I hear by dub these builds in the Rat Rod Bikes Build Off #15 as the
"Most RaT-isfying Rat Rods"!
"Most RaT-isfying Rat Rods"!
These bikes, which have a combination of real and faux-tina, epitomize the rat rod bicycle in my own weird rat-ionalizations. Whether scratch RaT, pack RaT, or sophistic-RaT, they all have met my RaT-ionale for what is most RaT-isfying.
Each OddJob Award winner will be mailed a custom made, straight out of the BACK40, award formed from a gang utility metal box cover, a magnet, custom vinyl graphics, and painted this year with the spectraflame Duplicolor Metalcast fade that was used on RaTs GaSs in BO #15. The award will be accompanied by a Certificate of Autho-RaT-zation declaring these rat rod bikes as the BO #15 OJ winners!
And now, without further mt a'dew, the winners, in no particular order:
This builder started out with an enlarged photo of a '32 Schwinn Motorbike; that was his jig / template for a scratch built , 32" wheeled, looks like it rolled off a custom shop floor (cuz it did!) one off wonder~! Somehow along the way, he managed to keep everything in perspective, and without his stylish model in the Final Photo, you'd never guess this was a larger than life sized cruiser! His use of brass to compliment the raw steel look of this 'prototype' gave it a touch of class, or is that....a touch of brass?! Here is:
'32 MOTORBIKE by deven_science
This bike just reeks of the '50s era of hot rods and drive ins and guys building cars in their garage~! I appreciate a builder who can get down and dirty, and do all their own wheel building, hub overhauls, and custom patina paint jobs. Starting with a '59 Schwinn frame, he added some dark green fenders, chopped them and patina jobbed them to match the frame, and relaced the original Schwinn wheels, keeping the old school look, with new black spokes to update this ride. The bike is cool, and the ride video / slide show in his Finished Build thread, complete with originally written / performed (all the instruments!) / and produced by himself! You have to check out that vid! I could only be talking about:
I CAN'T AFFORD THE GAS by SoulGarageOH
This builder has been making our eyeballs pop out of our heads for a few years now. This year, he came in late, with the proclamation that he had a short window of time to pull off his build. He did it in 9 DAYS ~!
His approach is very scientific, and charts and graphs, protractors and compasses are often seen around his drafting desk. He grabbed whatever was sitting in his 'scrap pile' and formed what is definitely one of the wackiest looking, cartoonish shaped bikes this Forum has ever seen! His engineering and design skills are only exceeded by his vision of 'what could be'. This mad scientist and his creation, of course is:
Scrapyard Mule by tjwilson
This locale from Socal produced a sophisticated bike with multi-generated lighting, custom wood fenders, 28" wheels, vintage parts and frame from WAY back ( 1920s) and slathered it all with California cool~!
His attention to detail from turning brand new, hipster wheels into custom built and painted wood hoop imitations, and his application of old parts with 21st century electronics put this build over the top. If you need a break from your run-of-the-mill life and surroundings, watch his ride video on the boardwalks and streets of Huntington Beach! This laid-back, smooth rolling machine and builder could only be:
ItzaRat 1928 Schwinn by OC_Rolling_Art
Early on, this builder and his build concept reached deep into my rat bike theme soul, and grabbed hold~!
When he laid out the idea and parts to begin his build, there were many of us who were immediately transported back to our youth and Saturday morning cartoons. And what, on earth, could possibly be better than that?! From his custom designed fork, to his trash can moon wheel, to matching rattle can valve caps, to the paint scheme that screamed his theme, he nailed this build in every way. Almost.
The detailed paint job, applied for 3 days straight without sleep, took just an hour or so too long, and he missed the deadline for getting in the Voting Booth.
But he only needed one vote to win the OddJob Award. Mine. He's 'in the pink' now:
Pink Panther by BobbyStillz
AND THESE ARE YOUR RAT ROD BIKES BUILD OFF #15 ODDJOB AWARD WINNERS! Cong-RaT-s !
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