The Christmas Flyer...finished !

[Ben lay]

My wife and I are very close with my nephew Ethan. He has lived with us off and on and spends alot of his weekends and available time at our house. I cannot even begin to express how much aunt Becky and I cherish our Ethan time !
This summer we were on a bike hunt and looking at a hoard of over 70 bicycles. I had made a really good deal on the four that I wanted ( a Chicago cycle Cadillac, a foremost tanker, a Murray missile , and a ladies customliner) and Ethan loved this beat up little turquoise western flyer 20 inch convertible. He comment on the cool look of the worn paint etc. Because I AM the cool uncle we grabbed it too.
Once home and unloaded we both kinda realized it was super small for his size , though the frame is normal sized , the low bars and tiny seat and crank didn't lend itself to him riding. So we agreed it would be a cool wall hanger and there it has been since.
Kids grow up fast, and the light in there eyes from something as simple as an old beat up bike is something that can disappear forever. Ethan is 12, over 5 ft 6. Christmas bikes have kinda always been a thing from Uncle Ben and Aunt Becky so here goes one last one. He has a stretched beach cruiser he takes to the car shows and a nice mountain bike etc at his house we have gotten him.
Plans for the western flyer are bmx tires and wheels , ape hangers because he likes them and for ridability , and a tall seat of some kind. Original patina will be retained , fenders will probably go. All original parts will be included with the bike as well as a set of training wheels so one day he can maybe turn it back into a bike for his kids.
My class one bike will be my early focus due to oncoming cold weather and tons of paint work, then back to this one to finish by Christmas , then back to class one to finish by the deadline. Here we go!

 

[OddJob]

Compelling build Ben, with a great story. I have a feeling this is going to be a 'Merry' Christmas for Ethan. You've already won.

 

[Ben lay]

I guess my deadline is a little earlier on this one than the contest is. Christmas day deadline for me ! Already found the apes and have a set of 0 use bmx wheels and tires I can use on this one. Pretty straightforward strip grease clean and change up some parts. Only tricky part will be the seat post. Has a tiny seat post with some type of not easily removable insert in the frame. Will figure something out. Thinking white grips , white diamond pattern bmx seat , maybe a curved post, and the rims and tires are both solid white

 

[Ben lay]

Compelling build Ben, with a great story. I have a feeling this is going to be a 'Merry' Christmas for Ethan. You've already won.

Thank you sir

 

[GuitarlCarl]

Yeah that seat post is gonna be the fly in the ointment...
Do the convertibles tank bolts go thru the seat tube? Cut and weld? Tap the tank bolt holes? Maybe a 3 point post similar to a sissy but meeting below the seat clamp. Should be able to get solid rod the size of that post to make a longer one.... Hmm. Just throwing ideas out there...I too like the original paint on this one. Will be fun to see what you do.

Carl.

 

[Ben lay]

Yeah that seat post is gonna be the fly in the ointment...
Do the convertibles tank bolts go thru the seat tube? Cut and weld? Tap the tank bolt holes? Maybe a 3 point post similar to a sissy but meeting below the seat clamp. Should be able to get solid rod the size of that post to make a longer one.... Hmm. Just throwing ideas out there...I too like the original paint on this one. Will be fun to see what you do.

Carl.

Not sure. Gotta come up with something. If I go with a banana seat I could be a little less strong at the post and rig something up. Maybe drill out the insert. Maybe drill out the insert partially to have an in between post size. Something will work. Just don't want to disturb the old paint too much if possible.

 

[kingfish254]

Cool story Cool Uncle Ben!!!!
Have fun!!!

 

[Ben lay]

 

[Ben lay]

put some bmx bars and an old Schwinn bag on the lime green bike we cruise alot had Ethan this weekend. has no idea that it is in the contest or will be a ridable piece for him shortly. Pretty cool.

 

[Ben lay]

Stole away a bit of time on this rainy day to start mocking up a rough plan. Almost everything on the cool little flyer is too small in size and riding position , and or too light duty for Ethan hoping to make these pork chopper triple trees work and , though it's not my thing , Ethan loves apes , so this big set of apes should do the trick. The fork is a little long at the neck ( no problem to cut shorter ) but the threaded section actually a bit short for the neck ( don't know if that could be shimmed a half inch somehow or if the threads gotta be extended or machined. ). Somehow its gotta have the trees! The seat insert issue will be another little hurdle as well. Thinking the white rims I have on the front but with whitewalls instead of those solid white knobbys , white cruiser seat , white grips , a headlight , no front fender, and maybe roll the back one down way low should be a cool little bike for him I hope

 

[sandman]

Have you thought about going with a threadless set up for the forks ? I'm liking the theme of this
build .

 

[Ben lay]

Have you thought about going with a threadless set up for the forks ? I'm liking the theme of this
build .

Thank you. Trying to use these triple tree style forks I have laying around if possible.

 

[Ben lay]

So far I have a strong feeling that the Christmas Flyer will finish in the top 12. Hehe

 

[sandman]

You can use the triple tree style forks with a threadless head set and new stem .

 

[OddJob]

Ben, the triple trees add a really cool vibe to this build! Do you have the upper bracket for the trees? Because that brace will take up some of the space on your steer tube.

I have found 1" I.D. washers at the hardware store for really cheap, and you can stack those (they are about 1/8" thick already) to bring your height up to the threads.

 

[Ben lay]

Yeah.

Ben, the triple trees add a really cool vibe to this build! Do you have the upper bracket for the trees? Because that brace will take up some of the space on your steer tube.

I have found 1" I.D. washers at the hardware store for really cheap, and you can stack those (they are about 1/8" thick already) to bring your height up to the threads.

I have the upper piece. I had a blond moment. With the upper it will work out. Just have to trim the outer tubes a bit and should be all good. Everything else pretty straight forward except the seat. That's a whole other issue to tackle. Haha. Getting a neat look to it kinda chopper bobber ish

 

[Ben lay]

With the Evel bike all figured out and ready for final clean , clear, grease, polish , and assembly I can focus on the little western flyer with the top secret Christmas deadline. Figured out the triple trees, bars , etc. Addressing the seat issue , finding the right crank and sprocket in the pile , and deciding on tires are the next orders of business. The solid white knobbys are brand new but look kinda girly on it I guess. Love the white rims. May do traditional whitewalls on it or some redlines possible.

 

[Ben lay]

Oddjob out of the blue offered to send me a seat or two that may work great on this build. Big thanks to him and his thoughtful offer. The vibe of this group is nice and very laid back and helpful. I'm used to that from the old car community where I live but new to the custom rat bike world. It is awesome

 

[OddJob]

I know you'll find something cool to do with the seat(s). Should see them by the end of the week.

 

[Ben lay]

Oddjob sent me some wonderful seat options from sunny Minnesota. One of these seats will wind up giving the extra rear support needed after I figure out how to mount the seat post. Big thanks to him from my wife and I and looking forward to getting this thing wrapped up soon ish!