road/racing bike
- Thread starter lilffihn
- Start date
BarelyAWake
New Member
I've seen a few around on this forum... bdanged if I remember where...
Think the only real problems are the pedal crank is crazy narrow and the handlebars are a lil oddly shaped for a traditional throttle grip.
Those skinny rims wouldn't last even my driveway lol
Think the only real problems are the pedal crank is crazy narrow and the handlebars are a lil oddly shaped for a traditional throttle grip.
Those skinny rims wouldn't last even my driveway lol
Nashville Kat
Well-Known Member
Although things have gotten terribly radical and sorta non-standard in the racing world for awhile, the average real racing bike of the last 40-50 years is probably too fragile.
Most are minimal tubing and either brazed or glued at the joints which are often then beefed up by lugwork. When I was racing a long time ago, it wasn't unknown for frames to break , without a motor otherwise.
On the other hand, I think more conventional heavier 10-speed road bikes may make good candidates to motor. You may have seen one that I built up over the summer and just took delivery on a kit yesterday-
The frames on consumer grade 10 speeds may be just as strong as cruisers if not more so, and for example an older Schwinn Varsity would be a good example, with standard frame tubing. The 27" inch wheels roll much better than any 26" wheel, and with alloy rims are considerably lighter, for street riding.
I can't ride the drop bars anymore anyway and I've put BMX bars on mine. With brake handles, thay are light and work well. Yes there may be a problem with bottom bracket axle clearance. Sick bikes sells some wider spindle axles for about $8 dollars and that's all you really have to change for 2 stroke.
Here's the bike you may have seen: a Schwinn World Traveller I bought from a junk man for $5 and rebuilt. The frame is lugged, but the tubing is a little bit heavier than an actual racing bike. These were made in the late 70's or early 80's I think. I'm putting a slant 48 on, to keep the weight and noise down, and because I am a little bit concerned about the strength. (I could switch later, but my cruiser already goes faster than I want to.) The new kit does not have an intake and looks like the newer carb that's just out- at least it has the white shutoff valve like it- so I think it will run pretty good. I've replaced the original steel rims with alloy- and that has dropped the weight to not much more than a racing 10 speed of that era..
I've got a chrome tank for it and an extended chrome muffler which looks great and should be extra quiet. The front derailleur will come off, and I haven't decided about the back one yet. I may usea single freewheel. The brake levers will again be combined into a dual lever which works great, and the center pull Dia Comps are excellent strong brakes. I havean extra-light 34 sprocket and so i'm hoping the final weight before fuel will be about 37 lbs.
Most are minimal tubing and either brazed or glued at the joints which are often then beefed up by lugwork. When I was racing a long time ago, it wasn't unknown for frames to break , without a motor otherwise.
On the other hand, I think more conventional heavier 10-speed road bikes may make good candidates to motor. You may have seen one that I built up over the summer and just took delivery on a kit yesterday-
The frames on consumer grade 10 speeds may be just as strong as cruisers if not more so, and for example an older Schwinn Varsity would be a good example, with standard frame tubing. The 27" inch wheels roll much better than any 26" wheel, and with alloy rims are considerably lighter, for street riding.
I can't ride the drop bars anymore anyway and I've put BMX bars on mine. With brake handles, thay are light and work well. Yes there may be a problem with bottom bracket axle clearance. Sick bikes sells some wider spindle axles for about $8 dollars and that's all you really have to change for 2 stroke.
Here's the bike you may have seen: a Schwinn World Traveller I bought from a junk man for $5 and rebuilt. The frame is lugged, but the tubing is a little bit heavier than an actual racing bike. These were made in the late 70's or early 80's I think. I'm putting a slant 48 on, to keep the weight and noise down, and because I am a little bit concerned about the strength. (I could switch later, but my cruiser already goes faster than I want to.) The new kit does not have an intake and looks like the newer carb that's just out- at least it has the white shutoff valve like it- so I think it will run pretty good. I've replaced the original steel rims with alloy- and that has dropped the weight to not much more than a racing 10 speed of that era..
I've got a chrome tank for it and an extended chrome muffler which looks great and should be extra quiet. The front derailleur will come off, and I haven't decided about the back one yet. I may usea single freewheel. The brake levers will again be combined into a dual lever which works great, and the center pull Dia Comps are excellent strong brakes. I havean extra-light 34 sprocket and so i'm hoping the final weight before fuel will be about 37 lbs.
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Nashville Kat
Well-Known Member
The suspension seat post will help I'm sure. I also put that suspension fork on the cruiser which really makes a smooth ride, but I don't think I'll do that to the Schwinn- they really add some weight.
No, in fact there's no reason why it should be uncomfortable. It's strictly for the road- I thought about putting some flip/flop 700C wheels with even skinnier tires, but decided that was in fact too minimal- the 27 x 1 1/4 is really quite a lot of rubber compared to the tubular sew-ups I rode racing, and the big wheels smooth over bumps more than smaller 26 wheels.
In fact the cruiser photos from last summer are now dated. I put a 27 x 1 1/4 wheel on the front of that too, with alloy rim and a blue tire, and it rolls even better! And I've also now got the dual brake lever on the bars.
But as for the red Schwinn, it IS responsive and the wheelbase is short compared to a cruiser. But with just a 50cc motor, I'm hoping it will give a nice roll, without as much noise or vibration as a 66.
No, in fact there's no reason why it should be uncomfortable. It's strictly for the road- I thought about putting some flip/flop 700C wheels with even skinnier tires, but decided that was in fact too minimal- the 27 x 1 1/4 is really quite a lot of rubber compared to the tubular sew-ups I rode racing, and the big wheels smooth over bumps more than smaller 26 wheels.
In fact the cruiser photos from last summer are now dated. I put a 27 x 1 1/4 wheel on the front of that too, with alloy rim and a blue tire, and it rolls even better! And I've also now got the dual brake lever on the bars.
But as for the red Schwinn, it IS responsive and the wheelbase is short compared to a cruiser. But with just a 50cc motor, I'm hoping it will give a nice roll, without as much noise or vibration as a 66.
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Nashville Kat
Well-Known Member
By the way, I just got DSL high speed and just saw for the first time video from the flood that hit my house the summer before last, right near where I took those cruiser photos. Search "trevlac" on youtube and you can see the street where i live under water.
Nashville Kat
Well-Known Member
Yeah- that's my chair! And my comments about the chair.
Here's my house and see those windows along the side. The water was up to the center line in those windows. I lost almost everything and could've saved a whole bunch of stuff by putting it higher in just a little time- but I didn't think the water would EVER get that deep..
And there's the chair...
.
Here's my house and see those windows along the side. The water was up to the center line in those windows. I lost almost everything and could've saved a whole bunch of stuff by putting it higher in just a little time- but I didn't think the water would EVER get that deep..
And there's the chair...
.
