Well.........I went and did it! This may surprise a few people, but if you knew me, it wouldn't be a surprise at all. I'll explain.......
I've always been a closet history buff. I don't spend a lot of time on it, but I am "that guy" that will make the family stop sometimes and read the plaque on the side of the road. Okay, so I like to know where we came from because I find it very intriguing. So, to that end, when I got into mountain bikes I dug into the history of it all. It wasn't easy back in the early 90's! No internet, no "older riders" to ask, and no books had been written yet, since well.........some folks thought it might still be a passing fad back then!
Well, that didn't stop me. I always had an eye out for references to the earlier days and read whatever I could. I pieced some of it together that way back then, but oh! When I got on-line in '99 it was on! I was looking up everything I could find on the history of cycling off road.
Then last year I met someone that really got me to thinking about the Marin gang and the bikes they rode. That kind of set off a seed to growing and well, it brings me to this present time. I went "over center" and bought myself a project frame to make a "klunker" out of. Parts acquisition will take awhile, I am sure, but that's okay. It's something I am going to take my time on.
So, what is the frame? Well, it isn't one of those "primo" pre-war Schwinns, but it is a Schwinn. It is a 1952 Schwinn DX, and it needs a lot of love. I got a ratty old frame and fork to start me out with that needs a braze job on the seat stays. I can tackle that though. The parts to hang on it may be the toughest thing of all to get!
I have access to some gold anodized Ukai 1.75" rims that are currently laced up to a Schwinn high flange front hub and a Sturmey Archer 3 speed rear hub, but the rims are what I really am interested in here. I'll probably opt for a "hybrid" build, (gears, canti or drum brakes), but I could go single speed if I find the right hub. We'll see.
Anyway, it will be something of a diversion, and if all goes well, it will be fun to re-create a tiny part of mountain bike history to ride around on for kicks.
Showing posts with label Klunkerz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Klunkerz. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
A "Klunker" Of A Side Project
Well.........I went and did it! This may surprise a few people, but if you knew me, it wouldn't be a surprise at all. I'll explain.......
I've always been a closet history buff. I don't spend a lot of time on it, but I am "that guy" that will make the family stop sometimes and read the plaque on the side of the road. Okay, so I like to know where we came from because I find it very intriguing. So, to that end, when I got into mountain bikes I dug into the history of it all. It wasn't easy back in the early 90's! No internet, no "older riders" to ask, and no books had been written yet, since well.........some folks thought it might still be a passing fad back then!
Well, that didn't stop me. I always had an eye out for references to the earlier days and read whatever I could. I pieced some of it together that way back then, but oh! When I got on-line in '99 it was on! I was looking up everything I could find on the history of cycling off road.
Then last year I met someone that really got me to thinking about the Marin gang and the bikes they rode. That kind of set off a seed to growing and well, it brings me to this present time. I went "over center" and bought myself a project frame to make a "klunker" out of. Parts acquisition will take awhile, I am sure, but that's okay. It's something I am going to take my time on.
So, what is the frame? Well, it isn't one of those "primo" pre-war Schwinns, but it is a Schwinn. It is a 1952 Schwinn DX, and it needs a lot of love. I got a ratty old frame and fork to start me out with that needs a braze job on the seat stays. I can tackle that though. The parts to hang on it may be the toughest thing of all to get!
I have access to some gold anodized Ukai 1.75" rims that are currently laced up to a Schwinn high flange front hub and a Sturmey Archer 3 speed rear hub, but the rims are what I really am interested in here. I'll probably opt for a "hybrid" build, (gears, canti or drum brakes), but I could go single speed if I find the right hub. We'll see.
Anyway, it will be something of a diversion, and if all goes well, it will be fun to re-create a tiny part of mountain bike history to ride around on for kicks.
I've always been a closet history buff. I don't spend a lot of time on it, but I am "that guy" that will make the family stop sometimes and read the plaque on the side of the road. Okay, so I like to know where we came from because I find it very intriguing. So, to that end, when I got into mountain bikes I dug into the history of it all. It wasn't easy back in the early 90's! No internet, no "older riders" to ask, and no books had been written yet, since well.........some folks thought it might still be a passing fad back then!
Well, that didn't stop me. I always had an eye out for references to the earlier days and read whatever I could. I pieced some of it together that way back then, but oh! When I got on-line in '99 it was on! I was looking up everything I could find on the history of cycling off road.
Then last year I met someone that really got me to thinking about the Marin gang and the bikes they rode. That kind of set off a seed to growing and well, it brings me to this present time. I went "over center" and bought myself a project frame to make a "klunker" out of. Parts acquisition will take awhile, I am sure, but that's okay. It's something I am going to take my time on.
So, what is the frame? Well, it isn't one of those "primo" pre-war Schwinns, but it is a Schwinn. It is a 1952 Schwinn DX, and it needs a lot of love. I got a ratty old frame and fork to start me out with that needs a braze job on the seat stays. I can tackle that though. The parts to hang on it may be the toughest thing of all to get!
I have access to some gold anodized Ukai 1.75" rims that are currently laced up to a Schwinn high flange front hub and a Sturmey Archer 3 speed rear hub, but the rims are what I really am interested in here. I'll probably opt for a "hybrid" build, (gears, canti or drum brakes), but I could go single speed if I find the right hub. We'll see.
Anyway, it will be something of a diversion, and if all goes well, it will be fun to re-create a tiny part of mountain bike history to ride around on for kicks.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Who's First? Who Cares!
Much has been written and said about who was the first "mountain biker", who made the first "mountain bike", and the "origins of the sport" of mountain biking. Several claims of "first" are out there with new "firsts" being discovered every other year seemingly. Here's something to illustrate my point.
Did you know that the guy that invented mountain bikes was murdered recently by a tree trimmer named Charlie Cunningham?
No, not that Charlie Cunningham! A mountain bike pioneer and one of the founders of WTB. Although he has been known to live in a tree......... No not that guy. Anyway, this is about Charles Finley Scott, who according to a story on Bicycle Retailer and Industry News and the recent movie "Klunkerz" is "the man many credit to having invented the mountain bike." Here is an excerpt from the BRAIN story:
"It was Scott, who, in 1953, outfitted a Schwinn bicycle with balloon tires, multiple gears and more powerful brakes, calling it his "woodsie bike." He was among the first in the United States to make a sport out of bombing down mountains on a bicycle, according to many cycling historians."
Too bad his "sport" didn't catch on in 1953, or I could have been mountain biking long before I was. That's the thing with inventors. They often are socially inept savants that can't promote themselves out of a wet paper sack! So what if he was the first. (Which is a dubious claim anyway) It made zero impact on cycling, sport, and culture. The "perfect storm", as it were, was attained in Marin County back in the late seventies. From that scene sport, culture, and cycling were forever changed. The tools used may have been put together before, but there's more to it than bombing down a mountainside on a "woodsie" all by yourself.
This fruitless "first" stuff is all rather pompous and silly anyway. Witness the recent flap about who made the first 29"er that came up in Dirt Rag recently. Really, who cares? I'm just glad that all the parts came together and that I can enjoy my off road experience in a better way than before. And why is it that one person has to be credited? At least the movie Klunkerz tried to point out that it was a group effort. Can't we just leave it at that and celebrate the spirit of the thing. It's more than just one person, place, or thing.
Who's first? Who cares! Let's ride!
Did you know that the guy that invented mountain bikes was murdered recently by a tree trimmer named Charlie Cunningham?
No, not that Charlie Cunningham! A mountain bike pioneer and one of the founders of WTB. Although he has been known to live in a tree......... No not that guy. Anyway, this is about Charles Finley Scott, who according to a story on Bicycle Retailer and Industry News and the recent movie "Klunkerz" is "the man many credit to having invented the mountain bike." Here is an excerpt from the BRAIN story:
"It was Scott, who, in 1953, outfitted a Schwinn bicycle with balloon tires, multiple gears and more powerful brakes, calling it his "woodsie bike." He was among the first in the United States to make a sport out of bombing down mountains on a bicycle, according to many cycling historians."
Too bad his "sport" didn't catch on in 1953, or I could have been mountain biking long before I was. That's the thing with inventors. They often are socially inept savants that can't promote themselves out of a wet paper sack! So what if he was the first. (Which is a dubious claim anyway) It made zero impact on cycling, sport, and culture. The "perfect storm", as it were, was attained in Marin County back in the late seventies. From that scene sport, culture, and cycling were forever changed. The tools used may have been put together before, but there's more to it than bombing down a mountainside on a "woodsie" all by yourself.
This fruitless "first" stuff is all rather pompous and silly anyway. Witness the recent flap about who made the first 29"er that came up in Dirt Rag recently. Really, who cares? I'm just glad that all the parts came together and that I can enjoy my off road experience in a better way than before. And why is it that one person has to be credited? At least the movie Klunkerz tried to point out that it was a group effort. Can't we just leave it at that and celebrate the spirit of the thing. It's more than just one person, place, or thing.
Who's first? Who cares! Let's ride!
Who's First? Who Cares!
Much has been written and said about who was the first "mountain biker", who made the first "mountain bike", and the "origins of the sport" of mountain biking. Several claims of "first" are out there with new "firsts" being discovered every other year seemingly. Here's something to illustrate my point.
Did you know that the guy that invented mountain bikes was murdered recently by a tree trimmer named Charlie Cunningham?
No, not that Charlie Cunningham! A mountain bike pioneer and one of the founders of WTB. Although he has been known to live in a tree......... No not that guy. Anyway, this is about Charles Finley Scott, who according to a story on Bicycle Retailer and Industry News and the recent movie "Klunkerz" is "the man many credit to having invented the mountain bike." Here is an excerpt from the BRAIN story:
"It was Scott, who, in 1953, outfitted a Schwinn bicycle with balloon tires, multiple gears and more powerful brakes, calling it his "woodsie bike." He was among the first in the United States to make a sport out of bombing down mountains on a bicycle, according to many cycling historians."
Too bad his "sport" didn't catch on in 1953, or I could have been mountain biking long before I was. That's the thing with inventors. They often are socially inept savants that can't promote themselves out of a wet paper sack! So what if he was the first. (Which is a dubious claim anyway) It made zero impact on cycling, sport, and culture. The "perfect storm", as it were, was attained in Marin County back in the late seventies. From that scene sport, culture, and cycling were forever changed. The tools used may have been put together before, but there's more to it than bombing down a mountainside on a "woodsie" all by yourself.
This fruitless "first" stuff is all rather pompous and silly anyway. Witness the recent flap about who made the first 29"er that came up in Dirt Rag recently. Really, who cares? I'm just glad that all the parts came together and that I can enjoy my off road experience in a better way than before. And why is it that one person has to be credited? At least the movie Klunkerz tried to point out that it was a group effort. Can't we just leave it at that and celebrate the spirit of the thing. It's more than just one person, place, or thing.
Who's first? Who cares! Let's ride!
Did you know that the guy that invented mountain bikes was murdered recently by a tree trimmer named Charlie Cunningham?
No, not that Charlie Cunningham! A mountain bike pioneer and one of the founders of WTB. Although he has been known to live in a tree......... No not that guy. Anyway, this is about Charles Finley Scott, who according to a story on Bicycle Retailer and Industry News and the recent movie "Klunkerz" is "the man many credit to having invented the mountain bike." Here is an excerpt from the BRAIN story:
"It was Scott, who, in 1953, outfitted a Schwinn bicycle with balloon tires, multiple gears and more powerful brakes, calling it his "woodsie bike." He was among the first in the United States to make a sport out of bombing down mountains on a bicycle, according to many cycling historians."
Too bad his "sport" didn't catch on in 1953, or I could have been mountain biking long before I was. That's the thing with inventors. They often are socially inept savants that can't promote themselves out of a wet paper sack! So what if he was the first. (Which is a dubious claim anyway) It made zero impact on cycling, sport, and culture. The "perfect storm", as it were, was attained in Marin County back in the late seventies. From that scene sport, culture, and cycling were forever changed. The tools used may have been put together before, but there's more to it than bombing down a mountainside on a "woodsie" all by yourself.
This fruitless "first" stuff is all rather pompous and silly anyway. Witness the recent flap about who made the first 29"er that came up in Dirt Rag recently. Really, who cares? I'm just glad that all the parts came together and that I can enjoy my off road experience in a better way than before. And why is it that one person has to be credited? At least the movie Klunkerz tried to point out that it was a group effort. Can't we just leave it at that and celebrate the spirit of the thing. It's more than just one person, place, or thing.
Who's first? Who cares! Let's ride!
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