75 A&A

[reilley1 353]

Time to start putting some new builds out there. Been awhile.
First (well sort of first as I pictured the 1st gen Webco Mono) a little AA trickness. (frame on loan from Mike)
AA Frame
Simi Mags
Ashtabula stem and fork.
Schwinn headset, post and seat clamp and sprocket.
Windsor seat.
Aggressor rear/Schwinn Scrambler front.
Wald Bars.
KKT Pedals
American Pro Grips.
Monark Crank. 
Rad Pad/generic pad combo.
Regina Oro track chain.
Schwinn US made tubes.
Modern air. 
(The usual moto suspects will spot something and point it out) :-)

[The 26incher 55]

Love it!

[Curt 117]

First class!

The Monarch crank is a name I had not heard, why that crank vs Schwinn and/or Ashtabula?

Oh and If you need some era correct air I may have a source......

[steve bourke 41]

perfect

[Brian Hays 664]

AMAZING build as always. Nice red or orange master link too.

Please cut the zipties. 

[John Wells 37]

Great build Rick, A&A frames are always a favorite of mine. Your attention to detail is impeccable. Question about the monarch Cranks. I’ve never heard that name before. They look like the cranks  that came on Schwinn continental 10 speed. We used to call them diamond cranks. They were The only cranks that wouldn’t bend before the hardened Ashtabula cranks came out. 

[reilley1 353]

Thanks guys..

To answer the question,, Monark was a Ballon tire manufacturer famous for the Silver King model.

These came from cranks  came from Joe Pernice. My connection to that crank is that in the stone-age, I could not afford a set of 7" Ashtabulas so Tom DeRosier of Tom's Bikes Shop gave me a set he had on his used parts bin. 

They were pretty soft and lasted until I had enough money for the Ashtabula:-)

Mr. Hey, the reason for the colored Clip on the master link is that Malcolm Smith and other ISDT (and some MX) racerss of the days would paint theirs on their MX chains so they could locate the master link quicker.  

Useless trivia for $100 Alex. 

[John Wells 37]

Thanks for the monark info. While we’re on trivia, the A&A head tube was slightly longer than a standard length head tube. To install original Redline forks you had to cut the bottom of the tube just a little. We used a Tange bearing cup upside down as a guide to cut off enough material. At 15 years old my cutting skill wasn’t really great so I had to file a bunch. Thankfully “O” ring chains were invented after Malcolm Smith rode the ISDT.   In my trips to the ISDE I never had to change a master link (I looked at it every day).

[Brian Hays 664]

Is the master link the thing that someone would point out or am I missing something else?

[John Wells 37]

In the 70’s motorcycle chains were not very reliable. The master link could be problematic. It was common to have to replace the master link a couple of times in the  ISDE. It was painted red so you could find it and replace it faster.  They really wear in wet sand. The chain goes through a guide by the rear sprocket that is pretty tight against the side plates of the chain. It will wear the master link until the clip falls off. 

[reilley1 353]

3 hours ago, Brian Hays said:

Is the master link the thing that someone would point out or am I missing something else?

Yes, but you were just making fun of it. :-)

[dav451 158]

Well since you’re answering questions, there’s a couple of things I was wondering. Is the front sprocket close to rubbing on the frame and does the rear wheel need adjustment. Also, do you prefer the Carlisle aggressor in the back. You’re bike says “BMX”, I love it. Sorry if I come across wrong. My wife says that’s why I have no friends. lol 

[Brian Hays 664]

3 hours ago, reilley1 said:

Yes, but you were just making fun of it. :-)

Absolutely not. I just knew that's what it had to be so I posted that. ;) Just had never seen that before......ya know, because I'm not old like you!

[Curt 117]

Upon a second look that rear rim/tire placement is not centered on the seat mast and/or the brake bridge? In addition as and as dav451 noted the Aggressor tire at the rear? What the......? OK these are my OCD issues as well. 

Let me be clear the bike is perfect.  If voting is now this IS the Bike Of the Year.

Well except Mr. Hays did note the zip ties that need cutting which is back to my problems........

 

[reilley1 353]

Legitimate questions and appreciated.  Wheel is centered though it does look off by a lot in the picture. Don't know why.

The other details deal with the way I try to build a bike to reflect what I actually did on that specific time frame. It changes as the bike time line progresses. 

Rear tire. The ads of the day ( trying to find a pic of it) showed the tire as designed as a rear, therefore no side knobs. It did quickly become a the front tire to have as the transition to 1.75 tires rear tire happened.  I always liked the moto look of tire so if I build a bike as a 75, I just put it on the rear. 

Zip ties: I know it looks cleaner if they are clipped, but again, a mid 70s thing as I never clipped back in the day and most of the bikes I built from that time frame usually are long. The later bikes do have them clipped.

The link: just messing with you Mike Hey. But again, like the rear tire,, a moto reference of the day. Totally dug John's details.

There's other unseen details that are cool to me such as running uncaged bearings on the coaster and trying to find the "right" inner tubes that would have been American made. One of the tubes had a massive blowout way back when and it has a huge patch on it.

And lastly,  I have the satisfaction that I'll never be as old as Spike or Sod. :-)

[dav451 158]

I used one of these in 1975 to get the full moto experience.

[Brian Hays 664]

Mike Hey 

All very valid points. In 1975 I was 4yr old so.......

 

Again GREAT build!