A slightly different two-wheeled project.

 Spring is in the air and the weather here in my part of Japan has been pretty nice. So nice in fact that I have been putting away the jeans and looking into my dresser for some shorts. I wore shorts for the first time in many months and was reminded that a whole year of the pandemic along with a pretty cold winter have done a number on my waistline. Riding my Cub or XJR to the base took away the single form of exercise that I regularly participated in willingly. As such, I decided to do a bicycle project as a way to spend some time (and money) outside turning wrenches. A side effect is that I just might be able to get some additional exercise. Read on to see how it went.

 Here is the starting point of this endeavor. A Huffy Good Vibrations Beach Cruiser. I picked this up about seven years ago for $90. I wanted to encourage my oldest daughter to learn how to ride her bicycle without training wheels by riding together. It didn't work and the bike sat around my garage. I brought it to Japan to use for commuting. A couple of months after moving into my rental house, it was stolen from my driveway. I didn't have it locked up and I guess someone else wanted it more than I did. A couple of months ago, about 17 months after it was stolen, the local Japanese police returned it to me. I never expected to get it back and had picked up a electric assist bike to replace it.

 The bike was really none the worse for wear after its mis-adventure. The right pedal is bent, the bike is a bit rusty and the tires are dry rotted. When I got it back the tires held air, but the other day I noticed that the rear was flat. I decided that if I was going to replace the rear tire I may as well have some fun with the project. I know that many of the best professional motorcycle riders use mountain bikes or road bikes as a training tool. I figure I should try it out and maybe just have some fun with it. The idea to turn the beach cruiser into a klunker style mountain bike sprung to mind and away I went! Cheap is the name of the game for this project so the first thing to do was to swap the seats on my two bikes and give the klunker a sportier riding position. Off came the sprung cruiser saddle and on went the standard seat from the e-bike. First mod is free!

 The next set of mods was to lighten up this steel beast. Out came the 10mm wrench and off came the front and rear fenders as well as the chain guard. Safety third kids! Removing the fenders also clears room for a brake upgrade to the front end. The next bit of weight to reduce is the whitewall cruiser tires. The original whitewalls are 26" x 2.125". I got some Schwinn 26" x 1.90" tires to replace them. Not only do I get the all terrain tread, but I dropped a bit of weight in the process too. Of course I pinched a tube and had to buy another one. I am getting better at changing tubes, but so far every time I do tire work on my tubed tires I end up damaging a tube to some extent. The black on black wheel/tire combo with MTB tread gives the wheels a nice aggressive look.

 Amazon was the first place I went to see what I could find for new parts. I had to get rid of the cruiser handle bars. There was no way I could get serious with the beach cruiser bars that came on the bike. I found a nice aluminum MTB bar along with a threaded stem adapter and handle bar stem for cheap. I also got a front brake caliper and lever set. These parts together amounted to more than the total cost of the bike at initial purchase, but even budget builds need some cash outlay. I had a few other bits that I got from my local hardware store, like brake cable and a master link. The local store has a very nice selection of bicycle maintenance parts. I spent the good part of a Saturday getting everything installed and the final result looks pretty cool. 

 Here is the final product! I got the bike out several times this past weekend. I even took it to a local BMX dirt park. I need to true the wheels and tune the brakes a bit, but I am very happy at how it turned out. With the new handlebars and seat position along with the weight reduction, the bike is much more lively. I am going to try some push bike trials type riding and go back to the aforementioned BMX park to have fun, get in shape and hopefully improve my motorcycle skills. If you can, get out and ride, even if its a push bike! See ya!

Mat