# Alberta "klunker"



## chandlerpaul361 (Nov 2, 2021)

Hi everyone. First off I am a "Klunker" 73 yrs worth. My downhill bike is a Giant Fathom, with a lot of additions. I also have a dirt jump - slop style which i built myself. And last but not least, my "Klunker" is a 1955, as far as we can tell, ccm 28" wheels, coaster brake and she's a bute.


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## *OneSpeed* (Oct 18, 2013)

Yeah, we're going to need to see pictures of all three of those please!

Oh, and welcome!


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## chandlerpaul361 (Nov 2, 2021)

*OneSpeed* said:


> Yeah, we're going to need to see pictures of all three of those please!
> 
> Oh, and welcome!


How do I get pictures on the site?


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## Brules (Jul 10, 2021)

Take photo with your phone. When you are typing on your phone to post a message, look up above where you type and touch the icon that looks like a square with a mountain and the sun in the top left, and you can select it from there. Or you can hit the camera icon and take the pic and it will embed it automatically. They are both in the top right next to the smiley face.


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## Rev Bubba (Jan 16, 2004)

chandlerpaul361 said:


> Hi everyone. First off I am a "Klunker" 73 yrs worth. My downhill bike is a Giant Fathom, with a lot of additions. I also have a dirt jump - slop style which i built myself. And last but not least, my "Klunker" is a 1955, as far as we can tell, ccm 28" wheels, coaster brake and she's a bute.


Welcome. Glad to see someone older then me (72). 

People want pictures? Nah, they get words from me. Your imagination is far better then 99% of the pictures I see on line. My "Klunker" was a late 50's Schwinn Jaguar. Long gone but it had a three speed gear set, rim brakes and fat(ish) tires and was mostly ridden on dirt cause that's what we had in those days. I don't miss it one bit.

Enjoy the ride.


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## Sparticus (Dec 28, 1999)

I just want to look at it...
=sParty


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## BansheeRune (Nov 27, 2011)

Rev Bubba said:


> Welcome. Glad to see someone older then me (72).
> 
> People want pictures? Nah, they get words from me. Your imagination is far better then 99% of the pictures I see on line. My "Klunker" was a late 50's Schwinn Jaguar. Long gone but it had a three speed gear set, rim brakes and fat(ish) tires and was mostly ridden on dirt cause that's what we had in those days. I don't miss it one bit.
> 
> Enjoy the ride.


Rev, the days of riding fire roads with folks like Joe Breeze are irreplaceable. Good times and great experiences long before disc brakes and 89 speed. 
I ran with a kickback 2 speed that worked very well for the era. Tires were CyclePro 2.125's with of all things, schraeder valve, standard weight tubes cause there were no unicorns, they weren't invented yet! Later, we would install brazons for canti brakes and Mafac were the cat's meow.










Now we were really happenin' with what we called "towing package" brakes! 

Do I miss it? Yes and no. 
Loved the tire colors and simplicity of the bikes of the era tho'.


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## Rev Bubba (Jan 16, 2004)

BansheeRune said:


> Rev, the days of riding fire roads with folks like Joe Breeze are irreplaceable. Good times and great experiences long before disc brakes and 89 speed.
> I ran with a kickback 2 speed that worked very well for the era. Tires were CyclePro 2.125's with of all things, schraeder valve, standard weight tubes cause there were no unicorns, they weren't invented yet! Later, we would install brazons for canti brakes and Mafac were the cat's meow.
> 
> View attachment 1955695
> ...


My Jaguar had Stormy Archer three speed gears with an internal hub not that I had any idea what that was when I was a kid. I'm sure the wheels were 24". We mostly rode single track which we called animal trails because that's what they were. Our riding was the late 50's meaning we predated the California scene here in NJ by a decade or so. The bikes were similar though.

What are called fire roads now were left over dirt roads, rail beds and such from over 200 or so years of iron mining in our backyards. We rode and discovered all types of things. Abandon mines, centuries old forges, deserted towns and building and hunks of iron ore that bounced out of the gravity RR were all part of growing up. We kept riding and forgot about them because, to us, it was nothing special. Just childhood.

What they invented in California was Mountain Bike Marketing. We were just a bunch of kids riding singletrack not knowing there was anything special about it nor ever claiming to invent anything because we didn't invent anything. We just had fun growing up and I still occasionally ride some of those old trails and find the stuff we found over 60 years ago. Only my new SC Tallboy is quite an improvement and makes up for all those decades.


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## BansheeRune (Nov 27, 2011)

Rev Bubba said:


> My Jaguar had Stormy Archer three speed gears with an internal hub not that I had any idea what that was when I was a kid. I'm sure the wheels were 24". We mostly rode single track which we called animal trails because that's what they were. Our riding was the late 50's meaning we predated the California scene here in NJ by a decade or so. The bikes were similar though.
> 
> What are called fire roads now were left over dirt roads, rail beds and such from over 200 or so years of iron mining in our backyards. We rode and discovered all types of things. Abandon mines, centuries old forges, deserted towns and building and hunks of iron ore that bounced out of the gravity RR were all part of growing up. We kept riding and forgot about them because, to us, it was nothing special. Just childhood.
> 
> What they invented in California was Mountain Bike Marketing. We were just a bunch of kids riding singletrack not knowing there was anything special about it nor ever claiming to invent anything because we didn't invent anything. We just had fun growing up and I still occasionally ride some of those old trails and find the stuff we found over 60 years ago. Only my new SC Tallboy is quite an improvement and makes up for all those decades.


All we had in the 60's and 70's for the most part was what we refer to as a wildcat, a conglomerated mess of bike parts. Nothing else existed! The old Schwinn paper boy was a common choice since they were dime a dozen, equipped with 26" wheels and served us with pride! The good thing was, we didn't have axles in 1mm increments at that time! The venerable Schwinn knobby tires, later Cycle Pro with red, yellow, blue or black tread over a skinwall casing. Yus, these were made of rebar and we didn't care, we rode the hell out of em, broke em and searched garage sales for another. 
My buddy had a 5 speed going on, I had the kickback two speed. Awesome that in the era, an internal with wireless shift was available, batteries not included, lest your headlight needed em! 

Marketing, Pfft! it was either raid a for sale ad from the paper, hit a garage sale or go to the bike shop and pay up for new. We were cheap, broke and knew we were going to be less than easy on the bike so... Those days are such good memories! Overbiked meant your buddy had that new bike aroma around his bike!

Back to singlespeed with my Middlechild is reminiscent of that chapter of life. Love the bicycle!


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