Schwinn Hurricane

Hello and Welcome.
This is the closest thing I have to a before picture of the Schwinn Hurricane. At this point I had already cleaned-up the frame. It already looks better than I thought it would. I`m glad I gave it a second look. Asking price was about 30.00 However it was "33% off day" for people in my age group. So I snatched it up.

My original plan was to clean it up, put the left-over gangster white-walls on it.(that I took off the Physio-Phat) Then sell it as a basic transportation special. While refurbishing the wheels I started thinking this is a much nicer bike than the Physio-Phat. It has the 70GS shifters and derailleurs and a SAKE three ring crank. Not to mention cantilever brakes and alloy wheels with front quick release skewer.

ABOVE : The wheels cleaned-up beautifully. They look like chrome but are actually polished alloy. At this point I really began to see this bike in a different light.

ABOVE : I finally got this pic right, I usually get this one way out of focus. You can see how close the pins are set on the truing stand and the wheel was almost perfect before I trued it up.I got it down to about a 1/16th gap on both sides with no rub. That`s plenty straight enough for this old rigid mountain bike. I have learned to check spoke tension on both sides before I start tightening spokes.
More than a few times I have found the spoke on the same side as the rub tightened rock hard. Sometimes all that is needed is to loosen a really tight spoke just a hair (half turn or less). A spoke or two that are too tight will cause the same problem as a couple that are too loose. When I say "the rub" I mean where the pin makes contact with the wheel while spinning it on the truing stand.

ABOVE : The rear derailleur and free-wheel cleaned up real good as did the rear wheel, which also needed little truing. There is a scrape on the rear D right near the logo. This is purely cosmetic and does not affect the performance.

Above : The front derailleur also cleaned-up beautifully and has almost no cosmetic damage at all.

ABOVE : I replaced the badly scratched black seat post with a chrome one from my collection of salvaged posts. The saddle was dirty but in perfect condition with no scrapes. So I just gave it a good cleaning and re-used it. I replaced all the cables and housings with new Jag-wire Basics. I did re-use the straddle cables but I did clean them up a little. The SAKE crank is super smooth. I don`t think I have ever seen one spin as easy or as long as this one does. It had been greased recently with white grease. There was no way I was going to take this bracket apart. And I`m usually real big on that. I had noticed the fresh grease first while servicing the front hub. I could tell they had done the bottom bracket and the head-set by the feel and traces of grease left in these areas. The chain is used (salvage) but very good quality so I cleaned it and lubed it and re-used it. After that I took it for a ride to see if it felt as good as I hoped it would.

ABOVE : After the ride, I knew what I needed to do. So I took the tires, pedals with traps and touring rack and lights and eventually the panniers off the Physio-Phat. And put them all on the Hurricane. And I could not be happier! This bike is awesome. I took it for it`s first real ride today and showed it off to my coffee shop buddies. While I will need to make a few adjustments, over-all it is good to go. I might see if I can steal that front half fender off the Physio-Phat as well.

ABOVE : So here it is. I will probably also swap saddles with the Physio-Phat. And I`m thinking about maybe replacing the brake-levers with something more BMX`ey. I am also going to see if I can make that 1/2 front fender work as well. Although I did trim it to fit the Physio-Phat, So it might not work.

Above: Now the Physio-Phat is back to what it was before all the improvements. It is still a good bike and soaks up the bumps real good for a rigid. I will find a good home for it somewhere.

Parliament Update: I knew I said I would not but here is the latest pic of the Parliament Custom Built. Today my vintage brake levers arrived. But there was a slight problem. It seems I only ordered one. The guy I bought it from sells them one at a time. So I guess with him, 1 means 1 not "1 set" like every freak-en body else who sells them. So I got burned. I paid 25.00 for one vintage lever GEEEEEZE! I hope he`s not looking for some positive feed-back, cause he sure ain`t gonna get any from me. Maybe I`ll publish the e-mail I sent him. I think you all will be proud of me. I showed great restraint ...lol... I really did...honestly

So till next time, Please RIDE SAFE and Shop Carefully and Remember to Always RESCUE, RESTORE & RECYCLE
Cheers,Hugh