Electra cruiser 1
- Thread starter Phranq
- Start date
Help Support Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum:
Last night I was in a rush to paint the other side, but I was in a rush so the paint was slightly tacky when I flipped them. When painting, TAKE YOUR TIME! I could sand and correct them, but I’ll just put them on the inside of the fork. The other sides look much better other than some dust getting on the finish when it was tacky. It’s ok tho, we’re planning on moving to a bigger house soon, so then I’ll hopefully have a garage or workshop of some sort. Also planning on a 2nd bike so I don’t have to rush to get things done.
Decided I was gonna work on my rear rack. I used pvc because it’s flexible and won’t mess up my frame. I used electrical tape to cover most of it because paint is less flexible than pvc, so it will chip off and look horrible. I’m not too worried about using tape because it will look good at a distance.
I’m gonna use p clamps to attach it to the frame. To flatten pvc, just heat over the stove, hold it an inch or two above the burner, keep rotating it, and don’t let it smoke. When it gets flexible, press it flat, and hold it for two minutes.
I think I’m gonna put some sort of metal trim on the wood paneling, possibly gonna sticker bomb the wood. I also have an inset for the frame near the steer tube, it’s in some pictures already, but I need to trim them and make them look nicer.
Bending pvc is too fun... I made this rod holder suspension to bolt to the deck of my kayak, but it also clips to my bike. This might be useful in the near future. It might be time to invest in a kickstand...
Alrighty, she’s back on the road! The rear rack is waaaaaay better than it was, it’s cut better to fit the frame, and the new braces help A LOT. I got it more level than it was, and towing should be a little bit easier. It’s pretty cold and windy today, but I got a couple miles in. It’s hard to push against the wind knowing i have a 5 speed in the mail.
Very nice chopper, sir!
I like your unconventional approach to creating a chopper. I also like the blacked out components instead of the more common chrome finish.
Thank you! I’m not the biggest fan of chrome, but I did leave some “under the hood” lol. I saw a older dude riding a nirve chopper of some sort down the street and i didn’t have a clue what it was so I thought I would just be able to throw long forks on a beach cruiser and call it good lol. When I went to the bike shop I fell in love with the Electra the second I saw it. It already had black hardware, so I kept the color theme it came with. It did work with just the fork, but got more comfortable when I put a layback seat post on it, but then I thought it wasn’t low enough in the back so I searched the internet forever for something to lower the back with. I think in total this bike is still under 500 bucks, and I only used new parts, and I got the bike new. This build is about to get crazy though, like an irresponsible child I spent all my Christmas money on bike parts. As it sits anyone can build one in an afternoon with less than 500 bucks. Thank you all for appreciating my bike! When I built it I thought I was gonna be the only person who would actually like it lol
There is nothing wrong with building a bike liked only by you. Build what you like.
I’ll get this prettier when I have the rest of the parts I need to work with... the p clamps make for a rock solid mount, I shouldn’t have any slippage at all. I’m gonna up the size of the p clamp holding the shift leaver on, and downsize the end washers once I have my chopped piece of handlebar attached. It’s not pretty yet, but It will be and I’m proud of it.
Once the hub kit arrives I’ll be able to measure the grip, then I’ll cut a piece of steel tube to fix it to, that will go in place of the pvc pipe shown, and it should work great! I think instead of capping the end with a pvc cap, I might make a shift boot out of canvas.
I like your layout and where you’re heading.
One question, can everything be shifted to the left?
Meaning toward the center of the frame?
The picture makes it look like one of the center spacers could be removed and the black piece put in it’s place, then the right side P-clamp and the rest of the assembly.
Again, digging the direction you’re taking this bike
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
One question, can everything be shifted to the left?
Meaning toward the center of the frame?
The picture makes it look like one of the center spacers could be removed and the black piece put in it’s place, then the right side P-clamp and the rest of the assembly.
Again, digging the direction you’re taking this bike
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
