Antique Cycle Restoration
I have loved bicycles my whole life. I’ve gotten good at tuning and maintaining them. I enjoy helping friends keep their bikes tuned up and I like to restore old ones as a hobby. Sometimes I make a small profit breathing life back into ones that need to be spruced up. I have a small collection of my own that I use for exercise, getting around town, and admiring. This is a collection of the ones that I am most proud of.
1946 Schwinn B6
This is the one that started my career in bicycle restorations. I completely disassembled, cleaned, polished and restored to working condition. A conscious decision was made to not repaint the bike but to preserve the imperfections and maintain the 80 years of stories that this machine can tell.
Batavus Flying Dutchman
This style of bike is known in Holland as “oma fiets”, or granny bike. This one was rotting away in a friends back yard when I asked if I could save it. He rode it home from a party 20 years prior and it had been leaning against his shed under the eave ever since.
1945 Junior Toy Co. Tricycle
Restored for a friend. I 3D printed new tread segments for the rear tire. The rest was just cleaning and polishing to keep the memories intact.
1950 Schwinn B-12
I purchased a collection of antique parts for $50. Really, the guy took it apart to restore it and couldn’t figure out how to put it back together. I entered a themed Rat Rod Build-off competition on ratrodbikes.com. I won an Honorable Mention with this build. I really enjoyed the collaborative, competitive spirit of the build-off.
1964 Schwinn Jaguar Mark V
I’ve always loved this build for its resemblance to the iconic Schwinn Sting-Ray—but scaled for an adult rider. It remains part of my personal collection after tying for first place in a rat rod bike build-off.
When I found it, the bike had been locked in a storage trailer for 21 years. It had a tired coppertone finish, with a slimline tank and a 2-speed Bendix hub. I picked it up for $50 and took on the challenge of rebuilding it into something far more compelling.
All frame components were sandblasted and I refinished them in a glossy metallic coat that reflects the richness of the original coppertone. The result is a one-of-a-kind rat rod cruiser that preserves the Jaguar’s vintage character, but with way more attitude.
1973 Indian Mini 50cc
A close friend asked me to restore an Italian-made minibike he had owned since childhood, with the goal of transforming it into a display piece for his music room. The bike had spent years in storage, and the project became a careful, year-long process of complete disassembly, cleaning, and restoration.
Every component was meticulously cleaned and preserved to maintain its character while bringing it back to life. The final display came together through a small collaborative effort: a custom birch base, generously donated by a friend, and a welded metal stand fabricated by a colleague, resulting in a piece that now serves as both a personal artifact and a conversation centerpiece.