I like the subtle curves of the Hiawatha parked next to my grandfather's car. BTW, this car took my mother to the hospital when she gave birth to me. I've used it for every major life event (graduations, wedding, etc.). I am relieved that it may appear in Indiana Jones, because if anything ever happens to it, I know that it will be immortalized on film for those few seconds. Charlie Hurst |
I was expecting this bike to fulfill several criteria. I wanted a comfortable commuter. In the 12 miles I commute to work I have several hills, a path, and city streets full of potholes and lots of traffic. The ability to jump curbs would be a plus. Dependable brakes are essential. I have a store-bought commuting bike, which does a grand job (except for the curb-jumping and pot holes). It's black and I turn on a bunch of flashing lights for safety. . Rewinding this story a bit, I put together an old Schwinn cantilever for riding gravel roads and fields up in Canada. I need an upright riding position and did not want that to stop me from biking in the backwoods, so I configured the old Schwinn with a front brake, rear coaster brake, spring fork, and 7 speeds. I finished the bike a couple weeks before we headed to Canada. In that time, I used it for commuting and was surprised at how nimble it was on the city streets. I did not want to haul this heavy bike back and forth, so I left it up in Canada. . This bike changed my expectations for what I wanted as a commuter. The few days I used the Schwinn in the city, heads would turn, and even a few people would yell "nice bike"! I also realized that there was a safety factor in being different. Even though the bike did not have flashing lights, people noticed it. . I contacted a few bike friends and asked what kind of frames they might have to sell. Gordon Bradbury came up with another winner: a Shelby Hiawatha coated in red house paint. No guilt for converting a pristine original! As far as I can estimate, it is from 1936-1938. The rear rack is the most sturdy I have ever seen. Imagine a rear rack remaining straight on a kid's bike after 80 years! The frame still had the badge attached with rivets, so I am certain of its Hiawatha name. |
Charlie Hurst: StreetRod Hiawatha |
I was expecting this bike to fulfill several criteria. I wanted a comfortable commuter. In the 12 miles I commute to work I have several hills, a path, and city streets full of potholes and lots of traffic. The ability to jump curbs would be a plus. Dependable brakes are essential. I have a store-bought commuting bike, which does a grand job (except for the curb-jumping and pot holes). It's black and I turn on a bunch of flashing lights for safety. . Rewinding this story a bit, I put together an old Schwinn cantilever for riding gravel roads and fields up in Canada. I need an upright riding position and did not want that to stop me from biking in the backwoods, so I configured the old Schwinn with a front brake, rear coaster brake, spring fork, and 7 speeds. I finished the bike a couple weeks before we headed to Canada. In that time, I used it for commuting and was surprised at how nimble it was on the city streets. I did not want to haul this heavy bike back and forth, so I left it up in Canada. . This bike changed my expectations for what I wanted as a commuter. The few days I used the Schwinn in the city, heads would turn, and even a few people would yell "nice bike"! I also realized that there was a safety factor in being different. Even though the bike did not have flashing lights, people noticed it. . I contacted a few bike friends and asked what kind of frames they might have to sell. Gordon Bradbury came up with another winner: a Shelby Hiawatha coated in red house paint. No guilt for converting a pristine original! As far as I can estimate, it is from 1936-1938. The rear rack is the most sturdy I have ever seen. Imagine a rear rack remaining straight on a kid's bike after 80 years! The frame still had the badge attached with rivets, so I am certain of its Hiawatha name. |
I always wanted to have a bike painted the same maroon color as my grandfather's 1948 Plymouth coupe. I was not so certain about what second color to add. I was going to do black with the maroon, but thought a brighter contrasting color would be better for safety. Then, an amazing turn of events brought the creamy yellow color to the top of the list. With some luck I got to drive my grandfather's car in a couple scenes of the Indiana Jones movie that is being released May, 2008. Even though it will just be part of background traffic for a few seconds, it was a thrill to be a part of it. One scene has a '53 yellow Chrysler convertible parked in front of a church. The Plymouth coupe was parked down several spaces along the side of the church. They were about to shoot the scene when they had me move it up to the first parking space. I have no doubt that move was because of how nicely the maroon and yellow colors contrasted. . OK, back to the nitty-gritty of converting the bike: I hung the bike parts out in the yard and used paint stripper multiple times to clean off the old paint. Having the frame sandblasted would have given much better results, but I did not want to remove the name badge to do it right. [In retrospect, I should not have been so stubborn.] I then carefully taped the pieces and spray painted them using regular rattle cans of paint. If I had the bike painted professionally, I am certain the paint would be harder and more durable. I enjoyed the challenge of creating my own paint pattern, however, and I also wanted to push the limit of my abilities using simple spray cans. |
The frame, badge, crank, chain ring, rear rack, headset cups, bottom bracket cups, and chain guard are all original. I suspect the seat post and various nuts and bolts are original too. The rest of the parts are new. The rear hub is a Nexus 7-speed coaster brake hub, with a rapid fire thumb shifter rather than the usual grip shifter. The front hub is a SRAM VT5000 internal brake. The front fork is a locking Schwinn I bought about ten years ago. The rims are alloy and the tires are Continental Town and Country. I wanted to keep the original head cups because they sat flush to the frame, so I did not use the Schwinn cup that would have allowed the locking fork to actually lock. The saddle is a restored Persons. I bought an Electra seat to use for commuting, but have not gotten a seat clamp (yet) that will allow me to fit the wider seat hardware to the smaller diameter of the old seat post. The handlebars are rechromed Torringtons. The handlebar stem is a Schwinn reproduction to fit the smaller diameter of the reproduction spring fork. The brake handle is a very old British one made of steel (I still need to make final adjustments to the brake cable). The grips and pedals are reproduction. The front fender is reproduction, with notches to fit the struts of the spring fork. . The "cherry-on-top" includes an original Hiawatha Indian head that has been chromed. Another gem is a rear Shelby Supreme fender with an emblem (I took off a front fender) and a recessed reflector. An interesting aside is that they originally used gray putty to cushion the reflector to the metal support strap on the backside of the fender. |
The ride is phenomenal. If I had to pick one word to describe it, that word would be "smooth". It is not sloppy, but surprisingly tight and well-balanced. I am not even aware of the spring fork until I hit a serious bump, and then it does a great job. I credit the Continental Town and Country tires for contributing to the smooth, but capable ride no matter what the terrain is. Riding is also made easier because I added a rear cog with more teeth than what the original Shimano/Nexus cog came with. The bike is anything but lightweight, but the ride is comfortable and attracts second glances- sort of like my grandfather's car. |
I like the subtle curves of the Hiawatha parked next to my grandfather's car. BTW, this car took my mother to the hospital when she gave birth to me. I've used it for every major life event (graduations, wedding, etc.). I am relieved that it may appear in Indiana Jones, because if anything ever happens to it, I know that it will be immortalized on film for those few seconds. Charlie Hurst |
When I showed a friend of mine the pictures of the bike parts hanging from the tree branches and the clothes line, he remarked that they were really big wind chimes! |
The donor bike, as it came from Gordon. |
