Why would anyone want to make ratrods?

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Welcome to RATRODBIKE.COM. I'm sure once you read all of this forum you WILL change your mind.

If you restore a complete bike you have saved it, if you customize an all most complete bike you have saved it, if you rat a bike you have saved it. I guess what I'm saying is build a bike the way you like it and you have saved it. So go ride it.

I have complete what I believe to be almost original bikes, I have complete bikes that has been used by kids for 50 years, and has been worked on by who know who. Did they use original parts? No, they bought them at the store that sold bike parts.

So, if you replace a part on your bike is it still an original? or did you just start building a rat? The only original bikes are bikes thats never had a part replaced or had to be repaired. WOW I'd like to find that warehouse if bikes.

If you buy a incomplete bike and buy parts to complete said bike, YOU DON"T HAVE AN ORIGINAL BIKE, you have a point correct bike.

So,if somebody doesn't save our bikes and they go to the scrapyard, the Chinese will just send it back to us as a NEXT bike and we don't need that.
 
I've given up on rationalizing and categorizing it. It's simply an addiction.

Something about these two wheel wonders of technology and doing things with them causes a release of dopamine. It makes me happy. Ride um, polish um, collect them, update them, upgrade them, cut em up and make something new, show them off to other addicts. The whole thing just oozes FUN!

The only damage this seems to cause is it uses up my time and empties my bank account but that seems to be in manageable increments. AND what the point of time and money if it isn't to FILL LIFE WITH FUN!

AND for me the simplicity and utility of a balloon tired bike hits a special cord that makes me happier than some wonder bike with an over dose of cables, suspension and graphite. Patenia can look every bit as good as pearls and metal flake and it has a special magic too it because the only way to get a great patenia is by this machine having been the source or hope of more happiness for decades.

And I think this addiction is pretty close to universal because I have yet to meet a kid that when presented with one of these doesn't get the same reaction to them instantly.

I think the only answer is in fact the best answer for anything any of us will ever do anything for. It makes us happy and it's FUN!
 
dos cruiser said:
So,if somebody doesn't save our bikes and they go to the scrapyard, the Chinese will just send it back to us as a NEXT bike and we don't need that.
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Im getting a nice little pile of them bike frames building up in my basement lol. Really if you think about it was that a smart name for a bike? guess it stands for wheres my NEXT bike. lol
 
why? It would be like going to a Restoration only car show and seeing cars with pretty hubcaps, shiny paint and perfect interiors.... gets boring after a bit. Let's see the custom wheels, intakes sticking out of the hood, chopped tops, etc! Have some fun with your bikes..Rock your RatRod your own style!!!
 
Chiming in kinda late but the Rat Rod/Collector bike thing has to be put into perspective at some point. For the most part all the bikes involved are mass produced child's toys and of no particular historical value. I am a lover of them as industrial art but this is not like painting a mustache on the Mona Lisa.
 
I'm a "keep it original" guy who LOVES rats!!! The creativity I've seen on this board is staggering, and for the most part, it comes from guys who are making things that didn't exist before they put torch to metal. Yah, I've got a few "original" bikes, but not a day goes by that I don't think about putting some parts together and learning to weld, so I can make a burrito or other type of rat. Maybe it's part cultural. Some people (like myself) don't have $500 or more to buy a nice older bike and then dump more money into "making it original" again, or restoring it. But almost all of us have access to throw away bikes that we can turn into something fun and creative. I've always love the folks who make the most of what they have...that is the essence of rats. Some one once said "Necessity is the Mother of Invention".....I've always added "..and poverty is the Father"....just my 1 cent.
 
okay back on topic .....Rat bikes
Made from a huffy BMX bike and a mountain bike
chopper.jpg

Yes this is a vintage Mongoose Californian
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Huffy
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Roadmaster
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WAYNE TACO! said:
Thank you.

Stay AWESOME!
WAYNE TACO!

p.s. I have a ladder.
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That must be one heck of an extension cord. :p

Re: The OT;
How many of these old bikes were just dragged out to the curb with a few hundred pounds of vine and wire fence, a rotten doghouse and some old paint cans? A rat bomber is salvation compared to shredded and cubed.
Where did your "correct" restoration replacement part come from, did they just throw the rest of the bike away, or is it a "fake" repo part? " Even if you restore a rust bucket perfectly, you have still destroyed the originality just as much as someone with alloy rims, apehangers and a flame job.
 
Sometimes I like to remind myself of this:

When someone says "I don't get it"
I say to myself "Mission accomplished" ;D

Question for dungo...What makes you think your supposed to get it? You should find the cool in the effort, talent, and vision. Why do people do this to old bikes? If you have to ask you wouldn't understand. Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius, and it's better to absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.

There are people out there who would seek out 60 year old oil for an engine just because it's period correct. Never mind that it's no good anymore.

We all have our opinions about whats cool.

dungo... focus on what you like rather than questioning the motives of others.
 
No problem, I'm kinda the class clown here. It keeps things interesting.

Wise man say: Forum post should be like woman's skirt, long enough to cover the subject matter but short enough to keep things interesting. :wink:
 
Also on the topic of Rat Rods you can't tell me new bikes don't take styling cues from us. We are trend setters. 8)
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s_12_COR26_RAW_4.jpg
 
Peatbog said:
And from what I can tell, rat rodders have more fun on their bikes than any other group of bicyclists I know.
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Amen to that!
 
This thread is running concurrently over at the CABE, and there is a lot of crossover between the two sites. Like I said over there- I have equal appreciation for original survivors, restorations, and rat rods. But it was hanging out here that gave me the inspiration to do the build on my old Dyno, and of all my bikes I find that I like the Dragonfly best. And it's not just because it's a great rider. I get compliments on it from time to time, and it feels really good to be able to say, "I built this one myself. It's my own idea of the perfect bike." No one else has one like it. That, to me, is what rat rodding is all about.

JWM
 
So here's my story; my first rat rod is going to be my 60's Sears&Roebuck. I was gonna try and somewhat restore it but I'd rather go the cheaper funner route. I've got some good ideas from this site. I like clean builds so it won't be extreme like most on here. Thats my story, like a woman's skirt.

But everytime I come here I want a beach cruiser, it's like my love for them is being renewed. I want to build a rat rod trike has anybody done that here?
 
dungo said:
Hi,
I would just like to ask why People like making ratrods, and taking parts from classic bicycles and making, in my opinion, ugly bikes (for the most part), if you wanna make ratrods ou of 90's parts go ahead, but it really bothers me when people ruin old vintage bikes and turn ino something so "blah". Now this is my opinion and I don't mean to offend anyone. I am just looking for why someone would rather take parts and essentially destroy old bikes to make new ones, instead of preserve them?
I dont mean to offend, just looking for answers.
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Because, even though some vintage bikes maybe rarer then others...they're still a production item. Meaning, there's no real personal touch put into each and every one that roles off the line. It's just like the one the guy bought before me......BUT, when you can utilize your own artistic design freedom to combine the likes of a few different production bikes into one's own personally designed bike it just brings the builder that much closer to their ride. Plus, who would wanna ride a bike that they designed but know it looks like crap. So, if someone wants to build their own ride and rock out with their banana peeled then more power to em. I hope I made sense.
 
travy3927 said:
Because, even though some vintage bikes maybe rarer then others...they're still a production item. Meaning, there's no real personal touch put into each and every one that roles off the line. It's just like the one the guy bought before me......BUT, when you can utilize your own artistic design freedom to combine the likes of a few different production bikes into one's own personally designed bike it just brings the builder that much closer to their ride. Plus, who would wanna ride a bike that they designed but know it looks like crap. So, if someone wants to build their own ride and rock out with their banana peeled then more power to em. I hope I made sense.
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Epic 10 yr old thread dig.......

But you are spot on
 
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