The last restoration from me. The Pink Schwinn.

[Midschoolfool]

TBH this was not going to happen. When I finished the Pork I decided enough was enough, and it was time to stop collecting. Not for financial reasons, but simply because I had what I wanted and there was nothing left. When I began my journey in 2013 I had decided on te following.

Standard STA. Got. Rebuilt twice, the second time with all NOS parts. It's an absolutely stunning machine tbh.

T1 Barcode. Took me a while to find one at a reasonable price, but got there in the end. Another one smothered in NOS, and another stunner.

S&M Dirt Bike. Turns out it was an NG, but still I just wanted a period S&M.

Specialized Fatboy Hemi. Always wanted one, got one. Very happy with how it turned out.

Morales. Again, never thought it would happen but found one really cheap from Germany. It's still ongoing and will be finished soon.

A 2Hip. Started out as the Root Down, then found IMO their most iconic bike.

The rest? just me wanting to work on bikes.

However, through all of that time there was one bike I really wanted.

In 1996 I had been off the bikes for about three to four years and on the drugs. Hard on the drugs tbh. I never did anything lightly. Any way, by '96 I had been clean (weed and E) for a year and was bored AF. I had fallen away from the crowd I used to hang with an had become far more autistic in my nature (because I was, I just didn't know it at the time) and was a bit of a loner. I still went out and saw people etc, but a lot less than before. I was having trouble sleeping, so I would be up all night. Mostly watching TV or listening to music. Then one night in '96 whilst waiting for the baseball on C5 (always been a Phillies fan, ironic I would end up living out there and going to loads of games ! surreal man !) and the X games was on. Eh? I thought BMX was dead !!!

Fell in love again. Now back in those days it was all still pretty manual. What I mean is finding a BMX was quite difficult. I ended up getting the Yellow Pages out and calling around. Now this is where it's funny AF. I phoned one shop and said "Do you have any BMX bikes?" and the guy goes "Yeah we got some Scwinnns". I was like "Who?" and laughed and put the phone down. I phoned around some more and phoned Evans in Croydon and ended up buying a Haro Shredder.

I hated it 

It was really long and very low slung. It rode OK I suppose, but I just never really liked it much. Then after riding up to a bike shop I noticed Ride for sale on their counter and bought it, then subbed. I had the Haro for about a year and sold it to my cousin after reading a review of the Schwinn Powerglide. That is why it is ironic. Any way, the review stated it was the best bike they had ever tested sub ?200. It came with four pegs and a U brake on the rear. It was also strong, and had really good geometry.

So I bought it for 179.99. From Cyclesport in Grantham. It was delivered whole, which was novel. It was also put together really nicely. I immediately fell in love. I rode that bike everywhere and anywhere for two solid years. I would go out around midnight, and learn new tricks and just ride around. I felt free, really free. Free of the drugs, free of the dicks who I used to hang around with and had found my old passion.

I did upgrade it over time, and eventually had it painted Hubba Bubba metallic pink. I put on gold Hydraglide decals, and gold Maxy Cross cranks NOS I got for about 25 quid IIRC. They came with an unsealed American BB.

Every one knew that bike. "The Pink Schwinn" it was known as. I should never have sold it, but did. That was a bellend move tbh, as it would result in me getting smacked over the head with a bar and losing a bike I spent nearly two grand on.

Any way, we move on. Fast forward to 2013 when I got back into BMX again and I started looking for a Powerglide. Wasn't happening. Looked for a Hydraglide, also wasn't happening. Now what I did not realise then or in 96 was this was Schwinn's first year back into BMX at a quality level. The company had gone on making stuff, but just regular bike stuff. So the PG and the HG were their first year models back. And that is why they are hard to come by. As they had no real standing in BMX and had to make a new name for themselves. This is bad enough anywhere, but the UK probably got even less.

I did remember the following year they brought out the Powermatic and Hydramatic which were pretty much the same only different colours, but I could not find one of those either. I did find quite a few Joey Garcia Automatics etc, but the frame is different so I didn't bother. It was also a dirt based bike, which I did not want.

Fast forward to last week. A frame popped up on Ebay, I won it for the opening bid.



The first thing I want to do is make it look like my one. So, given it was pink I needed white primer.



Then of course pink.



And then of course the metallic element.



Decals I am still working on/planning, but they will be gold. A new head badge is needed so I bought that.



And I found some 3pc Schwinn cranks very similar to the Maxys I had.



I have removed the second chain ring, bolts and spacers. I need the bolts for my Morales when I assemble the bash etc. I got this for a seat.



Because you can't fail. Will cover that in pink leather. I found these on Bankrupt Bikes for 4 quid a set. They are for a MTB with a grip shift, so one is shorter than the other. So I just bought two sets. I was going to try and remove the outer pink part and flip it, but when I got them today I realised that the logos alternate, so I don't need to.



I have held off buying anything else just for now. The bike needs a 1" fork and that is tricky. That said, I have figured it out and have parts in my watch list including the fork, sealed 1" threadless headset and 1" clamp on stem. Right now though I have a busy schedule, so did not want to be bogged down with more deliveries. That can all wait for now

Like I said, I am working on the decals. Will post up some concept art at some point when I have the frame because I need the dimensions and angle of the tip in the bottom tube. Basically as you can see, the decals never looked quite right because of the tube bend. So I want to angle them slightly so they follow the frame properly. On next year models they put Schwinn on the TT and the bike model under it.

[Midschoolfool]

Started the decals. I decided to go custom. IE, this will be my signature bike.



The frame arrived today. It's caked in grease and mud but it's in great shape. No dents, no dings. Makes a bloody change 

BTW going back to the decals. I had the gold "Hydraglide" decals on mine. They looked like this.



I asked my buddy with the big printing shop if he could do them. He said he hates foil (well, his printer does). I was a bit bummed. Thought maybe stencil the strokes and then cut some gold vinyl. Then I found out you can get inkjet foils now. They came out last year.



I don't have an inkjet. Mine is a step up (thermal). It's kinda like between and inkjet and a laser. If I can get a decent print (it is literally only red and black stroke, the white won't be printed) I can put them down and then clear over it all.

[Midschoolfool]

Got these also.



The emblems on the end of the grips are the old one.

[Midschoolfool]

Got some pink leather for the seat.

[Midschoolfool]

Then stripped said seat and removed the black vinyl.



Am off home tomorrow, so work will resume when I come back in a couple of weeks.

I might sneak over early, we'll see. If it's too hot to be in my flat I will.

[Midschoolfool]

OK. I have ordered the fork and stem. You don't get much choice in 1" threadless  that said I am happy with it. Cheap, and it's just a gnarly block.



Now the fork was much more tricky. I did look for 1" threaded, but they are all whimpy old school forks. Nothing wrong with that of course, but you try bolting pegs to those. It just isn't happening. Plus they are stupid money and wouldn't look right.

Now the Powerglide had a "standard" sort of 1" threaded fork. Overbuilt and very sturdy, but no lugs. The Hydraglide was 1-1/8 and had the fork you see with the peg bosses. So these.



Were perfect. They are 1" threadless, and almost identical to the HG fork. The only downside? feckin V brake mount - ewww.

The Powerglide however had a silver Bulldog front brake. What do I have in the loft?



So it is the perfect mixture of Powerglide and Hydraglide

BTW yeah, those V brake lugs are going. I will cut them down as close as I can with the Dremel, then get rid of the rest with the belt file. Which will obviously remove some chrome. However I have had a good idea about that. Will show it when I do it

Edit. Yeah, I did think about using the Goose fork. Sadly the chrome is absolutely gone on the back of the legs.

[Midschoolfool]

Crap, I thought I'd put up a pic of the PG. Here it is, totally 100% bone stock.



And this is the idea I had (well no, actually it wasn't an idea I had seen it before). This is the Brian Foster model. It came out before the Garcia one.



You can see what I mean with the fork there. Nice decal with the Schwinn logo centre front and a pin stripe top and bottom will cover up the scars from removing the V brake lugs.

[Midschoolfool]

OK two more parts bought. I am trying to keep it all in keeping with the original bike. Stock or better. The lower SST Oryg cable is on the frame with the yolk etc. It even has the excellent plastic cable guide on the seat tube. It was little touches like that that made the bike work and ride so well. The cable is dirty etc, but I am sure I can give it some love. I also have this cool trick of using Tcut on the outers, brings them up like new.

So I needed an upper cable. Usually I would just buy the first cheap one that comes to mind. Instead I got this.



Thankfully the Oryg unit is just a regular old gyro. I have some of those. The top plate too was just a steel one, I should have one of those in 1". The lower frame cup? identical to the Gyro. I have one, needs restoring (off the Goose).

I then moved onto the headset. ETC do a black one for about a tenner. I then got side tracked looking for a chrome one, but it was 20 quid. Again, ETC. This worried me a little as it stated road bike. Meaning the OD of the cup that goes into the frame could be too small. Not a huge issue, as you can use a coke can, but yeah....

After looking for ages and ages this popped up. Wow !



Minty NOS.







I will need to mod the top cap for a Potts (drill). I do have a potts bolt and star nut, but the star nut is 1-1/8. I am pretty sure I can trim the tangs with a pair of tin snips and yam it into the fork. If not you can buy a 1", but I would rather save the tenner if I can.

[Midschoolfool]

Couple more parts. Lovely Dragonfly seat post. 22.2.



Seat post shim.



And a decal.

[Midschoolfool]

Bars got. Won't post a pic as I can link.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/392278098970?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908105057%26meid%3Dc561ea4e718843148d774725fe1feb60%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D15%26sd%3D392278098970%26itm%3D392278098970%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2380057%26brand%3DUnbranded&_trksid=p2380057.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci%3A2966b2d6-02f6-11ed-b237-fa0620b33544%7Cparentrq%3Af98d0d751810a60c134a7c57ffed5046%7Ciid%3A1

Not sure how long it will last, but there is a 20% off voucher on Ebay ATM. I think Chili was talking about V bars?

Welds look a bit poo, but chrome quality is good apparently. Fancied something different, and they are a nice width so I won't have to cut them.

[Midschoolfool]

Penultimate order is in. Have a nice seat clamp I want to use (silver). Just need a BB, but want to measure the BB shell etc before I commit. Square taper can be a sod if you get it wrong.

[Mikku]

I'm in for the "final" build! Great back story to it too!

[Midschoolfool]

Thanks Mick. Had a pretty bummy (yet tbh the pain I have been in) expected day on Tues.

After that slam in 2018 at Southsea I carried on riding until the September. When I had a chain snap and took a pedal to my knee. At that point I knew it was over.

Since then? I have just gotten worse. My knees hurt all of the time (like I've been smacked with a hammer) and my right shoulder also. Knowing mum has Arthritis and osteoporosis has been on my mind. Which I shrugged off for the past 10 years. That said I am nearing 50 now, and it was time to accept that yeah that could very well be it. Booked a doctor's appointment and after a 20 minute exam she says "Yup, you definitely have arthritis in both knees. Not sure about the shoulder as it feels OK, but could be a nerve".

So next step is Xrays and scans etc. Even though I have refused to accept it deep down I knew. When you are in agony you kinda know. And it's only really stubbornness that pushes you on. But lately I have been swallowing pills like it is going out of fashion. I managed to get a box of very mild opioids from "a friend". No issues with taking too many etc (I am very strong willed) but I have been taking them at least twice a day just to get on with daily crap. I'm extremely house proud, and hoover every 2-3 days. My flat looks like the day I moved in three years ago.

Any way, the long and short? I would be totally dumb to even attempt to ride a 20 now. It just takes way too much on your knees. I refused to ever sit down and ride a BMX as you look like a bellend, so yeah..... The end is nigh LOL.

So, with all that in mind? yup, this 100% is the last bike I will be doing. I had a really deep think last night. Like "What else could possibly tempt me to buy something else?" and I remembered ONE other bike. The yellow T6 Torker made in 98. I have only ever seen one for sale, and he wanted 800 boys for it. Far too much tbh. Thankfully I have *never* seen another, so I know full well it will never happen. They were for trails only, and there weren't many trails back then.

Today I got a present from the Govt. So cheers Bawbag Boris. I have paid off my holiday and ordered the last of the stuff. Thankfully I saw all this coming and doubled my Eon payments three months ago. And just sucked it up. So I am certain I am over paying, so I am good.

First up I wanted a set of modern Shimano DX replacements. Not DX, but the more modern ones they have come up with.



Nice and sleek and elegant. Love em. I bought a BB.



And whilst I was at it I also found a wider Octalink BB. So maybe I can get the Speed Series all sorted (the arm hits the frame ATM, as the arms are hollow carbon and flex a bit). It was 4 pounds 99, so yeah tinker time for winter.

I also wanted four pegs. Chrome, but similar to the originals. The pegs on the bikes I posted? are the original. It came with four. This was the closest match and also the cheapest at 16 quid for two pair.



I thought about adding gold parts, but for this bike I just want as much silver/chrome/polished as I can get.

[Midschoolfool]

OK so I just decided to order all of it. Sod it.

Spent all day looking at levers. Just wanted something silver and only silver. Then I remembered the lever I put on my T1. The only company who have really pushed levers on is Odyssey. Yet for some reason all of their awesome smaller more modern levers are only available as RH. I need a pair dammit ! So I remembered these, and they had both sides available. Yay !



Nice cheap cable for the front brake.



Four pads.



And a Gusset lightweight chain in chrome.

[Mikku]

Sorry to hear about the diagnosis mate! Just my 2 pennies worth but f you like riding a 20" then forget what it looks like, a long seat post will make life much more comfortable for your knees. That's what I'm using for cruising around the rice fields. In any case, congrats on the government support for your build! Look forward to seeing how this one turns out.

[Midschoolfool]

Thing is when I ride a 20 I get stupid. I can't help it, I always end up thinking I am 25 again. So I usually always end up hurt. It's exactly that I am trying to avoid. Just riding around sat down on one is pointless when I have the orange PK. Especially if I want to actually go anywhere like.

I've been thinking about the front brake. I could grind off the V brake posts etc and fit the Bulldog. However, I then got to thinking about when George French had his Frankenstein bike and fitted cantis to the front. Nutter. The forks were called prongs.

http://www.gsport.co.uk/custom/G%27s_bike/gsbike_home.html

You can see it there. So I was thinking maybe get creative and get a canti to work. Then I came back to V brakes. The only thing I don't like is how massive they are. This is what I mean.



But then I remembered that you can get short ones. I did some very primitive measuring with my vernier calipers and the whole brake surface and tyre on my Dirt Bike is 60mm. The short reach are 82mm total. What worries me is it hitting the tyre. However, I found these really lovely CNC Chinese V brakes for ?13. I have ordered the short reach one.



It says it is in Manchester, so I just hope that it is and not in China. Either way I can literally leave the fork until the last minute any way, as I have everything else to do first. The nice thing about V brakes is the noodle. I have a solid noodle, and you can fit it upside down to take a potts cable. So getting it to work with the bars going around shouldn't be that hard. I may need to buy different tyres, like 1.75 or less, but hopefully it will clear. I do have a set of tyres I bought.



ODY Path? I know they are kevlar folding bead and really high end. 1.85 IIRC. However, I tried to scrub off the white powder and this happened...



I then sprayed them with tyre shine which just made it worse 



So I got the bollock ache and replaced them with Maxxis. I threw them in the cupboard...

I have done some reading though, and apparently the trick is heat. The release powder will go back into the tyre with heat. So first I need to get the shine off (with degreaser, I have gunk) and then I can try that.

[Mikku]

I've often thought about picking up a set of those brake calipers, so am interested to see how you get on with them.

[Midschoolfool]

I've often thought about picking up a set of those brake calipers, so am interested to see how you get on with them.

I'm a total CNC nerd and love CNC parts so yeah, was a no brainer at that price.

I got over to the parts today. It was like Christmas 

I think the biggest surprise were the bars tbh. Usually Bankrupt's stuff is poor quality cheap rubbish, but they weren't lying when they said the chrome was high quality. They are also the absolutely perfect width for a mid school boy. So no cutting required at all.

Will shoot some pics in a bit. House is currently in blackout mode LOL. It's 6' hotter here than it was where I live. Problem where I live isn't the outside but the inside. In particular my flat. It was built 3 years ago, has 12" thick insulated walls and 45' Velux in the roof. It's a sauna beyond saunas.

[Midschoolfool]

Man I am stoked right now. I decided to do the seat. I usually leave these smaller jobs until the end, but by then I am usually pretty burned out and tend to rush. That is why I bought so many new parts and chrome parts. It saves me tons of effing hard work.



Was a bit harder than the orange suede one as it's twice the thickness but I am stoked with it. Cost? 11 quid total.



I then very apprehensively set up the printer. I wasn't expecting great. Good maybe? well they look friggin AMAZING.



The only bugger is I am going to have to manually cut them. I did them now because they need to go on before the final clear coat. They are not laminated so they go on top of the glitter coat and then get cleared in with it. But man....

[Midschoolfool]

I hear it's tough stuff ! 

[Midschoolfool]

Blingtastic. Something every single other one of my bikes is not.



Those bars are facking PERFECT.

[Midschoolfool]

Boilocks. Literally. Just got in the loft. Let me tell you - DON'T. It is about 40 degrees up there. Was searching for parts whilst literally poaching in my own juices. I found tons of stuff, some really nice gear. However I could not find the frame press gyro mount. IE the thing in the top of this pic.



I was sure I had one from the Mongoose, but it is gone. It was literally the only piece gone, so bugger only knows where it went. So I have had to spend 12 quid on a cheapo nasty 1" just to get that. I mean, it does save me having to clean the top plate I have  but that would have taken seconds.

Got the wheels down and like I say, few nice little surprises here and there to add some more bling. I'm using my Gusset 48s. They are straight clones of old school Araya.



I have found some Gsport rim strips. I didn't realise these were the ones I used 700c inner tubes and duct tape on 

Oh yeah, I degreased the Plytes. They look a lot better. TBH one ride would rid them of the powder, so I may just ride it. We'll see.

[Midschoolfool]

And the hype train hit a wall and exploded into flames. 

When I looked at the seat tube I got a feeling of pain. I dunno man, something didn't sit well and I had this bad feeling. Then when I went to put the seat post shim in my fears were realised. The frame is not 25.4, and the clamp is not 28.6. When I measured it the ID of the tube is 26.4 and the clamp is around 29.6. Go looking for either? you won't find them. I then had this really foggy memory of buying a lovely new seat and wanting to get a better post. I then remember buying a BMX seat post mail order and it slopping around in the tube like a sausage down the underground. In sheer panic I went up to the bike shop and must have bought some sort of micro adjust in the correct size.

The fix? more money. Of course. Ain't that always how it goes? now thankfully the clamp I had in mind was in house. And, you can't get a shim that goes from 26.4 down to 22.2. For the obvious reason. Anything in 26.4 is beyond rocking horse crap and more like unicorn vomit. Thankfully what I did find was this shim kit for a fiver.



The inner one has an OD of 26.4. It goes down to 25.4, which is where the shim I already have will go.

Whilst putting my vernier all over the frame I decided to remove the plastic dual cable guide on the seat tube. It was another of the amazing things this bike had that no other had. Not in the same price range, not anywhere. And it really, REALLY helps. I figured I would remove the lower ORYG cable and get it ready for cleaning up tomorrow. Only, the dirt I thought was all over the Y part was not dirt but corrosion and the paint was destroyed. It was also all lumpy and nasty. Ugh, more money. Thankfully I did find one for a fiver.



OK so that wasn't *that* bad. About a tenner to make it all work. I still hadn't bought a seat clamp, but then I got another rebate the local council owed me so I started thinking. I went down and put the rim strips on the 7X 48s earlier and realised they are pretty cack. TBH I only paid about a nifty for them, and I felt a bit dirty putting them on this bike really. I mean this was my fave bike of all time, so having the crappiest wheelset I have on it wasn't what I would want. So I remembered where I got them from, and returned there. Whilst there I decided to get a seat clamp, as the shipping would be free if I spent what I was about to spend  So yeah I got one in 30mm which apparently works fine. It's the inner tube part you don't wanna f**k with.



I then proceeded to buy a way better wheelset.



Gusset Black Dog 48s. Double wall etc. Got a 3/8 front (above) and a 14mm flip flop rear.



Whilst I was down there earlier piddling around with rim tapes etc I tried the front wheel in the fork. IDK if the brake will clear the tyres... However, whilst on the site I bought the above from I spotted these.



Vee Speedster folding tyres. I know, I know, I have a pair of folding tyres  BUT ! these are not only top end race tyres they are also 1.60. Meaning there is a much, much higher chance they will allow the shorter V brake to clear. And yeah, it sounds pretty bloody mental buying more tyres, but they were in the sale for 11 quid each. I also really dig the tread pattern. Much grippier than the Paths.

So, even though I have one I decided to buy a good freewheel, as the one I have is cack.



Which like the wheels and seat clamp ETC are all basically era correct. I am now happy. Even though those Schwinn cranks were cheap AF they look really nice. I am pretty sure the RRP is not, and was not, 20 quid. I am also sure they were not chromed within the last ten years, as the chrome is not total crap.

Now hopefully that is the last of the bloody nasty surprises.

[Midschoolfool]

OK. I am still alive lol. I wondered at points last night if I would even make it. DANG it's hot. 6am I got to sleep, up at about 10:45. I feel like I have been hit by a train.

Good news. The pegs all came. Just what I wanted. Knurled clean flatland pegs. In chrome of course. After the big splurge last night I needed one more thing. Headset spacers. They too are quite hard to find in 1". There is a place who sells them but when I go to buy them I get this.



Now I would highly doubt I left them bad feedback. I have about 800 or so feedbacks and I have only ever left about four, and only when the item was a complete rip off and not as pictured. That said as Bankrupt learned very quickly even if I phoned you and called you a C U Next Tuesday (I wouldn't but just sayin) you would still do well to ignore it given how much crap I buy. I mean FFS you boys have seen it first hand.

That said I genuinely have absolutely no bloody idea WTF. Thankfully I managed to track down their website.



I ordered 1 10mm and if that is too long I got a 5mm and a 2mm.

[Midschoolfool]

Can't wait for my Cousin's kids to ask me when I am old and f-ed what I did on hottest day ever in the UK.

"Well kids, sit around and I will tell you a tale. I sat out on the back step like a forkin bellend using burning gentlemans relish to get the paint off a bike frame".

Started about 1. Got the stickers off first.



Then gave it a good scrub with Gunk to remove the grease and dirt.



Dry.





Armed myself with the above and foul language and proceeded to strip off the incredibly hard 2k coating.



I was out there so long (FOUR HOURS) it rained twice (that was a touch tbh, LOL) and dropped 7c. All whilst I was out there 



Each tube got four coats of stripper with scrubbing in between. There's still some small spots left, but I will take them off mechanically. Esp when I dress the frame (tidy up the lazer cut dropout edges etc etc, I always do it now).