Barefoot Delivery- Last build shots...

Bike Wall
shop deals on amazon
BOXKARS
Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum

Help Support Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
S

slowerisbetter

Joined
Mar 12, 2009
Messages
97
Reaction score
0
Location
Tempe, AZ
Well, I've been eagerly anticipating the build off and planned to build a fun little trike for my son mostly because it would be cheap, fun and the frame is the first trike I had as a kid so I thought I'd hand it down. Well, a week before the build off...

My son and I are on our daily commute to work: me on my beat up Electra cruiser and him in his Burley when we get rear-ended my an older dude who apparently didn't see us in the bike lane on a 30mph street! My son was flipped over and the bike slid under me and we got pushed 30 feet along the street. I jumped up as soon as we stopped and turned over the trailer to see my little dude screaming with one little scratch on his knee. Neither of us were seriously hurt and I figure the Burley easily saved his life.

Why the story? Well, the old guy's insurance company gave us some "pain and suffering" money along with a check for a new bike and trailer. New bike? No way... when I heard I had an insurance company's cash to play with, I knew then and there, I had my build money. Here's some pics of the trailer post-crash and the bike too.

Skid marks up the back

ry%3D400


Bent frame and axles... but the tires still had air :shock:

ry%3D400


Cracked Frame

ry%3D400


ry%3D400


Bike wear and tear... seats done and bent rear wheel (a little tough to see in the pic, sorry!)

ry%3D400


ry%3D400


Time to build! Thanks, Farmers Insurance... and Burley, so glad my boy is OK!

More to come soon... obviously :wink:
 
Re: Better late than never... nameless so far.

OH my! What a frightening experience! You guys are all very lucky. Even the idiot driver... if I hit someone on a bike and hurt them, I'd have a hard time living with myself.

You should get in touch with Burley and tell them what you've told us- that sturdy little trailer sure did save your boy from worse injuries. Who knows, they might send you a new one!

You don't think of the safety of something like that in terms of crash protection- but it is important. You're on the road, exposed to traffic and road hazards, and anything can happen.

As an advocate for bike and traffic safety, I am looking at your experience to think what can we learn from this? Mainly it's the same old thing: Slow down and pay attention, drivers!

For the cyclist we have to always be prepared and aware of what's around us. For you, extra care in lane selection and spacing yourself on the road because you're towing a trailer, and because you may not be able to accelerate as quickly- that's always got to be on the mind.

I am so glad you are both alright. I'm glad we're not talking about a much worse outcome. Do you mind if I use your photos for my group when we talk about cycling safety?

Take care,
--Rob Bareiss
Chairman, Bike New London
 
Re: Better late than never... named! Barefoot Delivery Service

@ NLCTVWguy
Thanks for the kind words and I did contact Burley and told them my story, thanking them for the great product. Turns out they gave me a screamin' deal on a new trailer (and even an upgrade!) and I'm officially a Burley fan for life! And please, feel free to use the pics and the story. The whole thing is on Burley's safety page.

On to the build...
I'm calling this one "Barefoot Delivery Service." I've never liked wearing shoes and it seems my son shares the affiliation to his toes being free as well, so I thought I'd name my "company" Barefoot Bicycles. I've always loved the Delivery by Electra but thought I could make it a little more streamlined and sleek and not pay $700 for it!

Got her taken apart and stripped to the frame. I've got the day off tomorrow and hope to strip the paint and maybe even prime it.

Transportable Tool Bench
ry%3D400


How did this happen? Maybe the crash... Never seen bearing shattered like this before. Yikes! Need to scrounge up some new ones.
ry%3D400


$80 Electra leather seat... A recover is in the cards.
ry%3D400

ry%3D400


Down to the frame. Got the chain off after my buddy returned my tool. Foot shot, of course...
ry%3D400


A question for my fellow rat rodders: I have no idea how to get the kickstand off the frame. It's a newer model Electra: any thoughts?
Can't wait to paint it up!
 
Re: Better late than never...named! Barefoot Delivery Service

Glad to hear your both are OK.As far as the kickstand,Its removed like a Schwinn kickstand.Compress the cam and pull out the pin on the bottom.
-Kreep-
 
Re: Better late than never...named! Barefoot Delivery Service

@ Herr- It was pretty awesome, Burley really is a sweet company!\
@ Kreep- Thanks... now what exactly is a "cam"?!?!?
 
Barefoot Delivery Service

Thanks, Kreep! That'll help a ton...

Well, took a "mental health" day and went to "Dr. Lowes and the LBS". Took me a solid three hours but I got about %95 of the frame done. Dang, I loooove bare steel! Maybe I won't paint it... :eek:

Ahhh, the work bench during RRBO
ry%3D400


Ghetto bike stand... :roll:
ry%3D400


Mmmm... bare metal!
ry%3D400


ry%3D400


Hopefully I'll get some more done come Saturday. Thanks for looking!
 
Re: Barefoot Delivery Service (update 5/18)

Looks great :D Love the stand :lol:
 
Re: Barefoot Delivery Service- Donor bike n' broken tools!

Had a good morning cleaning up the frame a bit and tearing down the donor bike. I needed chrome where Electra had put black, so I turned to my old made-in-china Huffy. Don't look too close, this will most likely be my frame in next year's build off!

ry%3D400


ry%3D400


Popping the BB out and I shatter a screwdriver... kinda' felt the the Hulk for a second till I realized it was just a crappy tool!

ry%3D400


Hopefully a mock up tomorrow, we'll see how my little dude naps!
 
Barefoot Delivery Service- Tires

Alright, been a really busy week and slooooow progress, but I finally have some chances over the long weekend to work. Tires came with a friendly visit from our UPS guy. I've been drooling over the cream Electra Vintage Diamonds now for a while and the whole plan behind my build falls around these babies!

ry%3D400


ry%3D400


On a side note, I missed a sweet brand new New Belgium cruiser (like the red one with the rear carrier for 2011) on Craigs for only $400! So I've been religiously checking the list everyday and while no New Belgium's have resurfaced, I found this for $75 and all she needs is some new paint! Score...

ry%3D400


ry%3D400


ry%3D400


So I've got my fall project already lined up. Does it ever end?! :shock:
 
Re: Barefoot Delivery Service- Tires

good deal on the sparker! :D lets see, thats the real thing, plus internal gears, for about the same price as the knockoff op roller!
 
Re: Barefoot Delivery Service- Early Mock Up

Well, I know it's not all that stunning, but this is a general idea of how I want to bars/stem and seat to look on the bike. I'm tempted to leave the bike un-painted cause I think the steel and white tires are a pretty killer combo. Lots more to come but I needed a little visual stimulation and encouragement to know I was headed in the right direction!

I love the way paint bubbles with some chemicals...
ry%3D400


ry%3D400


ry%3D400


ry%3D400


I'm hoping for a wind-less day tomorrow for some paint and then it's workin' on all the goodies and details. Thanks for looking!
 
Re: Barefoot Delivery Service- Early Mock Up

Real sharp. I love the lines. :mrgreen:
 
Re: Barefoot Delivery Service- Early Mock Up

The swoop of the top bar up and then down into the seat is wonderful. And the white tires and bare steel is very pleasant on the eye.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top