Stealthmaster

[JA331]

I bought this 1940 Roadmaster 4 gill frame and fork in 2021 and slammed it together as a rat bike. It was a porker of a bike with bottom bracket and headset issues which led me to pull it down. My plan is to rebuild it with a bmx vibe. I considered stripping it back to metal and going with a raw finish but I need to take it easy on my arthritic hands so I am going to go with a simple black powder coat finish instead.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Beautiful loop tail frame, great starting point!

 

[Funkme]

One of my fav styled frames, those curves...ohhhhlala

 

[MattiThundrrr]

CWC frames are so excellent, the lines on the back half are perfection. Instant contender.

 

[JA331]

I’m debating whether to keep the fork or go for a tubular bmx one. The swan fork is so cool I believe I have to keep it.

 

[marshall hudson]

Love those style frames, Build in style.

 

[kingfish254]

Classic to start with. You really can't go wrong with that frame as your base.

 

[metalchewy]

That frame is sweet!

 

[OddJob]

Skeleton is primo! Can't wait to see you 'flesh it out' !

RaT oN~!

 

[Pondo]

Love me some loop tails!

 

[JA331]

Love me some loop tails!

Me too but this ain't one of them. It may be hard to see in the photo but this isn't a loop tail.

 

[The Renaissance Man]

I’m debating whether to keep the fork or go for a tubular bmx one. The swan fork is so cool I believe I have to keep it.

That fork is an easy choice. Do you have the truss rods?

 

[JA331]

I have truss rods that work although they aren’t the correct ones. The correct ones are thicker. My other choice is to use truss rods from the shockmaster which came with the frame but i would need to make a bush to connect the upper and lower rods making them fixed. They’re also heavier and I need to put this porker on a diet.

 

[JA331]

Not much to do on the Stealthmaster while the frame and fork are getting blasted, so I pulled my Electra Rat rod off the wall to do some work to it.

It is an early pre flat foot technology model with a nasty springer fork I can’t stand. I bought it last year and rode it a few times and then parked it.

Today, I grabbed a fork from a lady’s Electra parts bike, ground off the v brake mounts, shortened and rethreaded the steerer tube and finally gave it a shot of satin black. It fitted up easily and I decided to leave off the front fender. I also fitted a forged bmx stem and Electra attitude bars that I had laying around.

Wow, what a difference. The bike is so much easier to ride and now tracks in a straight line, even on it’s original cracked Hotster tires. It is no wonder Electra dumped the springer for a fixed fork the following year. These older Electra’s are such good bikes and I’ll be putting more miles on it as soon as the weather improves.

With springer as I rode it last year.

 

[Pondo]

Wow, what a difference.

Yeah! It looks so much better now. It's cool that it rides so much better too!

 

[JA331]

Yeah! It looks so much better now. It's cool that it rides so much better too!

Thanks man. Heading off for a ride on it soon.

 

[JA331]

I spent time yesterday sorting through parts. The wheel set in the photos was built in 2021 when I first got this frame with Sun Ryno lite rims, a 100mm Sturmey Archer front drum hub and a Nexus 7. The tyres are Cult vans 26 x 2.1. I also have a another wheel set I could use with a nexus 3 or may build a new one using a Shimano cb-110e coaster and front drum. I like the idea of a single speed coaster but really need a few more gears to get around town.

I decided a while back to switch to a 3 piece crank and bought a Redline flight crank set and bottom bracket kit from an ebay seller who had a tonne of them and was selling them at half price. I intend to combine it with the original skiptooth drivetrain with an Ichi 11 tooth rear sprocket and Velo orange pedals I pulled from one of my other bikes.

I have also decided to use a different stem and bar more in line with the bmx theme I want for this bike. The stem is at the blasters and the bar is on its way downunder from Johnny True Torch.

I’m unsure on reusing the original headlight I got with the frame and fork as it doesn’t really fit with a bmx themed bike. My decision to use the light would be based on the notion that if bmx bikes existed in the forties they probably would have had a headlight exactly like this one.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Can't wait to see how those wheels and tires look on that frame!

 

[JA331]

Can't wait to see how those wheels and tires look on that frame!

Here’s a couple of old photos. The first is of the bike with a regular drivetrain and the bargain used araya/nexus wheel set i bought for less than $20 on marketplace. The bike was quite fast and it soon became apparent the Nexus 7 wouldn’t pull it up very well going downhill or in a emergency situation. I ride a lot around town and need decent brakes.

I then had a new wheel set built with a nos 7 speed hub and front drum. That sorted out the braking issue but I found the bike harder to ride and slower. It may just be that the new nexus 7 needs some miles to break in but I believe it is a combination of the skiptooth drivetrain (which is not as smooth and possibly less efficient than a regular chain) i changed to. Also, the nexus 7 doesn’t have a direct drive gear and when geared similar to a nexus 3, the 3 particularly in its direct drive second gear accelerates harder.

I would be interested to know what others think, particularly if they have had experience with nexus 7 or 3 speed hubs with a skiptooth drivetrain.

With new wheel set and skiptooth drivetrain.

 

[JA331]

I remembered I have a working New Departure coaster hub from my 53 Roadmaster and pulled it apart today to have a look at it. It seems to be in good condition and just in need of a service. I'm not to fussed if the brake isn't overly powerful as I will have a front brake too. It also has a decent 10t skip tooth sprocket which will mate nicely with the 24t chain wheel I already have.