What do you really think about another Breezer 1 clone build

[MattiThundrrr]

...I kinda like the looks of the little univega, love the two tone forks

 

[us56456712]

Oooohhhh, the seller says it's "rare"! I wonder if it's "below blue book" too! Sometimes CL sellers crack me up.

Yooper, if you need a mixte frame for parts I have a few to choose from and will donate one to your cause.

Oh nice. Thank you. This site is so nice. The problem is I’ve already tacked the home built laterals to the frame. I like the 80s Huffy mixte as a donor as there are no lugs and those don’t come up very often. If I hadn’t already tacked it together I would jump on your generous offer.

 

[us56456712]

I did figure out a way to open up the tubing for the lateral/seat tube brace. I pounded in, catty corner, a piece of one inch square tubing. The brace turned out warped, crooked and dented. I put it on a piece of steel I found on the RR tracks and used a mallet to curve and flatten out the dents. I don’t remember doing any of this on the other one, but it appears to have worked “good enough, perfect”, which is my motto.

 

[RustyGold]

I didn't even read the ad...I saw mixte and $65 and thought us56456712 might be interested . To me, a mixte is just a funny looking girl's bike...scavenge for parts and pass on the rest.

 

[us56456712]

I didn't even read the ad...I saw mixte and $65 and thought us56456712 might be interested . To me, a mixte is just a funny looking girl's bike...scavenge for parts and pass on the rest.

Me too, but the hipster gals think their cool,which is ruining it for my parts scavenging. $65 is cheap.

 

[Tallbikeman]

It’s 20F now but was +1 at 8AM. It probably was colder last night. Anyway, since 20 is pretty warm I decided to remove a thread on cassette so I can lace a new hub to the rim I want to use for this build. I’ve been removing thread on cassettes since the 1970s and I’ve never broken a tool until today. Yeah, I’ve worn plenty of the nubs away but never cracked one in two, until today. I shoveled off my work bench to find the vice and to allow the wheel to turn. The tools from the metal tool box we’re hand hurting cold and I think they hadn’t warm up yet. The tools were probably-10F. So, the cassette is still there. I’m taking it to the LBS as buying another tool world cost as much as the removal fee and will save me the shoveling aggravation. I’m getting too old to try anything more than once, it’s better to throw money at the problem because fussing with it will just waste valuable seconds of my remaining life. When your old, you get up and know if the day will be so so or adequate.

I have a selection of freewheel removal tools. I raced road in the early 70's and we were always changing out our freewheels for racing advantage. I have yet to break one but never say never. I recently bought a RAD electric bike and had to remove the freewheel. I had to buy a special very long freewheel puller because my present tool to fit that spline shape was not long enough to reach all the way in there. I find it funny that freewheels never died out after the cassette hub was invented and if anything are more numerous now than when I was young.

 

[Karate Chicken Industries]

...I kinda like the looks of the little univega, love the two tone forks

$65 is great for that bike. The paint looks immaculate. The only bummer about mixtes to me is that paint resto is much more difficult than most bikes. That Sanwa I resto modded last year was great and the owner still digs it.

 

[us56456712]

 

[us56456712]

 

[us56456712]

Second brace.

 

[us56456712]

I‘m saving $ by building my own seat sandwich but it ain’t that easy. The top piece is made from a hacked off chain stay brace. The machining is done with files and you have to adjust the sandwich so the seat is straight when clamped. Once you position the seat straight you can weld on the inner rail guides. There’s lots of slop now so it can be wiggled around but the inner guides will stop that.

 

[Tallbikeman]

Your frame is really looking classy. Good craftsmanship on display.

 

[us56456712]

I got some brazing rods that work with arc welding. They are a little hard to use because the arc is harder to start than regular stick welding. The tubing isn’t red hot before you start so it doesn’t flow out. It just forms a brass puddle. It took quite a bit of filing to get it this far. It makes for an ugly filet joint. Gotta use whatcha got and I don’t have an oxygen torch.

 

[Tallbikeman]

I've stood by in a shop while a bicycle frame builder put water bottle braze on's onto several steel frames of mine. He used an Oxy Acetylene torch and he made it look so simple and fast. The brass only went just where he wanted it. Cleanup was minimal. This was a bring the frame in, stand around out of the way for 30 minutes until the frames cooled enough to put back into my car, pay and leave. The type of brazing you are doing probably means a little more file work but the outcome is this really nice copy of a Breezer 1. I didn't know you could braze with a welder, learn something new every day. Good Work.

 

[us56456712]

The seat homemade sandwich is installed on the Brooks twin rail B 72.

 

[us56456712]

I’m still slowly chipping away at another Breezer 1 clone. The last one took me years. I didn’t really get into that one until the lockdown. This one will take awhile. The partly finished frame is hanging in my attic. I just finished building the steel rimed wheels. Fake Phil and Araya rims. Anyone can buy stickers. These steel rims will let riders know how bad the original Breezers were compared to where we are now, even though all cutting edge parts were used. Most owners eventually replaced the steel rims with alloy to improve braking.

 

[horsefarmer]

Yep had them rims on a few bikes and they are bad. None had shine left on 'em tho. I hope they run true, all mine were twisted and out of round...

 

[us56456712]

Yep had them rims on a few bikes and they are bad. None had shine left on 'em tho. I hope they run true, all mine were twisted and out of round...

They are true but there is a heck of a weld seam where the hoop is joined. I imagine braking wil go bump, bump, bump.