Alt Bike Culture - wheelie bike

hi everyone,
i have two identical montgomery ward (schwinn) late 70's bikes in ok shape that would make for a nice project if i mix the two together but i have a concern about the intended use...

the two bikes have 20" wheels and small frames, but i plan to make/put a taller seatpost in and weld some extra sections onto the banana seat posts and maybe reinforce them a bit to accommodate an adult rider - me. i'd like to use this for a wheelie bike to practice wheelie riding and use it for short commutes just for giggles. should be a great candidate.


the frames and forks are in great shape, so i have my pick of parts. you think this rig could handle some light duty wheelie riding with a 180lb moron (me) on it?

i also plan on mounting some kind of rear hand brake too, as they only have coasters on em now.

may chopper it too, but that would be later on.

that would be ALOT of work to find out it didnt work, have anything you could experiment on?
fast eddie outty

How tall are you? In my experience banana-seat bikes usually accomodate a person my size (5'10") without modification... just put the seat up at its highest and sit toward the rear, and the leg extension is pretty good. If you're a bit taller, your legs will be a bit more bent but if you're looking for good ergonomics for long-distance riding or powerful sprinting, a banana seat bike just isn't the thing. :)

With 180 pounds on em, it's possible that the rear supports for the banana seat would be too weak. You could bolt on a piece of flat metal rod (the 1 inch wide 1/4 inch thick kind home depot stores will sell) to support them. Or you could just ride carefully and hope for the best.

I have found doing wheelies tends to mess up headset cups/bearings a bit. I don't mind if my steering is a bit "notchy" though... the headset wear will prevent no-hands riding but other than that not a big deal.

thanks,
yeah i was planning to reinforce the banana seat rear posts anyhoo. as far as the headset and whatever, i have enough parts to replace anything that may break or notch there.

as far as the pedal reach etc, i am about the same size, so that may work out just hoisting the seat up a bit. i'll let ya know.

I ride my stingray all over the place by raising the seat all the way up and sitting towards the rear. Get ready for a new kind of pain if you decide to ride it more than 5 miles or so, those seats are brutal.