I love all of your experimentation and all of the looks you are showing us. I really dig the last one.
ELGIN TWIN 9
- Thread starter Reallybigtim
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It was never really my intention to have a "signature style", but I am greatly honored that it has inspired many others to build their own versions of my original RAT FREAK. With that being said, I would completely agree that the BLUE FLAME Special is preferred with the more traditional stance.
The Renaissance Man
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The second version looks great and will most definitely be more enjoyable to ride!
BFS is just the sickest thing I've seen in a while. I'm not sure where you are but here in SoCal (in Long Beach) we have a huge monthly vintage bike swap-meet and this would be huge hit there. I've been hoarding some really nice parts for a 24' inch Typhoon build but I'm a business owner with a 3 year old son so I don't know when I'll get to it but your work is super inspiring..
Thanks, Nick. I am in Ohio, but I get a lot of positive feedback from the west coast. The 24" bikes are an interesting size to modify. The 26" frames are too tall for a low build, and 20" frames are too small for an adult. The 24" frame makes many more ideas possible. Good luck!
I had a very strange thing happen to me today. A local guy that deals in vintage bikes showed up at my house and bought every bike that I owned (over 100 bikes) and all of my parts. He even bought the RAT FREAK bike, and wants to try some crazy builds of his own. I kept a few parts but I basically own no bikes anymore. So now I need to choose which version of the BLUE FLAME Special that I am going to submit. Weird day, for sure!
Sounds like a reallybigday reallybigtim !
Wow! That must be a drastic change. Having any withdrawal symptoms yet?
That's Crazy! Cool though if the price was right?
It is surreal, for sure. And there was an empty feeling when we made the deal. But I had a lot of stuff (that I collected early) that I had no interest in now. So, I feel that I have cleaned the slate and can start over. I am more into the treasure hunting and the creating/building aspect of the hobby anyway, so this actually feels good. Now I can bring home bikes again without guilt. It had been a long time since I could do that. And I've got all my garage space back! This is the only bike I kept: my old Cheater Slick that I have had for probably 35 years.
Sold everything! That just shows you how far I will go to not have to clean a bike!
MattiThundrrr
Rattus All Terrainus
Everything except for Blue Flame? Or is the mockup the finished product?
Yep, Blue Flame is gone also. Now I have to pick one of the 3 mock-up versions to enter in the build-off. But I did keep a small stash of choice parts for future builds. And I am definitely going to be buying more bikes. Actually, I have 2 different events just this weekend where I usually find good bike stuff. My goal is to find stuff that I've never previously owned. If I find something really cool, I might change my build-off entry. Or even enter in something in class II. I still have a bunch of ideas in my head. Stay tuned.
MattiThundrrr
Rattus All Terrainus
Well I have almost achieved "page 3 slacker" status, so I better do something drastic. It's very difficult to stay current when you no longer own your build-off bike. And I don't want to just post "filler" to stay high on the list. Honestly, I was very disappointed with how the BLUE FLAME was turning out. As I have stated before, I am my own worst critic, which can be a curse or a blessing. I was even trying different versions to see if something would be acceptable. That failed also. And I just cannot bring myself to submit something that doesn't satisfy me. Therefore, I am removing the BLUE FLAME Special from the competition. But I do have a bike that I believe will be satisfactory. Typically, I always want to build something (for the build-off) that I have never owned before. But instead of starting a whole new thread for the new build, I will leave the BLUE FLAME progress posted because failure is always a part of the creating process, a big part. "And now, something completely different........"
There is lots of time still. I am curious what will be your next creation.
My new build-off project is a type of bike that I never thought I would own. Mostly because the remaining examples are usually restored and always seem to be loaded with fancy stuff. Since I am more of a minimalistic builder, I don't care for bikes with a lot of "stuff" on them. To me, it's more challenging to create something cool with less. That makes it so the bike has to stand solely on its design rather than how much extra stuff that's bolted on to it. Fortunately, they also made a base model version of my new project, which is the model I bought. But even the base model has too many options for my liking (fenders, headlight, chrome wheels). So, my idea is to create a new model of an old bike. Since the model designations for this bike were numbers, I am going to call my sub-base model a 10. And because I have fallen in love with this bike, I am going to call it "A perfect 10". The reason for the term "perfect" is because it has perfect patina. Any guesses as to what it is?
I'd say X53, but they didn't have a base model. Maybe it's a Spaceliner.
