Bicycles of our childhood

[dimlight65]

That knob was purchased when I had that purple 1962 Ford Econoline van.  I obviously didn't use it on that vehicle and it had been kicking around in the tool box ever since.  I thought, "That van was purple, this bike is purple..." and that's literally the connection.

Edited January 2, 2023 by dimlight65

[dimlight65]

I arrived at the shop today to discover that the bicycle gnomes had installed a caliper brake while I wasn't looking.

 

 

 

 

 

So we wrestled the solid tires onto the three-speed wheel set...

 

 

 

Then installed and adjusted the three-speed hub and shifter 

 

 

I took it around the parking lot and am quite chuffed. 

 

 

I think I'm going to step down on the tooth count of the front sprocket though as 1:1 feels a lot steeper than it did before.  I'd rather have a couple "climbing gears" at the cost of a slightly lower top speed, I think.

[datsunfreak]

Got some new 4pc chromoly bars from GT...

 

 

 

Bars are 2.5" taller than the stock bars, and feel much better on the road...

 

[dimlight65]

On 1/2/2023 at 3:59 PM, dimlight65 said:

 

I think I'm going to step down on the tooth count of the front sprocket though

According to a review on Amazon, some guy replaced the stock 44 tooth sprocket with a 32 tooth for his GF so she could climb hills better.  That sounded like a good idea, so I ordered one.  It arrived today but looks awfully small.  I therefore just ordered 36 tooth and 42 tooth cogs.  

 

And since there's no replacement for displacement, I also ordered a  "stroker kit" (AKA a 7" crankset).

Edited January 6, 2023 by dimlight65

[paradime]

1 hour ago, dimlight65 said:

According to a review on Amazon, some guy replaced the stock 44 tooth sprocket with a 32 tooth for his GF so she could climb hills better.  That sounded like a good idea, so I ordered one.  It arrived today but looks awfully small.  I therefore just ordered 36 tooth and 42 tooth cogs.  

 

And since there's no replacement for displacement, I also ordered a  "stroker kit" (AKA a 7" crankset).

 

Best of all worlds would be put on all three sprockets with a front deraileur. Because life's purpose is self realization by spending money. I'll admit it's great fun watching your bike come together, I'm living vicariously while watching.

[datsunfreak]

10 hours ago, paradime said:

Because life's purpose is self realization by spending money.

 

This made me LOL. 

[datsunfreak]

10 hours ago, paradime said:

 

Best of all worlds would be put on all three sprockets with a front deraileur. 

 

I was thinking about this, but it would require adding a second shifter. Which WE DO NOT NEED TO DO TIM. 

[datzenmike]

... cause that will work.

[paradime]

Disclaimer: Everything in my last post was intended as a joke, so please regard as such. It wouldn't work because there is no derailuer on the rear with a spring tensioner to take up slack in the chain. Stop searching for parts Tim, and start riding this bike.

 

If anything, get a Popsocket to mount your phone to the bars and make a vid of your rides, a la Spielberg.

[dimlight65]

19 hours ago, paradime said:

Best of all worlds would be put on all three sprockets with a front deraileur.

 

8 hours ago, datsunfreak said:

I was thinking about this, but it would require adding a second shifter. Which WE DO NOT NEED TO DO TIM. 

This was an idea I had very early in the process but recognized the spring-loaded tensioner issue almost immediately.  I think I mentioned it to John in passing, but never followed up on it because... well, because making it work would have been more effort than it was worth.

[dimlight65]

4 hours ago, paradime said:

If anything, get a Popsocket to mount your phone to the bars and make a vid of your rides, a la Spielberg.

Yes, because a huffing and wheezing old man, swearing like a sailor at every minor inconvenience, makes for some great cinema!

 

Hmm, I think that attempt at sarcasm has actually convinced me to do it!

 

Edit:  Dang you, paradime!  This is in my Amazon shopping cart now!

 

 

Edited January 6, 2023 by dimlight65

[dimlight65]

4 hours ago, paradime said:

Stop searching for parts Tim, and start riding this bike.

Once the Dajiban is back on the road, the bike is getting transported home.  I'll start riding it there... probably.

[dimlight65]

Ok, so I did a little spread sheeting to finger out what gears I think I want.

 

 

Stock gearing was the far right column: 44 tooth front, 19 tooth rear, giving a 1:2.32 ratio at the wheel.

 

What I have now is the far left column: 44t front, 18t rear, yielding 1:1.78 low, 1:2.44 mid, and 1:3.33 hi ratios at the wheel.

 

I believe these numbers to be accurate based on how the thing rode.  Low was easier than before, mid was a little harder than before, and hi was nigh impossible to use at parking lot speed.

 

So, looking at the sprockets I have ordered (yes, I know I should have done this spreadsheet before buying gears), I think I am going to go with the 36 tooth front cog until I get into a little better shape.  Once I'm able to pull third with that gear, I'll swap over to the 42 tooth, and maybe eventually back to the 44.

 

Edited January 8, 2023 by dimlight65
Changed my mind on final front tooth count... again

[paradime]

 With NASA's top physicists and mechanical engineers for support, we've been calculating proper front gearing for a given level of conditioning that insures maximum efficiency while minimizing the potential for over exertion and cardiac arrest.

 

Tim's "shape" variable quantity (X) ÷ π r 36 tooth  sprocket (Y) + "exertion" over "time" = "distance" ratio (Z) as s ≠^e/t/_d . If s ≠ (X) increases causing (Z) to inverse as s ≠_e/t/^d then modify (Y) as π r 42 tooth sprocket. 

[Duncan]

I gotta say, both of those bikes are looking pretty damn good. 

 

I have a fairly decent bike I used to ride.  It needs some love, but it could make a comeback.

 

Being a larger (and aging) guy myself, I bought a somewhat softer seat that what came on it, but it still hurts my ass to ride it as far as I used to..

 

 

 

[datsunfreak]

8 hours ago, Duncan said:

Being a larger (and aging) guy myself, I bought a somewhat softer seat that what came on it, but it still hurts my ass to ride it as far as I used to..

 

I really hate to admit it, but I think I need a softer seat too...  😄

 

Not sure there is a such a thing as a soft BMX-style seat, but I'm definitely going to look for one...

[datsunfreak]

8 hours ago, Duncan said:

I bought a somewhat softer seat that what came on it, but it still hurts my ass to ride it as far as I used to..

 

Also, what I keep telling myself is that even just around the block beats nothing at all. I've worked my way up to twice around the block almost every day (not when it's below 40F or the roads are wet). 

 

If you care, "around my block" twice is about a mile (0.96mi to be exact). 

[dimlight65]

Aw-rite, aw-rite, aw-rite!  So here's the selection of sprockets.

 

44 tooth:

 

 

42 tooth:

 

 

36 tooth:

 

 

and 32 tooth:

 

 

And here are the 6.5" stock cranks next to the 7" stroker cranks:

 

 

I put the 36 tooth sprocket on the stroker cranks and installed them on the bike.

 

 

Then I bought a chain breaker...

 

 

So I could remove a few links and get the chain nice and tight again.

 

 

And finally, I decided that I didn't really like A) the gold color of caliper and 2) the angle of it, so I removed it.

 

 

Now we're running just the coaster brake... as the Right Honorable Lord Huffy Schwinn-Shimano intended.

 

 

Edited January 12, 2023 by dimlight65

[datzenmike]

41 minutes ago, dimlight65 said:

Aw-rite, aw-rite, aw-rite!  So here's the selection of sprockets.

 

 

 

 

Nice Mathew McConaughey reference.

[dimlight65]

On 1/6/2023 at 12:10 PM, paradime said:

 

If anything, get a Popsocket to mount your phone to the bars and make a vid of your rides, a la Spielberg.

 

And thanks to Paradime, the bike now has the cheapest camera I could find on Amazon!

 

 

 

Now I just have to figure out how to use it... and how to post the videos to these interwebs...  

 

[paradime]

That camera is way above my pay scale, so you'll have to refer to the manual. Once you get the vid file on your computer though, I can walk you through uploading it to YouTube. It's addicting, Check out my TY channel "datsun510zen" and you'll see what I mean.

[dimlight65]

Well, since a Smart Car is essentially a Mercedes Benz, parts and accessories for it are Mercedes Benz priced!  I just bought a bike rack for it so I could bring the Purple Nurple with me in either the Dajiban or the Smart.  It's ok, but it certainly is NOT a $300 bike rack!

 

The kit:

 

 

Starts under here:

 

 

By bolting this thing in. 

 

 

It was going to rattle against that zorst hanger so I put some sticky-back foam on and "belt & suspenders'ed" it with some zip ties.

 

 

Then another piece bolts to that piece...

 

 

so a third (and technically fourth) piece can bolt to the tow hook eye on one side...

 

 

and to the contraption I just installed on the other.

 

 

Then the arms go in (I see now that they were on in the last two pictures, oops) and the bike goes on.

 

 

 

 

I drove around the block to see how it rides and was satisfied with it.

 

I then took it off and had a little ride around the block.  With the lower gearing and "stroker" crankset, it wants to lift the front tire on hard pedaling in first.  We might need to look at doing something about that. 

 

Back at the shop, I debated whether I was going to load it back up and take it home or just, you know... die, because I'm a fat old man who shouldn't be riding a bicycle!  I sat for a while until the jelly legs solidified and the heart rate returned to normal.  I loaded the bike back on the rack and took it home. 

 

I stopped to show it off to my coworkers at the UPS Store and realized that I am simultaneously the oldest person there, and the least mature and most child-like! 

 

At home, I rode it up the hill in front of my house and a little ways down the flat stretch before turning back and going home.  I'll hook up the camera and record the next ride.  Maybe I'll even figure out how to post the video!

 

Edited January 21, 2023 by dimlight65

[paradime]

Dude, with a ft and a half of the wheels hanging off the sides of that smart car, I'd be terrified of catching on something and damaging them. It's great image, but be darn careful.

[dimlight65]

22 hours ago, paradime said:

Dude, with a ft and a half of the wheels hanging off the sides of that smart car, I'd be terrified of catching on something and damaging them. It's great image, but be darn careful.

LOL, yeah I was worried about that as well, but it looks a lot worse in those pictures than it really is.  For the actual drive home, I hitched it on in a slightly different location on the bike's frame.  The rear tire is flush with the driver's side of the car and only about 6" of the front tire extends beyond the car.  It's out in my direct line of sight in the side view mirror so not in a blind spot.  

 

I also lied about hooking up the camera "for the next ride."  When I got home from work today, I took it up the hill in front of my house, and halfway up my street before deciding that was far enough.  I'll work my way up to longer rides, but for now 1/4 mile is enough for this fat ass!

[dimlight65]

So, how can one tell if he's too old and fat to ride a bicycle?

 

 

His knees suddenly look like this:

 

 

 

 

I went about 100 yards too far and ran out of steam.  I lost too much speed while attempting to turn around and just... tumped over.  To be honest, I think the scrapes came from trying to crawl back up off the ground with jelly legs.  I re-tumped and had to lay in the street for a minute before I could stand again.  And sorry, I totally forgot to grab the camera before this ride.  I never thought it would be eventful.

 

Oh, the bike is fine!  I repeat, the bike... is... fine!