Are Rat Rodders the true creative genius’s of the cycling industry?

[Bicycle808]

Yeah, ZL, that's what I'm saying. I personally need to be able to stand and jam, comfortably, on my cruisers, but they'll never be "fast bikes"... ever. Performance is not the point, typically, with rats and kustoms, etc...

I tend to think that innovation is driven by real-life goals.... there's an aspect of the bike that one wants to achieve, or at least improve. Bike builders and designers might innovate to make any number of quantifiable parameters with practical applications better, and the results can be measured. If the parameters) being addressed are purely aesthetic, we can't measure it... If someone does something b/c they think it looks cool, we can agree or disagree, but we can't tell them they're wrong. But, when we do something to a bike to make it look hott, but it takes away from other considerations (eg, makes it heavy, screws up the ergos, no longer has functional brakes, and all the other stuff we see time and time again on RRB builds), the majority of cyclists are going to have to giggle when they see us claiming we're "innovating" by putting fake exhaust pipes, fake patina, and fake skiptooth drivetrains on our bikes.

I am kind of having an "epiphany" here, but how often does "innovation" and "genius" coincide with "fake"? I'm sure it happens, but generally speaking, i don't think innovation can be easily faked....

 

[Bicycle808]

true my 36' Hawthorne "Little Neutrino" is no match for my Cannondale...
but I'd put "The Difference Engine" up against any single speed fixie, and look cooler doin' it.

Carl.

The Difference Engine.... cool bike, but the Truss Frame concept is hardly innovative, being that it dates back to 1910, right? This isn't meant as a knock by any means, but most every aspect of your bike seems fairly conventional.... Something can be awesome, even without being innovative. (And a real track bike would be far lighter, with more aggressive geometry.... so the smart money would be on the better rider, but all other things being equal, the Difference Machine won't be dominating any Velodromes any time soon...

 

[GuitarlCarl]

Innovative? Only in the artistic sense of being an Archbar and not an Archbar.
Google the Difference Engine, it was an early mechanical computer design...
Mine is a 95' Schwinn, aluminum, not cutting edge either, but now geared to cadence training. I have run down local fixie's with it too (sadly we have no velodrome) Now, I get that the gist of what OP said, Rat Rod bikes could be the cutting edge of what's next, probably isn't going to happen. But I still resent anytime a naysayer swipes us all down with one big pen. I think most bikes represented here are individual pieces of the builders artistic talents. Unless they are direct copies and even then the ability to build a tribute is still a mark of an artist. Some are built for performance and some are performance art. So the idea of a hotrod/ratrod, to lighten it up - to be fast and spend little money, has morphed into a genre of design. But don't take away its roots... Innovative? Yeah, I can roll with any big $$$ local and I spent spit on my bike.

Carl.

 

[Harold_B]

And here I though my snide remarks killed this thread! Well now that life is returning I'll breathe my poisonous opinions on it again. (I'm really a rather positive person when you get to know me)

With respect to creativity and performance and my two cents on bikes in general, I see a lot of genius in the engineering behind increased efficiency for getting pedal power to the wheel. That would apply for racing, time trial, multi-sport, commuter, on or off-road bikes. The application of high tech materials, technologies, or processes to make cycling easier, faster, more affordable, more accessible, and more acceptable to a broader population takes depth of knowledge and creative problem solving skills that are both learned and developed.

I'm not saying that there's not a lot of creativity here. There most certainly is that and a lot of skill to make it real. It's just my opinion that pasting the creative genius title on a general group sounds more than a little self congratulatory. Like in an "ain't we great?" sort of way.

Now then, one more ... at that Foose video. I used to watch his show until I got tired of the formula (punked guy thinks his car is stolen, crisis getting the car done in time like it needs to dock with the space station or something, Chip draws a picture, somebody ships a crate with a killer engine, 45 other guys do the work, surprise! Your car is awesome). In the video Chip says something about where the engine used to go so that's where they put the pedals. If he moved his hands 6" toward the rear wheel then that's where the pedals actually used to go! Why not do something really cool and innovative with the space in that loop frame like gearing or an assist or a VV-ROOM Motor? Good grief.... Sure is red. Really, I like Foose but c'mon. OK, I'm done now.

 

[ZygoteLittle]

A lot of those Mechanical Drama Queen Programs are exceptionally formulaic; at times, cool for their design aspects, but not anything different than what we can fashion here, but without all the drama.

Although, what is fashioned here, is, at times, dramatic!

 

[GuitarlCarl]

Many folks buy a car, cycle, or bike and never change a thing on it. Then there are those of us who can't leave anything alone. It needs to be individualized. For some it may be only a territorial marking but for others it is a stamp of disapproval for the mundane. No cloner for the masses will ever turn out a bicycle that is a true ratrod template, by the very needs of the eclectic few, the mold is broken. We roll on rust. We ride geometry that doesn't fit the formula. Just when they think the old has been made new, we tear it down and create a monster. Some dragging the pavement, some scorching the flats, no two alike.
Innovative? Maybe. Creative genius? Yes.

When I see builders like, irzouts, Gaskill, LukeTheJoker, fordsnake, devon_science, and The Renaissance Man, turn out machines fit to reside in a museum or rolling thru an epic film, I dare you to deny innovation, bent, weld and polished with creative genius!

Carl.

 

[sixfootdan]

If I want to make a fake skip tooth, So what. If someone wants a patina look then who cares. The title of the website explains it all, Some of the purists who complain about that stuff should probably be on a site that's dedicated to preservation of bicycles. Or maybe I'm mistaken?

 

[Bicycle808]

If I want to make a fake skip tooth, So what. If someone wants a patina look then who cares. The title of the website explains it all, Some of the purists who complain about that stuff should probably be on a site that's dedicated to preservation of bicycles. Or maybe I'm mistaken?

Fake patina and fake skiptooths are fine by me; it's your bike....do what you want. I agree when you say "....I want to make a fake skiptooth; so what?" I don't agree when someone says "I want to make a fake skiptooth b/c I'm a creative genius." There's a lot of wiggle room between "so what" and "creative genius"; let's try to be realistic.

RRB has no shortage of members and page-views, but traffic is kinda light as far as actual participation/posts go. So, in my humble opinion, it is a mistake to suggest that active members frequent other sites instead. I think that, so long as folks get along, the more the merrier, right?

 

[ZygoteLittle]

One of the coolest, if not the coolest characteristic of being a member of this “fraternity” is the open mindedness of its membership. Let’s face it; we are a group of nonlinear thinkers and tinkerers – cool beans in my book any day.

Can you imagine what we would come-up with if we were all locked-up together in a large room full of miscellaneous parts?!

 

[ZygoteLittle]

The poll results are rather compelling!

 

[ZygoteLittle]

Cool innovative bikes - but are they the 10 Most Beautiful Bikes - you decide!

BBC 10 Most Beautiful Bikes

 

[GuzziRod]

Creative genius....Aren't we all using the same basic bike parts and creating something out of them? Be it a ratty or a resto or new bike.

Musicians use the same notes as everyone else and come up with creative songs. Be it classical, new rock, country, same notes just creative arranging of those notes.

Painters/artists use the same colors as everyone else and come up with creative pictures. Same three primary colors, just creative blending.

I think it's the creative side that leads to the innovative side. You never know what will work until you try it. The creative side thinks of something and then the innovative side has to make it work.

Someone had to be the first to build a bike with wide tires so they could ride on a beach. The creative side came up with the idea and the innovative side made it work.

I think the genius part comes in when someone has a creative idea, innovates a way to make it work, and then everyone else WANTS ONE.

 

[SILVERKINGPC]

Hmmmm......... good question...so I vote undecided. I believe that a good Ratter (mechanic, artist,rider) Rats for a wide number of reasons. No rules equals independence. Independence fuels genius. Building a rolling Rat Machine from older part combinations is really quite personal and reflects directly back onto the genius or lack of perfection of each individual builder. Ratting provides endless combinations for creative innovation, but am not sure that it provides all ratters with automatic genius status though. Some rats to me seem horrible, others show genius...
SKPC Rats because it's fun to have something no-one else has. Personally, I try to build bikes that exude Historic, aesthetic, functional and performance character. I try to tie each of the above into a rolling rider made with tried&trued older parts made of good metal. If my RatBike makes me feel healthy at speed or cruising while feeling like a genius at the same time, then that's what counts...

..

 

[clamdigger]

Yes! http://www.touring-ohio.com/southwest/dayton/wright-bicycle-shop.html