RRBBO -Rat Rod Biker Build Off
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moleman flip?
Thanks for the kudos. The flipped frame idea is something I have seen for tallbikes and I love what it does for the geometry. The fun thing is that the seatube of the BMX bike I used fits in the seat tube of the mountain bike, so slip it together and tighten the clamp! I am not going to ride it like that, I will weld or bolt everything together more securely. I am still experimenting with attaching the seat to the frame and what to do with the old BB, but I am thinking of building a tank or panel for the frame.
Thanks for the kudos. The flipped frame idea is something I have seen for tallbikes and I love what it does for the geometry. The fun thing is that the seatube of the BMX bike I used fits in the seat tube of the mountain bike, so slip it together and tighten the clamp! I am not going to ride it like that, I will weld or bolt everything together more securely. I am still experimenting with attaching the seat to the frame and what to do with the old BB, but I am thinking of building a tank or panel for the frame.
that brings back some memories moleman , it was 1965 and I was 5yo.
a neighbor kid come over and shows how to flip my tricycle it was to easy
and very cool ??? at least I thought so , my dad didn't and made me put
it back the way it was...next thing you know out comes a plastic copy
called "The Big Wheel"....that was my start in bike customizing.
I wish I had documented some of the stuff I did as a kid but like so
many of us older guys we didn't....it was just cool at the time !
another story behind the trike flip, I used my dads cresent wrench and
left it on the lawn...dad sure was mad when he found it wedged in the
blade of the mower....a couple days later he hands me a little blue tin
box of tools and tells me to " leave my tools alone "...I was off and
running !
a neighbor kid come over and shows how to flip my tricycle it was to easy
and very cool ??? at least I thought so , my dad didn't and made me put
it back the way it was...next thing you know out comes a plastic copy
called "The Big Wheel"....that was my start in bike customizing.
I wish I had documented some of the stuff I did as a kid but like so
many of us older guys we didn't....it was just cool at the time !
another story behind the trike flip, I used my dads cresent wrench and
left it on the lawn...dad sure was mad when he found it wedged in the
blade of the mower....a couple days later he hands me a little blue tin
box of tools and tells me to " leave my tools alone "...I was off and
running !
here's a tip for you when flipping a frame, those upper stays that now
are at the bottom are a weak link and may seperate so add some
gussets
are at the bottom are a weak link and may seperate so add some
gussets
Well an entire Saturday spent putting up dry wall takes a toll out of your enthousiasm the following morning. I spent half an hour looking at the Black Frak Chopper to figure out how to flip it over and I realised that I was too far in the build to redo everything. This great mod will have to wait for another frame. I reupholstered the seat instead with a black t-shirt and made a handle for the suicide shifter with a dollar store plastic sword.
xddorox the seat tube is an easy mod...you need a hole saw to drill the
crank housing and you cut a slit in the tube below it with a cutoff wheel
or when I was a kid I used a drill with an 1/8" bit made several holes
close together then filed out the excess...stretch a clamp around the tube
and its done.
crank housing and you cut a slit in the tube below it with a cutoff wheel
or when I was a kid I used a drill with an 1/8" bit made several holes
close together then filed out the excess...stretch a clamp around the tube
and its done.
Yeah that's what I figured as well. But I don't have a BMX to cut for the BB and I also have an issue with the derailleur and the shifter. I'm just too far off on this bike to make any major changes. It'll have to wait. I also have to get cracking on the Firetruck Bike for the build off. I want to make an "equipement" box for it behind the seat and a rack. Lots of playing with sheetmetal there.
xddorox, you mentioned using a t-shirt to recover a seat.
That would be a good "how to" to post sometime - how to redo seats.
I have an old cruiser seat that I just now started playing around with and I immediately ran into problems getting a stapler into the small space under the seat to do any stapling - and then getting the staples to go into the plastic easily.
My next thought was maybe I should just use some of that spray on automotive adhesive that you use on headliners, door panels, etc. and glue my cloth to the foam, but I'm not sure if it would hold up to the constant bouncing and stretching and pulling on the cloth.
So if you or any of the others out there have a great way to redo a seat, you might pass it along.
Thanks. RRD
That would be a good "how to" to post sometime - how to redo seats.
I have an old cruiser seat that I just now started playing around with and I immediately ran into problems getting a stapler into the small space under the seat to do any stapling - and then getting the staples to go into the plastic easily.
My next thought was maybe I should just use some of that spray on automotive adhesive that you use on headliners, door panels, etc. and glue my cloth to the foam, but I'm not sure if it would hold up to the constant bouncing and stretching and pulling on the cloth.
So if you or any of the others out there have a great way to redo a seat, you might pass it along.
Thanks. RRD
Since you were using a metal bottom that eliminated being able to use tacks like you see on the plastic bottom seats.
It sounds, though, like the 3M adhesive was enough to hold the cloth and not let it pull lose when you ride on it.
I will get a can of the 3M adhesive and give that a shot on my seat. The seat I'm playing around with is one that came on one of the used bikes I bought so I was mainly trying to see if I could recover it and have it look half way decent.
Thanks for passing along the information and the pics. That's always a big help - to see how someone else did it.
It sounds, though, like the 3M adhesive was enough to hold the cloth and not let it pull lose when you ride on it.
I will get a can of the 3M adhesive and give that a shot on my seat. The seat I'm playing around with is one that came on one of the used bikes I bought so I was mainly trying to see if I could recover it and have it look half way decent.
Thanks for passing along the information and the pics. That's always a big help - to see how someone else did it.
Rat Rod
Owner & Founder
Wanting to get your opinions on an idea.
Wondering if we should allow folks to comment within our build off journals and then periodically I can come in and delete the non-builder posts to keep the threads un-cluttered.
I like it when folks are able to comment on updates that are made, but I'd like to be able to clear them out after I've read them. This will mean more work for me as the moderator, but I think the motivational factor is worth it.
What do yall think?
Wondering if we should allow folks to comment within our build off journals and then periodically I can come in and delete the non-builder posts to keep the threads un-cluttered.
I like it when folks are able to comment on updates that are made, but I'd like to be able to clear them out after I've read them. This will mean more work for me as the moderator, but I think the motivational factor is worth it.
What do yall think?
I think the builder should edit the bottom ofhis original post as he builds and leave the comments below.... it will keep it nic and tight and you can keep the comments .. but editing isnt easy for some newer members so maybe that isnt a good idea... I dont mind the comments left on personaly
Rat Rod
Owner & Founder
Hooch said:
Hmm...yeah, that's another good way of doing it. Of course, for guys like Clothespin' n....that would be a lot of work for him to copy all of those posts he has already made to put all that content in the first post.
I like seeing other members posts in the same thread, since it does make it easy to follow the flow of who said what and what has been done on the bike.
Maybe you can leave it up to the member to contact you if their thread is getting too long and they want you to clear out other member's comments.
That would allow you to only have to deal with the ones who would like their thread cleaned up and not have to deal with keeping everyone's clean.
Maybe you can leave it up to the member to contact you if their thread is getting too long and they want you to clear out other member's comments.
That would allow you to only have to deal with the ones who would like their thread cleaned up and not have to deal with keeping everyone's clean.
I too would like to comment on the builds. Question.... When it's time for voting will another thread for each finished bike be started or are finished bikes to be posted in the same thread that the build was in?
Maybe we can comment all we want in the build threads and then when it's time to vote each builder could start another thread under the RRBBO category that only contains a couple of photos of the finished bike.
Maybe we can comment all we want in the build threads and then when it's time to vote each builder could start another thread under the RRBBO category that only contains a couple of photos of the finished bike.
