Anybody sniffing BO 19 in the air?

[GeePig]

Yes, just go for it.

The trouble with not experimenting is that you fail to reach many interesting decisions that can affect much of your future work.

When I work with digital images I have somehow devised a certain method of creating them. I just put together some test pieces, and then I chose one and go with it all the way to the end, because you learn things at all stages. If you build fully without worrying too much about this one having too be the ideal final product then you end up discovering the differences that the final stages have on this and all your future projects, which means later you can aim for those things.

I have two bikes in my barn that are essentially two different models of the same bike, one with gears and the other a single speed coaster brake. I build and rebuild those bikes, and then ride them around the village and surrounding countryside, then I strip and rebuild them again. This time I am going to make an attempt on a bike I got from a farmer up the road this time - and then afterwards I will think about what I learned, strip it down, think about it, and then modify my pair of bikes.

So strip this bike down, build it again, modify some parts - and then think about the bike you have now produced. If you like it then ride it, if someone wants to buy it then sell it, or simply strip it down and put the parts away. You will then have one finished bike or just a set of parts for the future, but one less part-build, sitting around, nagging at your mind, and getting in the way of anything else.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

I love the name! Just run with it.

Thanks, I just might!

That second option looks great. Use a black and white photo edit to visualize it past the current state colors.
Love the Schwindecisive name too. Just play around with mockups and have fun. You'll eventually find something that speaks to you.

Yeah, it's a good look, but it'd be way too complicated to figure out how to mount the seat right now, and I'd like to avoid any heavy metal fab on this bike if I can. The black-and-white photo idea is perfect! I actually did that before with this bike a few years back. Odds are I'll do that again.

I dig it. Just have some fun with it. You can always change it up again down the road if you want to.

Thanks!

Funnily enough, my original idea for this bike was that I'd start with a clear-coated bare metal frame and fork, and swap out the rest of the parts (tank, fenders, chain guard, seat, etc.,) whenever I felt like switching up the look of the bike. Both of my previous build threads for this bike (here and here) really demonstrate that, especially if you skim through the photos on the first page.

You know what? You guys convinced me. Instead of going for this "dreamsicle hot rod" look I initially had in mind, I'm going to stick with my original idea I had for this bike 6 years ago. I may not go as wild with the idea as I thought I would back when I just got into the hobby, but I think going all bare metal with either black or brown accents would be the best way to build this Schwinn. The only question is do I call it Schwinndecisive with 2 Ns, or Schwindecisive with 1 N?

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Yes, just go for it.

Thanks, I will.

The trouble with not experimenting is that you fail to reach many interesting decisions that can affect much of your future work.

The bigger trouble for me these days is artist's block. I can have all the motivation and ideas for a project, but then the moment I get ready to start on it, my mind goes foggy. When that happens, the more I try to fight it, the thicker the fog gets. It's even worse when I'm tired or hungry, which was certainly a factor yesterday. I love experimenting with all the possibilities for a project, but if I'm suffering from artist's block, there's not much I can do except to try working on something else and hope that clears up the fog.

 

[GeePig]

I know that one, so I write down an outline or get the parts together, so even if the original idea gets forgotten you end up with something to work with. It is a bit like sending stuff out for someone else to work on, where you have to describe what needs to be done. I tend to work on things in short bursts, it gives you time to process what you have done and what you now think you can do.

Things that are unlikely to happen or just have not happened just get stripped down.

I have my usual 2 specials that are usually prepped, an original bike I need to sell, my factory-built bike and the bike that I am working on. Everything else is stripped and the frames stored on the wall or in another barn.

I learned this working in different places where there was usually a car partly prepped in one corner, that had not been touched in a decade, or several on people's driveways, in their gardens or in some lock-ups. I even had those same things myself.

 

[Captain Awesome]

The bigger trouble for me these days is artist's block. I can have all the motivation and ideas for a project, but then the moment I get ready to start on it, my mind goes foggy. When that happens, the more I try to fight it, the thicker the fog gets. It's even worse when I'm tired or hungry, which was certainly a factor yesterday. I love experimenting with all the possibilities for a project, but if I'm suffering from artist's block, there's not much I can do except to try working on something else and hope that clears up the fog.

Very similar to analysis paralysis. The more time you spend on analyzing the data/details, the less likely you are to implement the intended result

One of the few times where one has to tell themselves “good enough”. Put down the pencil and pick up the wrench

In car circles people will often refer to Chip Foose as a verb. Spending so much time planning and drawing that you wind up taking 2 years to build the car. “Foosing it up”

 

[Bike from the Dead]

Very similar to analysis paralysis. The more time you spend on analyzing the data/details, the less likely you are to implement the intended result

One of the few times where one has to tell themselves “good enough”. Put down the pencil and pick up the wrench

In car circles people will often refer to Chip Foose as a verb. Spending so much time planning and drawing that you wind up taking 2 years to build the car. “Foosing it up”

Oh I definitely suffer from analysis paralysis on a regular basis. It practically comes standard when you have both ADHD and OCD like me.

I think going bare metal with black or brown accents will be my "good enough" plan for this bike. The frame and fenders are dented anyway, so to cover that up with paint or powder doesn't make sense. I can build the bike using the parts I have on hand, and it'd be easy to swap out parts when I feel like it.

What I typically do when I build a bike is physically mock up parts first, as 3-dimensional reality will tell you how things will actually look better than a sketch, then I'll trace over a photo of the mockup in Photoshop to help me figure out paint and graphics. If I were building a custom-fabricated bike out of either raw tubing or hacked-up frames, then I'd probably sketch things out first, but I normally wrench first.

It's just that sometimes I have next to no energy to work on something, and when that happens, forcing myself to do it anyway only makes the problem worse. In those cases, I just need to step away and try to focus on something else.

Or in some cases, like this one, all it takes is for me to come up with a silly nickname for a bike I can't decide how to build, people love it, and it gives me the idea to just roll with it and go back to the original plan for this bike I came up with 6 years ago.

 

[Pondo]

Or in some cases, like this one, all it takes is for me to come up with a silly nickname for a bike I can't decide how to build, people love it, and it gives me the idea to just roll with it and go back to the original plan for this bike I came up with 6 years ago.

I like it! Bare metal builds are awesome. Plus they are prime candidates for paint and plate down the road. Which also allows for changing it up as desired.

 

[Bike from the Dead]

I like it! Bare metal builds are awesome. Plus they are prime candidates for paint and plate down the road. Which also allows for changing it up as desired.

My first build was a bare metal bike!

In fact, because I made Dumpster Diamond bare metal, that changed my original plan for that Schwinn. I only had like 5 bikes back then, so I wasn't too keen on having 2 bare metal bikes at the time. Now that I have WAY more bikes than I did back in 2020, I feel more comfortable going back to doing this 1950 Schwinn DX in bare metal. Plus there are plenty of colors that would look just fine next to bare metal, as it's a more neutral color than say, orange.