This is the final iteration’s parts list: Wald highrise bars from a girl’s 70’s (?) Free Sprit; Salsa handgrips; Bontrager bar end plugs; OCC Sting-Ray 42T crankset; Sturmey Archer 16T drive cog (final drive ratio = 57.75 Gear Inches); OCC Sting-Ray front wheel and tire; Zéfal LED’s front and rear.
By using the Sting-Ray’s 24” front wheel, the Fork Angle and Trail were changed from the original’s 16” wheel; this resulted in a dramatic change in the handling characteristics. The combination of a Wald highrise handlebar’s spacing and changes to the Fork Angle and Trail makes her so much better to ride from both a physics and ergonomic standpoint.
Design and application is often a matter of compromises, in this case, the higher Final Drive Ratio makes her go further per pedal stroke (thus faster at 60-90 RPM’s) on the flats and in descends, but in climbing – well – not so much, despite the 170mm crank length ; she has thus become a comfortable, yet reasonably fast, flatland single speed cruiser! (I resisted the temptation of converting her into an internally geared 3-speed)
Just got the chainguard from the silkscreen shop! The idea was to silkscreen the Schwinn Manta Ray script onto the chainguard in as close to the way it was done back in the 60’s and 70’s; after its application, it was clearcoated as it was done originally. New Old School!
2006 Schwinn Manta Ray
Just as a reference of the original Manta Ray chainguard script:
The rear rake of the chainguard was in reference to the Krates that had a rear downward slope to the script, the 2006 Manta Rays had more in common with the Krates 20/16 inch tires, then the Manta Rays 24/24 inch tires. This rendition was a combination of both!