Sunday, March 1, 2009

From Ashes to Glory... (Part 3)






Introducing ...... "le bastard"

I thought this was a fitting name, since that's what it is, a bastardized roadie turned CX racer. I wanted to keep some of the original flare of the Schwinn. So I put the World Champ stripes back on the seat tube, and kind of kept with the "le" Tour name. But now it's a "le" bastard. I just love the way green and orange look together, so I was on a mission to get a hold of a pair of Michelin "green" Muds. I was able to get a new pair of Muds, and a new pair of "green" Sprints in the process. The Sprints are shown in the pictures. I think the old school tan gum walls really set off the vintage 1978 look of the frame. In addition to the green tires, I ordered some Celeste green bar tape that matched perfect! And of course I had my buddy TP do up the decals in the same color. You might be asking "what's up with the green Lions?" Nothing really. I wanted a cool looking old school head badge that looked prestigious, and thought that it gave it a Belgian CX flare without really saying -- Belgian CX. In my mind it makes sense. But either way it looks good.

I figured out with the parts I already had, some I brought, the welding, and powder coat, I have about $610 wrapped up into this project. Not bad for a fun, personalized, race ready machine.

Here is the build

1978 Schwinn Super Le Tour 12.2 frame
Mavic CXP wheels laced to 105 hubs
Michelin "green" Sprints (for dey days) and Muds (for the wet and slop)
FSA Gossamer Crankset with Surly 38 tooth SS ring
16 tooth BMX freewheel cog
SRAM 8 speed chain
Nashbar carbon cyclocross fork with 1 in steer tube (was only $125 bucks!)
Specialized Comp drop bars
Cinelli Green bar tape
Shimano Super SLR brake levers
Tekro Oryx Canti Brakes
Ritchey Comp Stem
Cane Creek C2 1 in. Head set (thanks Lee!)
Tekro long drop front cable hanger
Tekro bolt mounted rear cable hanger
Sette Race Ti Saddle
Rock Werks seat post (Thomson knock off)
Time Alum Pedals
Rock Werks BMX frame chain tensioners (Had to modify the rear drop out and tensioners to work on bike. But this was a good move. Can adjust chain a lot better and makes the ride more reliable.)

I can't wait for the weather to break and get out on this thing. In addition to this bike being my new Cyclocross Single Speed race machine, it is going to be my all around go to commuter and fun bike. I plan on picking up some cheap road tires in the spring, so let the fun begin!

12 comments:

TP said...

Sweeeeet!!!!

cjsbike said...

That thing is hot!

Do my eyes deceive me? I do not see any snow down there!

We still have 2 feet!

-Chad

chunky dunker said...

not much snow left. We had a few days in the 40's. But that could all change as I am writing this!

cjsbike said...

Cheap tires? Kenda Kaliente road tires.

Look up the price in the Kenda Rider Support Program order form.

Man, that thing is hot! I need to do the samething.

-Chad

chunky dunker said...

Thanks chad, I will look up the kenda info. I can't stop looking at the bike myself. It's going to be fun to ride!

Todd Shorkey said...

Awesome job!

Chad already said it - That thing is hot!!!

wood said...

dude, that is murdered out! great color choice too. btw, what's the weight on that sexy machine?

chunky dunker said...

Not sure what the weight is. I was too excited to take it home from the shop before weighing it in on the bass master scale.

Neil said...

Just to echo what everyone else already said, that is a beautiful bike.

Paynful said...

Nice bike man!!

Can't wait to see it in action!

Ben said...

I would date this bike so hard and then marry the sh*t out of it!

Unknown said...

So now that it has been a few years, can you give us a long-term update on how it is holding up? Recently I've acquired a Schwinn Le Tour and am thinking of going down the same route and might use many of the same parts! Is there anything you might have done differently? Any recent pictures of it in a race?