OBC is over, and so, while I decided not to do a build thread, as I didn't take a lot of progress pics, I can now post up pics of my Builder's Challenge bike. It didn't win anything, but hey, it's a really cool bike, that I now have to enjoy. It'll do the bicycle show circuit this year, and I'm interested to see the reception it gets.
I started with these 36" Coker wheels from a past build, and a metallic red vinyl motorcycle solo seat that I got at a swap meet. I built the frame using square tubing, going for a vague Ruff Cycles Dean profile, but adding a mid-bar and tank plate. I used a pair of Pensive Works spade drops that I have had for a couple of years, waiting for the right build. They were so large, that they never fit any standard bikes. I built the bars out of 1" square tubing, except the riser portion, which are 1" solid square bar. I heated them up, giving them a slight twist, so that the bars could come back a bit. I made the fork from some vintage Schwinn style springer parts, and fork legs that I made myself out of square tubing, giving it a bent-springer stance, so that I could keep the frame lower despite the wheel size. I then had it powder coated, then pin striped by Ray "The Vulture", who also did the silver leaf lettering. I had the bars and forks chromed, and the wheel set polished, and put new Coker ribbed XLR tires on it to get rid of those ugly button tread tires that come with the wheels. I had to special order the red 2" die, and drilled it and made it into the shifter handle to match the casino dice valve stem caps. The final touches were the red glitter Thompson coke bottle grips, and to have the stem and cranks/chainring polished to match the rest of the bike. The shots I have are mostly from when it was 90% done, so you'll notice the absence of the shifter cable. I'll have to get more pics soon.
Here it is in a couple of action shots:
I started with these 36" Coker wheels from a past build, and a metallic red vinyl motorcycle solo seat that I got at a swap meet. I built the frame using square tubing, going for a vague Ruff Cycles Dean profile, but adding a mid-bar and tank plate. I used a pair of Pensive Works spade drops that I have had for a couple of years, waiting for the right build. They were so large, that they never fit any standard bikes. I built the bars out of 1" square tubing, except the riser portion, which are 1" solid square bar. I heated them up, giving them a slight twist, so that the bars could come back a bit. I made the fork from some vintage Schwinn style springer parts, and fork legs that I made myself out of square tubing, giving it a bent-springer stance, so that I could keep the frame lower despite the wheel size. I then had it powder coated, then pin striped by Ray "The Vulture", who also did the silver leaf lettering. I had the bars and forks chromed, and the wheel set polished, and put new Coker ribbed XLR tires on it to get rid of those ugly button tread tires that come with the wheels. I had to special order the red 2" die, and drilled it and made it into the shifter handle to match the casino dice valve stem caps. The final touches were the red glitter Thompson coke bottle grips, and to have the stem and cranks/chainring polished to match the rest of the bike. The shots I have are mostly from when it was 90% done, so you'll notice the absence of the shifter cable. I'll have to get more pics soon.
Here it is in a couple of action shots:
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