Bringing a Pre-War frame into the 20th century.

Stunning work amigo.. Everything about that bike is cool. I love knowing you will really ride that bike the way it is designed to...

Gotta get together for a vintage ride again someday! Hodges?

Ben
 
BensterSD":3hm59sw6 said:
Stunning work amigo.. Everything about that bike is cool. I love knowing you will really ride that bike the way it is designed to...

Gotta get together for a vintage ride again someday! Hodges?

Ben
Yeah, that was fun, are you doing Keyesville this year?
 
sandmangts":3v39utgh said:
BensterSD":3v39utgh said:
Stunning work amigo.. Everything about that bike is cool. I love knowing you will really ride that bike the way it is designed to...

Gotta get together for a vintage ride again someday! Hodges?

Ben
Yeah, that was fun, are you doing Keyesville this year?

Sadly, I recently found out I won't be able to make it this year. Cabin availabilities crossed plans with a Tahoe getaway and had to push Keyesville out... Bittersweet, I want to do both!!! The early March race dates really threw my plans out of wack. For some reason I anticipated a late March/early April race, like last year.

Go get em bro!

Ben
 
Finally got the headset turned down to fit and installed. After that everything else just fell into place. I took it for the first ride around the neighborhood and I am absolutely thrilled with the way it rides. It is exactly what I had hoped for. I will hit the dirt tomorrow and see how it holds up. It has a really nice solid stiff feel to it. It does not feel like a clunker. Better photos to follow but for now...

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Took it out for a few miles of dirt today. The 2.35 tire in the rear is cutting in pretty close but it sure takes the edge off the small bumps. 34.6 pounds as it sits. I think if I swapped the DX pedals, Changed to a carbon bar and went tubeless with the tires I could get this thing under 30 pounds. But I love the way it rides. Perfectly comfortable, it climbs well especially out of the saddle with the fork locked. It certainly does not feel or ride like any of my other clunkers. I hope it holds up as well as my Mercury has.
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Here are some shots of my others.
The Mercury, 49.5 pounds
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The wifes Elgin. 37.8 pounds
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And the Schwinn. 36.9 pounds.
 
I think you've done an absolutely fantastic job on it and this thread has been great to follow to watch the progress. I've shown it to a few of my non-Retrobiking friends too who have been really interested in it.

It's genuinely inspiring and I hope I can take on a similar project in the future when I have a bit more free time.
 
I took it out and gave it a proper beating today. Did about 28 miles. So far there have been no problems. I was concerned that the rear wheel may move in the dropouts but I took a few jumps and drops today and it didn't budge. Braking has gotten even better now that the pads are bedded in properly. It climbs very well, corners nicely and it really accelerates great coming out of the turns. Pointed downhill is where it really shines though. It also looks better with a nice coat of mud.
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