Really excited

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I haven't been around these parts in a while, but I gotta tell you guys that I am excited. I got a lead on a complete intact chicks 3sp cruiser down in S. ATX. So I plan to down rev my motorized cruiser and convert it to a 3sp pedal bike. Really excited abou this. I've been fighting with this 4-stroke in frame bike engine for several months and I finally broke it. I won? Anyway, I'm pretty stoked about this bike. Can't wait to get my hands on that hub.
 
I don't know about the "Scofield" part, but "Free Spirit" is/was a Sears brand. I recently sold a 3-speed Free Spirit bike pretty cheap. Mine wasn't lugged, but I've seen some that were. The common 3-speed hub is a Sturmy Archer, but the one on my Free Spirit was either unmarked or some other brand, I forget which. I have no idea how these 3-speed hubs stand up to motorized use. I would think it would be expecting a lot from them.

A lot of the 3-speeds use a 26x1-3/8 tire size, which uses a different rim from the common 26" tires (as in 26x2.125). So you can't just slap a wider tire on those rims. On my 3-speed rims, they showed a millimeter size and also a number size. Seems like a 26x1-3/8 and a 26x1.375" are not the same rim, either.
 
I recently traded away an older ladies (step-through) Free Spirit 3-spd coaster brake bike for a springer fork. It was a Shimano, that seemed pretty solid.
 
Thanks for the help guys. I can now confidently rape this bicycle. I have a fatter rim that I can lace the hub to. The frame will get chopped and welded to another spare frame I got and that will get my two stroke engine. This hub is for pedal power only. Plus it looks like I can make a handshfiter for it pretty easily. Glad I only paid 50.00 for it.
 
I looked at the bike closer today. The hub is a 3spd shimano hub. This next part is about to sound retarded but apparently when the tire says 26x1.75 then that means that the ourter diameter is 26 inches and the 1.75 is the height of the sidewalls. I discovered this today when I took the tire off of the 3sp rim and tried to fit the tire off of the coaster brake wheel on to it. Didn't work. I stood the two rims up next to each other and the 3spd rim was taller. I have never bothered to measure the rims or tires, I just took it for granted.
 
I don't know where the 1-3/4" dimension is actually measured. But the thing is, with modern common sizes, it's pretty simple, but back through the years, there's been a lot of oddball sizes used. And to make it worse, the nomenclature is not consistent. See Sheldon Brown's summary here:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html

And is that a 1-3/4" or 1-3/8" (which is common 3-speed rim, and larger than a standard 26" rim)?
 
1.75 is the width of the tire. 26x 1.75 and 26x 2.125 are the same diameter and will fit the same wheel. The 26x 1 3/8 is the skinnier tire and is a slightly larger diameter, that's what your shimano probably is. The coaster brake wheel is probably 26x 1.75 and that tire won't stretch over the 26x 1 3/8 3 speed wheel.

The other consideration is the Schwinn made S2 S5 S6 and S7 wheels, which must take the specific schwinn tire size, expressed in fractions, not decimals. (the 26x 1 3/8 is an exception).

The schwinn 26x 1 3/4 is a slightly larger tire than the standard 26x 1.75. You probably have standard tires, unless the coaster brake wheel is a Schwinn.
 
Wildcat said:
1.75 is the width of the tire. 26x 1.75 and 26x 2.125 are the same diameter and will fit the same wheel. The 26x 1 3/8 is the skinnier tire and is a slightly larger diameter, that's what your shimano probably is. The coaster brake wheel is probably 26x 1.75 and that tire won't stretch over the 26x 1 3/8 3 speed wheel.

The other consideration is the Schwinn made S2 S5 S6 and S7 wheels, which must take the specific schwinn tire size, expressed in fractions, not decimals. (the 26x 1 3/8 is an exception).

The schwinn 26x 1 3/4 is a slightly larger tire than the standard 26x 1.75. You probably have standard tires, unless the coaster brake wheel is a Schwinn.

See that's what I always thought. The 1.75 was the width of the tire and 26 was the inner diameter. I don't know the brand of my coaster brake wheel, all I do know is that it's compatible with every other 26" wheel that I've used in the past. The bike is actually a Huffy Cranebrook, but when I had an engine in it, I threw the chain which ripped out about 5 spokes. I got the current wheel at my local bike shop. It's the 3spd wheel that's the odd ball. I'm just gonna lace the 3spd hub to the coaster brake rim.
 
So yesterday I down revved the bike. Finished taking off the last bit of the motorized kit, threw on the 3spd wheels and hooked up the shifter. The bike is black with chipped paint from the engine mounts and chain, the rims have rust, and there are no grips on the apes and no brakes. I need to raise the seat and replace the 4" crank, that I put on so the pedals would clear the engine, and replace them with my 7". Other than that, I need to find something to use as grips, and I am done. Don't know what to call it. Maybe "suicide."
 

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