BO15 The Bluebird of Happiness

[Chic Cycles]

All that grease must have helped save the chrome cleaned up nice.

Yes it did. very little rust. I do like a greasy bike. It's nasty to clean up but makes for dramatic before and after pics.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Yep, that crank sprocket can be used as a mirror! The tires work well with the paint. Can't wait to see what you put on her for stripes!

 

[kingfish254]

The bird and tires are super cool.
What in the world happened to the light though????? Did you use a sledgehammer and vice to remove it

 

[Chic Cycles]

The bird and tires are super cool.
What in the world happened to the light though????? Did you use a sledgehammer and vice to remove it

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There may have been a hammer involved before I pulled out the hack saw!

 

[kingfish254]

That was probably a $20-30 part you beat up

 

[el Diablo Guapo]

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Greetings from Hunterdon County New Jersey! This is my first Build Off. I rehab/restore bikes for women out of my home garage and organize a vintage bike ride called The Red Mill Retro Ride in Clinton NJ. I am also a curator at a local history museum. My Dad gifted me with a love of all things bicycle and the skills to get creative with them.

Although our museum remains closed to the public because of the COVID-19 situation the other curator and I have still been working. I needed to take some time off and, since there would be no traveling to visit Grandkids this year, I decided that would spend my Staycation on my entry into the 2020 Build Off.

I purchased this Dayton bike about a month ago. She spoke to me the moment I saw her. I love her lines, colors and patina. The plan is to clean her up without losing any of her story and character. I want to replace the wheelset with a 2 speed kickback set. I have two options. A modern alloy rim set with a Sturmey Archer 2S Hub or a vintage steel rim option with a Torpedo Duomatic hub. I'll probably try both then decide. I like to do a sort of Retro/Mod build combining old and new components. There are so many other ideas flying around my head but I will let time determine what I can accomplish.

This is a German Polar Bear frame with a Nexus 7 wheelset that I did last year. One of my all time favorite bikes for the build and the ride. I'm just posting it to show off a bit. I hope I'm as happy with The Bluebird of Happiness when she is done.

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That wine box "basket" is super cool!

 

[el Diablo Guapo]

Cleaning up nice!
The "hood ornament" is really awesome! This is coming out great!

 

[Chic Cycles]

That was probably a $20-30 part you beat up

Oh well, you can't make a cake without breaking a few eggs. LOL

 

[Chic Cycles]

Working on details while the Bluebird is being pinstriped. I think I need some notes of copper to tie the copper fenter mascott in. Testing out copper leaf on a plastic headlight shell kicking around. I like where this is headed.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

That's very pretty. And I'm assuming quite delicate, some type of protection planned?
A little bit of turning would go a long way to smooth out the finish

 

[Chic Cycles]

That's very pretty. And I'm assuming quite delicate, some type of protection planned?
A little bit of turning would go a long way to smooth out the finish
View attachment 135625

Yes, it is delicate. I am experimenting with various spray on finishes. Leaning towards polycrylic right now. Although I do like the slightly textured finish.

 

[Chic Cycles]

Pinstriping done! Used Rustoleum Matte Clear Enamel to protect the striping and patina. I'm really loving the matte finish

 

[Chic Cycles]

I had to complete everything I wanted to attach to the fenders before I could put the wheels back on. It took most of the day to finish creating the final version of the fender mascot and figure out the mounting. I was so engrosed I forgot to take pics of the process but it was mostly me wasting copper wire. The mock-ups were in 14 guage copper jewelers wire which starts out dead soft and work hardens. The final is in 8 guage solid electrical wire that is not as soft so I had to plan out each bend and work with the curve of the wire carefully because it wasn't as flexible. I planished each curve to set it. The bluebird is 2 peices of wire that are cold connected with 20 guage copper wire wrapping. It is very solid and sturdy but bigger than I originally planned. The mounting hardware was something that I found at the hardware store in the electrical section.

 

[Chic Cycles]

A Loveland saddle from Rivet Cycle Works arrived a few days ago. Almost forgot to post how beautiful it is. I actually had these grips that I didn't use on a different project. I tried three different sets of grips before I settled on these.

 

[Chic Cycles]

The planned alloy wheelset had to be abandoned because the front axel was too big for the front dropouts. I shopped my own garage again and found this Weinman steel rim wheel with the right size axel and, bonus, it sort of matches the Torpedo Duomatic hub on the rear. The vintage 2 speed rear wheel was NOS when my Dad and I drove more than 100 miles to buy a pair of them. It had been on a folding bike of mine but I had been planning to swap it out anyway. I knew I wanted a 2 speed on this build all along to keep the bars as clean as possible.

 

[Chic Cycles]

The hardest part of this build has been to take pictures along the way. I tried out several different headlights and mounts before settleing on this one. I just like how it fit under the stem and didn't compete with the Fender Mascot.

I also decided to use a stem from a vitage Hawthorn that I think is from the 50's and a curved flat bar from 2007 italian hybrid. To me, the combination gives an impression of a bird with wings out stretched. Perhaps I should open the garage door when using blaster.

 

[Chic Cycles]

The last details yesterday included reinstalling the chain guard, Creating a copper bluebird to complement the rear reflector, (which I totally forgot to take a pic of in process) and adding a bell. I wanted a pop of the turquoise to tie in the frame and tires. I decided to remove the top of a bell I had and spray paint it. I also added wood pedals that I ordered for a different bike. I reallly like how they complement the copper and brown tones in the bike.

 

[Chic Cycles]

I really wanted to include her name in the build. I had some copper tape that is used for soldering and it has some adhesive on the back. I decided to use some letter punches I had and puch "THE BLUEBIRD OF HAPPINESS" On to the tape and see if the adhesive would hold and it does!

 

[Chic Cycles]

And I'm done. I took photos in on the grounds of The Red Mill Museum Village and on the antique pony bridge in Clinton NJ. I actually organize a vintage bike ride called The Red Mill Retro Ride in the spring there as a fundraiser for the museum. Some of these photos will be used to promote that ride next year. I will be going over to the finished bike thread tomorrow morning after I film a ride video with a friend. This has been one of my favorite vacations. Im glad this project is done and I'm thrilled with my new bike.

 

[Captain Awesome]

Brilliant. Clean and tidy!