The Favored Son

As my bicycle stable has, well, stabilized for the time-being, I'm finding that I do not love all my children just the same. I find myself drawn to the Huffeigh even for errands that might better belong to either the Columbia or the Schwinn.

Two nights ago, I ran to the market for beer, a half-gallon of milk, and one of those little watermelons. It ended up being quite a heavy little load of stuff. Instead of taking the Columbia or the Schwinn, which are better-equipped to take this kind of load, I couldn't resist the stately allure of the Huffeigh, with its new Brooks saddle and cork grips and bell and gleaming black paint. I was a little surprised to find that the whole disproportionately heavy load fit quite nicely into the little basket I've mounted on the rear rack, and I had no trouble at all.

The bikes have also fallen into clear roles: the Columbia is the work-horse, the grocery bike, the long-hauler. It sits me forward a bit more, the saddle is higher, and I feel like I pedal it more efficiently -- better for hard work. The Runwell, which has been idle for some time awaiting new tires, is always going to be the older gentleman who doesn't get out much, I'm afraid. And the Schwinn, well, the Schwinn is quite comfortable, but ungainly and heavy.

But the Huffeigh is just the right combination of all three: it can carry a load, it's sufficiently old, and it's very comfortable. I just like it, is all. So now we're about to go on a picnic, and although I probably should take one of the other bikes, I think it's going to be the Huffeigh again.

More Before Photos of the "Mystery" Schwinn Racer

I took these the day it showed up.

Schwinn Cleanup

I'm working pretty quickly on the Schwinn Project. Yesterday afternoon I took the whole thing apart, cleaned and polished the frame, cleaned and repacked the bottom bracket and headset, and polished up the crank and handlebar chrome.

I'll get some more photos this afternoon, but here's the top part of the headset after cleaning. I didn't get a before photo, unfortunately, but I had to show y'all how well this came out.

The bottom bracket was the same. Once I got the grime and old grease cleaned up, the internal works are in nearly pristine condition. I'm thinking that this old fella didn't see much use in its day, because there is virtually no wear on any of the bearings or cones. Still working on the wheels, but they're also cleaning up nicely.

1962 Schwinn Racer

a.k.a. "The Mystery Bike"

Now they know where I live, apparently. This rather beat-up looking Schwinn appeared on the sidewalk in front of my house about three weeks ago. My neighbor (with whom we share a front gate and courtyard), discovered it about 10 o'clock one night, and let it stay there, assuming it would be gone by morning. When it was still there the next day, he brought it up to the courtyard. We've been letting it sit in the courtyard since then, wondering if someone would come by to claim it, and no one has. So this weekend, I started working on it.

It's obvious that this has not been a working bike for some time, so I don't think it was stolen or left by someone who intended to come back for it. The tires are flat and cracked, the front brakes are missing, the shifter cable is messed up in numerous ways, and the chain is completely rusted (and has a cracked link). I'm thinking that someone in the neighborhood was cleaning out a garage or shed, must have seen me working on my other old bikes in my garage, and figuring they would never get any money for it, just left it for me to find.

My plan is to do a mechanical overhaul, replace the tires, tubes, pedals, chain, and brakes, put a rear rack and basket on, and have it be a grocery bike or errand bike for us and the neighbors to share. There are a few eccentricities, as is usual with a bike that has been around. Both the pedals and brake levers are mismatched, the oil cap and some of the axle hardware is missing from the Sturmey-Archer hub, and the cable stop on the shifter cable clip has been replaced (ineffectively) with a 5mm socket wrench attachment.

As you can see in the last photo, the paint is in very poor condition, but it has already cleaned up pretty well with a combination of a light rubdown with penetrating oil, followed by Simple Green foaming bike cleaner (more on that later), followed by rubbing compound, followed by two coats of Turtle Wax. While I finish the Huffeigh, I'll do a few posts about this one, which I expect will go very quickly.

By the way, if by some chance this is your bike, you didn't mean to leave it on my sidewalk, and you happen to read this blog, it's not too late. Just give me the serial number, and you can have it back. The bearings are already greased, no charge.

Meet the "Grocery Racer"

Here's the finished product on the 1962 Schwinn Racer refurbishment. The bottom bracket, headset, hubs, everything, were almost completely pristine once cleaned up, and although there's nothing more I can do with the paint (can't bring it back if it's gone) short of repainting it, which I'm not about to do for a long time, I kind of like the "beater" look. I took the front fender off because it raised a godawful ruckus, even on perfectly smooth pavement (which is hard to come by around here).

The hub shifts well, except for skipping in third. I've done all the exterior troubleshooting I can do, so I think it's a pawl issue on the inside. For now, I'm not going to worry about it, since this thing is so freakin' heavy with the rear rack and crate, and there are hills between our house and the grocery store, ain't no one going to be riding this bike in third for a long time!

It's going to live in the courtyard we share with our neighbors for use as a communal grocery-getter and errand-runner. If, that is, anyone feels strong enough to haul it down the six steps to the sidewalk!

Here's the crate attachment system, which seems provisionally very stable after a short test-run with weight this morning. Just a basic rear rack with a wooden crate attached via wood screws. The crate is not well-constructed and the wood is super crap, but it was free, so I'm not complaining. I reinforced all the connections with copious amounts of wood glue, and put a couple of coats of spar varnish to keep the moisture out.

Looking down into the bed of the crate:

Below, the anchor slat under the rack.

(BTW, from the photo above, it looks like the fender rubs, but it doesn't.)

I cut the crate down (it was taller) and used one of the extra slats to anchor to under the rack (see photos), then laid another slat in the bottom of the crate and ran the screws down through these two "sandwich" pieces, going through the bottom slats of the crate for good measure.

All in all, the whole thing is a very solid, no-nonsense, utilitarian machine. It sits you bolt-upright, and the bars come back far enough that you don't have to reach at all. I think it would probably look more at home on a country road, or leaning up against the side of a barn, than in the city, but it'll be great for trips to the farmer's market.