Id like to echo Gordons remarks. I bought my Super Cruiser three years ago, and was overly anxious about changing bungees. After talking with an old time IA who rebuilds Cubs for a living, he confirmed Gordons method is the simplest and safest. You dont want to be messing with screwdrivers or anything that could turn into a projectile from a snapped or popped bungee. The same IA welded a bungee tool out of 1 square tubing that made it really simple to stretch the bungees over the upper keepers after feeding both ends up through the belly.
The whole job took maybe two hours total, most of which was prep (removing front seat, access panels, ratchet strapping the wheels to relieve bungees, and cutting the old bungees - nothing to be afraid of, just take a box cutter or knife and gently slice - it may snap just a bit, depending on how worn it is, but nowhere near explosive as I expected - I wouldnt suggest trying to hold a razor blade by your fingers and cutting one though!). We did have to spend about 20-30 min rewelding the tool a few times to get the correct angles needed to retain the bungee on the tool until over top dead center, so to speak. Heres some photos showing the tool and how it was used. You can see where there are several holes drilled to obtain the right stretch for each bungee, depending on how many you use (I only installed two 1280HDs per gear, and think three would have been way too stiff for my purposes). Note that we also used vice grips to prevent the tool from moving left or right on the gear truss as it was rotated up and forward to gradually stretch the bungee up and sliding it over the keeper. Ill make detailed measurements of lengths and angles of the tool and post them along with more photos. Next time will be a piece of cake after having done it under the tutelage of an experienced IA! Thanks again Gordon, for your advice and the other bungee tool you sent me.
Shane