My brother, Paul, rode my Chief this summer and decided he liked the laid back feel of a "pedals forward" frame design. So he decided to try stretching a regular bike frame to see if he could build something similar rather than spending the money to buy a new one like I did.
The first project was what we kiddingly called the Bumble Bee bike - because of the paint job. It was also a little unusal because he used the T rail from a Craftsman garage door opened to build the top tube on the bike.
By the way, I am in the process of painting this one a medium blue color so it will no longer be a bumble bee.
Paul's next attempt at a frame stretch was done using a road bike frame. This one we called Onan - because he painted it with some green paint he had left over from painting an Onan generator.
After doing a couple of stretch jobs he decided he really needed a jig and fortunately for him, his wife had someone give her a large metal rolling cart. So he used that to build an adjustable jig for his future builds.
The bike in the jig had some issues and ended up in the trash. It was originally slated to be a Worksman look alike.
The next stretch bike was appropriately named "OJ". This one was done using another rode bike frame. Initially he added some extra bars to fill in the open area in the middle of the frame but later decided to kill that idea. This one ended up being his favorite so he put his 3 speed Nexus wheels on it along with a triple tree fork and it became his daily rider.
The following stretch job was done using an unusual looking bike that had apparently been run over and eventually made it's way to the metal salvage company. The curved frame is what caught Paul's eye on that one and I think he gave the scrap yard $3 for it.
Then he ran across a deal on a beach cruiser and planned to just paint it and resell it. He threw on a set of ape hangers and some decent tires and it was looking pretty good as is - and waiting for some fresh paint. But he said his portaband saw kept calling him so the cruiser also got the stretch treatment - and a springer to boot.
Paul has decided that this one is actually more comfortable to ride than OJ, so now he has a delima on which one will end up being his daily rider and what parts he will use on what.
Which takes us to the latest project. I had Steve buy me a Murray Mixtie up in Dallas a couple of months ago because it had a cruiser width 3 speed SA coaster brake rear end on it. I mainly wanted to use the wheels off of it on Onan - which I did and so Onan now has a 3 speed on it.
That left another unusual frame available for a stretch. So this one is in progress and will soon be ready for paint. On this one Paul cut off the center Mixtie bars, turned them upside down, and made twin top bars out of them. It also got a mild stretch in the process and he also raked the neck on it - which gives it a long low look.
He's going to get me to do the paint job on this one. So far, though, it's looking good and it could turn out to be one of my favorite bikes once it's done. The twin top bars on it will be unique.
Who knows what the next project will be. There is always another bike frame just around the corner waiting for a stretch.
The first project was what we kiddingly called the Bumble Bee bike - because of the paint job. It was also a little unusal because he used the T rail from a Craftsman garage door opened to build the top tube on the bike.
By the way, I am in the process of painting this one a medium blue color so it will no longer be a bumble bee.
Paul's next attempt at a frame stretch was done using a road bike frame. This one we called Onan - because he painted it with some green paint he had left over from painting an Onan generator.
After doing a couple of stretch jobs he decided he really needed a jig and fortunately for him, his wife had someone give her a large metal rolling cart. So he used that to build an adjustable jig for his future builds.
The bike in the jig had some issues and ended up in the trash. It was originally slated to be a Worksman look alike.
The next stretch bike was appropriately named "OJ". This one was done using another rode bike frame. Initially he added some extra bars to fill in the open area in the middle of the frame but later decided to kill that idea. This one ended up being his favorite so he put his 3 speed Nexus wheels on it along with a triple tree fork and it became his daily rider.
The following stretch job was done using an unusual looking bike that had apparently been run over and eventually made it's way to the metal salvage company. The curved frame is what caught Paul's eye on that one and I think he gave the scrap yard $3 for it.
Then he ran across a deal on a beach cruiser and planned to just paint it and resell it. He threw on a set of ape hangers and some decent tires and it was looking pretty good as is - and waiting for some fresh paint. But he said his portaband saw kept calling him so the cruiser also got the stretch treatment - and a springer to boot.
Paul has decided that this one is actually more comfortable to ride than OJ, so now he has a delima on which one will end up being his daily rider and what parts he will use on what.
Which takes us to the latest project. I had Steve buy me a Murray Mixtie up in Dallas a couple of months ago because it had a cruiser width 3 speed SA coaster brake rear end on it. I mainly wanted to use the wheels off of it on Onan - which I did and so Onan now has a 3 speed on it.
That left another unusual frame available for a stretch. So this one is in progress and will soon be ready for paint. On this one Paul cut off the center Mixtie bars, turned them upside down, and made twin top bars out of them. It also got a mild stretch in the process and he also raked the neck on it - which gives it a long low look.
He's going to get me to do the paint job on this one. So far, though, it's looking good and it could turn out to be one of my favorite bikes once it's done. The twin top bars on it will be unique.
Who knows what the next project will be. There is always another bike frame just around the corner waiting for a stretch.
