New Guy from Michigan

[robbadobba82]

Hey Guys/Gals,

I found this site a long time ago while looking for a Beach Cruiser type bike for my wife and I. We ended up getting his/hers mountain bikes but this site never left my head. I am fascinated by what you guys do with these old dilapidated bikes. My true passion is restoring cars but due to finances I can't do that right now. The bike restoration bug has bitten me..HARD and I think I could take this up as a permanent hobby. I have access to an old Schwinn? (I'm not sure cause it's up north at the moment) that I'd like to restore/mod or I might just pick something up off craigslist. My biggest obstacle in looking at under-taking this is parts. Where do you guys get all of your custom stuff? handlebars, wheels, tires, seats, etc. I've hit a couple of the lowrider bike sites and they seem to have pretty good stuff but for this schwinn mod I don't want chrome anything. I see a lot of you guys fabricate your own stuff too. I used to have a welder but not anymore. Would you say it's something I'd HAVE to have to be in this hobby? I can paint fairly well and am handy with pretty much any tool I touch. Thanks guys and I really look forward to learning a lot from you and maybe someday having something worthy of a build off!

-Rob

 

[jaysmo]

welcome.. I also am in the same boat as you i like the cars..but cant afford a lot of what i used to anymore i to got bite and hard..i don't have a welder at all.. i have already built 2 bikes one for the lady and one for me and am also working on a pr war Schwinn now.. parts come through here all the time and good ones i have also met a few well a lot of good people who will help you out and get or source parts for you..there even some here that will take on a fab project also for you..so my friend like i have found you ..or we are in the right place to get this hobby rolling...hope thats sooth all your worries and help you get on your way..and im from Michigan too...i live in Florida but im a U.N.M.B for 4life.......(UP NORTH MICHIGAN BOY)

 

[Fireproof]

Hey Rob, hello and welcome to RatRodBikes!
A welder????? No, you can do a bunch of cool stuff to yer bike without a welder . . . 8)

 

[robbadobba82]

Hey guys,

Thanks for the welcomes! Nice to see another Michigander on here. Oh good. I must say I'm quite relieved as I see some pretty cool custom bikes on here but was afraid to jump into anything due to not having the proper tools. I am really excited to get going on this!