My current tallbike frame is made up from two 22" Schwinn electro-forged frames and the cockpit is far too cramped to be comfortable. After this realization not long into completion of it, the search was on for a pair of 26" Schwinn electro-forged frames. The Varsity landed first, via fleabay for less than a hundy shipped and though listed as a frame only, quite a few useable parts were on it, including the headset and serviceable Ashtabula blade fork. The Continental arrived a couple of years later from a friend who knew of my search and landed in my grubbies as a complete freebie. The time is nigh for a tallbike that fits! The name is derived from a street here in my little corner of Colorado, Tallman Lane.
The Continental is going to be the base frame, with the Varsity chopped accordingly. All of the braze-ons are getting cut off and the electro-forged seams that are still showing will get cleaned up, mainly for paint purposes. The current plan for fabricaton is to buy a portable oxy acetylene kit and do my own brazing, which is something initially learned in Junior HS and practiced regularly while in HS. The headtube extension/connector is going to be oversized as to slip onto the headtubes and allow a fillet braze for attachment. The steerer tube extension/connector will be undersized to allow for the same style of fabrication. The extra weight added up front will help compensate for the light front end (that my current tallbike has) and keep it stable at higher speeds. The BB/Seat tube junction idea currently is to cut a seat tube diameter hole in the top bike's BB shell and let the seat tube from the bottom frame protrude inside just enough to get a fillet braze bead on both sides of that junction.
Wheels will probably be ISO 630 36h Ukai box rims laced to a polished/silver SA S2C rear hub and something vintage and high flange to bolt onto the front.
Paint will probably be a flat black powdercoat base followed by some custom acrylic handwork in a repeating/linear manner covered by a clearcoat. There are a few ideas swimming around in my head in that light.
The rest of the build will most likely be all vintage Schwinn chrome parts. Handlebars will probably be the last thing figured out after climbing up onto it the first time.
The Continental is going to be the base frame, with the Varsity chopped accordingly. All of the braze-ons are getting cut off and the electro-forged seams that are still showing will get cleaned up, mainly for paint purposes. The current plan for fabricaton is to buy a portable oxy acetylene kit and do my own brazing, which is something initially learned in Junior HS and practiced regularly while in HS. The headtube extension/connector is going to be oversized as to slip onto the headtubes and allow a fillet braze for attachment. The steerer tube extension/connector will be undersized to allow for the same style of fabrication. The extra weight added up front will help compensate for the light front end (that my current tallbike has) and keep it stable at higher speeds. The BB/Seat tube junction idea currently is to cut a seat tube diameter hole in the top bike's BB shell and let the seat tube from the bottom frame protrude inside just enough to get a fillet braze bead on both sides of that junction.
Wheels will probably be ISO 630 36h Ukai box rims laced to a polished/silver SA S2C rear hub and something vintage and high flange to bolt onto the front.
Paint will probably be a flat black powdercoat base followed by some custom acrylic handwork in a repeating/linear manner covered by a clearcoat. There are a few ideas swimming around in my head in that light.
The rest of the build will most likely be all vintage Schwinn chrome parts. Handlebars will probably be the last thing figured out after climbing up onto it the first time.
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