Road King

Bringing a 1948 cruiser bicycle into the 21st century.

Let's start this story in the middle of the 20th century, when consumer confidence was high, unions were strong, and American factories were working overtime to satisfy consumer demand and new-found discretionary spending.

Against that backdrop a strange sort of amalgamation of hardware/auto parts/durable goods store was common in even the smallest towns in America. Western Auto and Firestone may have been best known, for these types of stores, but they were far from the only ones.

Obligatory photo of the historic Western Auto building in Kansas City.

At the time, the Sieberling Rubber Company was one of the biggest tire companies in the US, and just like Firestone and other tire makers, they ran a chain of these odd retail stores, selling their tires, car batteries and other various things... including bicycles, which they sold under their "Road King" brand.

And since Sieberling wasn't in the business of making bicycles, they contracted that work out to several different companies that once dominated US bicycle manufacturing.

So that's how the now largely forgotten Monark Silver King bicycle company of Chicago found itself contracted to build this bike:

1948 Monark-made Road King bicycle.
1948 Monark-made Road King bicycle.

Which found its way to me recently.

Monark ceased to exist after 1957, following a buy-out by Huffman/Huffy. Sieberling Rubber made it to the mid-60s before being gobbled up by Firestone, and then later becoming part of the multinational Bridgestone corporation.

I started out buying a classic cruiser, I got a lesson in America's 20th century manufacturing boom and bust. The bicycle is going to get a lesson in how bicycle technology has progressed over the past 75 years.

But, about that bike: I had been wanting to build a classic "Klunker" for awhile. When this one turned up on the local marketplace, I liked the details of the frame, so I threw out a low offer and was surprised when it was accepted. Next thing I knew I was driving a half-hour out of town to pick it up. Once I got it home I took some pics to document the "before" state...

At some point long ago it had been repainted. Possibly with house paint. Also, I've never seen a stem quite like that one before.
At some point long ago it had been repainted. Possibly with house paint. Also, I've never seen a stem quite like that one before.
I believe the drivetrain was all original, possibly even down to the pedals. I do know this: our grandparents mashed some big gears back then.
I believe the drivetrain was all original, possibly even down to the pedals. I do know this: our grandparents mashed some big gears back then.
I really like the filet-brazed frame and the unusual seatstay and chainstay arrangement. I was less thrilled to discover a possible crack by the seat clamp.
I really like the filet-brazed frame and the unusual seatstay and chainstay arrangement. I was less thrilled to discover a possible crack by the seat clamp.
I don't think I'll be keeping this old Mesinger seat. You can get a better view of the neat seatstay arrangement, though.
I don't think I'll be keeping this old Mesinger seat. You can get a better view of the neat seatstay arrangement, though.

I pretty much immediately began stripping it down, and was really pleased with how easy that went. I was prepared for every bolt to be stripped, a rusted-in-place seat post and stem, and all sorts of other horrors. But really it came apart with no problems, just a little penetrating oil and patience.

Stripped down, it weighed in at 8 pounds. No featherweight, to be sure, but only a few ounces more than a modern aluminum mountain bike frame I won't shame by name.
Stripped down, it weighed in at 8 pounds. No featherweight, to be sure, but only a few ounces more than a modern aluminum mountain bike frame I won't shame by name.
When I took out the rear fender about a half-cup of trapped water came dribbling out of the frame.
When I took out the rear fender about a half-cup of trapped water came dribbling out of the frame.
Since the frame was originally built with 110mm spacing for a coaster brake hub, it was going to take a BIG cold-set to fit a modern cassette hub in there. It took a lot of patience and careful checking of alignment, but the old steel took the set well. It now sits at 135mm, ready for modern hubs.
Since the frame was originally built with 110mm spacing for a coaster brake hub, it was going to take a BIG cold-set to fit a modern cassette hub in there. It took a lot of patience and careful checking of alignment, but the old steel took the set well. It now sits at 135mm, ready for modern hubs.
Test-fitting with a spare wheel I had laying around. The string is there for double-checking alignment.
Test-fitting with a spare wheel I had laying around. The string is there for double-checking alignment.
I really debated what color to paint it, but the bike kept telling me it wanted to be white. So I listened. Here it's been sprayed but still needs final wet-sanding and polishing.
I really debated what color to paint it, but the bike kept telling me it wanted to be white. So I listened. Here it's been sprayed but still needs final wet-sanding and polishing.

That's as far as I made it in the first week, but parts were on the way.

August 18: Polishing, modernizing & test-fitting

After wet-sanding and polishing, I was pretty happy with the finish.
After wet-sanding and polishing, I was pretty happy with the finish.

You really can get good results from a rattle-can paint job, but it takes a lot of patience and work. I'm willing to work, but not always patient enough. Nevertheless, I was pretty happy overall with the paint after wet-sanding and polishing, especially considering the number of nicks and divots in the nearly 80-year-old steel. I may still give it a bit more love, but it's really looking pretty good to my eyes.

The original headbadge also cleaned up nicely. I wish some prior owner hadn't "touched up" the paint, but I'm not going to try to correct it -- it can wear it's history. I just wanted to polish the grime off and bring back some shine.

Conversion kit.
Conversion kit.

I put in a nice bottom bracket conversion kit so I can use modern three-piece cranks. I also had a strong and light Sunlite bottom bracket with chrome-moly spindle in the toolkit, so that will save a few grams, too. I considered external bearings and a hollowtech crank, but I'm not sure how well they'd play with the conversion kit, and good quality square taper stuff isn't much heavier at all. Plus I have a lot of good square taper stuff laying around already.

And another conversion kit.
And another conversion kit.

This bike pulled another rabbit out of its hat up front, where I've fitted a threadless headset. Basically, these old American frames used a head tube that's within a gnat's whisker of the modern 1 1/8 standard, so some enterprising souls have taken machined about 0.01 inched off a modern alumninum headset and voila it all fits.

I had a fork I had purchased for the build, but when I put it altogether it looked goofy. So for now I've put a parts-bin GT fork on there, and I actually kinda like it, even in the partially sanded unfinished current state.

Testing bars and stem.
Testing bars and stem.

Since I was throwing some parts-bin bits at it, I added a stem and some bars. Not exactly what I'd envisioned, but I like them for now and the price was right.

Sept 22: Wheels!

I knew when I decided to paint the frame white that I was going to have to introduce some visual interest elsewhere, so I decided to make some pretty flashy wheels, starting with some red anodized SE Racing Wheels.

Very red rims.
Very red rims.

Because BMX and cruiser rims are nearly universally 36 holes, I was a little limited in my choices for 36H disc hubs, but Shimano came through with suitable Deore hubs for a great price. The whole thing was laced up with double-butted black spokes and chrome brass nipples. They are definitely eye-catching.

Lacing the front was straightforward.
Lacing the front was straightforward.
But lacing up a disc rear was far from straightforward. It just about broke my brain, and I had to lace it up 3 times before I finally got it right. The tape was there to help me keep track of things.
But lacing up a disc rear was far from straightforward. It just about broke my brain, and I had to lace it up 3 times before I finally got it right. The tape was there to help me keep track of things.

Once they were finally tensioned and trued, I slapped some Schwalbe Billy Bonkers tires on -- probably my favorite 26" tires -- and they were ready for the bike.

Connecting a derailleur to this thing was going to require an old school claw hanger, and it's surprisingly tough to get a decent one nowadays. A lot of them are very thin and flimsy, or even unthreaded. Next time I take apart an old bike with one, I plan to keep it, as the old ones were clearly made better. But it'll do.

There's a lot more happening on the drive side than Monark ever intended.
There's a lot more happening on the drive side than Monark ever intended.

I dug around in the parts bins and found a little dropout spacer for the other side that I'd saved from some prior project. I wish I knew where I got it, 'cause it's pretty handy.

Non-drive-side dropout spacer.
Non-drive-side dropout spacer.

I was really surprised by how easy the disc brake conversion went. Disc brakes are surprisingly cheap, and the little disc brake converstion/adapter bracket worked way, way better than I expected it to, at least in this case. They don't work in a lot of cases, but on this bike they worked without much trouble. I was shocked. Everything just worked.

The brake side also has a lot more going on than Monark ever intended.
The brake side also has a lot more going on than Monark ever intended.

Cables were managed by some little clip on guides that were pretty slick.

The seat was a bit of a hiccup, as the original post measured 21.78 mm, and nothing is that size. Nothing. So after looking fruitlessly I decided not to worry about it and just cleaned up the original as best as I could. I did have a nice Charge saddle that completed the white/black/red motif.

Most of the other stuff was left over from other projects. Pedals, cables, even the crankset, it was all just laying around, so I went ahead and built it up, at least to establish a baseline.

Freshly built.
Freshly built.

The rear
The rear

And the front
And the front

The baseline is good. It's a fun, fun, fun bike. That said, there are some issues I need to address:

None of this stuff is particularly surprising with such an involved build, and none of it is all that hard to sort out.

October 16: Sorting it out

I continued tweaking and tuning and sorting it out. With a big custom build like this one, it's not surprising.

At this point, I've taken care of most all of my to-do list above and the bike is riding much better. Probably the most visible change is the switch to some massive BMX cruiser bars. This entailed re-cabling, swapping out the shifters and brake levers, and a lot of other small changes. I'm not sure it was worth it, but they do look cool.

The complete bike, hanging out by some rocks.
The complete bike, hanging out by some rocks.

A rear view of the 'finished' bike.
A rear view of the 'finished' bike.

Honestly, I may revert back to the low-rise bars. I haven't decided. I'm feeling pros and cons each way.

But regardless, I think that's about it for this bike, at least for now. Maybe after riding it a bit I'll think of something else I want to do. For now, though, I think I can call this one finished.

That's good, because I've already bought the next one.

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