'68 Sting Rat

[Chad T]

Hey guys! Don't have my bike yet but have started ordering high tech parts from far away lands.

I do have a pic from the for sale ad. It's a rat because it's stayin' like dat...

Nothing more gloomy than some faded campus green so I plan to cheer it up with some purple. I've had this seat cover forever waiting for a project.

Could be pretty nauseating but I'm doing it anyway. I also love purple anodized parts......gonna be ugly. Hopefully it's cool..

Will update as parts arrive or when I do the seat which I actually have everything for.

Need to finish this trike too but it's almost done. http://ratrodbikes.com/forum/index.php?threads/chad-t-rike-roller.108534/

Some really great action this year! Hope to get around and visit all the builds. Looks like it's gonna be a good turnout.

 

[OddJob]

Chad, there are many purple ano parts out there in repop. I found a 'grape crate' load when decking out the Fisher CR7 last season.

Can't wait to see what you do with this! RaT oN~!

 

[Chad T]

Chad, there are many purple ano parts out there in repop.

Been having a tough time finding copies of the really good stuff in purple. Looks like all the good stuff comes in purple.

Only purple 36h hubs out there are Hopes. Little pricey for a Sting Rat. The "DT Chinee" don't come in purple and the "Kris Ching" hubs only come in black and red so I got some Chris King copies in black..(Koozers).

Wanted to put purple v-brakes on this. Was hoping to find a copy of these.

No fake ones out there and nobody has the purple in stock. $130 each so $260 a set..

Almost went for these Dia Comps....meh.

But then found some other purple brakes that were too juicy to pass up...

 

[SpikeFC]

Could be pretty nauseating but I'm doing it anyway. I also love purple anodized parts......gonna be ugly. Hopefully it's cool..

Nah, shiny purple parts with green-patina frame? For me it's cool

 

[OddJob]

Nah, shiny purple parts with green-patina frame? For me it's cool

+1 on the cool factor ^ !

 

[G-Matt]

What else is cooking on this build Chad ?
There’s only 3 1/2 months to go ?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Chad T]

Nah, shiny purple parts with green-patina frame? For me it's cool

+1 on the cool factor ^ !

Thank you fellas. I hope it works out. Will have to be careful with the shade and amount of purple.

Been noticing this combo occurring naturally a lot in the yard.

What else is cooking on this build Chad ?
There’s only 3 1/2 months to go ?

Hey G-Matt! Well this will be the usual for me. BMX rims, Modern gears (10 or 11 speed) Modern brakes etc. 3 1/2 months left? Will have to pace myself...

All I have here so far is that seat cover. But I can show you a few things.

Here is the rim that will be on the back.

It's called a Blank Generation XL. It's as wide as an S2. I wish it was blank. Gonna take a lot off Easy Off and sandpaper to get the black off and get it polished. That will kill some time for sure.

Bought this deraileur this morning.

Like the cage on these. It's carbon fiber...

Got one of these tires coming for the front. 20X1.10 Gonna put it on a widish polished rim I already have. Should give it a stretched look and give the bike some rake.

That's about it for now. Just waiting on the mail man. Thanks for askin'...

Oh...I've been working on finishing this trike as well. It's almost done.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

So Green and purple hey?

 

[Chad T]

I'm going for the Stranger crux xl on a flying wedge. I was thinking about using a narrow tire to get a lower profile look. I asked Stranger if they could send me a non anodized blank...nada.
Got an idea how to spin the rim to break the ano with sandpaper. Gonna need a lot of oven cleaner. I'll see how yours turns out

That's a cool rim. Even wider than this one. Those concave ridges might be tricky if you're doing the sand/polish. Raw rims are hard to find. Last time I saw some I bought a few. Always wanted to figure out a rig to spin the rim. Made a jig to hold them and make sanding easier. Oven cleaner gets you a nice head start. I hit black chainrings with it and then just a quick sand and polish.

You doing another wedge!?!?......those are cool!

 

[Chad T]

So the wife send me this pic the other day while I was at work...

Lets see what we got. Going more old school with the alloy cranks this time. YST BB.

VP=Very Purple......derailleur arrived. Should look good on some Campus Green.

Decided to make this eleven speed because of Spinal Tap...

I had to drench parts in oven cleaner solution to do any real work.

Yeah you gotta soak with the oven cleaner and keep it wet for 15-20 minutes, then wire brush or steel wool before you rinse it off.

The Blank Generation XL is inexpensive for what it is and low profile.

25 bux from Chain Reaction. On clearance right now.

This is the method I'm using. Removed the axle bearings, replaced them with rubber at first as a clutch...spun out.

Have used that method for hubs and it works great for that. Idea I had for a bare hoop is to have 2 rubber rollers for the hoop to sit on then a belt that goes around the hoop with a motor underneath the rubber rollers.

Thanks for the inspiration. Actually looking forward to doing this rim which I was dreading.

Here is the front rim I'm using. 31mm wide. 1.1 Durano should look nice and stretched on it. Hopefully it seats OK.

Bonus is it's already polished. Brake surfaces are rough though. Will have to sand and polish those as they won't be needed on this build..

 

[KJV]

,
I truly: want to take: that trike,, for a cruise.

 

[Chad T]

Narrow tire, wide polished rim is chill. I prefer both narrow for the dainty look.

First time trying this so we'll see. Rear will be the 40mm rim with 2.1 tire.

So what's the gear inch range?

Had to look that up. Not sure what the front ring will be yet but the cassette I've got coming is 11-25. Would like to use a 42 or 44 front ring looks like a 42 would be 34-77 gear inches?

Gotta get the bike so I can see how big of a ring can be stuffed under the '68 wing tip guard.

I truly: want to take: that trike,, for a cruise.

Now that's some nice purple! You missed your chance to ride the trike. Gonna take it into work tomorrow. It's a blast to ride!

 

[OddJob]

Wow, that package delivery shot! Did your wife include a caption with her text? "Ho, Ho, HO! Merry Christmas!"

Looks like you'll be doing some 'fiddling' of your own this week.

 

[KJV]

[QUOTE="Chad T, post:
Now that's some nice purple! You missed your chance to ride the trike. Gonna take it into work tomorrow. It's a blast to ride![/QUOTE]

Snooze & lose .

We all know: I not going..
to a place ,called ''work" ;
Not even to : ride a trike.

 

[Chad T]

Wow, that package delivery shot! Did your wife include a caption with her text? "Ho, Ho, HO! Merry Christmas!"
.

The caption was actually "OK this is getting out of hand".......she put a smiley after though so it's all good.

We all know: I not going..
to a place ,called ''work" ;
Not even to : ride a trike.

I hear you there. Work is no fun but it's a lot better with a trike..

Chemical first, then spin...

So you're attaching a hoop to the wheel on the drill. That makes sense. Anodizing is tough to sand through as it hardens the alum. Keep that oven cleaner wet! Just keep going back and spraying it, flipping it over etc. Wear rubber gloves!

Was just working on polishing the sides of the front rim today. Just wanted to take down the rough braking surface.

My usual routine is: rough sand.

wet sand

machine polish.

hand polish.

Did all that because the front tire showed up.

Should look good with the back rim with a wide tire....back rim showed up too.

Lots of work to do on that one.....but there's plenty of time...hopefully the bike shows up here one of these days..

 

[OddJob]

Looks like Chad T's Wheel Polishing Service is in full operation mode!
When you say "hopefully the bike shows up here one of these days" that sounds a little ominous to me. It seems like it's been a while, I don't remember where it's coming from?

 

[Chad T]

I like turning the entire hoop because the finish looks very even. The result is ultra shiny.

Spinning the hoop is a great idea....hopfully I can get a decent shine by hand...

You going to clear coat yours, or just rub it out every once in a while?

No clear. Looks too cloudy to me. Polished surface holds up surprisingly well.

When you say "hopefully the bike shows up here one of these days" that sounds a little ominous to me.

It was part of the deal. I offered way less than the seller was asking and he agreed to the price as long as I could wait a while for him to ship it. Coming from a fellow RRB'er on here. It's all good...

 

[OddJob]

Yeah, I hear you, even though I don't see the logic in it. "Never put off till tomorrow, what you can do today." That's my motto.
Served me well for 63 years.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Nice polishing work! That rear will look amazing when it is done!

 

[Chad T]

Nice polishing work! That rear will look amazing when it is done!

Thank you Luke...hope this lives up to that! Finally got a chance to finish it up.

Some pics of the process.

I like this rim and I like the front rim but I'm not sure how well they go with each other. Front has a slightly taller profile and is more square. Back is low profile and rounded...

I have another skinny rim I could use on the front but it has more of a triangle/aero profile.

Here are the 2 rims together with tires.

Time to measure for some spokes and maybe order some purple nipples..

I think I want purple nipples just because it's so much fun to say purple nipples..