Columbia Convertible Commuter *FINISHED*

[The Renaissance Man]

Thanks Chad and Carl.
Here's what's going on inside of the tank:

 

[GuitarlCarl]

Nice smooth curves, rather than an abrupt bend.... cool.

Carl.

 

[The Renaissance Man]

Since I've been working on routing the cables, I decided that I need to finish everything that has to be done to the tank so that it'll be ready for body work and paint as soon as the time comes.

The only thing left to do is mount the lights and switch. I carefully drilled a pilot hole in the center of the headlights and followed with a step drill.
And then this happened:

I've had holes to creep off center before while drilling on other tanks, but never like this! I had always just attributed it to human error. I new for sure though that this had started in the center, so I started looking closer to find out what the problem was. Then I noticed looking on the inside that the fiberglass was thicker on the long side of where the hole is off center. So apparently the drill tends to drift toward the thinner material because it cuts through quicker and with less resistance. And because I'm using a hand drill, there is nothing locked down to keep it from traveling.

Luckily, this will be a much larger hole when it's done. Fiberglass is very easy to drill, so I'll go slower and push the drill back in the other direction to fix the problem. More on this later. Just stopped for lunch and am about to get back to it.

 

[The Renaissance Man]

I was able to get the holes back to center. It looks like big air scoops now.

 

[gowjobs]

I was able to get the holes back to center. It looks like big air scoops now.

Hmmm... frenched/tunnelled headlights?

 

[pebblewurm]

Time for some stainless mesh in there!

 

[Fv2]

I was able to get the holes back to center. It looks like big air scoops now.

Kinda looks like a steam punk,star wars helmet ship thing.

 

[Chad T]

I'm def stealing all your cable ideas if I ever get one of those tanks. My brother has a girls spaceliner collecting dust at his place...hmmmm...(I'm already going to use that potts stem bolt deal on my next build.)

What's that black band holding the 3 rear cables together?

 

[kingfish254]

Those do look like scoops now.
Great cabling work

 

[Fv2]

Agree with Chad T, save a tank for me RenMan. Wife's been wanting me to build a bike for her and I have a nice chrome frame for it,even know a place that chrome plates fiberglass.
That would be cooler than dangit.

 

[Funkme]

Lookin good RM.

 

[Chad T]

I have a nice chrome frame for it,even know a place that chrome plates fiberglass. That would be cooler than dangit.

Somebody HAS to do that with one of these. That frame my bro has is chrome too. I was thinking carbon fiber vinyl wrap on the tank + a road bikey time trially thing.

Could I get the headlight holes pre-cut?....you do that real nice..

 

[OddJob]

Thanks Chad and Carl.
Here's what's going on inside of the tank:

This bike has a high cool factor! I am assuming you want it as a rider too. In that case, I would definitely hook up the cables and the drive train and try to shift and brake before I finish off the tank. Even though the curves are smooth, they are fairly tight for a cable route and I can see a lot of drag happening affecting both shifting and braking. If you are completely sold on this idea no matter what, at least consider Teflon coated cables....

 

[The Renaissance Man]

Hmmm... frenched/tunnelled headlights?

Now that would be cool! I may have to do that on the next one.

Time for some stainless mesh in there!

Another cool idea!

Kinda looks like a steam punk,star wars helmet ship thing.

I'm def stealing all your cable ideas if I ever get one of those tanks. My brother has a girls spaceliner collecting dust at his place...hmmmm...(I'm already going to use that potts stem bolt deal on my next build.)

What's that black band holding the 3 rear cables together?

Got a tank waiting for you anytime.
The black band is just electrical tape for now. It may not need anything, but if it does, I'll probably use something else like heat shrink.

Those do look like scoops now.
Great cabling work

Thanks B.

Agree with Chad T, save a tank for me RenMan. Wife's been wanting me to build a bike for her and I have a nice chrome frame for it,even know a place that chrome plates fiberglass.
That would be cooler than dangit.

Just let me know when you're ready for one!

Lookin good RM.

Thank you ma'am!

Somebody HAS to do that with one of these. That frame my bro has is chrome too. I was thinking carbon fiber vinyl wrap on the tank + a road bikey time trially thing.

Could I get the headlight holes pre-cut?....you do that real nice..

@c1run1 did a chrome tank last year. He partially painted it also. Scroll down to post #7 HERE.
It's interesting that you brought up carbon fiber, I had been considering that also! I'll leave that one for you since you brought it up first. Send me a conversation when you're ready and we'll talk about the holes.

This bike has a high cool factor! I am assuming you want it as a rider too. In that case, I would definitely hook up the cables and the drive train and try to shift and brake before I finish off the tank. Even though the curves are smooth, they are fairly tight for a cable route and I can see a lot of drag happening affecting both shifting and braking. If you are completely sold on this idea no matter what, at least consider Teflon coated cables....

Nah, it doesn't have to be a rider, it only has to look good in photos for the build-off, right?
But seriously, I appreciate any and all advice! I haven't bought cables yet, so I will definitely want the least amount of friction possible. I did try the shifter cables (not hooked up) and it seemed to operate pretty easily.

 

[The Renaissance Man]

I found some cool little LED flashlights this past weekend at a flea market. The black anodized aluminum bezels caught my eye and looked like about the right size for the tank, so I scooped a few of them up and headed home. After fooling with them and thinking about how to make them work, I decided to go for it.

This is why I cut the large holes yesterday:

It's not mounted yet, just stuck it in the hole.

 

[pebblewurm]

C'est tres cool! I like bugeyes.

 

[Fv2]

C'est tres cool! I like bugeyes.

I found some cool little LED flashlights this past weekend at a flea market. The black anodized aluminum bezels caught my eye and looked like about the right size for the tank, so I scooped a few of them up and headed home. After fooling with them and thinking about how to make them work, I decided to go for it.

This is why I cut the large holes yesterday:

It's not mounted yet, just stuck it in the hole.

I love cheap little LED flashlights,so many options.

It does give it a bit of a bug eye sprite look.

 

[kingfish254]

Nice lil lights. They work well there

 

[The Renaissance Man]

Because of the egg shape, it was going to be hard to line them up without it looking like Marty Feldman.

So I cut some cardboard 'washers' to use as guides to keep everything straight and parallel when I epoxy them in later today.

 

[billy bob customs]

Thought this was cool some Bmx history of day gone by

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I remember when this article came out. I went down to the basement of oir house and used a hollowed out lamp post bolt and drilled and tapped the wedge nut in my stem.. I was the envy of all my friends and spent the next few weeks doing that to everyone elses bikes..i was 15-16 years old. I'm amazed that the cheap thin walled lamp post bolts never broke and someone getting hurt. We road like that on quarter pipe ramps and whatnot too. Pretty cool to see this article, I haven't thought about that in years