Anything goes "Muscle-Bike-Build-Off 01"

[Lowlife Lucas]

Re: Anything goes "Muscle-Bike-Build-Off" Build thread.

Nice progress, fellas.
Just to let everyone know, I'm for sure out, I've completely lost interest in my bike. I would enter something else if I had it, but I don't have anything else. I guess this build off just wasn't for me :?
However, I look forward to seeing all of these bikes completed 8)

 

[kingfish254]

Re: Anything goes "Muscle-Bike-Build-Off" Build thread.

Welcome to RRB krandall. Sweet ride you have there. That seat is insane!

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Re: Anything goes "Muscle-Bike-Build-Off" Build thread.

Some good progress Glen, is the small tube sideways on the top tubes for a shifter?
Randy, that bike is really cool, loving the purple and chrome chain! Looks nice and comfortable to ride too!
Lucas, sorry to lose you, but always interested in your other projects and ideas, keep them coming... :wink:

Hoping to get mine prepped and primed today, a big ask but going to try all the same...

Luke.

 

[Glen]

Re: Anything goes "Muscle-Bike-Build-Off" Build thread.

Some good progress Glen, is the small tube sideways on the top tubes for a shifter?

Luke.

Gidday Luke,

Yes that's right... there are two outward pointing mounts for shifters. The one on the top tubes near the steerer tube is for the rear derailer and the other is near the top of the seat tube and is for the chainring derailer. I am hoping they work ok

 

[Lowlife Lucas]

Re: Anything goes "Muscle-Bike-Build-Off" Build thread.

Lucas, sorry to lose you, but always interested in your other projects and ideas, keep them coming... :wink:

Luke.

Don't worry, I will :wink:

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Re: Anything goes "Muscle-Bike-Build-Off" Build thread.

Glad to hear it Lucas, your builds are always outside the box, many of my recent build ideas in my little blue build book are inspired by something you did, most of the time you probably would not recognise them but they help me think of other ways of doing things other than the accepted normal ways...

Awesome shifter idea Terry, that will look cool! Pretty sure they will work no worries.
Will you be using friction shifters, grip shifts, ratchet, something else?

Randy, awesome bike, just noticed the CWC sprocket, is that what the bike was originally?

Finally got some progress worth mentioning done on the bike, finished up the welding, started the finish grinding, switch to a file for a while, then on to sanding disc and... drumroll please... the metalwork is done! :mrgreen:

What do you do when then metalwork is done? You prep for paint! First things first, had to get my homebuilt compressor running again after the ignition shorted out last time I used it, (coil came loose and earthed out the main lead) started working on it and then just decided to hot wire it and get it done!

DSC00275 by LukeTheJoker, on Flickr

DSC00276 by LukeTheJoker, on Flickr

Runs like a noisy Swiss watch... :wink:

Hung the frame, bars, guard and forks, wiped them down with the reducer recommended for the paint. Went back inside and changed clothes to ones without welding and grinding dust all over them, wiped the parts down again, mixed up a small batch of 2 pack primer and went to work... I used a small HVLP jamming gun on about 25psi to shoot the high build primer, did 4 coats in the end.


DSC00277 by LukeTheJoker, on Flickr

Pretty happy with the result, there are two places on the frame that could have used a little more metalwork but they are not worth messing with, only small marks from the grinder, wont even see them when the back wheel is fitted. Pretty happy with that as I usually do miss things, and this one was done in such a rush at the end I thought it would be far worse... The first bike I did I had to strip, grind, sand, repaint 4 times to get it right, worth it in the end, came out really well.

DSCN4666 by LukeTheJoker, on Flickr

Hoping to do the sanding and main colour top coat tomorrow, then go out, pick up the stickers, the paint for the other colour coat and pinstripes, pedals and the brake cables. Looking forward to having it done and going for that first ride!

Luke.

 

[Lowlife Lucas]

Re: Anything goes "Muscle-Bike-Build-Off" LAST BUILD WEEK!

Glad I could be of some help! I always like to think outside the box when it comes to bikes, however, I also like to take a good idea and throw my twist on it to make it somewhat different at times :wink:
The frame and bars look good in primer, can't wait to see it painted! That chopper is sweet! :shock:

 

[Glen]

Re: Anything goes "Muscle-Bike-Build-Off" LAST BUILD WEEK!

Awesome shifter idea Terry, that will look cool! Pretty sure they will work no worries.
Will you be using friction shifters, grip shifts, ratchet, something else?

Hey Luke, I guess the above was aimed at me, although my name is Glen not Terry... perhaps you breathed in a few too many paint fumes today :wink:

The shifters are what came with the main bike... a green Avanti Black Thunder. They are indexed grip shifters and it is the first time I have ever used them... always had friction jobbies in the past. :shock: What's a "ratchet" shifter :?:

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Re: Anything goes "Muscle-Bike-Build-Off" LAST BUILD WEEK!

Oops! Yep, meant Glen... I tell you what, even stepping out the back door you can smell the thinners coming off the tack rag, potent stuff.
The Indexed shifters are great, but do take a little more to adjust perfectly than friction jobs.
By ratchet shifter I meant the ones that look similar to a grip shift but have a indexed friction lever on top for going down gears and a release button on the bottom that you push once for every gear you want to go up. I have them on my mountain bike, hate the bike, but love the gear shifters... :wink:

Luke.

 

[Endlesschain]

Re: Anything goes "Muscle-Bike-Build-Off" LAST BUILD WEEK!

great builds guys,wish I hadn't been away from this otherwise I would have built something quik and off the wall,just been busy with life the last couple of months but I back into it,hay Glen,you should check out my arc welding...what a mess,I did mig awhile ago with help from my bro in law when welding a rollbar for my old truck,came out good but don't have funds to buy a mig,but I getting good with the arc,just need patience,heaps of rods and my angle grinder

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Re: Anything goes "Muscle-Bike-Build-Off" LAST BUILD WEEK!

Good call there Endlesschain, as easy as mig may be compared to arc or stick welding, I personally feel that stick welding teaches you more about what works and what does not work when you are first learning. If you start with mig, you might do great looking welds but they may be very weakly attached to the parent metal. I learn't that the hard way when I first started my apprenticeship...

I have been thinking about doing a build using just my arc welder to show new bike builders just starting out that you dont need an expensive mig and gas to build a sucessful bike, while talking to my wife about it, she said, "Why dont you teach me while you are at it, and I will build the bike!" :shock: Coming soon to a forum near you... :wink:

Luke.

 

[bigfatcat]

Re: Anything goes "Muscle-Bike-Build-Off" LAST BUILD WEEK!

\
I have been thinking about doing a build using just my arc welder to show new bike builders just starting out that you dont need an expensive mig and gas to build a sucessful bike, while talking to my wife about it, she said, "Why dont you teach me while you are at it, and I will build the bike!" :shock: Coming soon to a forum near you... :wink:

Luke.

That would be GREAT! I'd love to relearn the right way! :wink:

As far as my bike goes, I've been trying not to avoid it. But cycle trucks are SO MUCH FUN! Hopefully I'll have everything buttoned up tonight while the little lady is at class.

 

[RichL]

Re: Anything goes "Muscle-Bike-Build-Off" LAST BUILD WEEK!

The bad point for arc welding is many homebuilders buy the cheapo harbor freight 2 range(hi 70 amp, 50 amp-lo) and it is just not enough ranges for bike work with light tubing... But that said, it is the best and cheapest form of welding for homebuilders. No expensive gas or wire to purchase... If you want a machine that will last a lifetime,, get a miller or lincoln buzzbox I have an old miller I purchased 25 years ago, still use it too

Rich

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Re: Anything goes "Muscle-Bike-Build-Off" LAST BUILD WEEK!

Wow, one of those welders would be hard for a beginner to build a bike with. We dont seem to get them over here...
The welder I was going to use is the little 140amp fully adjustable copper wound job I scored a few years back when SuperCheapAuto had thier boxing day sale on. Got it for $58... The thing weighs a tonne and welds great, I figured at that price i could scrap it for the copper and get my money back. They have ones that look the same now but they are far lighter, I think they switched to aluminum wound...

Far cheaper alternative to a decent gas mig, and less moving parts to go wrong. I have yet to see a decent gas mig for under $600, never mind the gas refill at $103, plus the $20 a month bottle rental... I do run a big bottle though and my standards for a decent mig are fairly high due to all the moving parts, seen too many with stripped drive gear reductions, burnt out gas solenoids, useless non replaceable torches...

Totally agree, if someone can find an old Miller or Lincoln Electric arc welder, they would be far better spending the money on it than a cheap new one or even a cheap mig... My dad still has the welder he purchased when he started his apprenticeship, I think he bought it in 1969, cost a full months pay for him back then, but the fact that it is still going and does beautiful welds makes it worth the cost... (Welders were more comparitively expensive back then though the equivalent welder now would be around a weeks wage, not a month.)

Luke.

 

[KRANDALL]

Re: Anything goes "Muscle-Bike-Build-Off" LAST BUILD WEEK!

No, the bike was not originaly CWC, I got the sprocket in a scrap job. The frame is fabricated out of irrigation piping also from a scrap job so the only "bike" parts in the frame are the start and end of the front fork making the length out of piping got from scrap, the pedal bearing housing and the rear wheel mount. So I guess you could say my rat rod is a scrap rod, even got that seat scraping. I got the inspiration to build a bike because I had the tank and could not find a bike to fit it so I built this. Researching bikes is how I found this web sight and I loved the gallery and the bikes in it, started reading and decided to join. Thank you all for accepting me and allowing me to show/enter my bike. It was a blast building.

 

[KRANDALL]

Re: Anything goes "Muscle-Bike-Build-Off" LAST BUILD WEEK!

I believe the sprocket has CMC not CWC and I haven't been able to
identify it. Anyone know? Great looking bike Luke, love the spider web at the rear and the angles of the frame are very eye catching, well done!

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Re: Anything goes "Muscle-Bike-Build-Off" LAST BUILD WEEK!

Wow! I didn't realise you actually built it from scratch, impressive work! :shock:
Are you planning on doing more bike builds? If you do don't forget to take some pictures as you go and make a build thread!

Luke.

 

[Glen]

Re: Anything goes "Muscle-Bike-Build-Off" LAST BUILD WEEK!

Oops! Yep, meant Glen... I tell you what, even stepping out the back door you can smell the thinners coming off the tack rag, potent stuff.
The Indexed shifters are great, but do take a little more to adjust perfectly than friction jobs.
By ratchet shifter I meant the ones that look similar to a grip shift but have a indexed friction lever on top for going down gears and a release button on the bottom that you push once for every gear you want to go up. I have them on my mountain bike, hate the bike, but love the gear shifters... :wink:

Luke.

Oh right... the local bike shop guy gave me a bike a few weeks ago with that system (an aluminium Avanti Black Thunder) but I didn't know they were called ratchet gears.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Re: Anything goes "Muscle-Bike-Build-Off" LAST BUILD WEEK!

I don't know if that is what they are meant to be called, just what I call them...

Luke.

 

[RichL]

Re: Anything goes "Muscle-Bike-Build-Off" LAST BUILD WEEK!

No bike pictures to post, but I found a picture of the buzzbox I have been using the past 25 years Not exactly the same but similar. I think it was only 200 back than. I found it nice for the times ya did not want to drag out the gas welder and 400' of lead (and sometimes more )