Classic & Vintage - 69 Bob Jackson Coaster w/ Pics

I picked up this frame in April on eBay (unknowingly out-bidding another C&V'er. Sorry). It came with a NR bottom bracket and Campy cable guides as well as having Campy dropouts. I have wanted to build it up using period NR. This, as you know can get pretty pricey. I don't have those kind of resources (see my signature). I did however, score a really nice set of 70's cranks before I ran out of money. Thusly it became wall-art for going on seven months.
Eventually I got tired of seeing it just hanging on the wall. I decided that I would build it up as a coaster just to get it moving like a good bike should. This was a cheap, alternative solution to an expensive problem: no brake calipers or levers, no dérailleurs, no shifters, and no need to source some nice 27" rims, AND, it would still move... and stop (good combination)
All I had to do now was find a nice, non-Japanese hub to go with the Record front. Both were to be laced to Wolber Super Champion Gentleman 81's (did they really need to make the name that long?). Hmmm...
Too the Mac cave!
Once again the interweb and it's series of tubes led me in the right direction... to eBay. I scored a NOS Fitchel & Sachs Komet Super from a nice guy who mostly deals in vintage auto parts. After I had done a little research and all that I had read led me to believe that this was a good score for $15.oo I made the buy. Three days later I had it laced and with the addition of some cheap Wald cruiser bars it was ready to go.
Chain-line is nearly perfect. I was going to use a guard ring on the crank, but since the F&S cog required me to use a 1/8 chain that the chain-ring spacing did not allow for I had to nix the idea until I can muster up some bolt spacers.
To sum it up, it rides beautifully, and looks darn spiffy.
Sorry for the somewhat long-winded story, but my fiancee gets tired of me talking about the bikes. I don't hold it against her because she still loves to ride them. So without further ado, the pictures.

http://www.offcenterdesign.org/images/BJDriveside1.jpg
I didn't know that my windowsill was that warped

http://www.offcenterdesign.org/images/BJDrivetrain1.jpg
NR cranks Chorus pedals Campy clips and old Christophe straps
BTW I used a small piece of rubber to keep the CB clamp from scratching the chainstay

http://www.offcenterdesign.org/images/BJFSHub2.jpg
That is one cool oil port.

http://www.offcenterdesign.org/images/BJSeatcluster.jpg
Prugnat lugs and gold pin-striping. Classy.

http://www.offcenterdesign.org/images/BJFrontal.jpg
Cheop-o steel Wald cruiser bars and a polished SR stem.
I like the handlebar wrap as opposed to grips for multiple hand positions. Plus it looks nice IMO.

http://www.offcenterdesign.org/images/BJaboveview.jpg
White spit-shined Turbo saddle (military school was good for something) rounds out the look.


Now I just have to find some nice metal buttons to fill in all those unnecessary bolt-holes. Oh yeah, maybe some chrome fenders... yeah, fenders.

Nice build! Getcha fenders from Velo Orange (http://velo-orange.com/fenders.html).

Aaron:)

Excellent! That coaster hub is very cool. I'm actually working on a similar project with a highly patina-ed 1971 Raleigh International frameset and a Bendix 2-speed kickback coaster-brake hub. Unfortunately, my day job hasn't been allowing me the time to build the rear wheel, but I'll get to it soon.

Neal

and some fatter tires from sheldon...

looks very good!

NLerner- I'm lucky, my day job is at a bike shop

SingeDebile- No go on fatter tires. The chainstays are too close together.

Thanks

Flip the bars and go english racer style ;)

http://bensbikesathens.com/images/coolcruiserB.jpg

That is fantastic. It's so ridiculous that it's awesome! :D

i love lightweight coaster-bikes

i have been trying to figure out a lamp bracket or something to use these cable stops for when they are not being used for a brake.. it'd be perfect



http://www.offcenterdesign.org/images/BJSeatcluster.jpg

V. steam punk. Thank you for not hacksawing. For the extra brackets, gears or lamps, or both, would be tres chic, no?

oh. you could run two chainrings in the front, and two chains...one to drive the bike, and one to turn a little gear that is threaded into the derailleur hanger. Get someone to turn you an adapter. That would be sooo cool.

uh, if you don't care how fast the bike goes. That would definitely slow you down a little.

If you flip your bottom bracket axle around (long side to the non-drive) you should be able to mount your chainring in the outer position (which looks much cleaner).

Coelcanth and Luker- I have been trying to figure out how to mount some of the spare lights I have to the brake-bridge and front brake mount. I need to take a trip to the hardware store.

Otis- Thanks, I will give that a try.

ctavel- That looks like a fun one!

That is a sweet-looking rig!

Otis, Thanks. I flipped the spindle and not only does it work, it corrected the millimeter discrepancy that I was ignoring before. The only thing that I don't like about it was having to flip the chainring around because the recessed holes made the bolts too long for a tight fit. You can't win em all.

Radfahrer- Is that R.A.W. in Dutch?

Otis, Thanks. I flipped the spindle and not only does it work, it corrected the millimeter discrepancy that I was ignoring before. The only thing that I don't like about it was having to flip the chainring around because the recessed holes made the bolts too long for a tight fit. You can't win em all.

Radfahrer- Is that R.A.W. in Dutch?

You should be using a set of BMX chainring bolts. They will fit snug. You need to use the recessed holes or the ring will not be centered. You can also grind down your bolts, but for what a set of BMX bolts cost it's hardly worth the effort.

Coelcanth and Luker- I have been trying to figure out how to mount some of the spare lights I have to the brake-bridge and front brake mount. I need to take a trip to the hardware store.

Otis- Thanks, I will give that a try.

for some reason i've been thinking a lot lately about steam punk as a genre and how to make a bike that would fit into that Steam Punk vision. Bikes were around when the style that steam punk emulates was new. So bikes, almost any kind of bikes, are nearly all steam punk anyway...so i guess all you'd have to do is emphasize the punkishness of a bicycle. Storika saddles are a prime example of the style, but I am not sure that that's what the designer had in mind.

Anyone have gas lamps mounted to their more recent vintage bicycles?

Radfahrer- Is that R.A.W. in Dutch?


R.A.W.? I'm confused!! If you are referring to my signature, it's Hamburger Plattdeutsch!

Radahrer- "Do what thou wilt, shall be the whole of the law" Robert Anton Wilson
I saw your sig in my peripheral vision and that was how my brain translated it. Since English is for the most part derived from the Germanic branch of the language tree I felt that this unconscious translation possibly held water. Babelfish can't translate it.

for some reason i've been thinking a lot lately about steam punk as a genre and how to make a bike that would fit into that Steam Punk vision. Bikes were around when the style that steam punk emulates was new. So bikes, almost any kind of bikes, are nearly all steam punk anyway...so i guess all you'd have to do is emphasize the punkishness of a bicycle. Storika saddles are a prime example of the style, but I am not sure that that's what the designer had in mind.

Anyone have gas lamps mounted to their more recent vintage bicycles?

Luker- Have you ever been to Boingboing.net? They publish a lot of articles about steam-punk: art, comics, mods, and ephemera. There is some truly beautiful stuff on there as well as how-to's for creating your own steam-punk style objects. I did a search for it on their site and came up with this:
http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&domains=boingboing.net&sitesearch=boingboing.net&q=steampunk&btnG=Search
By the way, that Storika saddle is HOT! I would love to get my hands on the tan & honey version if I had the money. I have never thought about building a bike around a component before... until I saw that.

Im jealous, that thing is beautiful.

Gorgeous.