Hey everyone! Great forum you have here. I've been lurking for a few months, and figured it was about time I said "hi".
I've been a mountain biker for a dozen years or so, and inherited a dumpster-rescue Schwinn cruiser. Seemed to be in good condition -- just painted primer gray all over. I started thinking about what I could do to customize it, and after some google searches, ran across this forum and the wonderful world of rat rod bikes. I've learned a lot from reading through this forum.
Here's what I've done to the bike so far (I know, this is lame without pics; I should have been taking some throughout the rebuild. I'll post some soon): I stripped the frame down to bare steel, and sprayed it everyday with salt water for about a month and a half. (Saw this technique applied to a brand new dirt jumper in Decline magazine). Then I coated it with matte clear. The finish looks awesome!
I took the wheels and hubs apart, and everything that was chrome got sanded down and painted with a dark Rustoleum mettalic. Hubs, spokes, nipples, everything. Got in WAY over my head. But now I know how to rebuild a Bendix coaster brake; those things are pretty cool.
I even painted the white walls to match the rims; it looks good, but I'm concerned that pressure on the tires from riding it will cause the paint to crack. If that happens, I'll probably just replace the white walls with all black.
I loved what Ed_Straker's_Rat here on the forums did with his Gas Pipe Special ( http://www.ratrodbikes.com/forum/viewto ... a&start=15 ), so I borrowed the seatpost technique for my bike.
Still need to find a nice brown leather Brooks saddle, and I need a new gooseneck. Mine was all sanded and painted and looking good, and I took it to Home Depot to match my paint color, and I must have left it there. Bummer.
Oh, I also made a custom flattened Guinness bottlecap head badge; looks awesome. I thought that was an original idea, but after I made mine, I googled "bottle cap head badge" and saw that there's a shop doing exactly that. Oh well. My grips I'm hoping are an original idea; it's top secret for now, but I'll post pics when it's all done.
Anyway, love the site and all the contibutions. Like I said, I've learned a lot from you guys, and look forward to learning more. Thanks for having me!
Blackwell
I've been a mountain biker for a dozen years or so, and inherited a dumpster-rescue Schwinn cruiser. Seemed to be in good condition -- just painted primer gray all over. I started thinking about what I could do to customize it, and after some google searches, ran across this forum and the wonderful world of rat rod bikes. I've learned a lot from reading through this forum.
Here's what I've done to the bike so far (I know, this is lame without pics; I should have been taking some throughout the rebuild. I'll post some soon): I stripped the frame down to bare steel, and sprayed it everyday with salt water for about a month and a half. (Saw this technique applied to a brand new dirt jumper in Decline magazine). Then I coated it with matte clear. The finish looks awesome!
I took the wheels and hubs apart, and everything that was chrome got sanded down and painted with a dark Rustoleum mettalic. Hubs, spokes, nipples, everything. Got in WAY over my head. But now I know how to rebuild a Bendix coaster brake; those things are pretty cool.
I even painted the white walls to match the rims; it looks good, but I'm concerned that pressure on the tires from riding it will cause the paint to crack. If that happens, I'll probably just replace the white walls with all black.
I loved what Ed_Straker's_Rat here on the forums did with his Gas Pipe Special ( http://www.ratrodbikes.com/forum/viewto ... a&start=15 ), so I borrowed the seatpost technique for my bike.
Still need to find a nice brown leather Brooks saddle, and I need a new gooseneck. Mine was all sanded and painted and looking good, and I took it to Home Depot to match my paint color, and I must have left it there. Bummer.
Oh, I also made a custom flattened Guinness bottlecap head badge; looks awesome. I thought that was an original idea, but after I made mine, I googled "bottle cap head badge" and saw that there's a shop doing exactly that. Oh well. My grips I'm hoping are an original idea; it's top secret for now, but I'll post pics when it's all done.
Anyway, love the site and all the contibutions. Like I said, I've learned a lot from you guys, and look forward to learning more. Thanks for having me!
Blackwell
