women,s klunker good or bad idea?

[heartlandcruisers]

well i come upon yet another dillema with my ever changing thoughts of evil and twisted ideas.
this one not so bad
i was wondering if the klunker idea would be good for a women's bicycle.
there is an ubundance( i think i spelled that right in other words theres alot ) of women's cruiser bikes out there and are rather cheap usually.
so i have decided to build a women,s version of a klunker for my girl.
any thoughts or ideas?
if you have built them please share to help get me going
thanks
sean

 

[Bicycle808]

The only potential drawback is see is that, with a step-thru frame, the frame will lack triangulation, and it won't be as stiff. That's not a big deal, in my view, and won't be a problem at all unless your girl gets to klunkin' really hard...

In the late 70s/early 80s, they made some strand-style bmx cruisers (which are about as close to a production klunker as you'll get) in ladies' step thru frames:
Bassett Star Cruiser
http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Gobotts/media/post-3526-1248238521_thumb-1.jpg.html
S&S Newport
http://bmxmuseum.com/bikes/sands/53570

So, yeah, i think that's a worthwhile project to try...

 

[patman73]

i have seen some unisex bikes , wich have a lower curved top tube , i mean it is almost a step through frame but stiffer than a womans beach or road bike from the 60's or 70's

 

[rrtbike]

I built this a while back. I thought it was cool but didn't have any luck finding someone else who wanted it. Ended up changing it up a bit.

 

[us56456712]

If the price for a vintage frame and what condition it is in when you get it is an issue you could buy a Walmart 1939 Columbia 3 star with twin top tubes and use the frame, wheels and bars for a clunker start. Toss the seat, tank, truss rods, rack, fenders, chain guard and lower the gearing. You start with good paint. Its only $150 new. Comes in men's and woman's varieties, steel frame, looks like it has a heavy steel 3 piece crank, which could possibly be changed out for an alloy set later as funds and freebees come your way. It has alloy wheels. It would probably do for moderate clunking. Change the seat and stem for more retro items and walla, you got a clunker at very little cost or effort.
walmart.com/search/?query=columbia%203%20star

 

[Bicycle808]

If the price for a vintage frame and what condition it is in when you get it is an issue you could buy a Walmart 1939 Columbia 3 star with twin top tubes and use the frame, wheels and bars for a clunker start. Toss the seat, tank, truss rods, rack, fenders, chain guard and lower the gearing. You start with good paint. Its only $150 new. Comes in men's and woman's varieties, steel frame, looks like it has a heavy steel 3 piece crank, which could possibly be changed out for an alloy set later as funds and freebees come your way. It has alloy wheels. It would probably do for moderate clunking. Change the seat and stem for more retro items and walla, you got a clunker at very little cost or effort.
walmart.com/search/?query=columbia%203%20star

No, you CAN'T buy a WalMart 1939 Columbia 3 Star, b/c it's actually called the 1937 Columbia 3 Star. The 1939 version isn't due to come out until 2017.


Dollar for dollar, you can't beat a used industrial bike frameset and whatever mtb/bmx parts you got lying around. Unless, of course, you find something for free....

 

[us56456712]

No, you CAN'T buy a WalMart 1939 Columbia 3 Star, b/c it's actually called the 1937 Columbia 3 Star. The 1939 version isn't due to come out until 2017.


Dollar for dollar, you can't beat a used industrial bike frameset and whatever mtb/bmx parts you got lying around. Unless, of course, you find something for free....

How come it is in Walmart web page if you can't buy it? False advertising I say, lets sue them. I thought about a Schwinn Heavy Duty before, but held out until I found a 1940 CWC frame for cheap. It took a lot of work: seatpost/stem unsticking, race replacement, frame straightening, and searching for the right head set to get it going but the wait was worth it. I can't believe how much $ I have in it but I really like it so you can't put a price on fun. I bent 2 seat posts before I poped $40 for a piece of 5/8 inch cold rolled hardest steel you could get rod. Finding vintage drum brakes front and rear ain't cheap either. I would like to build another one, but don't want to go through all the effort of finding and making everything. If you could buy the Wally Columbia, I would be tempted as I have all the stuff to make it into another clunker. I think one is enough, but having two, how cool would that be?

 

[Bicycle808]

Oh, I was just goofin w/ya b/c you typo'd the "model year"; the fake Columbia is called the 1937, not the 1939....

I kept bending 7/8 posts in Worksman bikes, til I got some stainless tube in .012 wall thickness. So far, so good. Polishes up nice, too....One of the benefits of the Schwinn HD, the Huskies, and the Summits (really, all the other current industrial bikes) is that they take 1" posts....which you can get with the integrated seatclamps, plus they're a lot tougher to bend....

 

[psycho biLLy]

I like the used industrial frameset approach. You can pick something up for cheap and many components can be had at swap meets and/or craigslist. It's all about getting the right frame to build on and patience usually pays off. Ladies klunker?....why the heck not. Good luck with the project!

 

[deorman]

Old U.S. "girls" bikes absorve considerable more rider output and have less precise tracking than "boys" models. They also don't handle hard landings very well.

Does any of this matter for a fun cruiser/casual trail bike project?

Not unless your girl is gonna be track standing on boulders or doing wall drops.

 

[honestherman]

Old U.S. "girls" bikes absorve considerable more rider output and have less precise tracking than "boys" models. They also don't handle hard landings very well.

Does any of this matter for a fun cruiser/casual trail bike project?

Not unless your girl is gonna be track standing on boulders or doing wall drops.

I go to a Swap meet where everyone rides bikes every year. I have a regular space there. Every year my neighbor who is 260 + jumps on some 20.00 swap meet bike and remembers when he was 16 and 100lbs. He Jumps and and just kills that bike. Usually it is broken in 5 minutes of his show. Everyone laughs and calls him an Idiot. He always answers. "What?? I used to do that all the time"
Boys or girls bike it does not matter for that guy.

 

[jamesdart]

I keep wanting to pick up a worksman ing for a trail bike for my wife.

 

[Bicycle808]

I keep wanting to pick up a worksman ing for a trail bike for my wife.

Hit chuckz up. Before i do.

 

[jamesdart]

I figure that has to be one of the better choices for a women's frame

 

[Bicycle808]

It'd be my first choice.... dirt cheap, easy to find/replace, and takes tires up to 2.35". If it doesn't work out, everything (even the fork) can be used on the men's frame...

 

[horsefarmer]

Its true that step thru frames are weaker though. BITD my brother used an old hand me down Ballooner Schwinn girls bike to deliver papers. I still remember him pushing it home one evening dragging the bottom bracket the frame buckled going off a curb.