Hi all!
I just posted a brief intro, but I wanted to go into a little more detail on my first rat build. I pulled 7-old crusty 70's bikes from my neighbor's shed a couple weeks ago, and started getting ideas for some rat/custom/cruiser builds. This first one is and idea I had of what it might be like to find an early 70's pre-mountain bike languishing in a barn somewhere. I wanted something that would be rideable on & off road, as well as being comfortable & reliable, and able to climb hills.
I started with this frame - a late-70's Coast-to-Coast 10-speed. It's hard to tell, but the fork leg is rusted all the way through!, the frame seems pretty solid though.
I stole most of the parts from this one, a mid-70's All-Pro Kmart bike.
The brakes came from this Western Flyer 10-speed.
I picked up a pair of Mavic wheels from ebay for $50-shipped, and got some new tires/tubes/cables from my friend's shop.
I cleaned the frame & hit it with a coat of Rustoleum Rusty Metal primer.
Though there was a bit of a clearance issue with the back tire. Some lumber and a monkeywrench solved that problem! I did scratch my brand-new paint job in the process, but it was a little too nice for most of the parts going on it anyway. :lol:
I'm hoping to finish it up tonight. I still need to get the brakes & shifter hooked up, but it rides nice as-is! I'll probably do some pinstriping on it, but I don't want to go too overboard.
I'd hoped to used the full-size fenders from the parts bike, but they wouldn't clear the tires. As it was, the front tire barely clears the fork.
I just posted a brief intro, but I wanted to go into a little more detail on my first rat build. I pulled 7-old crusty 70's bikes from my neighbor's shed a couple weeks ago, and started getting ideas for some rat/custom/cruiser builds. This first one is and idea I had of what it might be like to find an early 70's pre-mountain bike languishing in a barn somewhere. I wanted something that would be rideable on & off road, as well as being comfortable & reliable, and able to climb hills.
I started with this frame - a late-70's Coast-to-Coast 10-speed. It's hard to tell, but the fork leg is rusted all the way through!, the frame seems pretty solid though.
I stole most of the parts from this one, a mid-70's All-Pro Kmart bike.
The brakes came from this Western Flyer 10-speed.
I picked up a pair of Mavic wheels from ebay for $50-shipped, and got some new tires/tubes/cables from my friend's shop.
I cleaned the frame & hit it with a coat of Rustoleum Rusty Metal primer.
Though there was a bit of a clearance issue with the back tire. Some lumber and a monkeywrench solved that problem! I did scratch my brand-new paint job in the process, but it was a little too nice for most of the parts going on it anyway. :lol:
I'm hoping to finish it up tonight. I still need to get the brakes & shifter hooked up, but it rides nice as-is! I'll probably do some pinstriping on it, but I don't want to go too overboard.
I'd hoped to used the full-size fenders from the parts bike, but they wouldn't clear the tires. As it was, the front tire barely clears the fork.
