Does anyone here on C&V have an actual Klunker from the Marin Valley scene? Has anyone here built a replica of that sort of bike? I was just curious, as I am thinking of modifying a Wal-Mart cruiser for moderate off-road use, in the same fashion as a Klunker. Take off accessories, put on knobbies, add some sturdy handlebars. Just to make a weird bike for gravel trail riding.

there is a great article on the front page of the ratrodbikes website, check it out.

Over the years several companies have put out cruiser/MTB crossovers.

Not as curvy as Excelsiors of yore, but a nice looking bike:

One of my favorites from back in the 90s. KHS Brentwood. Unfortunately current Brentwoods are pretty ugly.

I like the looks of the Masi Soulville also. Fork has room for slightly meatier tires, dunno how rear clearance is.

Couldn't remember the model names for the '90s Breezers so it took a while to find one.

This one was called the Ignaz X (after Ignaz Schwinn)

Closest I've come:



-Kurt

I've got my half built klunker from a Schwinn Point Beach. I like that it has canti mounts and a derailleur hanger already. Plus it's aluminum and like a sub 4 pound frame also. Mine is like a cross between a vintage road like with Molteni colors and a nice chrome lugged Ross fork and the bullmoose bars. I just have to find some wheels and cranks. I could probably just pick up a old mountain bike and run a single up front and either 7 or 8 in the rear.

A really cool bike was the Merlin Newsboy from like 10-15 years ago. Titanium cantilever frame. Now that was sexy and you don't see many around at all.


Plus this did the Newsboy in a straight bar DX style frame also

There is one hanging in an LBS here in town. I do not recall if belonged to anyone famous, but it is sure a study in barn-yard engineering.

I just depends if you want to be more period correct on what they would of actually used and find an Excelsior frame and use some road and old motorcycle parts like they did. That movie never gets old. I'll have to snap a picture of mine as I spent a few minutes yesterday wrenching on it. It's got the C&V road influence definitely...campy seatpost, Concor saddle, did have a nuovo record headset and cranks but yanked those for another project. Very snazzy bike though and you can pick them up cheap. That's one wally world bike that I love to ride.

I built this one many years ago to conquer the deep mud on the fields of the fall Hershey antique auto swap meet. It worked great. It started life as a 1941 Majestic-badged Schwinn DX and was thrown together with mostly parts from the junk box. It originally could have passed for a late 70's build but the bike was so much fun that it received a number of modern upgrades. It still gets used as one of my regular riders.



I got the idea from this book that I loved as a child:



It shows how to build one. (kind of)

omigod I want that book.

if you hurry you can get the frame you seek from nashbar for 20 bucks plus shipping. https://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product...200545__202337

There are some used ones available through Amazon.

I'm getting ready to do this, trading a friend an old 10 speed for an aluminum coaster brake bike. It's going to get a front brake and some huge tires, but I haven't decided on the bars.

Some kid sold me this '50 Schwinn with an MTB fork and a BMX crank and not much else. It's about the funnest bike I got.

They got these forks at Niagara for $20 or so, black or chrome. They're nice cause of the canti posts.

Around the mid-90's, Schwinn offered the "camelback" framed Cruiser Supreme (similar to the Breezer and Kona above) that was equipped with cantilever brakes and a 5 or 6 speed drive train. I've seen several of them for sale and I've always been tempted to pick one up for a klunker build, it seems like a good starting point.

Don't make me buy another bike frame, fbf!

That's impossible for me to say no to. Wonder what rear dropout width is.

https://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product...2_530791_-1___
https://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product...2_530751_-1___

i bet shipping is more than the bike

I have a bunch of old schwinns that I want to klunkerize. The only problem is that I really don't like the way these bikes ride. It would just be to do it.

Don't have a good picture, but my sudo klunkered schwinn is to the right. Still has the skip tooth gear with single speed. The third schwinn over is not mine, but was a 16 inch wheeled bike with twenty inchers in it, with a brazed on brake mount on the fork. It belongs to a guy who was riding things like this back in the sixtys. Will take and put up some picks when I get home next week.

Darn you all to heck!
$17 to NY, 10977
I had to pull that trigger. I'll tell you what the rear dropout width is when it gets here.
Looks like it wants a 1 1/8" steerer. I don't know anything about those.

I just finished my Varsity cruiser. It's an old Schwinn Varsity with 26" rims and a coaster brake. This is the bike I tried to build 31 years ago but failed miserably. Rode it on some dirt trails yesterday and was surprised how well it worked. Didn't have any ground clearance issues or weird handling. Might build a 5-speed rear wheel and install front & rear brakes for a vintage MTB. The rims are beautiful Araya DH.

Had I had the resources back then, mountain bikers would be riding and collecting Flying Merkels instead of Gary Fishers. Damn right I'm bitter.

Keep us posted- sounds like a fun project. Attached are pictures of my Jaguar cruiser and my Varsity. Jag had clearance issues. It still was a fun bike. Had the rims, derailleur, bars, and brakes off a GT Outpost.