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Most people one way or another flock to some kind of art/art work something that was created by man rather than a computer. (The Human Connection / vision to a blank canvas and when we do so the old can become the new and others will gather around and reply or think why didn’t I think of that?) Kinda like comparing a Toyota Prius to a 59 Chevy Impala. One car looks like a giant wedge to shove under a door and one looks like a work of art. Which One? You be the judge. Why is the Klunker bike becoming popular again? For exactly what I said above? Look at a vintage Track Bike with a Lugged frame you can still get a bike like that new built by a Master Frame Builder in Japan. Those bikes are built by a man with a torch rather than a tig welder and not mass produced. A single speed bike simple that can reach speeds up to 60mph clean. Check out the Nitto Jaguar hand-bar stem with the deep MJS Nitto Deep Drop bars and the huge 50 something chain ring these bikes run. You take a few steps back and take it all in and what you’re looking at is the Art off the bicycle. No cables / No space age carbon fiber. A simple bike built by man. The Klunker has the same vibe only it is not for a smooth oval but rather the bike to explorer and to challenge one self to conquer places and hills you thought not possible on a single speed or minimal amount of gears like the way the successful generation used to do it. Klunking is not for powder puffs. As the saying goes you weekend warriors Klunkin ain’t easy. Even on the street you face a hill you charge it at the base full on and you might be amazed almost out of steam at the top but you made it anyway con grad you made it. And you thought you were gonna walk it over the top. How embarrassing. What if the ladies are watching ? If you conquer them hills you might be successful in life. A Klunker will teach you not to quit. Klunkin is Bicycle Boot Camp are you Inn ? We have new production bikes these days but still the old thirties to sixties style is still apparent the appeal is still remains. The curved top tube to resemble something like a old BF Goodrich balloon tire bike is still there along with the sweeping curved rear tubes that join the rear axial brake. ( Style ) The art of the bicycle that is the Draw of the Klunker for Someone that is looking for something different. We are lucky these days because there so many parts that we can add to these rides to not only look better but perform better as well than what was available yesteryear. If your bike looks good you’ll want to ride it. Check out Mone Bikes .com the bike in the gallery called the (Ma Copper) for instance. A new custom hand built bike that looks antique but is modern and almost looks like jewelry in a funny sort of way that says ride me. It has the Human Connection. Even the Surly low side though a modern bike has a vintage look about it. The slope back top tube and the front forks and that tasteful blue color on the example above just has a classic look that is not out of place here on this site as well as the Kona Huma Huma and check out the new Huma that Mark Pilgrim mentions in the Cat Nip build that he informed me of. It has the Klunker vibe as well. Keep in mind the more input and busy this site becomes the more popular the Klunker movement will become that opens up the market for new models if the demand is there. Don’t think the manufactures don’t watch this web. Page. Who knows maybe Klunker D. Has woken the dead. ☠️ (KINDA WHAT EVER WORKS- HUH?) Nice Picture Up Above Mr. D.👨‍🎨

Say Mark did you ever build any fix gear bikes? 🚴 I did. Kinda fun but a little scary at the same time. But what a trip. Once you pedal up to speed the bike kind of pedals it self. But if you run big gears like 54 front chain ring and 14 rear once you get cranking the mean machine becomes haunted like it has a mind of it’s own. You can’t stop it or get launched over the bars. I built three chromoly frame sets but call me a woop as do run a front brake. When not riding them the Track Bikes look bad ass on the hanging on the wall. They really look like art when you hang one with a full lugged frame built by a master builder from Japan. The traditional Chromoly track bike full lugged frame in Japan is like owning a bicycle Samurai. That is a bike deal over there. To fully understand all of that get on YouTube and see if you can pull up the video The French Samurai. It’s about twenty something minutes you will probably watch it more than once. If you ever get into that or build one Retrogression .com is a good parts source for track bike stuff and you might find a part or two that works to fish a Klunker build.They got a lot to look at. I used a different source for my wheels it’s been a while but I think the site is called Veledron .com . They build custom wheels ready to go. On my last build I grabbed a high flanged Spam spoked wheel set with Phill Woods Hubs and put the set on a Fuji Feather frame with Nitto deep drop bars along with the traditional Nitto Jaguar Stem Nitto seat post. Big stiff Dra Ace crank with the biggest Dura ace NJS approved chainring made. It’s as fast as it looks while hanging . Now that is what I call practical Art you can take out and use when your so bored you need to be terrified to stay awake for a week. That bike only stops when it’s dam good and ready or it will throw you to the moon if you attempt. I generally ride these bikes in open low to no traffic area’s running the big gears make em very dangerous but that’s the fun.

“ WOW !” Too bad you mist out but I get it. My left knee that I messed up in December that I had surgery in April is coming along but now my right knee is arguing with my left knee for wimping out for the last several months and I’m left holding the bag being stuck in the middle between the two. The right has a history being under the knife twice due to the wild days. I’ll be sixty nine at the end of summer so there are some hard miles on this body but lived a very full life. I lived in the tail end of a time when you went to work you had money to have or do just about anything you dare please. Fast cars fast boats, water skiing dirt bikes (Klunker Bikes) you name it and all at once. Looking back the America I knew money did grow on trees therefore if you had a job you could live like a high roller right out of high school and the opportunity to do risky things was every weekend. So my knees are telling me to slow down also. (HECK). My favorite ride???? That’s a tough one as that shifts according to my mood. You see everything I have has to have a cool factor or I don’t own it. For myself those are the rules. My rules are don’t brake the rules. If you brake those rules you will not use what you bought because it will not reel you in therefore becomes a waste of money as these days no longer grows on trees. After thinking about it the WTP Avengers probably would be the last Klunkers I would ever sell so I guess that edges them ahead over the rest but not by a lot. I tailored each bike to be my favorite through modifying them to suit. So a favorite is hard to choose. A poor man’s Jay Leno garage for sure. When it comes to running different tires on your Avenger as you can see in the rear there is not a lot of extra room to run a wider tire. I’m going to back check my claim that you or anyone that owns one is stuck with the standard show room size tire as some where maybe a year ago I saw a image of a 27.5 WTP Avenger running tires that were larger than stock. So what I forgot was if you add a half link to your chain that moves the wheel back a bit that makes more room. “Yep!” Had forgot about the half link trick. Thought it is worth mentioning. On mine I did not want to add anymore tire weight to the bike because the Avenger is heavier than my State Klunkers and the big tires weight may soak up some energy at the pedals so decided to stay with the standard size as For my self I like the acceleration and performance as is. My second Avenger is running more of a fifty fifty tire I like. I tend to ride it more than the one with the stock tires because it rolls better. I’ll post the tire and model the next time I oompah Loompa out to the garage. I road one of the State bikes for the first time in seven months what a thrill after being like under house arrest with the knee thing. You can order chain half links easily through Dans Competition. A company that has stuff to trick your Klunker. The perfect source for BMX parts. I got all my BMX stems from them🤠 good stuff.

“ Say Mark ! “ I got to ask. On your State Klunker have the crank arms ever come loose? You have been riding yours for a while and I think you said you haven’t done much to it but ride it. All of mine did with one arm dropping off. Far away from anything. I was glad I had pedals with big studs to ride home on one crank arm. That was it for me and changed them all. Looking back when you brake it all down the only thing holding the crank arms on the bottom bracket was Blue Loctite. At least the WTP has a decent one. If you plan to replace the crank on the State what ever you do stay away from square tapered cranks. I was too optimistic at the time when the crank arm dropped on the Cat Nip Klunker in the middle of a fun ride. The fun probably was why the arm fell off.

WOW you’re lucky to be alive. Got any Motor cycles? Looks to be places to ride off-road like a dual sport would be useful out your way. I always have something on two wheels and a motor. Currently a Honda XR 650L A.K.A. The Pig as it is referred to. All piped up , Header and I Tuned It Up With Large Carb Jets. A Monster . Kind of like a Trophy Truck on two wheels. A foot of suspension travel and thirteen inches of ground clearance with a seat height of thirty seven inches with it weighing in at three hundred forty five pounds and enough torque to rip a house off it’s foundation. Kind of takes a bit to get used to. A Big bike. “ Yep!” Like you I have reeled things back in the world of two wheels when it comes to risk. Those little shots of pain like a nagging wife for your own good from injuries that almost healed but linger just enough to remind you like a credit card statement that you’re body is about maxed out and if you want to ride tomorrow ya better leave a little of what you got left in the bank so to speak. I get it. Especially if you think Gods Bus schedule is running a bit late. ⏰ The best rule while rolling on two wheels is if you have doubts about something your about to do then don’t. Because some where in this new thing/trick that you are about to do there might be a hesitation like freezing up and that won’t end well. You have to react and correct in a stunt breath relax and be good at a split second decisions like a guy running a foot ball or a Nascar driving through a fifteen car pile up with out a scratch. If a rider has lost that edge then just cruising around is good enough if you get enough JAZZ out the ride.🤪