Just drilled and tapped the fork for a 3/16 32 bolt. Seems to be an improvement, but I'll use some lock washers and maybe some star washers to be sure.
Shoestring (DONE!)
- Thread starter Bike from the Dead
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Okay, good news: @billn helped me get my wheels trued up as best as they could be earlier this morning. I got the fork reinstalled, began final assembly, and then the bad news hit.
The bad news: first, my chain tool gave up the ghost, so i had to go and buy a new one. Not that big a deal, but still annoying nonetheless. Then as I was mocking up the chain and testing the coaster brake, the coaster brake started acting up. It started making this unpleasant noise, like I didn't have enough grease in the bearings, plus the hub seems to have spun itself apart a bit, even though Bill and I fine-tuned it earlier today. The rear wheel also doesn't want to spin very well, especially compared to my front wheel. Anyone know what's wrong, and what I can do to fix it?
The bad news: first, my chain tool gave up the ghost, so i had to go and buy a new one. Not that big a deal, but still annoying nonetheless. Then as I was mocking up the chain and testing the coaster brake, the coaster brake started acting up. It started making this unpleasant noise, like I didn't have enough grease in the bearings, plus the hub seems to have spun itself apart a bit, even though Bill and I fine-tuned it earlier today. The rear wheel also doesn't want to spin very well, especially compared to my front wheel. Anyone know what's wrong, and what I can do to fix it?
Take it apart and have a look.
There should never be that amount of movement in a hub, but it might be something simple. I deal with coaster brakes a lot, although mine are slightly different to yours, and it never hurts to take a look inside.
There should never be that amount of movement in a hub, but it might be something simple. I deal with coaster brakes a lot, although mine are slightly different to yours, and it never hurts to take a look inside.
It does look like something is loose or out of adjustment inside that rear hub. I wish I had some insights for you on that but I've not yet rebuilt a coaster hub. I've got some junkers I need to practice on. Hopefully someone experienced with these hubs will chime in. Good luck!
GeePig, I don't even know what to look for. This is literally the 2nd coaster brake hub I've ever built, and the 1st Komet Super hub I've ever built. I don't have a clue!
IF the bearing adjustment is ok,
It sounds like the spring clip broke.
But it’s common for the (drive side) bearings (especially) to need adjustment after you ride it for the first time.
It sounds like the spring clip broke.
But it’s common for the (drive side) bearings (especially) to need adjustment after you ride it for the first time.
Shoestring is DONE!
More pics and riding videos soon to come.
More pics and riding videos soon to come.
BRAVO!!
Sweet rat with lots of cool details and technique!
Sweet rat with lots of cool details and technique!
Thank you Kingfish!
You
Your RaT-ification on this build is stellar! Really tied it all together for 'the look'. What did you use / process to color age the white walls , BFTD?
Your RaT-ification on this build is stellar! Really tied it all together for 'the look'. What did you use / process to color age the white walls , BFTD?
MattiThundrrr
Rattus All Terrainus
Great job, you crossed the finish line with a really great looking bike. Well executed theme! I like a budget build, you should consider putting the tally in your finished thread
Thanks OddJob! Glad I pulled it off!
On the whitewall tire, I used some cheap matte brown and satin (because I couldn't find matte) black acrylic paint from Walmart. I just used some paint brushes I had left over from art classes and occasionally a paper towel or my fingers to paint the tire. The key I've found is to apply very thin layers, but give them at least 15 minutes to dry before the next layer. Also, you won't need a ton of paint for this, so a small bottle of each color will be more than enough to get the job done. Sometimes it's best to dip your brush in some water before dipping into the paint to help thin it, especially black paint, but other times I just applied a very, very small amount of paint and brushed it as thin as I could.
My best advice if you want to give it a shot is to find a tire with natural patina, and try to match that tire's patina on whatever tire you want to age. There's no better reference for fauxtina than real patina!
Thanks Matti! This is a first for me; not only did I cross the finish line with the bike I entered, I even finished the bike the way I wanted to on time! I'll definitely want to include how much I've spent, but it's a bit confusing to figure out how to tally it all, given I sold about $265-worth of bikes and parts in the process of building Shoestring. Plus there's a few cheap pieces of hardware I didn't use that I could return. I'll check my receipts and count up the total cost soon. Right now, I've got some final photos to sift through!
Okay, I just got through sorting through all 1000+ shots I took between yesterday and today. I was going to try getting some other photos in downtown Tulsa tomorrow, since Sunday is the only day when it's free to park most anywhere in town, but after today's photo shoot, I feel like I have most of the photos I want for my finished build thread. I just want to redo a couple shots and get a few more angles, but I'm just about done.
Great Rat. Your Ratsmanship is excellent. Good job.
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I love Tulsa. Been there several times to see bands at Cains Ballroom.
I forgot to explain what happened yesterday! Okay, after the debacle with the coaster bake hub, I tried reaching out to folks on here, The C.A.B.E., and a few other friends in the hobby. It wasn't until I reached out to my friend Allan that I got the sort of help I needed. I met up with him at his place 50-something miles away from home. We took the hub apart, looked closer at the parts, fiddled with them until we both learned how they worked, and reassembled the coaster brake again. I don't know what exactly we did to fix the hub other than some fine-tuning adjustments, but we got the coaster brake hub working again! One thing that probably helped was Allan took a yardstick, placed it against the chainring, and found that the rear sprocket needed to be flipped around so the two gears lined up better. With Allan's help, I also installed a new chain I had in stock. I wanted to use some slightly rusty chain for the sake of aesthetics, but some of the links wouldn't move freely, and I wanted to ride this bike. So, as much as I didn't want to use this nice, shiny chain on this rusty bike, I figured it would be fine for now, especially since I already had it in stock. Besides, if I ride Shoestring enough, it's bound to get a little dirty.
After we got everything buttoned up and I rode Shoestring around a bit, I packed up everything and headed to downtown Eufaula, where I found this awesome spot that I knew would make a perfect bicycle backdrop. Unfortunately, it was already pretty late in the evening, so my lighting wasn't too ideal. I only got a handful of shots in before it got too dark, and only one of them was really any good. I'd love to go back and get more photos at this location, but that's a 100-mile round trip just for those photos! I like how this one turned out (after some small adjustments in Photoshop,) but I really want a 3/4 shot that really shows all the work I've done, especially the headlight. Otherwise, I might have used this shot for my main image for the finished build thread. I might still do that, I don't know.
The backdrop I found and used today isn't as... dynamic as the one I found in Eufaula, but I think it still works well enough. What do you think?
After we got everything buttoned up and I rode Shoestring around a bit, I packed up everything and headed to downtown Eufaula, where I found this awesome spot that I knew would make a perfect bicycle backdrop. Unfortunately, it was already pretty late in the evening, so my lighting wasn't too ideal. I only got a handful of shots in before it got too dark, and only one of them was really any good. I'd love to go back and get more photos at this location, but that's a 100-mile round trip just for those photos! I like how this one turned out (after some small adjustments in Photoshop,) but I really want a 3/4 shot that really shows all the work I've done, especially the headlight. Otherwise, I might have used this shot for my main image for the finished build thread. I might still do that, I don't know.
The backdrop I found and used today isn't as... dynamic as the one I found in Eufaula, but I think it still works well enough. What do you think?
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Thank you!
I need to check out more concerts at Cains. First and only time I saw a concert there was back in November 2014 when J.D. McPherson was playing. I've got quite the story about that night, and most of it all has to do with my 1964 Mercury Comet.I love Tulsa. Been there several times to see bands at Cains Ballroom.
