A while ago someone gave me a new Schwinn Drifter department store cruiser with a springer fork.
The donor never rode it and it was just getting in his way. After I took it home, I let it sit around for a while before I started to raid all the parts from it. Eventually, all that was left was the frame and the very sub-par springer fork.
I disliked the frame because it has an oversized downtube which suggests it is a newer mass produced bike. Since it's a steel frame, I had thought of cutting off the downtube and replacing it with a straight 1 inch. But for what? To have a better looking department store cruiser I won’t ride?
So I decided I would to turn this useless bike into something I can use and always wanted, a Cycle Truck. I felt I could do this with minimal effort.
A Cycle Truck, for those that don’t know, is a cargo bike with a smaller wheel in front to accommodate a large oversized basket affixed to the frame, not the handlebars. With a lower center of gravity, one can carry more cargo safely and they’re really cool.
The first step was to find all the basic elements for the design. It is important that the front fork be of some decent quality. I used a heavy BMX fork and 48 spoked wheel I had as a leftover from a previous project.
Next was to lay out the elements to get some sense of what I had to work with. On a flat and level surface, I set up the frame vertically on wheels setting the bottom bracket height using dial angle finders and bubble levels to mark key reference points.
This round of pre-visualization allowed me to zero in on more accurate and final measurements to set the critical angles that make a bicycle ride normally.
Once I was comfortable with the overall plan, I started to fabricate.
The most critical part of this build was the extension of the steer tube and fork tube. Rummaging through my boxes of scrap and finding the right steel to make this a strong and precise fit took some time and I was able to avoid purchasing new steel.
The cargo platform was made entirely by repurposing the suspension fork tubes (with the exception of a pre-bent EMT 1/2 inch). I chose to sacrifice the fork because it is not the same quality as Schwinn’s earlier version. They look identical on the outside but when you take them apart and compare them you will see that on the older version, the pivots on the fork arms are solid and threaded, but the newer cheaper one is hollow, thinner and the hole will elongate and start to rattle after a few short rides. The more you try to tighten it, the more you are likely to crush the tube.
IMO these newer springers are inferior and should never be used as forks but with some modifications, they're perfect for the cargo platform.
I didn’t feel the need to strip and repaint the entire frame because I didn’t want to invest the time or money on a department store remake. Instead, I removed paint from only the areas I would be welding. Once the welding and grinding was finished, I epoxied over some welds for a smooth appearance, masked off most of the frame and spot painted the modified areas to blend (from a distance) with the original paint and preserve the warning stickers. I re-affixed the Schwinn head badge under the KG logo and even kept the “Made in China” sticker at the bottom of the seat tube. I have no intentions of passing this Frankenbike off as anything other than a modified department store bike and I liked the fact that I can demonstrate that such a bike, no matter of its' country of origin, can be modified to have that "cool factor" that many riders want.
This bike is intended to be a bit of a beater so the visual imperfections were expected, considering the rush build and desire to reuse everything.
The bike now performs better than it did when it was originally purchased. The "Beer Bike" (as I now fondly call it) can carry 4 cases of beer safely and more, if one dares.
Cheers!!!
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| Thanks Buddy |
P.S.
Another important thing to point out is how all these components source out. Most of the elements of this project were given to me at no cost. The bike itself (Schwinn Drifter) was given to me by a gentleman named Ron.
The Ursus Jumbo center stand and the growler cage were provided by Josef of Flying Pigeon LA , the rear twin racks were found atop a garbage can in Portland Or. while participating in a “move by bike”. The handlebars were given to me outside the Community Cycle Co-Op in Portland (I offered to buy them but the donor insisted that I take them and others if I could use them). The grips were bought from inside the co-op on another trip. The 36t chainring was given to me by a bike polo enthusiast and fellow fabricator Steve of Steel Fabricated Arts in LA . Single piece crank, pedals and BB set are from a swap meet in Pacoima, a leftover fork and 20 inch wheel from another project and an old wire dairy crate I used to hold some power tools and I still had to play musical parts with some of my completed bikes for all the rest.
