A little over three years ago, I pulled a bike out of a dumpster. It was a mid-to-low end early 80s bike boom bike, a 1983 Raleigh Marathon, that I dubbed the Dumpster Queen.
I outfitted her as a backup commuter bike and light tourer, a role she filled for a couple years.
About a year and a half ago, DISASTER! I took it to a charity ride and had a run-in with another guy in the parking lot. My chain got caught and it trashed the derailleur.
Ugly. I liked the bike, though, so I hung onto it, thinking maybe I would make it into a single speed at some point. Then, a week ago, I came across a good deal on Craigslist: a 700C wheel with a Sturmey Archer 2-speed kickback hub. Time to get busy.
I straightened the dropout as best I could with a wrench and hammer massage.
I got the wheels on it; this might just work:
This morning there was a bike swap, and I picked up some bits I needed, including some pedals and wide cruiser bars (complete with cork grips). It all came together nicely and I took it out for its first ride today.
So far I've got about $80 into the bike, plus some parts out of the garage. I will eventually put a better seat on it and maybe a chain guard and fenders. We'll see.
10 comments:
Very cool. I enjoy watching the creativity of others.
Are you going to need a longer stem?
Yes. In fact, it's already on. I put the stem on prior to getting the handlebars so I didn't know what stem I needed.
I had a couple of those, a few years back. The 63cm frame had a 58cm top tube! I don't know what they were thinking, at Raleigh...
Looks like a great bike to knock around town on.
Dang it Doohickie. Now you've got me thinking again. Sweet Baby Schwinn has been sold (yard sale, move, life) and now I need a new project. Time for some dumpster diving.
I'm happy you still have the bike! I brought back "Big Sexy" the Raleigh Marathon I got from an old barn back in Tucson. Now have it here in Lawrence and want to either make a single speed like you've go there--or a cross bike for the gravel roads around here.
Cheers! Bruce
Out of curiosity, how do you tell what sex a bicycle is?
It goes with the name, I guess. I originally got this bike out of a dumpster so I started referring to it as the Dumpster Queen. When I did the re-do, that name didn't seem quite right, but The Whip just kind of seemed right.
I like your SA mod. How is the kickshift working?
Paz :)
I'm still getting used to the shifting. Oddly, it seems to always be in high gear, no matter how hard I try to get it into low when I stop. I suspect that when I start off, I unintentionally kick it back a little and shift to high. I guess I should just stop in high gear and then that unintentional backpedal will put me in low gear where I want to be.
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