Let’s check out this fully custom State Bicycle Co. Klunker, crafted by Klunkers.ca top-commenter “Gordon S.”
If you’ve perused the comments section of this website, you’ve very likely read some lengthy, fun and interesting comments from “Gordon S.” Well, I eventually convinced him to send in my next “Reader’s Rides” submission.
Gordon is a legit old-school Klunker from the heyday of Marin County. And this is his latest. He calls it “Cat Nip.” In his words: “She’s a fast one and will pick your wallet if you’re not lookin’.”
The Build
This is one of four State Klunker builds Gordon currently has in his garage. Here’s his breakdown, in his own words:
This one can scoot, as it sports the Stermey-Archer 2C polished hub. The bars are Flanders flat-track motorcycle racing handlebars (34 inches wide), with Salsa Hand Grips.
(This will bring the animal out of any Klunker.)
I installed a D K stem, White Industries G30 crank, 42-tooth chain ring (like stock) as well as the Stermey-Archer 22-tooth cog (like stock). I kept the low gear range as it will get you about everywhere. Plus, the 22-cog and 42-ring will drop right in… kick back into second and it puts a smile on your face!
Seat is a Brooks B-67—not too springy, saves your rear rim and most importantly your back if you plan to go fast over the rough-stuff while sitting vertical.
I put in a Kriss King 11/8 headset and an UNO 25.4 602 seatpost, in silver. (Hard to beat for the price.) What else…? TIRES! The HOLY GRAIL. The right tire can make junk look COOL. I think the rear shot of the bike shows exactly that. Tires are Surly Extra Terrestrial 27.5×2.5. They fit no problem and have a flat-resistant belt. The pedals are VP.
The Ride
Cat Nip is built for aggressive rides and set-up for popping wheelies with the leverage you get with those flat track bars, as well as laying it out through the corners with the lower height profile. The bars keep your arm weight down, which I found to provide a lower centre of gravity and more control.
Although there is no crossbar, these bars are made of seamless thicker stock, are far stiffer than they appear and can really transfer input. This is the same bar I ran on the Marin County fire roads from the late 1960s through the ’70s. As you can see, though, this particular bike is not for trail.
That covers about most of the mods. There is one important thing to bring up—if you plan to run this rear two-speed hub, you’ll need to fabricate a bracket for the coaster-brake arm.
Ride your way and have fun!
I just want to clear up the not for trail comment is that the bike is set up for dirt but what I mean by trail is the real tight between tree stuff as these handle bars are quite the clothes line. The Mone 4.5 rise with the cross bar Klunker handle bar is a very similar animal as they are only two inches less in width the rise is close and are notably pulled back as a good 👍 period correct option for a Klunker build may I add. Best suited for the brisk wide open thing not the stop and sniff the flower stuff. What is klunkin? At the end of the day it’s about meeting up with your buddies at the local Pub sipping on a sun downer telling a story about how you just dodge being a wet spot on the base of a redwood with the cross and them flowers I’ve been talkin about next to it just a few hours ago. Now that’s the true celebration of life.
Thanks Gordon! Hope you get a chance to share this post with your Klunker community.
Gordon,
RE: if you plan to run this rear two-speed hub, you’ll need to fabricate a bracket for the coaster-brake arm.
Does the State Klunker not come standard with a coaster – brake arm?
Or are you just building from the frame set?
Please clarify..
The State Klunker comes with a brake arm as stock. However where the brake arm bolts to the frame there is a bracket welded to the lower chain stay that doesn’t float left to right or right to left like the average coaster brake set up with a sheet metal strap as found on like your old three and single speed Schwinns. What I ran into with the Stermey Archer 2C hub was the brake arm on two different State klunkers that I installed these hubs on the brake arm was right in line perfectly with the welded anchoring bracket on the frame and did not fall to the left or right to allow the install of the bolt to hold the brake arm in place. So easily done I made a template to suit the look and function of adjustability and transferred into a drop bracket with a little offset and is fully adjustable for and aft when adjusting the chain. All it took was a little peace of flat steel a hack saw center punch and a hand drill a rattle can of black paint plus a vision plus some nice dressy stainless hardware to give it a vibe like no other. Kind of 🤩 fun for this old Hot Rodder. The other option is to remove the brake arm and put it in a vise and give it a bend to off set the supplied brake arm to accommodate the welded frame arm bracket. That is if you run into the same mounting ops tickle I did. What I found interesting is that using a three speed coaster brake Stermey Archer hub on one of my State Klunker bikes the hub with supplied brake arm bolted right up. I highly recommend putting either hub on these rides. My three speed is excellent on the hills but in high gear can keep up with traffic and in some cases pass it the bike is fast and kept reasonably clean looking 👀 with no extra un needed chain rings etc. to lug around. Too many people buy to much bike. As featured the bike above is one of my favorites nice and clean looking aggressive handling and with the two speed hub you can just get enough speed out of it, not to mention it’s comfortable to ride all day and is a pound lighter than my Wethepeople Avenger 27.5 single speed Klunker cruiser rides if you run a White Industry 30 G crank. The G stands for gravel. Anyway probably more than you need to know but I hope all out there have vision for your bomber bike and get them posted. Mine are all a blast to ride even if time is limited it ‘s fun just to jump on one and sprint down the street, pop a few wheelies hit some banked asphalt for a few minutes and put it away. Have some fun let off some steam / time out and then go back to the stuff that is in the way of fun freedom.
Thanks for the clarification Gordon.
Is the three speed Stermey Archer as dependable in your experience? Shifts the same way as the Stermey Archer Duce speed, just with an extra back peddle…
This is to Mark. At first my first ride on the Stermey three speed hub was running outstanding but after about two hours into the ride on the way home the set up started not holding gears. So I limped home. I had a strong feeling that this was nothing to do with the hub it self but the adjuster as well the cable it self. Or in plane language something simple. After inspection 🧐 I noticed doo to bumps on the trail and rough un maintained streets in my area Nor. Cal. the adjuster lock nut or for you young unns the new name is jam nut vibrated loose normally tighten the jam nut by hand after adjustment so one dose not need tools if needed to adjust do to maybe cable stretch out on a ride. Some mechanics use pliers but after a while the adjuster gets shredded after repeated adjusting. So I found if you use mechanics gloves and for me that’s what I wear when klunkin the gloves give you an excellent grip on the adjuster and jam nut to snug without buggering up the adjuster. “SO!” Problem fixed? Well sort of. The bike would shift well and then sometimes not hold either low or high gear. Do to the heat of the nice sunny day the cable housing got relaxed and developed a sag going down the lower frame tube as routed that was not like that at the beginning of the first ride with the new set up. This can cause un accurate shifting on a three speed as cable can kind of bind or not be the true position of the shifter it self translating to the hub witch gear chosen. The easy remedy was just to add a extra cable support fastener at the middle of frame tube just above the water bottle lug so tie will not be allowed to slide down the frame and the cable will stay true and straight down the frame. After just snugging the adjuster with wearing mechanics gloves 🧤 and adding the extra cable support fastener I have put on about six hundred miles of brisk riding with no problems at all dependable yes just needed a couple of simple finishing details. Things to know about three speed internal hubs is when shifting it is not recommend to peddle or putting a load on the hub until after gear has been chosen. Simply a pause in peddling like letting off the gas when shifting a car with a manual transmission. So the only down side of the three speed is that the bike is touch more cluttered looking with running the one cable but with the hub sporting a coaster brake there are no hand brakes to add more weight or clutter. Saving weight on a bike is a big deal. Think about it if one adds one pound to your favorite bike if you spin the crank a thousand times you just moved a thousand maybe un needed pounds. In the end and this is just my opinion , three speeds that cover just about a lot of different conditions no hand brakes or derailer means less weight not to mention the possibility of the chain falling off with the Stermey not likely really has turned the State Klunker bike along with other mods has really turned the bike into a whole new animal. Light in it’s class fast and aggressive. This set up says bring it on powder puffs. For some reason I could not get the images through of the three speed to the Klunkers Ca. Site. However I tried posting it on the State Bike Co. site under the reviews for the black standard model and it got through as they posted it on page eleven under reviews. Tap and scroll the pictures and you will see how I have the cable run the bike title is the Widow and also next to it is the Bandit dressed in black and gold with the theme description. Last I looked on the black State Klunker bike reviews there are about 270 reviews and 26 or 27 pages plus images good to look at to give you ideas how or what you want to get out of your ride. In the end Klunkers should be kept simple and fun, are you riding too much bike? Long answer but I hope this will help you decide witch hub the two or the three. If your only going for one build go the three speed you’ll pretty much will have it all / 18 rear cog and the standard 42 teeth up front but when possible dump that standard crank set State furnishes. It’s horrible.
Correction State Bike Co. now has 272 so the images of the Widow and the Bandit bikes are at the top of page twelve now. It’s good to look at if for only one reason to see same that model bike with different trim color theme’s. Here on this page it’s black and blue. The Widow black and red. The Bandit black and gold. The three different images of the same model bike will give you a good idea if you want to spruce up your ride. If the bike looks cool 😎 then most likely you will want to ride it instead of collecting dust. Klunkers are about as much fun as you can get on a budget. Ride while you trick it.
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Gordon S. Will the stock State seat post and stock clamp work with a Brooks B67? Or would I need the B66. Single rail vs double?
Mark P
Yes the stock seat post on a State Klunker should work I don’t see any reason it wouldn’t as the top clamp is like the old Schwinn and the B67 was and has been the only seat I ran on my 50’s Klunkers back in the day. In today’s world the only currant production Klunker bike that comes close to the original is the State bike. Even the seat post Dia. has been kept the same as the old days. However after 2021 State changed the fork angle to a few degrees steeper which gives a less of a slack steering feel and less of a down hiller feel and more of a BMX type of technical trail handling and of course the taller wheels the frame accepts as well as wider tires which I think is a plus. If the handle bars you are running let you sit up strait then the B67 I recommend. The springs are not too spongy but will save your back from injury. That is a must if you choose to ride fast over even moderate terrain because by the time you stop a general ride your back has taken thousands of Jolts. The small Jolts add up and multiply. If you do not want a seat with springs and run the Brooks B66 than your better off with a lower flatter handle bar to save your back. However the trade off is by leaning forward with the lower set of handle bar a lot of weight and jolts are going to attack the elbows. If I ride my WTB Avenger bikes too often my elbows start protesting doo to a more MTB riding position and the stout ridged front BMX type fork. So just be aware. This is just my opinion after fifty eight years of riding Klunkers the B67 not only gives your ride the look but will keep you from pain and injury. The springs are not there just for comfort. Keep in mind doo to the rising inflation the longer you wait to purchase the seat the more expensive it will be. When I did my recent Klunker builds in 2022/23 my B67 seat cost was about 110.$ now they are 150.$ plus depending on where you buy it. But what’s your back worth? The B67 comes in men or women’s so be aware when ordering.
This is to Mark. If you are in doubt about the seat post clamp mount to the Brooks B67 rails just look up the images on page 6 the Bandit also page 9 the Widow on the State Klunker section under reviews. Tap and scroll the photos being three of each bike you will see that the lower rail sits by it self just like a B66 or like the stock seat so it should drop right on. The B67 lower mounting rail would mount like any other seat. Though I’m running the UNO 25.4×350 post on those two bikes it’s not necessary. The stock post is just fine to use. I go back to the State Klunker site to see what’s new or where they put my bikes. They have moved them a few pages closer to the front. I also noticed in just a few months the reviews have jumped from 272 to 312 so it still remains to be popular. It is good to see that many people are going back to this simple category of bike whether it’s the State or the others on this site. I wish Kona and Transition would bring their models back.
Thanks for the extensive responses Gordon. I have always ridden very narrow seats on my Kona Mountain Bikes and Diamond Backs, The B67 would be a totally different experience. My Bontrager and Kona seats have been great. Ever get to the Denver geography?
Mark P
Bontrager? Hey by the way they make great tubes. I’ m running their 27×275 tubes in my 26×250 and 27.5×250 tires and found they keep the air for a great deal of time. No flats. I have been running eight Klunkers that way. My air pump collects a lot of dust these days.🤠 As for Denver for me I’m 68 years too late. Like California it lost its COOL factor along time ago. Back in the day Colorado and California had a big time vibe, the place to be big time. Now it’s just as well to stay put. One place is becoming like another. Though I’ll bet rural Colorado is still killer. I flew over it 2008 and still looked in tacked. Anyway the next time you swap tires check out those tubes. If you get lazy about filling the those fat tires the mention above may be your ticket to a get on and go kind of day that can last several weeks.
Hey Gordon,
I just bought one of the last We The People Avenger’s on the planet.
There are still a couple up in Michigan, Santa Cruz had one too.
Anxious to get it set up. First Disc breaks ever! Are they a pain to maintain? My came from the East Coast.
Happy Trails!
Mark
Con. – Grad. Mark Yep a bit more fuss with the disc brakes and with the ones on your ride should be flushed about every couple of years being hydraulic. I should do that myself but when that time comes I let the local shop do that as well as inspection because they are more savvy about it and brakes are a safety issue anyway. It’s cheap and doesn’t cost much plus a peace of mind that a pro did it. Like to hear the feed back, your thoughts after a few hours of riding the WTP Avenger. If you like those big blocky nylon pedals it comes with but want to go metal I highly recommend the Race Face Atlas model in black they are killer for this unique ride. God must have made those pedals just for this bike. They not only belong on it but you can really lay some power to the ground with that big foot print they provide plus they look dam good on it. The down side to those pedals is the price but the performance you get is worth it. I did not care for the green trim on mine such as seat post clamp crank collars and stem spacers. I felt it needed something more to tie the visual in. So I ordered two sets for both my WTP AVGR’s of tricked green plated handle bar stem bolts from Dans Competition. That so little did so much and made the look complete. A cheap fix.🤫 One thing I may be wrong about is being limited to the 2.35 width tires. The forks have room for a wider tire. But the rear you might as well if you install a half link on the chain to get more clearance as wheel will naturally need to be moved to the rear a touch. If you ever plan to go bigger. For me I decided to keep running the stock width to keep the weight down. I like how the bike performs at that weight. WTP says it’s a bike for a little of everything I agree what about you? When I want to ride something different I grab the Avenger. It has a vibe of it’s own. Not easy to come by. Kind of a collector. The twenty twenty one models didn’t hit the States until mid twenty four and not many. A very limited run.
Gordon,
I have the stock WTP Avenger bike built up and ready to roll. I will give you a report when I get some rides in. I have been sick with something that was making the rounds and am just getting out again and have been riding my State Klunker after some snow and slop not wanting to have to deal with slopped up drive train and disc rotors till I acclimate and get some transitional rides in!
Do you have the SHIMANO “BL-MT200”, hydraulic disc brakes on your Avengers or the CLARKS CLOUT MODEL.
Mine shipped with the Clarks.
The Race Face Atlas pedals in black
are a work of art! Maybe I can swing em soon. Got to lay low on spend with my wife for a season!
My typical rides on my State Klunker is about 20-26 miles out and back 4-6 days a week. What can I expect in added effort with the Avenger’s 42T x 18T over against the State’s 42t Crank with 22t gearing?
I love my State but often quickly outrun and max out on top speed on flats.
Looking forward to having more capability and sustain when passing and holding off the roadies…
Expect some WTP AVENGER feed back in the near future..
Mark P
Hey Mark! Been avoiding the sight because it makes me want to ride but have a small terrier in the meniscus left knee. However Surgery in two weeks will remedy that. Been there with the other thirty plus years ago. So this is what I recommend if you plan to stick with one State Klunker Bike as follows. What is more important to you the clean look no cables or a shifter more than gearing than the (two speed kick back hub with the 22cog and keep the chain ring 42,) hands down I’m sure you will agree If you chose the two speed after riding it. You will get a lot out of on those two gears. Now the (Three Speed Coaster) If you can put up with one cable and one shifter a little less of a clean look though it’s not bad then the three speed will turn this bike into a bad ass (keep the cog a 18 and the chain ring the 42) with this set up ( three speed 18/42 gears this is what you get performance wise) your first gear will be a tiny bit lower than it is now as a single spd. Will make a wheelie bike .Second is noticeably taller but won’t break the bank climbing a moderate hill, a good cruising gear. (Third Gear) Third gear on the flats with no head wind or a tail wind will turn heads like what the ? That or a slight down hill a old guy like me can keep up with auto traffic or tail gate road bikers 🚴 oh what fun. If you can put up with that small amount of hardware and want a bike that can sing this is what you want. It is important to make sure the cable on this system to not have sags / bow running down the lower tube as shifting and adjusting can become inconsistent and drive ya nuts adjusting though simple was not but figured it out. Just added one more black plastic pull tie and that is history a year of riding have had no need to fuse with it just run cable true to the frame tubes no big bows. Check out State Klunker bike reviews The Widow tap and scroll images run the cable as you see it. Last I looked State Bike had my bike more to the front within the first 16 pages. One last bit of advice if you go three speed coast when you shift than pedal like you would a car with a clutch. I think the three speed dose about everything a seven dose in a smaller lighter hub and that’s the key.
Hey Mark again ! The question on the brakes supplied with the 2021 Avenger almost slipped my mind as I got side tracked with the plumber at the door CHU- CHING $$$$$$$🤬🤯😫😢 OUCH they pride of being home a home owner. Anyway all 2021 models were supplied with the Clarks brakes. Both of mine are running Clarks. These days because of the desperate economic world it is hard to keep up who bought sold or owns the makers of bicycle parts. Is Clarks a SHIMANO licensee’s or part of SRAM ? Who knows. Now ya got me goin and might have ta dig up the answer. I know back in 2017 SRAM had their hands in a lot of bike parts that did not use the name SRAM. Your question has been on my mind for a while when I got the first one June of 24. Bottom line the bike shop that found it and ordered it for me thought and were very impressed with the quality of components and the overall bike for the price. They are a little fussy so if they like it I know it’s a deal. But just for fun if I find out who what. I’ll let you know what who.☃️💨☔️⛄️ Don’t blame ya for not wanting them brakes rust. I’m no different.
To MarK P. WOW to my surprise CLARKS is its own company and has been making bike parts since 1943 and disc brakes for quite a while. Sounds good to me. Now I’ll sleep better. Always good to hear back. Hope things dry up your way.🌤️
To Mark P. So I just looked up State Bikes Site and they moved my three Speed Widow Klunker up closer to the front on the State Klunker reviews.To page 5 tap and scroll the pictures will give you a idea what your bike would look as a three speed along with the way shifter cable is routed with fasteners / blk. Ties I wonder if this is State biggest seller – 318 reviews?