It took
more than 8 months to get the parts together for this bike, one
part at a time.
This array
represents the parts build for the green bike. The bike changed
in 1979 when I went to cantilever brakes and I have always regretted
doing that. This is the bike I rode while living with Charlie
and Gary for over 2 years.
Union
drum brake, Suntour Cyclone derailleurs, Suntour shift levers,
both made for the right hand, Schwinn steel S-2 rim.
Campagnolo
seatpost quick-release, Brooks B-72 saddle, seapost made from
billet T-6101 solid aluminum.
This build
has faithfully reproduced the green bike seen in photos from 1977.
It features TA crankset, Union rear drum brake and Schwinn accessory
cantilever brakes on the front. You can note the bent seatpost
and KKT rat trap pedals. As much as I want to upgrade these and
other items the purpose of this build is as a display bike even
though the drive train and running gear is mostly new.
The rims
are 1.75 single wall steel from the period. Some of you may have
noticed the front fork is incorrect. You're right. Since I had
a pile of 50 or so forks my eye fell upon a type that was obviously
the beefiest forged available and that's what I used on most of
my bikes. These are 1937 Colsons.
At the time
there was the belief among the Fairfax crowd that huge brake levers
were necessary. In response to this dogma I put aftermarket motorcycle
levers on the bikes I was selling. While most of us rode some
trails some times, I also rode with my freinds from Larkspur who
rode a lot of trails lots of times, as did I. Nothing could be
more impractical than hanging up your levers on manzanita and
other scrub. Well setup brakes didn't need huge levers and adjusters
could be fitted to the barrels though not seen here. I'm still
amazed how those levers are perceived.
This is
the green bike in September 1979 near the pass in Crested Butte.
This was the final build on this bike. It now has a Cook Bros
pre production fork, dia comp cantilevers, Araya 7X rims on Suzue
hubs and otherwise the same bike. I heard it was a favorite with
the locals in Crested Butte that year. I have it now painted red
with the only change being an upgrade to WTB cantilevers. More
on this bike later.
