ZoeS

Hi there,

I have my darling commuter bike, Blue Bike, and I recently sold a vintage raleigh (lovely - but the thing was a monster and I was sick of carrying that thing around). I'd like to try my hand and "building" (and I use the word losely) myself a pretty bike that is exactly what I want out of two or three bikes that are kind-of-but-not-exactly what I want.

I found the frame I want: a Sekine road bike, 8 speed I think, from the 80s. Assuming most of the mechanical parts are in order (breaks, gears, wheels), I will keep most of the bike as it is and only change up some of the more esthetic features. It is listed for $50 (CAD).



I don't want drop handlebars, and I'd love to add fenders and a rack. I found a vintage cruiser that has fenders (and white, how chique!), a nice rack (not the 30$ cheap ones you find nowadays) and the exact handlebars I love. It is listed for $120.



I figured I'd take the fenders and the rack, and switch the handlebars and re-sell the vintage cruiser (with innapropriate drop bars) for whatever I can get for it.

My question is... can I? I don't know much about bikes and don't know anyone who does, so I turn to you for help. The fenders, I presume, need to be made for the right size wheel? The Sekine has 27" wheels. Not sure about the cruiser. Can a bike frame made to go with drop handlebars work with cruiser bars, or will they not fit? Or am I risking potential back injury or something awful?

I'm sure I can tell whether the rack would go on the Sekine once I see both bikes.

Also, can anyone tell where the gears are on the Sekine? I can't see them on the frame but I assume that's where they would be. I can't see them on the handlebars either, but I'm pretty sure it isn't a one speed bike unless it has been modded.

Any guidance would be much appreciated!

Zoe

Joshua A.C. New

That looks to me like it will work.

My guess is, you'll get more money for the cruiser if you leave the bars. New bars and levers of that vintage shouldn't cost you more than $15US or so.

ZoeS

Thanks Joshua!

I don't actually own either bike yet, so I could abstain from purchasing the vintage cruiser... but I don't know where else to get decent parts around here. I could probably find handlebars, but all of the racks and fenders I find are that cheap, light, scratchable metal you see so often nowadays.
I don't mind how much I resell the cruiser for; even if I don't make a penny, I'm still at about half what I made from selling the Raleigh, so half my budget. As long as everything fits, I'll be happy as a clam.

hernick

I wouldn't count on fenders and rack compatibility. That Sekine road bike may be incompatible for one or more reasons:

- No fender eyelets at the dropouts
- Not enough clearance at the fork, seatstays or chainstays
- Not enough clearance inside the brakes
- Unmatched wheel diameter

As for the shifters on the Sekine, the photo isn't all that good but I guess those are "suicide shifters" mounted at the stem and ready to impale you in a bad place should you go over the handlebars.

I have two 80's road bikes and neither of them has enough clearance for full fenders, not the appropriate eyelets.

ZoeS

Hernick,

Thanks for the input! I have no man bits but I will try not to go over the handlebars

I saw a Sekine (same model I think) on the road the other day and it had a rack. I might just have to bring the bike to the cruiser and see if it fits.

Apparently the cruiser has 28" wheels, and the sekine has 27". Is that too much of a difference so as to make them incompatible?

hernick

Well, first thing to check on your Sekine is if it has eyelets on both the fork and rear dropouts. Then, look at the clearance between the tires and the frame, and between the tires and the brakes. Also, look at how the clearance changes when you operate the brakes. A fender has to fit without being crushed by the brakes...

Fender width is more important than fender radius, but both have to be pretty close to work. Assuming your tires are 27x1-1/8" (28-630 - 28mm tire width, 630 mm B.S.D.) you'll need a fender 35mm wide or so.

I would suggest brand new fenders, racks and handlebars. I really like the Planet Bike Cascadia (35mm road version for you) especially since the local MEC has all sizes in stock for $26 a pair. I really like the Bor Yueh triple branch rear rack, $15 locally, which I bet is more solid than the old rack on that cruiser. As for handlebars, look up the Wald 8095 or other handlebars in the Wald lineup. If Wald doesn't make it, Zoom, Kalloy and other brands all make affordable cruiser-style handlebars that your LBS should have no trouble getting for $15 or so.



Good luck!

griftereck

the sekine has centrepull brakes.
havent seen them in less than a 600 size...60mm drop
its got stem mount shifters too.
so is probably got wide clearances for the tyres
the 28" tyres are another name for 700c, which are more or less the same size as 27". a little smaller if the tyre widths are the same.
the rear brake cable will make it tricky to mount a carrieer rack. but thats the case with most brake cables

JohnDThompson 

You may run into problems with the stem as well. Older cruiser type bikes use 0.833" (21.15mm) stems rather than the 22.2mm stem your Sekine likely has. If you're lucky, you might be able to use the cruiser's bars in the Sekine stem, but don't be surprised if it doesn't work.

arej00dazed

*have not read entire post*

instead of paying the $120 for the vintage bike, you could probably get the parts you need from your LBS for less. and this way, the parts WILL work otherwise the guy that sold you the parts shouldnt be working there (assuming you bring the bike in where they can actually match up the parts).

tellyho

If I were you, I'd just buy the parts: fenders (Honjo are nice, SKS are cheaper), bars, and levers.

etdub

Some years ago, my father handed me his old Sekine which was collecting dust in the attic. It looks a lot like the one in the picture, except it's dark green. I used it as my main bike for some time, and did a lot of modifications on it... changed everything over time except the frame, fork, handlebars, crankset, bottom bracket, brakes and brake levers. I now keep this bike at my parent's house in my hometown, and always enjoy riding it again when I go there. From what I know it's a rather mundane plain gauge chromoly frame, nothing fancy nor valuable, but it rides smooth and I just love it (probably because it was my first "real" road/touring bike, and I spent so much time riding and tinkering with it). $50 seems like an okay price for it, if it's in good condition.

Some thoughts about this bike:

- Make sure the frame fits you before buying it. No point in investing money and time if it's not the case.

- If it's like mine it has 27" steel rims. Quite heavy and gives poor braking when wet. I rode with the steel rims for some time, before replacing them with a pair of cheap 27" wheels with alloy (aluminum) rims, and eventually better quality 700c wheels while touring (I broke too many spokes with the cheap wheels). 700c's will fit okay on this bike with some modifications: I needed to file out the fork dropouts just a tad (the new axle wouldn't fit in), file the notch on the brake calipers to lower the pads a little bit so they have good contact with the rim, and spread out the rear triangle when putting in the rear wheel since the newer hub has a wider outer locknut dimension (didn't cold set it, I have to spread it again by hand every time I put back the wheel). Though you have to be prepared to spend some money and time if you want to change the wheels, it may not be worth it except if you have a special bond with this bike .

- Eyelets for racks and fenders (both rear and front fork) are 6x1mm instead of the more ubiquitous 5x0.8mm. You can get these bolts at a hardware store which carries metric fasteners (hard to find in my area) or a good LBS. The ones that come with racks or fenders will be useless on this frame.

- If you want to overhaul the headset, it has an obsolete and not very usual 3-notch lockring. I wasn't able to find a tool for that, and instead I used vice-grip pliers with a piece of inner tube (to avoid damaging the finish) to unscrew/screw this lockring.

- I removed the 'suicide' brake levers and replaced the stem shifters with some NOS Suntour downtube shifters (clamp type) I found for almost nothing.

- If you want to change the handlebars, the stem has a standard 22.2 mm clamp. Though you may have to change the stem to get a correct position with the new bars. Any brake lever made for calipers or cantilevers will work with the centerpulls on this bike. Don't get v-brake levers though, they pull too much cable and don't have enough mechanical advantage for this type of brake!

- I second the recommendation for Planet Bike Cascadia fenders, available at MEC. The hybrid version will fit this bike perfectly (got this model on mine). Good quality, and not too expensive. They're not exactly vintage but I think they look pretty nice on this bike.

There's likely a lot of work to do to overhaul this bike and customize it like you want, but at the same time you will learn a lot and have much fun. Go for it!

LarDasse74

I don't know exactly what to think about this question...

I was going to point out that the "cruiser" bike looks more like a British (or maybe dutch) - style 3 speed, but you probably know that, seeing as you just got rid of your Raleigh.

Then I thought I might recommend buying similar handlebars and fenders and rack at a bike shop for less money then the cost of the cruiser bike. But someone else already pointed that out.

So I think I will draw attention to the following:
Your just got rid of a bike because it was a "tank"... and the bike you want to replace it with is going to be an old steel 10 speed with the steel fenders, steel bars, and steel rack off another "tank." What do you expect the final product to be?

(FWIW, if I were you, if it fits and is in very good condition, I would just buy the cruiser and use it as a utility/grocery/beer-store bike)

DMF 

+1

Closed Office

The gear shifters are on the downtube, one for the front 2 sprocket derailleur, and one for the back derailleur that shifts the 5 or 6 gear sprocket at the back. Most of those bikes were 10 or 12 speed.

The first bike most likely has 27 by 1 and 1/4 inch tires, and the second most likely has 26 by 1 3/8 inch tires. The fenders might take just a little muscle to fit because they probably won't be a perfect match.

The Sekines are beautiful bikes. When Mt bikes blew road bikes out of the stores I just started scrounging all the old 10 and 12 speeds everyone was throwing out and salvaging them. Now that everyone is swinging back to road bikes there are not at all as many but there still are a few.

On my days off I do a lot of riding through alleys while knocking off my errands and once in awhile do see something decent but have enough parts that I just don't bother any more. Fenders are especially rare though because most people don't appreciate them. Most bike shops want more than $50 for a set or maybe it was for 1 fender. It has been a long time since I phoned about that. But the Mountain Equipment Coop (in Canada, not sure where you are) has practical pairs of fenders for just over $20. It was about 6 years ago that I bought that pair, might be higher now, but they do have really good prices for basic bike parts.

The first time working on a bike might inspire a bit of foul language but the more you do something the better you get at it. Or you find out that this isn't where your talents are and try something else. But even then you know something you didn't know before and you've gained from the effort.

good luck with all that

best wishes, lloyd

Edit: I forgot about the handlebars. The main thing about drop handlebars like the ones on the first bike, is that most people don't often have their hands on the drop part of the bars. You have a variety of hand positions available besides that. They can be in the corners, on the straight part, or on the 'hoods,' which is over the brake mounts. There is also usually room to lift the stem that holds the bars and get them higher. If you try them out with that in mind, it is surprising how comfortable they are. You might net even want to change.

LarDasse74

I think the shifters on the Sekine are on the stem, actually - close to the centre of the bar. You can see the cables in the pic.