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Joined
Dec 22, 2011
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Alright, I am throwing my hat into the ring. I had way too much fun last year to sit this one out. I'll be slow to update at first and honestly, I may pull a frame switch if it something else I have in the mix works out.

For now, I am starting with one of my favorite frames, a Western Flyer NewsBoy Special ballooner. I am leaning towards a stripped down, mean looking paperboy bike, but I like to let the bike build itself...if you know what I mean.

I am not sure which fork I am going to use. Right now I am leaning towards the rat trap. Maybe flip the rockers so that it drops the nose of the bike and kicks the rear of the rack up in the air a little. I figure it might give the already awesome lines of the frame a more aggressive stance. I also have a cool set of saddle bags that might find their way into the build.


newsie1.jpg
 
Glad to see you in the mix buddy! HRH was awesome last year!
Great bike to start with. Good luck with this one or your frame switch if your hunt is successful.
Are the ballooner Newsboys actually wider between the stays and forks than Firebolts?
 
kingfish254 said:
Glad to see you in the mix buddy! HRH was awesome last year!
Great bike to start with. Good luck with this one or your frame switch if your hunt is successful.
Are the ballooner Newsboys actually wider between the stays and forks than Firebolts?

Yeah, the spacing is wider on the ballooners. In fact, I had a 24x3 sitting in there before I decided to use it...fatties fit just fine! :mrgreen:

The patina is a few layers of house paint. Leaning towards a repaint but we'll see...
 
Dibs on leftover parts... and frames!

Wouldn't happen to have something from 1916 laying around would you? :wink:

I know you'll make something great, maybe win a trophy before the build-off is even over! :mrgreen:
 
yoothgeye said:
Dibs on leftover parts... and frames!

Wouldn't happen to have something from 1916 laying around would you? :wink:

I know you'll make something great, maybe win a trophy before the build-off is even over! :mrgreen:

1916? Dang, nothing that old, but I'll keep my eyes open. A '28 Elgin is the oldest I have and I am kind of partial to that one! Remember that cool stem you sent me? I parted out one of my bikes a month or so back and pulled that stem and stashed it for another day. I might use it on this build.

Cman...Yeah, it is a "funky cool patina" (reminds me of a Tone Loc song!). Flat black is my favorite color, but my Higgins was flat black last year, so.....thinking something brighter, but I always say that and revert back to black. I would love to find one of the dual headlight Columbia tanks for this project!

I am hoping to mock up the different forks this weekend and figure out what direction I want to go with this. I don't plan on running fenders, but I think I'll paint them when I paint the frame, so I can use them later if I want.
 
What an awesome name for a build!!!
Funky Cool Patina - I can hear the drum sample from Van Halen's "Jaimie's Crying" now.
 
Glad to see you joining in again this year!! and glad to see another Newsboy too! Like KF said.. your HRH is an amazing bike!! Good luck following that one up. I'm sure you'll end up with another amazing build this year though!!
 
Critter1 said:
Glad to see you joining in again this year!! and glad to see another Newsboy too! Like KF said.. your HRH is an amazing bike!! Good luck following that one up. I'm sure you'll end up with another amazing build this year though!!

Yeah, the HRH set the bar pretty high, but to be honest I like the Western Flyer jet tank rat bike that I built over the winter a little better. I am taking the same approach as last year. I am going to have fun, build a bike I like and be happy if I get a vote or two. 8)

I figure we all better bring our A game this year if we want to top some of those amazing bikes from last year.
 
This right here is where I would post pics of my progress if I had even touched the bike in the last week. :roll:
 
Great starting point! I love the frame :shock:
Ya gotta embrace the old house paint!! I did :wink:
 
You're killing me man!!!
When are you gonna jump in?????
GIT TO BUILDIN!!!!
 
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