BO15 Odyssey of Flight

Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum

Help Support Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
I think that white wall tire went really well with the tank. White walls would look really good on it and will show off the size and difference of the wheels and emphasize the stance.
Fair enough but...
That tire and wheel are from my Spaceliner.
There is a noirci coming. A blackening of sorts.
Right now it's all red and rusty chrome, soon it will be
Le Rouge et Le Noir

GC.
 
Rack be gone...
It's a cleaner look.

IMG_20200614_204557374.jpg
IMG_20200614_204622361.jpg


GC.
 
Remember the springer doesn't have a stop stretched out, it'll bottom out and grab the tire. I did that with a beehive and almost went over the bars. But it does look good!
 
That tank looks really good in it's current position. I do like the cleaner look without the rack, but I did like it on there as well.

As I was catching up on your thread the other day, I was thinking a light may end up being mounted to it.

Great build so far Brother, awaiting to see what comes next. [emoji106][emoji41]
 
Remember the springer doesn't have a stop stretched out, it'll bottom out and grab the tire. I did that with a beehive and almost went over the bars. But it does look good!

That's not how a rat trap works. I'll try to get a good video. As long as you don't try to pull the hinge pin it's fine. Moving the ends of the arms three or four inches (when the rockers flip) only moves the spring maybe a quarter inch tighter? If you bottomed the tire out you must have not swapped the sides left for right when you flipped them. Was the dropout still on the bottom or was it in the front? It should've stayed on the bottom but I've seen it done both ways. Check out @Skipton 's Acetone build, he has it right with a beehive too.

Carl.
 
Yeah, while the beehive and rat trap springers share similar rockers and geometry, they function differently.
 
The rocklers on my beehive were shaped to contact the fork blade before the tire would hit the fork crown. When I faced them forward they wouldn't touch.
 
The rocklers on my beehive were shaped to contact the fork blade before the tire would hit the fork crown. When I faced them forward they wouldn't touch.
Yep like the rat trap you also have to swap them left for right when you flip them forward.

GC.
 
I really like how this bike rides and THAT is as important as anything when building up a new bike. The tank doesn't fit perfect and wouldn't connect under the top tubes like I thought it might. It's crustier on one side than the other and the chainguard isn't exactly the same patina so there's that. I also split the rear tire and I really liked the tread pattern and size so that will gets some attention. But I still just like the feel of this one on a ride. It's flipped rockers make it steer just a bit different. But by the time you're past the end of the driveway you've got it figured out. There's a bit more to do here, some promised blackening and such, but today it rode well.
IMG_20200701_175502664_HDR.jpg
IMG_20200701_175440384_HDR.jpg
IMG_20200701_175435041.jpg
IMG_20200701_175430234.jpg
IMG_20200701_175445953.jpg


GC.
 
That tank really lines up well along side of the twin tubes.
 
Found a correct fender and a basic rear rack with matching chainguard. The fender either needs a rear brace or bobbed... Also got a nice vintage back tire. (All from that 1/2 bike I picked up)
IMG_20200708_161539847_HDR.jpg
IMG_20200708_161513753_HDR.jpg


GC.
 
Got a little done today. Nice Bob on the raggedy fender and a little chrome fender up front. Swapped out a gas filler seatpost I've been shuffling around until it finds a home. Looks decent on here... I found an old rear reflector too, beaded but plastic, still crusty enough. Also did I show you the air padded Schwinn chubbier grips? Kinda cool, first pair I've seen. Last question I have today, where's this chainring from? It's modern but I like it.
IMG_20200719_181839~2.jpg
IMG_20200719_182004~2.jpg
IMG_20200719_181947~2.jpg
IMG_20200719_182029.jpg
IMG_20200719_181914851.jpg


GC.
 
That's not how a rat trap works. I'll try to get a good video. As long as you don't try to pull the hinge pin it's fine. Moving the ends of the arms three or four inches (when the rockers flip) only moves the spring maybe a quarter inch tighter? If you bottomed the tire out you must have not swapped the sides left for right when you flipped them. Was the dropout still on the bottom or was it in the front? It should've stayed on the bottom but I've seen it done both ways. Check out @Skipton 's Acetone build, he has it right with a beehive too.

Carl.
If you are planning to ride with any sort of 'gusto', I would flip it back. It's 1/16 inch steel tubing and the stress points change dramatically. It will snap. I know 3 people who had it break on them in that configuration. My best friend suffered a pretty hefty concussion as a result.
 
If you are planning to ride with any sort of 'gusto', I would flip it back. It's 1/16 inch steel tubing and the stress points change dramatically. It will snap. I know 3 people who had it break on them in that configuration. My best friend suffered a pretty hefty concussion as a result.
You trying to to tell me the axle two inches in front of the fork tip vs two inches behind the fork tip is enough to break the fork? No. I straightened the bent forks on one of my rat traps and it was no easy task to bend WITH A BENDER. I've got a few flipped rockers and for one, we're only cruising them (it's not a BMX fork) and two, if your friends broke theirs - there were problems already (likely didn't swap sides either and lost the wheel out the front because the rockers were positioned wrong leaving the dropouts facing forward instead of down) I know Higgins built bikes are thin and will rust thru, but I've ridden these forks on Schwinn and Columbia (Westfield) cruisers and have no issues, this frame is solid too. Warnings annoy me but thanks for the effort. I've been riding bikes for 55 years and crashed plenty, but there's more likelihood of one of my welds busting than that fork going bad.

GC.
 
I really diggin the look of your ride. I’m running my rat trap in the same configuration and I also have ran my beehive the same way for years now. Can’t wait to see the finished build..


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Latest posts

Back
Top