I Am a Bike Guy: Photo Gallery

I just wanted to take this opportunity to shed some light on one of my hobbies. Feel free to browse through the photos to see the various bikes I own, and have owned in the past. Keep in mind, none of them cost more than twenty bucks; some I built with parts I had lying around, others were found complete and I gave them a little TLC. One man's junk is another man's treasure. Enjoy.

1961 Schwinn Spitfire

This one was put together with parts that I found at the Ann Arbor/Saline Classic bike swap meet over the course of about three years. I know it needs paint, but it will only be original once. It has a New Departure coaster brake hub, and has gone through several changes over the years.

1961 Raleigh Sports

Found this gentleman in rusty disrepair at the Ann Arbor ReUse-It center about five years ago. Twenty bucks. I stripped it down, cleaned every nook and cranny, straightened the bent fenders, and replaced the front wheel which was rusted rather badly. Three speed Sturmey-Archer. Very comfortable and quick bike.

Columbia Mfg. Gold Crest

Found this in someone's garbage pile in Ypsi. Another very comfy bike. Originally it was brown and missing the rear fender, but I stripped it down and decided to go with a military look. Drab green on everything, even the cranks and rims.

Columbia Motor Bike

This was originally a Columbia eighteen-speed mountain bike that I bought when I was in the seventh or eighth grade with money from scavenging pop and beer bottles from under the bleachers at a local baseball diamond near my parents' house. When the Evans frame broke, I needed a stronger one that could handle the stress of the motor. This one is lugged, and worked great; hardly any flex in the frame, and much stronger than an old cantilever.

Fifties Schwinn Straight Bar

This one is a mid-fifties Schwinn, perhaps a Hornet. I bought the frame from a gent on Craigslist along with a Schwinn Heavy Duti that turned out to be bent beyond repair. I ended up using the crank and sprocket from the Heavy Duti, and slowly began to piece this together. The wheels are the original ones that came off the Evans, which were pitted with rust, so I painted them black with appliance paint (which is more durable than regular spray paint). The rack and springer were found at the Ann Arbor Bicycle Swap meet, as well as the fenders. They are not Schwinn fenders, but I don't care. They fit and look purty.

Les Velos Industrielle

I work at an automotive parts manufacturer for the time being, and this is what gets me around the shop. It is some kind of cheap Chinese cruiser that was found in a very rusted state in someone's Sunday evening junk pile. It does what it is supposed to do.

Schwinn Fixie

This was a Schwinn Sprint in a past life, probably late eighties. I got the frame from an old timer in the neighborhood who has a yardful of frames behind his garage, almost arranged like a farm crop, lined up in rows. The wheels I found for three bucks at the Ann Arbor ReUse-It Center, and the cranks and everything else I had in a box (I knew I'd find a use for them eventually). I chopped the bars, redished the back wheel, stuck a sixteen tooth cog on it, and Voila! I'm a hipster. All I need now are cards in the spokes, some skinny jeans and a beard.

Evans, Made in Plymouth, MI

Before we bought the house we now live in, we stayed in an apartment above a very nice lady who's boyfriend was a metal scrapper. He'd come home every evening with the back of his pickup full of stoves, car rims, and everything else metal he found throughout the day. Once he came home with this in the back, so I offered him five bucks and he gave it to me. Evans, built in Plymouth, Michigan. Unfortunately, I put a motor on it and after about a month, the downtube broke clean through. Its now hanging in the garage as a reminder to myself not to do foolish things with a machine that's already perfect as is.

Schwinn Sprint

I don't have this one any more. I originally had fixed it up from its garage-fresh state and sold it for forty bucks to a feller at work. He had it for less than a week and decided to leave it where it'd be "safe" behind some body shop in Detroit while he went and consorted with shady people for the remainder of the evening. Yes, the next day when he went back for it, it was gone. He couldn't believe it. Kind of funny.