First post, tons of questions.

I will cut right to the chase here. I saw the local bike/scooter rental shop selling a small gas powered bicycle. Looked cool. Did a little looking around the web and about went nuts when I saw some of the bikes posted in this section. Unbelievable. I'm totally blown away by this stuff.

Anyways, I want to build a boardtracker now of course. I have built motorcycles before, so I should have a decent enough handle on mechanics and what not to make it happen myself.

Now, my million questions:

1. Should I use a complete bike to start, or just a frame? If a complete, what completes are a good choice? If a frame, which frame do I get? I saw many an old Schwinn frame listed on ebay. Kind of like the Phantoms and Panthers.

2. What parts are necessary if I wanted to use more than one gear i.e use a bike with a gear selector?

3. Can I salvage the gears off say a trek bicycle and use them on a Schwinn frame? Or is that not happening or a poor idea?

4. What kind of rims and tires are guys running?

I'm sure I'll think of a bunch more, but that's all I have for now. I'm basically ready to burn a hole in my pocket and get this started so all your suggestions will be read and appreciated.

Thanks in advance

I like the old 50's, 60's & 70's Schwinns, they're plentiful & all the parts are strong.

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How much should I expect to pay for a fifties or sixties Schwinn panther/jaguar/phantom frame?

The only after market parts that I really recommend are & SBP expansion pipe & a Manic Mechanic 40T rear sprocket & adapter... (both companies are listed on the sides of this page) All the other fancy stuff you can do without!

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Here's a question: Will the Felt cruiser wheels and thick brick tires fit in the Schwinn cruiser frames without much hassle?

Most felts have 3" wide tires; you will have a problem with the new drive chain touching both the tire & frame!!

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What's the widest tire I can run in the back without rubbing? I was also considering running a 24" rear rim and a larger front to bring the back end down slightly. That might gain me clearance perhaps?

I'm just not getting the brakes. How can I make sure I'm ordering compatible disc brake parts with my wheels/hub (aside from standard rim brakes)? And can you recommend a good rear wheel that will also allow me to use the recommended Manic Mechanic adapter?

Sorry for the million questions and thanks for your already numerous answers, I just want to have a rolling chassis in the next few weeks.

So far my plans:

Schwinn frame
Springer forks
Board track bars
Disc front brake, which one I have no idea
Rear brake, no idea
26"+ front wheel
24" rear wheel
Fat frank or whatever that other old school tire is called rubber