Re: '81 Le Tour Tourist – no theme update 5/22
Looking good! What color you going with?
Looking good! What color you going with?
'81 Le Tour Tourist – The Talisman update 6/09
- Thread starter SpokeAndTruth
- Start date
Help Support Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum:
Re: '81 Le Tour Tourist – no theme update 5/21
So I was right, 54cm.
I measured my frame and it's 21" center of the BBshell to the top of the seat tube. Gah!
I did a little research and it turns out this is the smallest frame Schwinn made of this model so I lucked out in that regard but for this bike to be for me, it really needs to be smaller.
Believe it or not... ideally about two to three inches smaller. According to this bike sizing calculator http://www.ebicycles.com/bicycle-tools/frame-sizer/road-bike, my frame is about two inches (six cm) to big for me. Yeah... I really am that short but I prefer to think of it as "low center of gravity". :mrgreen:
Dang, there's got to be a way. I just got to get my foot to the pedal right?
SpokeAndTruth said:
So I was right, 54cm.
I measured my frame and it's 21" center of the BBshell to the top of the seat tube. Gah!
I did a little research and it turns out this is the smallest frame Schwinn made of this model so I lucked out in that regard but for this bike to be for me, it really needs to be smaller.
Believe it or not... ideally about two to three inches smaller. According to this bike sizing calculator http://www.ebicycles.com/bicycle-tools/frame-sizer/road-bike, my frame is about two inches (six cm) to big for me. Yeah... I really am that short but I prefer to think of it as "low center of gravity". :mrgreen:
Dang, there's got to be a way. I just got to get my foot to the pedal right?
Re: '81 Le Tour Tourist – no theme update 5/24
MachineAgeVictim
I found an open source software that is designed for frame builders but it had the outline of a bike in it. I copied the image, slapped it into photoshop added lugs and played with the color palette. So I came up with an idea that kinda looks like this. The shape and color of the crank, handlebars, saddle and tires isn't exact but the general idea is there.
I got paint that kinda matched what I had in mind and tried it on my forks. I think I like it... kind of. Maybe. Sort of.
The newspaper is covering the chrome part of the forks and I have the chrome piece that fits on the crown.
MachineAgeVictim
I found an open source software that is designed for frame builders but it had the outline of a bike in it. I copied the image, slapped it into photoshop added lugs and played with the color palette. So I came up with an idea that kinda looks like this. The shape and color of the crank, handlebars, saddle and tires isn't exact but the general idea is there.
I got paint that kinda matched what I had in mind and tried it on my forks. I think I like it... kind of. Maybe. Sort of.
The newspaper is covering the chrome part of the forks and I have the chrome piece that fits on the crown.
Re: '81 Le Tour Tourist – no theme update 5/24
Kinda looks like Celeste green
Kinda looks like Celeste green
Re: '81 Le Tour Tourist – no theme update 5/30
Wow... a week since my last update. Time flies, right. The three day weekend took me away from the build as I left on a father/daughter trip with my 19 year old to the Kerrville Folk Fest.
Anyway, so how's everyone's build?!?
I think I've actually come up with a bit of a theme. Well, if nothing else a name for this bike. I'm calling it The Talisman.
I did a little research on the definition of a talisman and apparently there are some people who take creating a talisman very seriously — like, life-depends-on-it seriously. Me, not so much but I find the idea intriguing. For some there is a very particular process for creating a talisman: there is gathering and preparing the items, placing positive energy on them, putting a part of yourself... perhaps blood, sweat or tears. Sounds like what I've done so far in the build off. : )
And the purpose of the talisman is to bring good luck and or power. I'm hoping when done, this bike will do both.
Ok, so enough of that. Here's the progress I've made.
I painted my frame! ... kind of.
I put one coat of Krylon Jade so far except for the chain stays. where as you can see in the pics I painted it orange-ish/red.
That's the same color that the lugs are going to be. That's not exactly the color I had in mind but oh well, I already put it on. So the reason I have the chainstays that color I hope to have a small quote in that orange against the jade. My plan is to print a quote about "luck" on a sticker or painter's tape or something, cut the letters out, stick them over the orange/red and then hit it with the jade color.
My theory is the words will be orange where I've placed my sticker and the rest the jade color. I hope it works.
I'm leaning toward one of these three quotes:
Wow... a week since my last update. Time flies, right. The three day weekend took me away from the build as I left on a father/daughter trip with my 19 year old to the Kerrville Folk Fest.
Anyway, so how's everyone's build?!?
I think I've actually come up with a bit of a theme. Well, if nothing else a name for this bike. I'm calling it The Talisman.
I did a little research on the definition of a talisman and apparently there are some people who take creating a talisman very seriously — like, life-depends-on-it seriously. Me, not so much but I find the idea intriguing. For some there is a very particular process for creating a talisman: there is gathering and preparing the items, placing positive energy on them, putting a part of yourself... perhaps blood, sweat or tears. Sounds like what I've done so far in the build off. : )
And the purpose of the talisman is to bring good luck and or power. I'm hoping when done, this bike will do both.
Ok, so enough of that. Here's the progress I've made.
I painted my frame! ... kind of.
I put one coat of Krylon Jade so far except for the chain stays. where as you can see in the pics I painted it orange-ish/red.
That's the same color that the lugs are going to be. That's not exactly the color I had in mind but oh well, I already put it on. So the reason I have the chainstays that color I hope to have a small quote in that orange against the jade. My plan is to print a quote about "luck" on a sticker or painter's tape or something, cut the letters out, stick them over the orange/red and then hit it with the jade color.
My theory is the words will be orange where I've placed my sticker and the rest the jade color. I hope it works.
I'm leaning toward one of these three quotes:
Re: '81 Le Tour Tourist – The Talisman update 5/30
I like the way the paint is turning out.
"I'd rather die while I'm living, than live while I'm dead." - Jimmy Buffett
I like the way the paint is turning out.
"I'd rather die while I'm living, than live while I'm dead." - Jimmy Buffett
Re: '81 Le Tour Tourist – The Talisman update 5/30
Thanks Kingfish. I was liking the paint too but then I did the lugs and it really pulled the wind out of my sails. I was really disappointed with the color scheme.
Thanks Kingfish. I was liking the paint too but then I did the lugs and it really pulled the wind out of my sails. I was really disappointed with the color scheme.
Re: '81 Le Tour Tourist – The Talisman update 6/3
Unveiling the frame
So my oldest stepson came out to watch me finish up the frame after he saw me taping it off.
A few sprays of my rattle can, a little bit of waiting and we started taking off the tape and newspaper.
I gotta be real honest, I was expecting it to look a LOT better than it turned out. Not the paint job itself but the color scheme.
It looks like something a crazed, killer clown would ride. You know the kind that gives some adults nightmares.
My stepson was more amazed by how the tape and newspaper worked at keeping the jade color pristine
and how clean the lines looked around the lugs. I thought it was pretty cool, too.
So, I guess I'll go back to the ol' drawing board on the color scheme. I went to the store and bought some hunter green.
Seems kinda cliché but I think I'll go with what I've seen works.
My wife suggested maybe a rubbed bronze kind of color for the lugs and I thought that sounded pretty cool.
I found a hammered copper color and am hoping it doesn't look too crappy. Either way, this is it. I'm not changing the paint again so I hope it works.
Taping the lugs takes a really long time.
In other news, I scored some Soma Sparrow handlebars off CraigsList last week. I've seen these before online
and since I can't figure out a way just yet to use my Raleigh northroad bars I thought I'd use these instead.
Plus they were only 15 bucks! They're certainly not pristine as you can see the logo is a little rubbed off but they're not too bad either.
Last year I came across some leather handlebar grips on CraigsList for 10 bucks.
I had no use for them at the time but I thought they were really cool
and because they were pretty cheap I couldn't pass them up. I hope I didn't buy stolen goods. I didn't did I? :shock:
Well, that's all I've got for now. Looking forward to doing my first mock up.
For now here's a better shot of the Sparrow Bars and the grips.
Unveiling the frame
So my oldest stepson came out to watch me finish up the frame after he saw me taping it off.
A few sprays of my rattle can, a little bit of waiting and we started taking off the tape and newspaper.
I gotta be real honest, I was expecting it to look a LOT better than it turned out. Not the paint job itself but the color scheme.
It looks like something a crazed, killer clown would ride. You know the kind that gives some adults nightmares.
My stepson was more amazed by how the tape and newspaper worked at keeping the jade color pristine
and how clean the lines looked around the lugs. I thought it was pretty cool, too.
So, I guess I'll go back to the ol' drawing board on the color scheme. I went to the store and bought some hunter green.
Seems kinda cliché but I think I'll go with what I've seen works.
My wife suggested maybe a rubbed bronze kind of color for the lugs and I thought that sounded pretty cool.
I found a hammered copper color and am hoping it doesn't look too crappy. Either way, this is it. I'm not changing the paint again so I hope it works.
Taping the lugs takes a really long time.
In other news, I scored some Soma Sparrow handlebars off CraigsList last week. I've seen these before online
and since I can't figure out a way just yet to use my Raleigh northroad bars I thought I'd use these instead.
Plus they were only 15 bucks! They're certainly not pristine as you can see the logo is a little rubbed off but they're not too bad either.
Last year I came across some leather handlebar grips on CraigsList for 10 bucks.
I had no use for them at the time but I thought they were really cool
and because they were pretty cheap I couldn't pass them up. I hope I didn't buy stolen goods. I didn't did I? :shock:
Well, that's all I've got for now. Looking forward to doing my first mock up.
For now here's a better shot of the Sparrow Bars and the grips.
Re: '81 Le Tour Tourist – The Talisman update 6/9
Alright... with my clown colored frame now only visible in the history of this thread I now am feeling much better about the the color scheme of my build after putting a hunter green on it. I did that a few days ago. Or was that last weekend? I don't know, I'm so busy that the days are all meshing together. At least I'm able to keep making baby steps towards finishing this.
So last time I updated that I had come up with a name for my bike and wanted to somehow put "Talisman" on the frame. I couldn't think of any other way really other than to put some painter's tape on a piece of cardstock, run it through my printer and use a razor knife to cut it out.
To get that kind of detail work I needed to drag out my eyeballs. Really sucks getting old. I hope I cut out the letters ok. That was pretty tough and things got a little blurry. I think I need to up the power on the ol' readers.
So the little emblem at the bottom is the "talisman" I want to put on the frame somewhere. It's a play on the symbol Phi which, some of you may know is the mathematic symbol for The Golden Ratio or Fibonacci sequenc. I tried to make it look like a little man or buddha in a sitting pose, meditating. I like the spiritual implication that the symbol Phi/The Golden Ratio has and so I thought it would go well on my good luck, talisman bike. Here's a better view.
I have a giant snail shell that I'm going to try and figure out how and where to mount on my bike as another talisman and symbol of the Fibonacci sequence. Updates to follow on that endeavor.
So with my frame taped up I busted out the color I picked out to spray on the lugs, letters on the seat tube ANNNND I tried taping the top tube in such a way to add little pin stripes. Hope it works. By the way, I need to throw big time kudos and huge thanks to Mrs SpokeAndTruth who came up with idea to use rubbed bronze on the lugs. I couldn't find a rattle can of rubbed bronze but did find a hammered copper. I was worried about it looking kind of brassy or just not right.
But wow!... I think it turned out pretty awesome. After spraying my bike, I was able to let it hang and dry for all of 15 minutes before the curiosity of what it would look like got the better of me. So I tore off the paper and tape on one of the seat stays so I could get a little peak. I love it!!! Later on today I'll peel off the letters, newspaper and tape. I hope it all turns out as well as this did. I'll try to put up some pics later on today of how it turned out. The pic below is a little photoshop manipulated. I lightened it up more so I could show the hunter green better but in doing so the copper lightened up more than it really is. It isn't actually that bright and brassy. It actually does look a little like rubbed bronze.
Alright... with my clown colored frame now only visible in the history of this thread I now am feeling much better about the the color scheme of my build after putting a hunter green on it. I did that a few days ago. Or was that last weekend? I don't know, I'm so busy that the days are all meshing together. At least I'm able to keep making baby steps towards finishing this.
So last time I updated that I had come up with a name for my bike and wanted to somehow put "Talisman" on the frame. I couldn't think of any other way really other than to put some painter's tape on a piece of cardstock, run it through my printer and use a razor knife to cut it out.
To get that kind of detail work I needed to drag out my eyeballs. Really sucks getting old. I hope I cut out the letters ok. That was pretty tough and things got a little blurry. I think I need to up the power on the ol' readers.
So the little emblem at the bottom is the "talisman" I want to put on the frame somewhere. It's a play on the symbol Phi which, some of you may know is the mathematic symbol for The Golden Ratio or Fibonacci sequenc. I tried to make it look like a little man or buddha in a sitting pose, meditating. I like the spiritual implication that the symbol Phi/The Golden Ratio has and so I thought it would go well on my good luck, talisman bike. Here's a better view.
I have a giant snail shell that I'm going to try and figure out how and where to mount on my bike as another talisman and symbol of the Fibonacci sequence. Updates to follow on that endeavor.
So with my frame taped up I busted out the color I picked out to spray on the lugs, letters on the seat tube ANNNND I tried taping the top tube in such a way to add little pin stripes. Hope it works. By the way, I need to throw big time kudos and huge thanks to Mrs SpokeAndTruth who came up with idea to use rubbed bronze on the lugs. I couldn't find a rattle can of rubbed bronze but did find a hammered copper. I was worried about it looking kind of brassy or just not right.
But wow!... I think it turned out pretty awesome. After spraying my bike, I was able to let it hang and dry for all of 15 minutes before the curiosity of what it would look like got the better of me. So I tore off the paper and tape on one of the seat stays so I could get a little peak. I love it!!! Later on today I'll peel off the letters, newspaper and tape. I hope it all turns out as well as this did. I'll try to put up some pics later on today of how it turned out. The pic below is a little photoshop manipulated. I lightened it up more so I could show the hunter green better but in doing so the copper lightened up more than it really is. It isn't actually that bright and brassy. It actually does look a little like rubbed bronze.
absolutely love the paint work!!!! can't wait to see it done
Troy
Troy
Thanks Jats. I'm really liking this color scheme so much more than my original idea and feeling so much better about my first build now.
Pictures as promised.
Verdict: I am in love!
The wife and kids got in on the action to tear the tape and newspaper off.
Pin stripes
Lugs
talisman emblem
guard dog
A little bad news about my frame. I didn't spray a clear enamel on the frame yet and like a total N00B I wanted to see what it would like with the forks on. So I banged the bearing caps or races or whatever you call them into the head tube. Just noticed I chipped a tiny bit of paint off.
Gahhhh!!!!
Pictures as promised.
Verdict: I am in love!
The wife and kids got in on the action to tear the tape and newspaper off.
Pin stripes
Lugs
talisman emblem
guard dog
A little bad news about my frame. I didn't spray a clear enamel on the frame yet and like a total N00B I wanted to see what it would like with the forks on. So I banged the bearing caps or races or whatever you call them into the head tube. Just noticed I chipped a tiny bit of paint off.
Gahhhh!!!!
Love the photo of the family helping out.
Paint and lettering turned out great!
Paint and lettering turned out great!
love the paint sorry about the chip though! cool gaurd looks like a tough custumer!!!!!!
Troy
Troy
The new color scheme is good, but that original color scheme actually reminded me of the Gulf racing team colors from the 1960's:
