Midriff-ter : Holiday Up North....pg 6 !

[OddJob]

Thanks @Captain Awesome ! I am really happy how it's turning out. Changed feel a little bit in the rat-ina, but it's that old '70s 4x4 pickup vibe I was trying to achieve. (looks better in person!)
'preciate the nod!

 

[OddJob]

Such a cool build! All the patina work looks amazing. I would never have thought to do the stickers like that but it really works. Nicely done!

Thanks Pondo! I did that technique on my first build with my Grain Belt Beer logos and my Cold Beer arrow on Beer Boy Delivery. It's scary doing it, because you only have one chance to not 'over do it'.

 

[The Renaissance Man]

The decals look just right with the rest of the bike!

 

[Jude Ephesus]

-I like the ‘con-fusion’ reference!

 

[OddJob]

The decals look just right with the rest of the bike!

Thanks TRM! That's a compliment from a guy who always gets things to 'look just right' !

 

[OddJob]

-I like the ‘con-fusion’ reference!

Yeah, now that I think about it, it could have a few different meanings. "Not" - Fusion (at least from the original model), "Mixed"-Fusion ( a jumble of non-original parts), "What is it?" - Fusion ( hard to tell what the original looked like!)

Thanks Jude~!

 

[ingola]

I'm usually not a faux tina guy but done right it's cool and yours is done right

 

[OddJob]

I'm usually not a faux tina guy but done right it's cool and yours is done right

Thanks Iggy! I'm always excited to 'win over' a convert!

 

[OddJob]

Stage 1 is complete. Headset and new narrow / wide chainring arrived yesterday. I was spending the day with my wife and my mom, turned 90 this past September, at Mom's condo back in my hometown all day yesterday to celebrate Mother's Day weekend.

I plan to get the headset installed, chainring mounted, derailleur and shifter adjusted, mount pedals, brakes installed and bled etc over the next 3 days, and then hopefully shoot my first test ride video on Tuesday!

As she sits right now...

RaT oN~!

 

[Shrunken_Head_Pedaler]

Stage 1 is complete. Headset and new narrow / wide chainring arrived yesterday. I was spending the day with my wife and my mom, turned 90 this past September, at Mom's condo back in my hometown all day yesterday to celebrate Mother's Day weekend.

I plan to get the headset installed, chainring mounted, derailleur and shifter adjusted, mount pedals, brakes installed and bled etc over the next 3 days, and then hopefully shoot my first test ride video on Tuesday!

As she sits right now...

View attachment 232286

RaT oN~!

Great bike and great photo! I would be very hyped to ride this.

 

[OddJob]

Great bike and great photo! I would be very hyped to ride this.

Thanks man! Yeah, can't wait to hit the dirt!

 

[metalchewy]

Thanks for the reminder. Almost forgot mother's day this weekend.

Bike is looking good. Gonna be an awesome ride.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Thanks for the reminder. Almost forgot mother's day this weekend.

You know that you have the Rat Disorder bad when you come here for calendar updates

 

[OddJob]

That's ol' OJ, bringing the news and weather round the clock.

 

[metalchewy]

You know that you have the Rat Disorder bad when you come here for calendar updates

From time to time, I am sure my wife can tell you all sorts of disorders I may have. old things with rust is just one of the milder ones.... hehehe

That's ol' OJ, bringing the news and weather round the clock.

View attachment 232299

Its 10PM, The rust report is about to start. Do you know where your Ratt'ers are?

 

[SkyknightJohn]

Only you can prevent an aluminum frame from NOT rusting!

Looking good.

 

[OddJob]

Productive morning / early afternoon. Made a quick trip to the bike shop to use the 1 1/2" crown race setter, then back to the BACK40 for assembly of the headset, mounting shifter and cable and adjusting, mounting hydraulic brake set I got from our 'cheapo parts box' last week at ye olde shoppe, and slapped on a set of mtb pedals and cruised over to our Applewood Park, across the pond from the BACK40.

My reach is decent on the bike, the really high 1978 Yamaha motocross bars put me a bit too much on my saddle, it would be better if I had bars that were about 35 mm rise instead of this 80 mm rise. More weight over the front would give me more precise handling. On the other hand, I'm not looking to tear up the singletrack anymore.

The brake housing isn't to length yet, and the rear isn't hooked up to the caliper properly, so I only had front brakes, but they worked great! No dirt without a rear brake for this old guy!

A few photos from my first cruise...

 

[OddJob]

As cool and retro and ratty as these handlebars are, they are just too tall for this build. I will be raising my seat probably only another 1/2" from what it's pictured here for aggressive off-road riding. I need the handlebar grips and seat height to be just about equal for my best riding posture. Okay if the grips are a little above, but not 4 inches above.

On Desert Sky, my 26" klunker I have out in AZ, the fit is just about perfect. Laid back seat post extends the top tube reach and room for my long femur bone to put my knee where it should be above the pedal, and the heights of my seat and hands is just about right on. This bike rides great, and I want to get close to that.

Granted, we have modern frame geometry in this 2015 'suspension correct' frame design made for using a 120 mm travel suspension fork. The current geometry is not 'long and low' like our early mtb's from the '80s to around 2000. The frames now have a higher 'stack height' to absorb the amount of lowering of the front end when the fork is fully compressed. So I will figure that in, and the fact that I don't want to be too far forward on the bike at my age / diminishing skill level.

Here is approx where I have to be to get a similar handling and ride that I have on Desert Sky on my current build, Midriff-ter. Accounting for raising my saddle a bit from it's current position.

So a bar with maybe a 7 degree rise with a little sweep back should work, or my Nitto bar that is perfectly flat and has a really nice bend to it. The Titec laid back post and Nitto bar were both staples on my Fat Rat, first ever RaT RoD bike I ever built, and that rode great!

 

[Jude Ephesus]

As cool and retro and ratty as these handlebars are, they are just too tall for this build. I will be raising my seat probably only another 1/2" from what it's pictured here for aggressive off-road riding. I need the handlebar grips and seat height to be just about equal for my best riding posture. Okay if the grips are a little above, but not 4 inches above.

On Desert Sky, my 26" klunker I have out in AZ, the fit is just about perfect. Laid back seat post extends the top tube reach and room for my long femur bone to put my knee where it should be above the pedal, and the heights of my seat and hands is just about right on. This bike rides great, and I want to get close to that.
View attachment 232423

Granted, we have modern frame geometry in this 2015 'suspension correct' frame design made for using a 120 mm travel suspension fork. The current geometry is not 'long and low' like our early mtb's from the '80s to around 2000. The frames now have a higher 'stack height' to absorb the amount of lowering of the front end when the fork is fully compressed. So I will figure that in, and the fact that I don't want to be too far forward on the bike at my age / diminishing skill level.

Here is approx where I have to be to get a similar handling and ride that I have on Desert Sky on my current build, Midriff-ter. Accounting for raising my saddle a bit from it's current position.

View attachment 232424

So a bar with maybe a 7 degree rise with a little sweep back should work, or my Nitto bar that is perfectly flat and has a really nice bend to it. The Titec laid back post and Nitto bar were both staples on my Fat Rat, first ever RaT RoD bike I ever built, and that rode great!

Impressive! Although I must confess, the more upright the riding position the better for me, personally.

-from a distance it may look like you’re splitting hairs, but those original rat bars do have a severe impact on your riding geometry.

I do like the looks of your original selection here, but rider comfort prevails, and if you need a more aggressive riding position, have at it!

 

[metalchewy]

As cool and retro and ratty as these handlebars are, they are just too tall for this build. I will be raising my seat probably only another 1/2" from what it's pictured here for aggressive off-road riding. I need the handlebar grips and seat height to be just about equal for my best riding posture. Okay if the grips are a little above, but not 4 inches above.

On Desert Sky, my 26" klunker I have out in AZ, the fit is just about perfect. Laid back seat post extends the top tube reach and room for my long femur bone to put my knee where it should be above the pedal, and the heights of my seat and hands is just about right on. This bike rides great, and I want to get close to that.
View attachment 232423

Granted, we have modern frame geometry in this 2015 'suspension correct' frame design made for using a 120 mm travel suspension fork. The current geometry is not 'long and low' like our early mtb's from the '80s to around 2000. The frames now have a higher 'stack height' to absorb the amount of lowering of the front end when the fork is fully compressed. So I will figure that in, and the fact that I don't want to be too far forward on the bike at my age / diminishing skill level.

Here is approx where I have to be to get a similar handling and ride that I have on Desert Sky on my current build, Midriff-ter. Accounting for raising my saddle a bit from it's current position.

View attachment 232424

So a bar with maybe a 7 degree rise with a little sweep back should work, or my Nitto bar that is perfectly flat and has a really nice bend to it. The Titec laid back post and Nitto bar were both staples on my Fat Rat, first ever RaT RoD bike I ever built, and that rode great!

If you really like the bars, Have you thought about flipping the that clamped on neck upside down? That could drop the bars down about 1-1/2".