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Thor's New DD!! Rollin on 27's biznitch!


Thor06
04-09-2008, 09:17 PM
Hey guys, Thor got a new daily driver today! Peep the pics yo!

http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/1531/1000984fo8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/999/1000985ah8.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Its an old 23" Schwinn 10 speed road bike with 27" x 1.25" wheels, probably made in the mid-late 70's or very early 80's. With rising fuel costs, my fat ass needing to stay in better shape, and living a good 30-40 minute walk from classes next year, I decided I should get a road bike. Well, I have a hard time spending as much or more on a new bike than I did to buy my Talon, and I dont want to shell out $150+ for a good road bike on Craigs List.

So how much did I pay for it? Nothing, I picked this bad boy up for free on the street :D. Its been sitting unlocked out in front of my dorm since I got here this fall with no front wheel, obviously no one wants it. After all, it did sit buried in a snow bank the whole winter, never once moved. I figured fuck it, I could use the parts so why not. My friend actually built his own like this, I believe he has $52 into it including the cost of the bike for a perfectly good bike. Next year we're going to buy them in mass quantities from thrift stores to rebuild and sell for cheap.

Its going to take a lot of elbow grease and time, but its really in pretty restorable shape. Yes, all the aluminum is corroded and the steel is starting to rust, but an afternoon with some steel wool will fix that. This weekend my friend and I are going to tear our bikes down and repaint them. I am planning on going with a flat black and polished scheme on this bike with the hardware and wheels being the only things polished. I'm also going to get a new handle bar, as fickle as it sounds I want a cooler looking one. Regardless, I am happy with my "purchase". :D What do you guys think?

vanilla gorilla
04-09-2008, 09:30 PM
wow

rickyrickster25
04-09-2008, 09:45 PM
needs a turbo...

SilvrEclipse
04-09-2008, 10:54 PM
Awesome man, I need to get me a bike in case the eclipse breaks down.

northendtrooper
04-10-2008, 12:44 AM
Awesome man, I need to get me a bike WHEN the eclipse breaks down.
Fixed For ya

Thor06
04-10-2008, 03:23 AM
Well, after a long and exhausting search I found out a bit more about the bike. For a while I thought it was a top model from the early to mid 60's, but that didnt seem right. After more looking I found out that my bike was made in Taiwan, Schwinn's were made in Chicago until '82. After I realized that, I found the bike was made in April of 1985. My new baby is turning 23 this month! To be honest, I was a little bummed when I found that it wasnt really old, but really I couldnt care less. I'm just pumped for this Saturday so I can tear her down! Hopefully sometime next week we'll take her out for a spin.

SilvrEclipse
04-10-2008, 07:01 AM
How do you plan on riding it with no front wheel??:dunno:

Blackcrow64
04-10-2008, 08:07 AM
Uh... :uhoh:


Ok... lol

JoeShmoe
04-10-2008, 09:50 AM
LMFAO, this is very funny IMO. Your pics were taking too long to load so in my had I'm imagining a motorcycle with some big ass wheels. Since you mentioned it was old I thought, wow, it must be something I haven't seen before. So I went thru thread and responses and I fnally scrolled back up I see the pics WTF? LOL, needless to say I couldn't stop laughing for a good while.

Anyway, I say you use your learning experiences from school and rig some kind of motor to it.

Thor06
04-10-2008, 12:13 PM
Ok, seriously Jason? I'm going to put a damn wheel on it before I try to ride it. :lol: I kind of got the bike to get away from motors and shit, putting one on would be sweet but not what I am looking for. I figured the title was misleading enough that you guys would be a bit confused. :D

I'll update this weekend when I tear her down and get some of the aluminum polished up. I would kind of like to polish it like the write up but thats more work and money than I am willing to put to it. I'll just do it with some lemon juice and a brillo pad or something just to get the oxidation off.

Killa
04-10-2008, 12:22 PM
wtf is this ? time go throw it in yunk yard.

david-b
04-10-2008, 12:32 PM
Ok, seriously Jason? I'm going to put a damn wheel on it before I try to ride it. :lol:

That's the mechanical engineering for you. Bikes suck. Public trans is the way to go. And then when you get drunk you can pass out cold and almost miss your stop or come very close to throwing up all over the place. You can't ride a bike drunk!

Killa
04-10-2008, 01:08 PM
That's the mechanical engineering for you. Bikes suck. Public trans is the way to go. And then when you get drunk you can pass out cold and almost miss your stop or come very close to throwing up all over the place. You can't ride a bike drunk!

or you can sleep in the car :grinyes: .

SilvrEclipse
04-10-2008, 01:28 PM
Thor I was just f*ckin with you. I knew you would put a wheel on it before you tried to ride it.

Thor06
04-10-2008, 02:01 PM
Ha ha, just you guys wait, it'll be a completely new bike in a week or two. Also Dave, this bike is going to cost about as much to rebuild as a semester bus pass is, plus I can get anywhere in the twin cities metro area faster on a bike than on a bus with the exception of express busses. For example, the thrift store we're going to get our parts bikes from is pretty much exactly 20 miles south of me. In a car it takes 25 minutes to get there. Biking I would have to go out of my way a little, but you can figure 20-25 mph once I get 'er oiled up good and get my legs a little more built so it would take about between 50 minutes and 1:10. Getting there on a bus takes a solid 3 hours with transfers and shit. Even just going from the house I am going to live in next year to class is faster. If my roommate and I leave at the same time but I bike and he takes the bus, I will be locking up my bike 8-10 minutes after leaving compared to him having to wait almost that long for the bus to come. Even if he were to catch it right away its still a 15 minute bus ride plus walking from the bus stop. Sure drunk riding isnt safe, but neither is riding a bus late at night drunk. Besides, any partying I do is going to be a 20 minute walk away.

david-b
04-10-2008, 02:26 PM
Sometimes late late late night drunken bus/train taking with homeless drunks is fun!!

And I guess you make a valid point somewhere in there... but damn if I'm going to find it.

steviek
04-10-2008, 02:53 PM
lol thor you don't realize how excited I got when I saw the title of this thread. Then I burst out laughing when I saw what it was. Then I burst out laughing again at the needs a turbo quote. I say f the front wheel and just learn how to ride it on one, it can be done.

JoeShmoe
04-10-2008, 03:02 PM
lol thor you don't realize how excited I got when I saw the title of this thread. Then I burst out laughing when I saw what it was. Then I burst out laughing again at the needs a turbo quote. I say f the front wheel and just learn how to ride it on one, it can be done.
Exactly, lose the handle bars, and call it a day. Unicycle baby!

Killa
04-11-2008, 12:34 AM
Killa gonna chill with you in this thread, btw where the hell do you live ? dom ? cause I aint put that bike in my room like that, and look like you dont have much space on your rooms.

Thor06
04-23-2008, 12:42 AM
Yeah Killa, I'm in a dorm. Its a shitty workshop, but hey I do it anyway.

I dont have a lot of progress for y'all, but I've got a little and a couple pics. I've got the three main tubes (seat to handlebar, handle bar to crank, and crank to seat) pretty much ready for paint. I have a little bit of rust left to take care of and paint to scuff up, but those are almost ready. I still have the tubes going to the back tire to take care of and the handlebar-fork tube, but I'd say I'm about half done sanding. Here's some pics of the beast stripped:

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/5977/1000986gy6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/2465/1000987uv1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/623/1000988tv4.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

I have two tests on Friday so I wont be doing a lot more on it between now and then, but I want to have it prepped for paint by Friday. After my last test I'll go paint the bitch up in Rustoleum rust preventive flat black primer, probably two nice thick coats, a quick sand session, and a light finish coat. Then Saturday I am going to take my box of parts and the frame to that bike shop and do work until I can ride her home. Thats the plan anyway, we'll see how the week goes.

gthompson97
04-23-2008, 12:58 AM
Geezus lord. You are goofy Dustin, plain old goofy.

Thor06
05-03-2008, 08:47 PM
Well homies, I did some serious work on the hoe today. I finished up sanding the frame painted it, it looks nice. The fork was bent to hell so I got a new one off an older Schwinn, and I got a new chain and front wheel/tire. I dont have the derailluers on yet or the back brake, but I was atleast able to ride it home.

So yeah, all I really have to do to get it 100% ridable is straighten the back wheel a little, move the front brake pads down about 1/4", and take a link out of the chain. After that I need to put the derailluers on, the back brake, get new a hew handle bar and wrap it, and add a few links to the chain. I think I'm going to shine up the aluminum and stainless on it too, when I have time. Heres some pics of the beast!

http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/9237/1000995dd3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/3569/1000996md2.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Ok, so how much do you all think I have into it so far? Including the 1/2 can of spray paint I have like $17.50 and like 15 hours into it as it sits :D. How bitchin is that?? Nonprofit used bike part stores kick ass!

SilvrEclipse
05-03-2008, 10:25 PM
Looks great Dustin. Thats awesome that you got a bike that cheap

Black99GST
05-03-2008, 11:10 PM
haha you could have just asked for my bike... i would have given it to ya! ;) nice!

Thor06
05-03-2008, 11:24 PM
Thanks man! I moved the chain up a gear to get rid of the slack and when I bolted it back on the wobble was still there, just not rubbing. Then I adjusted the brakes and took it to my friends house. I had to stop at two stop lights and the 35-40 minute walk turned into a 9 minute bike ride! After I left there I wanted to bike some more, but didnt know where to go. I went to the my farthest class from my dorm, its like a 20 minute walk depending on how I'm feeling, etc. Well, I was pedaling hard, but I made that bitch in less than 4 minutes!! Judging by what song I was listening to I figured it was like 3 minutes and 20 seconds. I cant even believe it, according to Google Earth its .98 miles from my place so I did it at around 17.5 mph. I cant wait to get the derailluers on so I get out of 4th gear :).

Thor06
05-05-2008, 08:59 PM
I realize this is awefully early for an update, but I have one so I figured I'd post up anyway. It was AMAZING outside today in Minneapolis so my buddy and I just sat out in his yard for a few hours. He was carving a longboard and I brought some homework to do. Yeah, that shit didnt happen. I also happened to bring my steel wool, so I decided I would just polish up some pieces. The front wheel really shined up nice, and I did the front brake system too. I also adjusted the front brake and now she stops on a damn dime. I angled the seat down out of my nads as well, so now its a comfortable ride. My buddy's roommate had a parts bike that he is done with that happened to have a handlebar in good shape, and he let me have it. Score one for Thor!

So yeah, here's kind of a list of things I have left to do:
-Straighten rear wheel
-Mount up front and rear derailleurs and selectors
-Lengthen chain
-Put the rear brake back on
-Put the new handlebar on
-Wrap handlebar
-Polish rear wheel
-Polish whole rear brake assembly
-Clean up or get new pedals

The only things I have left to buy is the extra length of chain ($3), handlebar wrap ($10), and new pedals if I need them ($5). I think I am going to just keep chipping at things until Saturday so I can go the bike place and only have to straighten the back wheel, lengthen the chain, and mount up the rear derailleur. Once I get all of that shit done I will take a bunch of pictures of the final product.

Thor06
05-11-2008, 02:15 AM
Ok, so here I am whoring up my own thread, but I thought I'd update while I was thinking about it. I got quite a bit done today... I got the rear wheel hub rebuilt, gear selectors mounted, cables for the derailleurs run, derailleurs mounted, rear wheel 1/2 way straightened, and chain lengthened for use in all gears. All I have left to do is replace some of the chain (didnt realize that there was two different sizes, 1/2 of it is wide and 1/2 of it is narrow), adjust the derailleurs and rear brake, and the rest is cosmetic. I'm picking up another bike probably on Monday, for either my brother or one of two friends looking for a road bike depending on who it fits. Only problem is the bike is 18 miles away with one bad tire and I dont think I have a ride all the way up there. My solution is to either A) catch an express bus up there with my wheel to replace the bad one with and ride it home or B) bike up there, semi dismantle the other bike, strap it to my back, and ride back home. We'll see how that goes. I would post up some new pics but the bike is dirty as hell, so tomorrow when I finish it I will take some new pictures out side to show just how much I be blingin. ;)

Devildust21
05-15-2008, 07:39 PM
Wow.. this is totally random but i noticed in those pics... That you have some freakish looking toes :P

KoDKingVegeta
05-16-2008, 02:24 PM
You should have painted it pink or purple or hot rod red. Lol, give it some flare, EVERYONE has a black bike. :lol2:

kittay
05-17-2008, 08:46 PM
hahahaha baller!!!!

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