A truly great website, and a very cool bunch of members, if my initial browsings are any indication! Glad to be a part of it! "Hi! My name is Brad, and I am a bikeaholic!" (isn't that how this kind of get together starts??? :mrgreen: ) - but no, I do not need help (wellllll, you all can be the judges). I live in Mesa, Arizona, which is one of the many cities that make up metro Phoenix. I first caught "the sickness" a few years ago when I bought this bike from an old guy for $25.
After that, I was totally hooked and started researching old, classic bikes and tracking them down at estate sales, garage sales, craigslist and yes, ebay. I eventually morphed my general habit into a more "serious" :wink: endeavor of amassing a stable of classic bikes that could be restored to top notch specs and sold in the vendors area of the annual Barret-Jackson Classic Cars auction that takes place here every year. I tried to specialize in matching pairs of guys and girls bikes....cause who likes to cruise alone? Anyway, I thought I had it all figured out but one last thing got in the way.....money! I just could not put the funds together to fix up all of the bikes at once. That was a couple of years ago.
About that time I started realizing that I loved staring at the different classic designs and "tweaking" them in my head. I started breaking them down and reconfiguring them with swapped parts, etc. (Does this sound familiar?!?
). Unfortunately, permanently destroying a classic collectible is something I just could not do.....SOOOooooo....time to sell 'em!!!!
I stumbeld across your site on a late night web journey recently, and it gave me the inspiration to practice the "art" of bike creation rather than the somewhat "wankerish" meticulous restoration of someone else's designs. The bikes on this site are simply amazing!!! I have created a couple for friends, and have a bunch more in the hopper. I am already researching welders, and look forward to the next level of kustomization.
My handle is "Bombshelterbikes". My wife and I recently bought a 1951 ranch house on almost an acre in downtown Mesa from the original owners. During the 1960's they had an underground, detached, 2,000 square foot (yes, two thousand :shock: :shock: :shock: ) concrete bomb shelter built in the back lot. It is plumbed, has electric, and 9 foot ceilings. With four feet of earth between the ceiling and the outside climate, it stays nice and cool down there, even when it is 110 here in the summer. Here is the entrance.
And here is my madness!!!!
1941 Rollfast & 1953 Panther
Pair of 1940's Shelbys
When is the next pixie build off?
Sometimes they are perfect as is...
1941 Colson Bullnose aka Firestone Supercruiser
1959 Hercules...sweet patina and a killer frame style
1939 Shelby Airflo with stainless steel tank
For the ladies...a couple of JC higgins and a western Flyer X-53
My next project....the "Dirty Monk" :shock:
Just waiting for the trike build off!!!
Well, that should be enough for now, huh? Very glad to be here! Thanks a ton to Steve for an amazing place to explore the evolution of the bike and to feed the frenzy of ideas! Hello to all AZ ratrodders, I look forward to meeting you all at the first "Bomb Shelter Bikes" classic sale in a couple of weeks. Most of what you saw must go to make room for fresh meat ready to be reconfigured. I will post details soon. Adios!
After that, I was totally hooked and started researching old, classic bikes and tracking them down at estate sales, garage sales, craigslist and yes, ebay. I eventually morphed my general habit into a more "serious" :wink: endeavor of amassing a stable of classic bikes that could be restored to top notch specs and sold in the vendors area of the annual Barret-Jackson Classic Cars auction that takes place here every year. I tried to specialize in matching pairs of guys and girls bikes....cause who likes to cruise alone? Anyway, I thought I had it all figured out but one last thing got in the way.....money! I just could not put the funds together to fix up all of the bikes at once. That was a couple of years ago.
About that time I started realizing that I loved staring at the different classic designs and "tweaking" them in my head. I started breaking them down and reconfiguring them with swapped parts, etc. (Does this sound familiar?!?
). Unfortunately, permanently destroying a classic collectible is something I just could not do.....SOOOooooo....time to sell 'em!!!!I stumbeld across your site on a late night web journey recently, and it gave me the inspiration to practice the "art" of bike creation rather than the somewhat "wankerish" meticulous restoration of someone else's designs. The bikes on this site are simply amazing!!! I have created a couple for friends, and have a bunch more in the hopper. I am already researching welders, and look forward to the next level of kustomization.
My handle is "Bombshelterbikes". My wife and I recently bought a 1951 ranch house on almost an acre in downtown Mesa from the original owners. During the 1960's they had an underground, detached, 2,000 square foot (yes, two thousand :shock: :shock: :shock: ) concrete bomb shelter built in the back lot. It is plumbed, has electric, and 9 foot ceilings. With four feet of earth between the ceiling and the outside climate, it stays nice and cool down there, even when it is 110 here in the summer. Here is the entrance.
And here is my madness!!!!
1941 Rollfast & 1953 Panther
Pair of 1940's Shelbys
When is the next pixie build off?
Sometimes they are perfect as is...
1941 Colson Bullnose aka Firestone Supercruiser
1959 Hercules...sweet patina and a killer frame style
1939 Shelby Airflo with stainless steel tank
For the ladies...a couple of JC higgins and a western Flyer X-53
My next project....the "Dirty Monk" :shock:
Just waiting for the trike build off!!!
Well, that should be enough for now, huh? Very glad to be here! Thanks a ton to Steve for an amazing place to explore the evolution of the bike and to feed the frenzy of ideas! Hello to all AZ ratrodders, I look forward to meeting you all at the first "Bomb Shelter Bikes" classic sale in a couple of weeks. Most of what you saw must go to make room for fresh meat ready to be reconfigured. I will post details soon. Adios!
