A while ago I was given an old Schwinn Collegiate. I loved the idea of building that thing up, but at the same time I had no real need for it. I live in a suburb and this kind of bike really needs to stretch its legs in a more urban area. So it has just sat in my basement for quite a while. Recently more and more bike paths have been going in, more access is available and I have found myself riding bikes around to the stores. If only I had something that would be made perfectly for around the town riding… WAIT! I do!
So I dusted off the Schwinn and clamped it up in my workstand. I acquired an internally geared rear hub, a front hub and decided to replace the original rims with 700c rims, so I can get tires for it easily. I did some looking around and came across Velocity Blunt rims. These are 29er rims, but more importantly they came in Teak. Yeah, you read that right. TEAK! They look like they are wood. What’s better than a nice classic bike with Wood rims? So I bought them… Unfortunately it wasn’t that easy since it took 3 months for them to arrive. I was pretty damn excited to get them in and finally they arrived. When they arrived I laced them during my lunch break and one of the wheel builders finished them all off after he was done for the day. That night the bike was finished. Yes, it didn’t take long.
Now, “Done” is a relative term i guess because it does need a few things. Some resistance in the shifting is going to be solved with particular ferrules that I need to get my hands on, I need a half link to shorten up the chain just right and of course… this needs a rack!
Fortunately I have an idea for the rack. My friend John Grimberg tore down his old shed and found tons of High Explosives boxes. I am going to use those to build up a rear rack for this bike. Check back, I’ll post up some photos when that is all finished up.
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