Hahaha! Yeah, I could hardly believe the outcome myself. I was just trying to make some money; I didn't expect to make a new friend!
The Schwinn Dixie Dreamcycle
- Thread starter Bike from the Dead
- Start date
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Super cool, dude. Nice to meet awesome like minded people. Nice work on your project, it's coming along great!
Thanks! Yeah, it is nice when you meet someone new who's into the same kind of stuff that you are. Thanks, I'm looking forward to getting this bike rolling again!
Can't say I've made a ton of progress this week since Sunday. I've mostly just been getting ready for this house/pet-sitting that I started just yesterday, so aside from ordering a few parts, all I've done is just mockup Schwinn Dixie with all the parts Allan fixed for me. It looks like a mess right now, but I love how the fork and fenders look on the bike! There's an even amount of space between the frame and front fender, which I couldn't get with a Schwinn-style fork. The fenders are nice and round, with the tires filling them in nicely enough. This bike is getting so close to completion I can hardly believe it! Odds are this will be the last mockup before I strip the fenders and forks of lead paint and disassemble the wheels in preparation for sandblasting and powder coating.
I already got a few of the finishing pieces for the bike this week. I got the handlebar grips from my local bike shop.
The most critical piece however is this white seat. It's got bigger springs than I expected, but it should be plenty comfortable for my purposes. There's just one small problem...
I don't have an easy way to mount the seat to my 5/8" layback seat post. The mounting hardware is meant for one of those modern seat posts. I have these 2 adapter pieces that I thought would work with what I have, but they don't fit on the mount that came with the seat (it's the shiny one on the left.) If that wasn't bad enough, none of the other seat mounts will work, not without some modification. I did find that I have a seat post that fits the frame and can accommodate the seat's original hardware, but I can't get it to go down inside the frame more than 4 inches. So, I'm stuck with two options: modify the seat mount to fit the layback seat post I have, and buy a seat post shim that will hopefully work, or take this other seat post I have that already fits the frame and the seat, and just modify that to fit better. I know Allan can modify the seat post, as he did so on his own bikes, and although it won't look as "vintage" as I'd like, it would be functional and arguably cheaper...
So, I'm not sure which way to go on the seat/seat post. One sounds good because it'll look vintage, but the other option sounds simpler, easier, and less costly.
That's it for now. More updates soon to come!
I already got a few of the finishing pieces for the bike this week. I got the handlebar grips from my local bike shop.
The most critical piece however is this white seat. It's got bigger springs than I expected, but it should be plenty comfortable for my purposes. There's just one small problem...
I don't have an easy way to mount the seat to my 5/8" layback seat post. The mounting hardware is meant for one of those modern seat posts. I have these 2 adapter pieces that I thought would work with what I have, but they don't fit on the mount that came with the seat (it's the shiny one on the left.) If that wasn't bad enough, none of the other seat mounts will work, not without some modification. I did find that I have a seat post that fits the frame and can accommodate the seat's original hardware, but I can't get it to go down inside the frame more than 4 inches. So, I'm stuck with two options: modify the seat mount to fit the layback seat post I have, and buy a seat post shim that will hopefully work, or take this other seat post I have that already fits the frame and the seat, and just modify that to fit better. I know Allan can modify the seat post, as he did so on his own bikes, and although it won't look as "vintage" as I'd like, it would be functional and arguably cheaper...
So, I'm not sure which way to go on the seat/seat post. One sounds good because it'll look vintage, but the other option sounds simpler, easier, and less costly.
That's it for now. More updates soon to come!
Okay, so I failed to mention it a week ago, but Allan and I were unable to take those old pedals apart to get to the bearings. Kind of a bummer, but that just gave me an excuse to order these bad boys online. I just got these in the mail this past weekend, but I only just opened them up earlier today.
I'm not sure if it's a manufacturing error, or one of those "do it yourself" kind of deals, but only the left pedal seems to have any grease in the bearings. The left pedal moves well enough, but the right pedal is pretty stiff. You can see the bearings inside the right pedals, but not the left. So... do I just try to squeeze some Park Tool grease into the pedal myself, or do I just try to exchange them out?
Still, I mocked them up on the bike to see how they fit, and they fit perfectly!
Also, since I didn't show it last time, here's that seat post that fits the seat's stock hardware and the bike itself. As you can see though, I can't get the seat post to go any lower.
Part of me just wants to cut off just enough to get the seat down as low as it can possibly go, and forget trying to make a layback seat post out of this one seat post. Another part of me wants to sit this seat down as close to the frame and rear fender as possible. I'm just worried that if I try to use a layback seat post that only goes so far down the seat tube, I'll mess up the frame over a short span of time. It may not be the most stylish option, but I think just shortening the seat post until I can get the seat about where it is in this mockup is the safest option. I can sit comfortably with it at this height, and I can always come back and try to solve the layback seat post option later. Right now, I just want to get this bike done so I can finally ride it and enjoy it.
I might drive over to Dad's shop later today and shorten up that seat post today. After that's done, I might also start stripping the fenders and fork of the old lead paint later either this evening or tomorrow morning.
I'm not sure if it's a manufacturing error, or one of those "do it yourself" kind of deals, but only the left pedal seems to have any grease in the bearings. The left pedal moves well enough, but the right pedal is pretty stiff. You can see the bearings inside the right pedals, but not the left. So... do I just try to squeeze some Park Tool grease into the pedal myself, or do I just try to exchange them out?
Still, I mocked them up on the bike to see how they fit, and they fit perfectly!
Also, since I didn't show it last time, here's that seat post that fits the seat's stock hardware and the bike itself. As you can see though, I can't get the seat post to go any lower.
Part of me just wants to cut off just enough to get the seat down as low as it can possibly go, and forget trying to make a layback seat post out of this one seat post. Another part of me wants to sit this seat down as close to the frame and rear fender as possible. I'm just worried that if I try to use a layback seat post that only goes so far down the seat tube, I'll mess up the frame over a short span of time. It may not be the most stylish option, but I think just shortening the seat post until I can get the seat about where it is in this mockup is the safest option. I can sit comfortably with it at this height, and I can always come back and try to solve the layback seat post option later. Right now, I just want to get this bike done so I can finally ride it and enjoy it.
I might drive over to Dad's shop later today and shorten up that seat post today. After that's done, I might also start stripping the fenders and fork of the old lead paint later either this evening or tomorrow morning.
Those off brand pedals always have some type of casting imperfections or something else on the inside that seem to drag the bearings. I buy the knockoff VP Bear trap pedals and will always take them all the way down and use emory cloth on the spindles and then clean and grease the bearings myself until they spin smoothly
YMMV
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I had the same problem not getting my seat post in beyond a certain point with my Felt Classic build.
When i looked into the seat tube with a torch i noticed corrosion at the spot the stuck seat post came loose. I scraped the inside of the seat tube with a flat mtb handlebar, then used plenty of grease and with a little twisting and turning the post went all in.
Here is an idea for a diy laid-back seat post using an MTB handlebar thingy, don,t know what they are called:
When i looked into the seat tube with a torch i noticed corrosion at the spot the stuck seat post came loose. I scraped the inside of the seat tube with a flat mtb handlebar, then used plenty of grease and with a little twisting and turning the post went all in.
Here is an idea for a diy laid-back seat post using an MTB handlebar thingy, don,t know what they are called:
Took the seat post over to my Dad's shop, where he helped me shorten it to the right length. I'll admit, the seat doesn't sit as low as I'd like from an aesthetic point of view, but it's good enough for riding, and that's what really matters.
I flipped the mounting hardware upside-down and used a mount that had no stopper to help get the seat as low as I could. Far from perfect, but It's plenty functional.
By the way, here's one of the two pets I'm looking after for this week. This is Lola, a 6-year-old lab who absolutely craves attention. I let her out while I shot these photos. As you can see, she's very photogenic, when I can get her to stay still for more than 5 seconds.
That's all for now. Stay tuned for more!
I flipped the mounting hardware upside-down and used a mount that had no stopper to help get the seat as low as I could. Far from perfect, but It's plenty functional.
By the way, here's one of the two pets I'm looking after for this week. This is Lola, a 6-year-old lab who absolutely craves attention. I let her out while I shot these photos. As you can see, she's very photogenic, when I can get her to stay still for more than 5 seconds.
That's all for now. Stay tuned for more!
Well it's not just corrosion that's stopping the seat post in my frame. There's a weld about where the bottom tank tube connects to the seat tube that's interfering with the seat post. I tried filing it away, but that didn't work. Allan, the guy that helped me fix a bunch of parts last week, wasn't sure how to fix it either. That's definitely a cool layback seat post idea, though!
Well, I can't say I'd want a set of bear traps on this bike. Not the sort of vibe I'm going for on this bike. Any suggestions on how to fix what I've got?
I wasn't suggesting them, I was making a comparison. If you can remove the spindles you could do the same
It already is upside down, but yeah, I can flip it over. The problem is that the seat post tapers about where that piece is, and if I brought the seat any lower, it might not grip the seat post correctly. I can try it though.Can you turn that black part of the seat mount upsidedown as well to get the seat to go lower?
Anyway, your lab has my vote...
Oh. Honestly, I don't know how to remove the spindles on these pedals. It looks like I'd have to find a way to bend back the tabs holding the pedals together first, but then I have no idea if the guts can be removed. I tried to do that on those other pedals, and although disassembling them was pretty easy, there was no real way to remove the spindles that I could find. Plus, I really don't want to mess these pedals up if I can avoid it.
I've never had troubles with cheap pedals that oil can be squirted into. Usually the threaded part of the spindle bearings are open enough to drool oil into the pedal. I oil them up good. Excess oil will find its way out but your bearings will thank you. Manufacturing tolerance flaws that drag will wear into compliance given enough time. If the pedal is real hard to turn I would send them back. I only rebuild/regrease better quality pedals that are easy to take apart/put together. All others get the oil treatment.
Love black labs. Had one years ago and she was great. There was never enough ball throwing into the river for her. She would go until she had trouble swimming and I would stop. Not her.
Just another thought about that seatpost fit into the seatpost tube. If you get the right size reamer for the inside of the tube that would fix the issues with seatpost fit. Your post is either 7/8" or 13/16" OD so the reamer would be one of these sizes. Bicycle framemakers will ream seatposts to get rid of bumps that will mar aluminum seatposts and so post will slide in easy.
What oil do you typically use for pedals, and how does the process work?
My family used to have a blonde lab and a chocolate lab when I was a kid. They were both nice dogs. This black lab I'm looking after right now is a lot like the one you described. She's very energetic and she loves to play.
What's a reamer? The issue isn't with the seat post fitting the frame, it's a weld or something inside the frame blocking the seat post from going down further into the seat tube. I tried fixing the problem, but there doesn't seem to be an easy fix for it.
