"Orange County Rat Chop-Suey" Update 9-12

[Boris]

Stickman... I feel like we have been with you every inch of the way with your bike!She is a Beaut!!! Well done mate!!!

[FunkyStickman]

:D Stickman... I feel like we have been with you every inch of the way with your bike!She is a Beaut!!! Well done mate!!!

Thanks again, Boris! As much as I love building this thing, I'll be glad when it's done and I can start on the two other cruisers I picked up...

The bike is officially finished, I'll be taking pics of it tonight and posting them up before midnight. Cheers!!!

Unless of course, somewhere down the road I find a local guy who does pinstriping...

[BlsdEsq]

[/quote] The bike is officially finished, I'll be taking pics of it tonight and posting them up before midnight. Cheers!!![/quote]

Hey, it's AFTER midnight on the westcoast and I dont see no stinking pics...j/k... Can't wait!!

[herr_rudolf]

Too bad people didn't get a chance to comment on your bike in the finished thread 'coz...

It turned out pretty cool. More so if you think about where that frame came from. You've really made an unpopular (not to say ugly) look sooo darn cool, it really opens up possibilities for framechoices for bikebuilding. I never liked bikes that are 'factory-custom', but it's bikes like these that make me wonder if I HAVE to use mixtes or regular roadbikes and try to make cool.

Thanks. Well done!

[FunkyStickman]

Hey, it's AFTER midnight on the westcoast and I dont see no stinking pics...j/k... Can't wait!!

Sorry about that! I posted the finished pics in the Build-off section, it was so close to the deadline I didn't have time to update the build thread here. I got everything uploaded and posted around 11:00 my time, and I just passed out afterwards.

Too bad people didn't get a chance to comment on your bike in the finished thread 'coz...

It turned out pretty cool. More so if you think about where that frame came from. You've really made an unpopular (not to say ugly) look sooo darn cool, it really opens up possibilities for framechoices for bikebuilding. I never liked bikes that are 'factory-custom', but it's bikes like these that make me wonder if I HAVE to use mixtes or regular roadbikes and try to make cool.

Thanks. Well done!

I really appreciate that, Rudolph. I knew I was cutting it close... I"m sure once the gallery is up and Steve unlocks it, I'll get a few comments on it. And yeah, thinking outside the box is kinda what I do. You could do anything, like a limo boardtracker, or who knows what. There were some very creative bikes, and some of them I wasn't too sure about, but nobody says they have to follow a specified format! And I love it. It's gonna be hard to pick favorites.

Okay, for you guys who want to see the completed worklog, here goes. And thankfully, my good camera works now, so we got pretty photos! And if you look closely, yes the bike is dirty... I rode it 2 miles to the photo spot during a drizzle. But I had to get it done.

When we last left our hero, I had just made some dice valvecaps for it. I drilled them out and pressed in regular caps.


I thought about buying a RRB bumper sticker, but I didn't think of it in time, so I busted out the old label maker...


I have been wondering since day one about what to do with the headbadge. Remember how I dented up the top tube trying to get the headset cups out? Now you can't see it. And I didn't want to hide the headbadge way behind the fork crowns... you can't see it back there! So I bent it a little, and viola!


Here you can see the brake arm hanger I made. It's just a small piece of aluminum bar,


Here you can see how ratty the chainring is... I never got around to getting a new one. I like it. You can also see the splatter from riding it in the rain.


The seat I wound up finishing... it was close. I bought some black canvas to put on it, and my wife helped me make a pattern and sew it up. Okay, maybe I helped her. But it's comfy, actually. And cost me around $2 in material. Debbie also stitched white stripes on the outside of the seat (that was my idea) and it came out fine. The cover is made of three pieces, and stapled to the original plastic seat pan.


And here's the finished product:




Well, now that RRBBO4 is closed, I'll "finish" the bike later on. I had plans for making some nice plates to go on the sides of the tank area out of red mother-of-pearl. I'd also like to pinstripe it, but I didn't have time to learn myself, and I couldn't find anyone locally in time. Still, I'm not ashamed to say it's done: but you know how it goes. It's never really finished. And yes, I know as kids the first thing we did was strip the reflectors off the bike, but this bike will see some use on the road, so I didn't want to take chances. It could also really use an old-style headlight, and a horn. *sigh* here I go again...

[BlsdEsq]

Very cool!!! Your build turned out fantastic!!

[Boris]

Very cool!!! Your build turned out fantastic!!

Here here!

[Boris]

[Here here!

This forum makes me sound to English....

[deorman]

Engle? Ich?

[FunkyStickman]

'S allright, we think you're a cool bloke. Anybody who like the Blues Brothers is okay in my book!

Thanks, crew! I wasn't sure how my bike would stack up, but I think it's going to do fine. I brought it to work with me today to show all my work mates, it barely fit in my car's boot! I had several people ask to ride it, and my one friend who's into fast road cycling was extremely impressed with the gearing and brake system. I was proud like a new father.

Now I'm all nervous! How will I do? Will it be enough?!?

Who cares! I am loving it!

[FunkyStickman]

Just a fun update, I rode the bike 14 miles this morning, and had no issues with it. It's comfortable! I averaged about 12 MPH, the same as on my aluminum mountain bike. I'm a happy boy! I had to zip-tie a bottle cage to it, there's no bosses for one... and I stuck my saddle wedge under the tank in the frame, it wouldn't fit under the seat, either.

I declare this project a complete success! And man, did the road bike carbon/spandex guys I met look at me funny... I think they were jealous.

[FunkyStickman]

Ugh.... went to ride the bike today, and I noticed the seat would occasionally rub on the back tire... sure enough, the 1" layback seatpost had bent, bulged out right where it goes into the seat tube. I guess it's just too far, with too much weight on it at a bad angle. I must have hit a bump with it and didn't notice. I'm shopping for a 1" or 1-1/8" seat post that will not bend. The longer and stronger, the better. I'm wondering if a layback post will work at all for me on this bike, because of how far I have to extend it to ride comfortably.

I suppose I could get a 1-1/8" post and shove some 1" pipe inside of it to reinforce it. Or another 1" layback (they're only $10) with a 7/8" pipe in it. Any thought, folks? I've spent too much time and money to give up because of a bent post. I need to come up with a solution.

[Boris]

Ugh.... went to ride the bike today, and I noticed the seat would occasionally rub on the back tire... sure enough, the 1" layback seatpost had bent, bulged out right where it goes into the seat tube. I guess it's just too far, with too much weight on it at a bad angle. I must have hit a bump with it and didn't notice. I'm shopping for a 1" or 1-1/8" seat post that will not bend. The longer and stronger, the better. I'm wondering if a layback post will work at all for me on this bike, because of how far I have to extend it to ride comfortably.

I suppose I could get a 1-1/8" post and shove some 1" pipe inside of it to reinforce it. Or another 1" layback (they're only $10) with a 7/8" pipe in it. Any thought, folks? I've spent too much time and money to give up because of a bent post. I need to come up with a solution.

How about a piece of solid bar? heated and bent? ...bit too heavy maybe?

[FunkyStickman]

How about a piece of solid bar? heated and bent? ...bit too heavy maybe?

Yes, I think it would be too heavy. Two seatposts (one inside the other) should be strong enough. I'll have to not extend it quite as far, but we'll see. I'm thinking a 1" layback with a 7/8" inside it would be plenty strong enough, and not a lot heavier. Has anybody tried this before?

[FunkyStickman]

Okay, I found an old straight 1" seatpost from one of my junk bikes. It fits, it's shorter so I don't think it will bend... I might still reinforce it, though. I'll take a pic later tonight.