My entry for this year's Build Off is the very first bike that got me into this hobby 6 years ago: my 1950 Schwinn DX I won at an auction for $65.
It's gone by a few names and gone through a few build threads over the years, but not once in those 6 years have I been able to complete it. For the longest time, I just could not decide how I wanted to build this bike, and the few times I had a plan for this bike, something happened that caused that plan (and in one case, THE BIKE ITSELF) to fall apart. I don't think there's any other bike in my collection that demonstrates my ADHD any worse than this one. If you want to see the other build threads for this Schwinn and all the different ideas I went through for this bike over the years, look here, here and here. Otherwise, here's a highlight reel:
Ever since the fork snapped in half underneath me almost 3 years ago, this Schwinn has been sitting in storage while my sporadic attention has been focused elsewhere. For a while, I just thought about replacing the broken fork and finishing it as the orange-and-white "Dreamcycle" I had last planned to do. Then I had the idea to rebuild it as more of a "hot rod"-style bike for this year's Build Off, still with the orange-and-white color scheme, but with a longer and lower profile.
The idea had potential, but I just wasn't feeling it. I was struggling with artist's block at the time, and it was making it difficult for me to decide what to do with this bike. Frustrated, I jokingly stated I should switch the name of this Schwinn from Schwinn Dixie to Schwindecisive since I could never make up my mind on how to build this bike. I was about to throw in the towel for entering this bike into the Build Off, but after leaving a comment about my problem and that silly name, I got a lot of positive replies to just roll with my indecision and build this Schwinn anyway!
So you know what? That's what I'm going to do!
I'm going to go back to my original plan I had for this bike years ago, before I even joined Rat Rod bikes: I'm going to build this Schwinn as a bare metal frame and fork, where all the other parts (fenders, wheels, tires, chain guard, tank, etc.) can be easily swapped out anytime I feel like changing up the look of this 74-year-old bike. The bare metal finish will provide a nice neutral color for everything else I want to install on it, so I have more freedom to switch up the look of the bike without having to repaint the frame and fork every time. Plus, leaving the frame and other parts in bare metal will help justify leaving any imperfections showing, like dents and holes in the fenders. I may even use a generic 46-tooth Schwinn chainring so I can avoid disassembling the bottom bracket when I want to use a smaller chain guard than the original winged chain guard. I'll also use a regular balloon tire Schwinn blade fork, so I can have enough room to fit some beefier tires on this bike.
I made some initial mockups yesterday, and I'm much happier with the direction this bike's heading!
I tried on a different set of fenders than the previous ones I had on, and while I'd need to adjust a mounting point on the rear fender, I like how it looks. These fenders wrap around the tires a little better than the originals, but I still plan to use the original fenders along with these.
The one part I haven't decided on yet are the handlebars, but I'm not too worried about that. I just pulled more out of storage yesterday, and I already have a couple options I like. I also shot these pictures in silhouette so I could focus on the shape of the bike without getting distracted by the colors. I think building this Schwinn as a more upright vintage bike, as opposed to a stretched and lowered bike, works. It makes the taller seat not stand out so much, and the standard bladed fork offers more room and options for fenders and tires.
I also shot a few photos out in the sun.
And I did a quick-and-dirty Photoshop edit to better visualize one of the final looks of the bike.
I want to mock up a few more parts I pulled from storage, because I want to come up with at least 2 different final designs for this bike. I know I want one version to be bare metal with black and red accents, and another version that's bare metal with cream/brown accents, but I'd love to explore even more ideas if I can. Once I get some good mockup photos, I'll trace over them in Photoshop and come up with a few color schemes for the final product.
It's gone by a few names and gone through a few build threads over the years, but not once in those 6 years have I been able to complete it. For the longest time, I just could not decide how I wanted to build this bike, and the few times I had a plan for this bike, something happened that caused that plan (and in one case, THE BIKE ITSELF) to fall apart. I don't think there's any other bike in my collection that demonstrates my ADHD any worse than this one. If you want to see the other build threads for this Schwinn and all the different ideas I went through for this bike over the years, look here, here and here. Otherwise, here's a highlight reel:
Ever since the fork snapped in half underneath me almost 3 years ago, this Schwinn has been sitting in storage while my sporadic attention has been focused elsewhere. For a while, I just thought about replacing the broken fork and finishing it as the orange-and-white "Dreamcycle" I had last planned to do. Then I had the idea to rebuild it as more of a "hot rod"-style bike for this year's Build Off, still with the orange-and-white color scheme, but with a longer and lower profile.
The idea had potential, but I just wasn't feeling it. I was struggling with artist's block at the time, and it was making it difficult for me to decide what to do with this bike. Frustrated, I jokingly stated I should switch the name of this Schwinn from Schwinn Dixie to Schwindecisive since I could never make up my mind on how to build this bike. I was about to throw in the towel for entering this bike into the Build Off, but after leaving a comment about my problem and that silly name, I got a lot of positive replies to just roll with my indecision and build this Schwinn anyway!
So you know what? That's what I'm going to do!
I'm going to go back to my original plan I had for this bike years ago, before I even joined Rat Rod bikes: I'm going to build this Schwinn as a bare metal frame and fork, where all the other parts (fenders, wheels, tires, chain guard, tank, etc.) can be easily swapped out anytime I feel like changing up the look of this 74-year-old bike. The bare metal finish will provide a nice neutral color for everything else I want to install on it, so I have more freedom to switch up the look of the bike without having to repaint the frame and fork every time. Plus, leaving the frame and other parts in bare metal will help justify leaving any imperfections showing, like dents and holes in the fenders. I may even use a generic 46-tooth Schwinn chainring so I can avoid disassembling the bottom bracket when I want to use a smaller chain guard than the original winged chain guard. I'll also use a regular balloon tire Schwinn blade fork, so I can have enough room to fit some beefier tires on this bike.
I made some initial mockups yesterday, and I'm much happier with the direction this bike's heading!
I tried on a different set of fenders than the previous ones I had on, and while I'd need to adjust a mounting point on the rear fender, I like how it looks. These fenders wrap around the tires a little better than the originals, but I still plan to use the original fenders along with these.
The one part I haven't decided on yet are the handlebars, but I'm not too worried about that. I just pulled more out of storage yesterday, and I already have a couple options I like. I also shot these pictures in silhouette so I could focus on the shape of the bike without getting distracted by the colors. I think building this Schwinn as a more upright vintage bike, as opposed to a stretched and lowered bike, works. It makes the taller seat not stand out so much, and the standard bladed fork offers more room and options for fenders and tires.
I also shot a few photos out in the sun.
And I did a quick-and-dirty Photoshop edit to better visualize one of the final looks of the bike.
I want to mock up a few more parts I pulled from storage, because I want to come up with at least 2 different final designs for this bike. I know I want one version to be bare metal with black and red accents, and another version that's bare metal with cream/brown accents, but I'd love to explore even more ideas if I can. Once I get some good mockup photos, I'll trace over them in Photoshop and come up with a few color schemes for the final product.
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Haha, no, that's just all the weeds compensating for the Bermuda grass!
