I have to start somewhere....

[feuerdog]

I have not really "modded" or "hacked" a bike before, so all this freak bike/rat rod bike stuff is relatively new to me.
I do enjoy customizing things though, especially my car(s), and I think I have a good eye for unique styles.
I am probably going to end up dead center in the middle of freak/ratrod/steampunk styling arenas, but I won't know for sure until I start playin' with my newly acquired bikes.
Part of the excitement right now is the choices I have and the ideas that are floating around in my head. However, I have to start somewhere, so in the past few weeks i've started to assemble, or rather gather, some....um, inspiration.

22 pics hosted at Imageshack: http://img180.imageshack.us/gal.php?g=dsc0329w.jpg

The orange R30 Mongoose bmx frame was free from a local bike shop.
The chrome Lovely Lowrider frame was a complete lowrider bike that I picked up from a friend for $60.
The parts from the lowrider are going to be used on the Mongoose frame. I'll probably go with a more modern custom look for this bike.

The Schwinn Collegiate womens was free from my friend.
The womans Ross bike I picked up today for $20.
These two bikes will probably get parted out in various ways, chopped up, extended, and if I get some welding equipment, most likely turned into some kind of "burrito" type frame scraper.

The mens Schwinn 10 speed(?), kids Schwinn bmx, and other black/green kids bike were picked up from a yard sale today for $70.
The mens Schwinn looks like a good candidate for some kind of "vintaging" or "ratting". If nothing else a nice set of white walls and a good cleaning/tuning should bring some new life to this bike.

The blue kids bmx has alot of potential too. It's in good condition as is, but it might turn out to be worthy of a good "mini-ratting".
The other kids bmx will probably be relegated to parts and chop/modding material.

So,...now that i'm knee deep in bikes, I don't have any excuses, right?
One things for sure, I need a bigger shed.

Let the customizing begin!

 

[KOTA]

We ALL had to start somewhere. Make the bike(s) YOU want....Everybody has their own style. Sometimes it's funny, you see a bike, don't know anything about it, but you can guess who made it.

 

[sensor]

We ALL had to start somewhere. Make the bike(s) YOU want....Everybody has their own style. Sometimes it's funny, you see a bike, don't know anything about it, but you can guess who made it.

hes 100% right and i think youre off to a great start

 

[Markm]

Those varsity's/collegiates can be made into lotsa things...

:mrgreen: :mrgreen:

 

[stretch]

nice transformations mark! but, also can be made into this: :mrgreen:

or even this!

 

[feuerdog]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the support and the ideas.

Kota, I think our style appreciation is very close,....it probably has to do with our ages, or lack of hair,.....or even our desire to lose a few pounds. Whatever it is I really like your bikes.

Stretch, your two Schwinns are pretty much exactly what I had in mind, but I don't know if my finished products will look quite as good.

Like I mentioned above, one of the womens framed bikes will probably be combined with the kids bmx and some extensions to form a junker/burrito. I'm thinking some kind of acid wash/rust/corrosion make-over may work well for it.

The mens Schwinn will probably get a simple decluttering and converted to a single speed, and i'll probably go with some kind of tan/natural/cream/brown combo,...we'll see where it tells me to go when I get there.

There is one bike not shown, becuase it doesn't exist yet. I have about half a dozen design and engineering sheets done up for it, but it's going to take some tricky fabrication and more than a little luck to pull off. If i'm successful it won't be like anything i've seen anywhere.
My intro post has a few pictures of front single side arm bikes and that is where this fantasy bike has its origin of inspiration.
These other bikes are going to be practice for this fantasy bike.
Even though it might not ever see the light of day, I figure if I post about it now then i'll have a constant reminder of why I need to follow through and make it work. Just don't expect to see any progress on it until maybe next year.

The orange Mongoose is my main focus right now, once I figure out what size 3-piece bottom it needs, i'll be able to works on some shorter crank arms for it. A few more bits here and there, some grinding and smoothing, a custom saddle, and it should be ready for its colors.

Again, seeing all the different kinds of bikes from so many different places and people is pretty cool. Thanks again for the welcome!

 

[feuerdog]

The best laid plans.....

My orange Mongoose(aka "Guido"/see movie; "Cars") is turning into a PITA,...it seems it has an older American style 28TPI bottom bracket, which I guess are somewhat rare(r) than they used to be? Anyways, as my knowledge of bottom brackets progresses hopefully i'll be able to source something that will work on this bike.

Two questions:
1. Does a 28TPI 68mm BB compatible with a short arm(low rider 3 1/2"~4 1/2") single piece crank exist?
2. Is there a conversion for this BB that allows a more modern cartridge, or non-threaded BB?

However,....

During disassembly of my womens Schwinn collegiate.....

....I found that it too has a 28TPI bottom bracket. It has a tapered axle too. The crank arms are way too long to be used on the low riding Mongoose, but its at least nice to know I have something to test fit/swap around.

The only issue now becomes one of this bikes destiny,...which i've already begun planning.
I will probably need this bottom bracket to stay with the bike.
I have a finalized idea for this bike(aka "Emma") already, but there are several design challenges involved.....

1. I'm a guy and it's a girls bike. When it's done I want it to look like a guys bike, not a girls bike.
2. I want to stretch it out, and lower it down. This will be a recurring theme for all my bikes I think.
3. Learn by doing. As this is my first custom bike outside of typical parts swapping I want to see what I can get away with, test my creativity, and be original.
4. No welding. This is really going to limit my frame modification abilities, but I intend to work with the skills and tools I have available, namely; wood.
5. KISS. I don't need my first bike to be a frame scrapin', spark throwin', unstable steering, mega burrito(...but thats whats on my mind).
6. As per SOP, have fun.

I have some sketches done, some new measurements and test fits done, and even a name for the bike when complete,....if it turns out.
"Emma" will be sacrificed to create....[diabolical laugh]mwahahahaaaa[/diabolical laugh] "Strange Cargo".
She won't be a "burrito" per se, but she will be a little over 7' long, on narrow 26's, and ride somewhat low to the ground.
I'll post more in the coming weeks.

 

[stretch]

sketches of the stretches?! lets see! :mrgreen:

 

[feuerdog]

Artwork it is not, and these are more engineering concepts than design intentions and have no real detail when it comes to color/finish/accessories, etc. I think I have a good eye for color, but i like drawing mono chromatically. I don't want to give too much of the build away either, so expect things to change a bit from these drawings.

EDIT: Sorry, original pic was too big. Fixed.

There are also various stages of ideas, as well as multiple bikes and doodles included. This constitutes only a fraction of the ideas i've drawn up, the rest were scrapped or evolved away from. I found myself going a little too deep into the extreme end at first, and tried to dumb things back a bit for my own sanity.

I have MS Paint and GIMP for PC based stuff but I haven't found digital manipulation as easy.
So, as you can see, I physically chop up a print of a photo. I then twist the parts around my intended look, and fill the gaps in with some sketching.
I try not to be too specific with dimensions since they will probably change during construction.

 

[feuerdog]

My orange Mongoose(aka "Guido"/see movie; "Cars") is turning into a PITA,...it seems it has an older American style 28TPI bottom bracket,.....

Two questions:
1. Does a 28TPI 68mm BB compatible with a short arm(low rider 3 1/2"~4 1/2") single piece crank exist?
2. Is there a conversion for this BB that allows a more modern cartridge, or non-threaded BB?

However,....

During disassembly of my womens Schwinn collegiate.....

....I found that it too has a 28TPI bottom bracket. It has a tapered axle too. The crank arms are way too long to be used on the low riding Mongoose,....

Correction,..that probably isn't a 28tpi BB, it's probably just a normal 24tpi,....i'm a noob.

Some other new bits and pieces.....

1. I picked up Diamondback clunker for $5 last week that will serve well as a sacrificial parts bike.
2. The BB on the Mongoose and the BB on the new Diamondback are the same.
There was difficulty in test fitting the Mongoose BB since the threads were a little chewed up and rust packed.
A little elbow grease and some wire brushwork and the threads became alot easier to play with.
3. The Mongoose can use the BB but the Diamondback tapered square cranks are way too long. If I can't find some really short cranks(100mm?) then I might need to do some creative drilling.
4. 26 x 1 3/8 does not always equal 26 x 1 3/8. Note to self: Old Schwinn parts can be unique. Also, not all Schwinn bikes have thier original Schwinn wheel sets.
5. 27 inch gumwall tires are not always in stock at the LBS.
6. My "Strange Cargo" project is in design limbo. I don't want to spoil the design by sharing to much detail, but because wood is involved it's easy be creative, and therefore make changes.
I need to narrow the focus of the design before I can make more progress and really commit to the build.
7. "Guido" the Mongoose is back on the board looking for a seat modification and crank arms.

Once the planning and parts collecting stages are done, i'll start posting picks of the builds in the build forum. Right now there isn't anything new to show.
I hope to have something in a serviceable state by the end of the month though,...we have a local gathering on the 30th that i'd like to make.