Re: BILLET BULLIT (LAKEPIPE installed! ;-) may 13th
Agreed!.......Never seen pipes pointing forward.OUTLAW said:
** BILLET BULLET ** RRBBO#4
- Thread starter herr_rudolf
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Re: BILLET BULLIT (long overdue CONCEPT sketch) may 14th
Because I have not much experience in bikebuilding and fabricating I didn't have a fixed vision of how my bike is going to look like when finished. I am planning this build one piece at a time. The look of a finished piece is totally depending on the piece(s) that went before. (I wouldn't have a hoop surrounding my headlight if I hadn't had a hoop surrounding my backlight. I wouldn't have had a hoop surrounding my backlight if my first idea of the straight struts for my rack didn't look as awfull as they did... Etc. As my fabricating keeps on progressing succesfully it could end up like my 'concept sketch' (bottom).
I had this woodie idea for my ATB (click here) but it 'wood' not be very handy because of the daily abuse that bike gets... It seems that I don't have any time to tinker with that bike anyway, so why not use some wood on my mixte... I was thinking about extending the 'lines' from the rack to the front. And hopefully it will end the add-on-look this bike seems to be getting.... I think I have to redo the rack.
And while I'm at it, I could fabricate a pair of skirtguards as well. Thanks bikeriderx for pointing that out to me:
The color I'm not sure about... Seems I always get drawn to this metalic purple I found. It will definately be a dark metalic just to set off the bright aluminum. Green would be a right choice also for this bike.
We'll see.
Because I have not much experience in bikebuilding and fabricating I didn't have a fixed vision of how my bike is going to look like when finished. I am planning this build one piece at a time. The look of a finished piece is totally depending on the piece(s) that went before. (I wouldn't have a hoop surrounding my headlight if I hadn't had a hoop surrounding my backlight. I wouldn't have had a hoop surrounding my backlight if my first idea of the straight struts for my rack didn't look as awfull as they did... Etc. As my fabricating keeps on progressing succesfully it could end up like my 'concept sketch' (bottom).
I had this woodie idea for my ATB (click here) but it 'wood' not be very handy because of the daily abuse that bike gets... It seems that I don't have any time to tinker with that bike anyway, so why not use some wood on my mixte... I was thinking about extending the 'lines' from the rack to the front. And hopefully it will end the add-on-look this bike seems to be getting.... I think I have to redo the rack.
And while I'm at it, I could fabricate a pair of skirtguards as well. Thanks bikeriderx for pointing that out to me:
bikeriderx said:
The color I'm not sure about... Seems I always get drawn to this metalic purple I found. It will definately be a dark metalic just to set off the bright aluminum. Green would be a right choice also for this bike.
We'll see.
Re: BILLET BULLIT (long overdue CONCEPT-SKETCH) may 14th
Thanks! I'm always on the look-out for nice paint. Candy purple over BIG metalflakes would be very nice indeed, but I haven't foud it (yet). I did however find a beautiful metalic purple (small flakes).
N8NBOX said:
Thanks! I'm always on the look-out for nice paint. Candy purple over BIG metalflakes would be very nice indeed, but I haven't foud it (yet). I did however find a beautiful metalic purple (small flakes).
Re: BILLET BULLIT (long overdue CONCEPT-SKETCH) may 14th
As I said, I didn't had any luck finding brakelevers that'll fit my somewhat big diametered handlebars. Ofcourse, the last bicyclerepairman in town had a very basic and VERY cheap (looking) lever. The good part was, it seemed solid aluminum. The best part was that it only costed me 2 euros a piece. (bought 2 so I could experiment a little bit.) Ofcours these didn't fit, but I could make a bracket for this thing so it PROBABLY would fit. And so I did.
^ before (left) and after (right)
I grinded the cast lever down to a slim and sharp-edged piece of 'billet' so that it would fit my bike better. That took a lot more time than expected... I should put more time in sanding but I think I did okay for now. Besides, it doesn't have to be perfect. I like it that you can see that it's all done by hand when you take a close look at the details of a bike. It's not done yet. I probably want to change the much too wide rubber I used on it.
As I said, I didn't had any luck finding brakelevers that'll fit my somewhat big diametered handlebars. Ofcourse, the last bicyclerepairman in town had a very basic and VERY cheap (looking) lever. The good part was, it seemed solid aluminum. The best part was that it only costed me 2 euros a piece. (bought 2 so I could experiment a little bit.) Ofcours these didn't fit, but I could make a bracket for this thing so it PROBABLY would fit. And so I did.
^ before (left) and after (right)
I grinded the cast lever down to a slim and sharp-edged piece of 'billet' so that it would fit my bike better. That took a lot more time than expected... I should put more time in sanding but I think I did okay for now. Besides, it doesn't have to be perfect. I like it that you can see that it's all done by hand when you take a close look at the details of a bike. It's not done yet. I probably want to change the much too wide rubber I used on it.
Re: BILLET BULLIT (custom breaklever) may 15th
those levers came out great. see, make em your own and what do ya get? don't have to say, man, you got it.lol
Outlaw
those levers came out great. see, make em your own and what do ya get? don't have to say, man, you got it.lol
Outlaw
Re: BILLET BULLIT (custom breaklever) may 15th
haha, thanks guys!
Sometimes things just come out right. Aluminum is a relatively easy metal to work with, and the only metal I'm able to work with. A benchgrinder would be great probably. I'm still using rasps, files, sandpaper, and steelwool. Maybe I'll start saving for some decent powertools... First on the list: A dremel.
You're right outlaw, if you think you can make it yourself, you'll probably can
haha, thanks guys!
Sometimes things just come out right. Aluminum is a relatively easy metal to work with, and the only metal I'm able to work with. A benchgrinder would be great probably. I'm still using rasps, files, sandpaper, and steelwool. Maybe I'll start saving for some decent powertools... First on the list: A dremel.
You're right outlaw, if you think you can make it yourself, you'll probably can
Re: BILLET BULLIT (custom breaklever) may 15th
you bet. great work and you do it my hand,i am impressed.
Outlaw
you bet. great work and you do it my hand,i am impressed.
Outlaw
Re: BILLET BULLIT (custom breaklever) may 15th
Well, I do sometimes use a belt-sander that I mount to the workbench. And a drill ofcourse. I still have to shape the pieces roughly by hand. Then I get all the bumps out by using the beltsander, but stil very roughly. The metal gets very hot very quickly, so you can't be too precise with such a large tool. Aluminum ofcourse is very soft, and bound to be damaged easily.. So it's back to the files and sandpapers.
Well, I do sometimes use a belt-sander that I mount to the workbench. And a drill ofcourse. I still have to shape the pieces roughly by hand. Then I get all the bumps out by using the beltsander, but stil very roughly. The metal gets very hot very quickly, so you can't be too precise with such a large tool. Aluminum ofcourse is very soft, and bound to be damaged easily.. So it's back to the files and sandpapers.
Re: BILLET BULLIT (custom breaklever) may 15th
I LIKE THIS BIKE!.................SOOOO...........Are you gonna make an all alumimum "seat"?.....(hint...hint) or maybe a little wood stake bed on the rear carrier, would look good with the "woody" theme.
I LIKE THIS BIKE!.................SOOOO...........Are you gonna make an all alumimum "seat"?.....(hint...hint) or maybe a little wood stake bed on the rear carrier, would look good with the "woody" theme.
Re: BILLET BULLIT (custom breaklever) may 15th
WOW :!: :shock: :!: :shock: :mrgreen:
WOW :!: :shock: :!: :shock: :mrgreen:
Re: BILLET BULLIT (custom breaklever) may 15th
Haha, thanks. But, to each it's own ofcourse. 'Less is more' That's a phrase I use more than you probably can imagine. But if 'less is more' was the way of thinking on this build I probably would end up with a boring, cooky-cutter, urban, hip fixie that EVERYONE seems to like these days. Overhere they are getting a bit too hip and in-vogue for my liking. The only fun I'd have while building a fixie, would be to come up with a hillarious name like 'mixie-fixie' or some sort... As I said: I love the 'less is more'-philosophy and I do have a few future projects in the shed. One of em is bound to be build in the less-is-more cattegory.
I like lots of different styles of bikebuilding. I love the clean lines of a well built fixie. (..but wouldn't want to be caught dead on one. Unless in a head-on collision ofcourse) And I like some of the low and clean mountainbikes. I LOVE cruisers, have lots of Ideas for em but can't find a cheap AND nice looking frame. I really wanna build a boardtracker some day. But most of all: I love good styling. Wheather it's done with lots of add-ons, or with no add-ons at all, whatever enhances the original lines of the bike. And IF I use an add-on, I'll do anything I can to use one I made myself.
What else can I say? I'm just not the furr seat, sissybar, and fuzzy dice-kinda guy ;-) wink wink
(like you seem to be..? sorry kingpin, but I can't find any other post of bikes you've build than this one: The Kiwi ...so far. Could you post some links? I would really appreciate that. You've made me curious to your builds, but I think we have different opinions on what's beautiful and what's not. Please DO surprise me though... And keep on building!
For now I'll stick with ugly alluminum to pimp-my-ride.
;-)
kingpin said:
Haha, thanks. But, to each it's own ofcourse. 'Less is more' That's a phrase I use more than you probably can imagine. But if 'less is more' was the way of thinking on this build I probably would end up with a boring, cooky-cutter, urban, hip fixie that EVERYONE seems to like these days. Overhere they are getting a bit too hip and in-vogue for my liking. The only fun I'd have while building a fixie, would be to come up with a hillarious name like 'mixie-fixie' or some sort... As I said: I love the 'less is more'-philosophy and I do have a few future projects in the shed. One of em is bound to be build in the less-is-more cattegory.
I like lots of different styles of bikebuilding. I love the clean lines of a well built fixie. (..but wouldn't want to be caught dead on one. Unless in a head-on collision ofcourse) And I like some of the low and clean mountainbikes. I LOVE cruisers, have lots of Ideas for em but can't find a cheap AND nice looking frame. I really wanna build a boardtracker some day. But most of all: I love good styling. Wheather it's done with lots of add-ons, or with no add-ons at all, whatever enhances the original lines of the bike. And IF I use an add-on, I'll do anything I can to use one I made myself.
What else can I say? I'm just not the furr seat, sissybar, and fuzzy dice-kinda guy ;-) wink wink
(like you seem to be..? sorry kingpin, but I can't find any other post of bikes you've build than this one: The Kiwi ...so far. Could you post some links? I would really appreciate that. You've made me curious to your builds, but I think we have different opinions on what's beautiful and what's not. Please DO surprise me though... And keep on building!
For now I'll stick with ugly alluminum to pimp-my-ride.
;-)
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Re: BILLET BULLIT (custom breaklever) may 15th
sorry about that last post man...dont know what i was thinking!
of course every one has different tastes...i know what u mean about not being able to find nice frames etc...im in new zealand and i dont think we ever got beach cruisers etc here
i dont have alot of my bikes online...this is the first custom i built...built it for a young friend....
sorry about that last post man...dont know what i was thinking!
of course every one has different tastes...i know what u mean about not being able to find nice frames etc...im in new zealand and i dont think we ever got beach cruisers etc here
i dont have alot of my bikes online...this is the first custom i built...built it for a young friend....
Re: BILLET BULLIT (custom breaklever) may 15th
EDIT
errr... After reading it on a new day, I thought MY post came out a little too negative for my liking. I have dfficulty, but trying my best, translating my Dutch mind into English typing, so subtleties are bound to get lost. Sorry for that Kingpin, (and all others I may have offended). You DID appologise and I appreciate that.
I see what you mean Gold Street Customs: Negativity generates negativity, huh?
And now:
Back to building bikes!
EDIT
errr... After reading it on a new day, I thought MY post came out a little too negative for my liking. I have dfficulty, but trying my best, translating my Dutch mind into English typing, so subtleties are bound to get lost. Sorry for that Kingpin, (and all others I may have offended). You DID appologise and I appreciate that.
I see what you mean Gold Street Customs: Negativity generates negativity, huh?
And now:
Back to building bikes!
Re: BILLET BULLIT (custom breaklever) may 15th
...anyway...
I've been rebuilding my rack. As I said before, I wasn't completely happy with the overall look: The loose ends; the curve in the 'bed' that was completely blocked by the rack... I just started building not knowing what would come out. I now use a different starting point for the bed. Furthermore I managed to connect the two loose ends. I still have to round-off some brackets and detail the thing.
Then I started working on my 'tank', errrr, panel ;-) As you can see in my 'concept-sketch' this bike will be a 'woodie'. That is... if I can pull it off... I started by making a cartboard template. Then came the alloy-strips. Had some difficulties creating the right angles and curves. So after A LOT of trial fits I was finally happy about the frame for the panels and started trying to come up with mounting sollutions. That's always the hardest part:
It now lines up perfectly to the rack, pointing downwards to the front (to the shifter) parallel to the chain stays, creating a visually lower front end. Now it's got the all important hotrod-rake. IMO at least...
I still have to build the wooden sides and come up with a mounting solution.
I think I'm in the most fun stage of my build. The point where everything falls in it's place
...anyway...
I've been rebuilding my rack. As I said before, I wasn't completely happy with the overall look: The loose ends; the curve in the 'bed' that was completely blocked by the rack... I just started building not knowing what would come out. I now use a different starting point for the bed. Furthermore I managed to connect the two loose ends. I still have to round-off some brackets and detail the thing.
Then I started working on my 'tank', errrr, panel ;-) As you can see in my 'concept-sketch' this bike will be a 'woodie'. That is... if I can pull it off... I started by making a cartboard template. Then came the alloy-strips. Had some difficulties creating the right angles and curves. So after A LOT of trial fits I was finally happy about the frame for the panels and started trying to come up with mounting sollutions. That's always the hardest part:
It now lines up perfectly to the rack, pointing downwards to the front (to the shifter) parallel to the chain stays, creating a visually lower front end. Now it's got the all important hotrod-rake. IMO at least...
I still have to build the wooden sides and come up with a mounting solution.
I think I'm in the most fun stage of my build. The point where everything falls in it's place
