Cantilever Schwinn Mountainbike

Meanwhile, Back On the East Coast ...

Prior to its recent restoration, Humma Hah wore a Dupli-Color silver paint job, applied in the mid 70's to cover the original red paint, which I despised. I'd worn the original thru on the top tube by several years of riding the bike as a commuter: mud on my pants had sanded the paint away. Alas, the auto touch-up paint was not very durable, and it quickly looked just as bad. The rubber handlebar tape on the seat tube protected it against a chain and padlock that dangled there.

Notice the possibly historic handlebars!

I'd pretty much gotten the bike back into shape, and it had pretty much gotten me back into shape, so I figured it deserved refinishing. CyclArt took my $90 cruiser and powdercoated it "Camero silver-grey", restored the decals and added a few custom touches, and clearcoated it, for about 4 times what I paid for the bike new.

On the rear, note the new "Big Cheese" V-brake adapter. The front brakes were added in the 70's by an adapter, but I've also got a set of Schwinn Corvette forks for the bike which do have the brake mounts built-in. The bike could now run Mt. Tam's "Repack" without requiring the coaster-brake repack that gave the run its name. Mounting the V-brake adapter required removing the generator, so I now use battery lights like every body else.

I was delighted to learn that the Crested Butte pioneer mountainbikers rode "canti's" like mine, in spite of the frame's marginal ground clearance. They typically used high-riser BMX bars, but they were true mountainbikers, tackling herculean climbs on these massive beasts. Mine's about forty pounds with the thorn resistant tubes and without the V-brake adapter. The Excelsiors are reportedly a little heavier.

Those beautiful chrome rims are Schwinn S-7's, the original type. I rebuilt the rear wheel with heavy spokes. Schwinn sold that heavy-duty front wheel as a repair part, spurred either by the Crested Butte crowd or "cruiser-class" BMX. They also sold a knobby variant of the Westwind tire called the "Tractor". I've got modern Westwinds on it now: they do an adequate job off-road and are much more pleasant and efficient on pavement.

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