Committing forgery: A Faux Rudge Autocycle build.

I used run a China Girl in a step through Schwinn American Deluxe and made up an extra long throttle cable to go under the BB and up behind the seat post and to the carburetor. It worked well and left room for a step through mount.
SB
 
Ludwig II said:
It looks like there might be a clash of foot and throttle cable when getting on and off. Possible cure, use a cut down throttle assembly to run the cable round after coming up from below the carb? Just a thought.
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Good point Ludwig, but I think Silverbear has suggested the necessary solution to the problem :)
 
Was better today so with my daughter's encouragement I dragged the faux Rudge plus all its bits and bobs out of the garage and into the living room.
This way I can sit on a stool beside it and tinker about on it even when I'm not feeling so well.

First job was wiping all the dust and cobwebs off the bike and making it look like it hadn't been abandoned for months. After collecting everything up and bringing it inside I didn't have much left over energy to do much, but at least it's now where I can work on it in comfort.
My latest plan is to add a 24 volt electric motor driving through a SA hub in a countershaft setup so the faux Rudge will become a hybrid. The aim will be to make the electrical additions not so blindingly obvious so the bike will still retain its 'old school' appearance. I may yet add a lightweight sidecar into the mix, but the first thing will be to get everything working.

I've been tinkering about with converting a car suspension coil spring compressor into a frame spreading tool and I'm almost there with it. The Mixte frame I'm using still needs some further persuading here and there and this tool will make life a lot easier for me.
 

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Thanks Curt :) I seem to be doing better at the moment, but I still have to be careful. Being able to work on a bike project again is definitely good therapy for me. For a while there I was feeling pretty darn miserable and starting to get very down about not being able to do anything.

Yes Harold I'm working on my bike in the living room :D Well it is my house so really there's nothing stopping me from doing it if I want to. My daughter has been working on her electric bike in the living room with my blessing at various times over the past few months so I figured I might as well do the same.
 
Annie!

I'm glad to hear you're feeling well enough to work on it. And I'm glad you chose this project. Since it's inception two years ago, I've had a special fondness for your faux Rudge. My current bike, in fact, was largely inspired by it.

(An aside to the male members here: What would you give for a wife who welcomes a bike project into the living room? Priceless!)
 
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