Just a thought!

You could consider a bike rack and use a nice looking battery bag! Use that option on my recumbent trike conversion for the exact same reason. I did not like the down tube look on my trike. Felt like it made things look more busy if that make sense. I can send a pic if you like. You can't really tell there's a battery in the bag. Topeak has several options that looks really slick. They have some quick release options for the rack and the bag. This way you can easily remove both if you like.

One more thing! Since i was going to use a rack w\bag, I went with a PVC battery that does not have a case around it. Only the plugs for charging and connecting to power bus.

Hope that helps 😉

That's a beautiful Schwinn S.MacAulay. Owning a couple of classic Schwinns, I'm so conflicted about doing an electric conversion. My '79 Schwinn Voyageur isn't Chicago made but rides like a dream and I don't want to alter it. My '67 Varsity Sport has to weigh about 40 lbs and it feels like it. LOVED the Schwinn I had back in the day but seems cruel now that I used to ride a brick of a Varsity as a kid in the 80s. A conversion would make the Varsity so much more ridable but I don't think it would look nearly as cool to have the bulky battery on the down tube. Would be cool to see JohnnyNerdOut show some builds that put a bit of focus on form as well as function.

You should be able to with a few adapters. I'm assuming the bottom bracket will be larger in diameter than the motor shaft. For the fender, I'd use conduit hangers to hold it. Attach to the seat tube and it should be fine. Took me a while to figure out that trick.

Could I mount a motor on this bad boy and still keep the chain guard? Do you see any reason why this wouldn't be a good idea?

I have the same question. I wish to convert a sixties Schwinn, too. See you on the other side.