believe the bike finally looks and rides as it should. I still use it as my daily rider most of the days. Since I've last posted it here i have also built a new lamp for it, using a more beaten up looking one. Since original battery set up is not too reliable i have decided to leave it for some show bike and use a LED setup similar to what i run on my other bikes. I have used a body of a lamp with broken insides and rebuilt it, now it lasts almost for the whole year on one battery charge. I have also changed the Persons seat back to Electra one, because i have had issues with the Persons being too wide for the rather upright position i have on this bike. It was not a case for the shorter rides, but after i have done a long one it have manifested itself.

The other thing i don't think i have mentioned is that last summer the frame got re-welded and straightened after a little accident i got in in winter 2022. I got hit by a car on a super low speed, i actually was shocked the guy hit me since i was sure he is hitting the brake. He ended up not seeing me while stopping before turning right from the smaller street to the main one while crossing the pavement and cycle pad at same time. Long story short i have repaired the bent chainring with the wrench i had with me on spot and left. But apparently the frame got just a little too much stress and in half a year time it built up and at some point during the cruise the chain started falling off the front sprocket. Measurements showed it got misaligned, so the frame was redone later on. Just a friendly reminder that if you don't see the problem with your bike after getting hit it doesn't mean there is no. I should have asked the guy for some compensation instead of just letting him go not wanting to spoil his day.

 

[kingfish254]

Looking good old friend! I like the guard and the other changes.
I remember that bike well. I had the honor of riding it back in December 2021 while on vacation in Poznan. Killer bike and killer memories!!!