Re: "Orange County Rat Chop-Suey" Major update! 8/1
BlsdEsq said:
Hey, it's AFTER midnight on the westcoast and I dont see no stinking pics...j/k... Can't wait!!
Sorry about that! I posted the finished pics in the Build-off section, it was so close to the deadline I didn't have time to update the build thread here. I got everything uploaded and posted around 11:00 my time, and I just passed out afterwards.
herr_rudolf said:
Too bad people didn't get a chance to comment on your bike in the finished thread 'coz...
It turned out pretty cool. More so if you think about where that frame came from. You've really made an unpopular (not to say ugly) look sooo darn cool, it really opens up possibilities for framechoices for bikebuilding. I never liked bikes that are 'factory-custom', but it's bikes like these that make me wonder if I HAVE to use mixtes or regular roadbikes and try to make cool.
Thanks. Well done!
I really appreciate that, Rudolph. I knew I was cutting it close... I"m sure once the gallery is up and Steve unlocks it, I'll get a few comments on it. And yeah, thinking outside the box is kinda what I do. :mrgreen: You could do anything, like a limo boardtracker, or who knows what. There were some very creative bikes, and some of them I wasn't too sure about, but nobody says they have to follow a specified format! And I love it. It's gonna be hard to pick favorites.
Okay, for you guys who want to see the completed worklog, here goes. And thankfully, my good camera works now, so we got pretty photos! And if you look closely, yes the bike is dirty... I rode it 2 miles to the photo spot during a drizzle. But I had to get it done.
When we last left our hero, I had just made some dice valvecaps for it. I drilled them out and pressed in regular caps.
I thought about buying a RRB bumper sticker, but I didn't think of it in time, so I busted out the old label maker...
I have been wondering since day one about what to do with the headbadge. Remember how I dented up the top tube trying to get the headset cups out? :mrgreen: Now you can't see it. And I didn't want to hide the headbadge way behind the fork crowns... you can't see it back there! So I bent it a little, and viola!
Here you can see the brake arm hanger I made. It's just a small piece of aluminum bar,
Here you can see how ratty the chainring is... I never got around to getting a new one. :mrgreen: I like it. You can also see the splatter from riding it in the rain.
The seat I wound up finishing... it was close. I bought some black canvas to put on it, and my wife helped me make a pattern and sew it up. Okay, maybe I helped her. But it's comfy, actually. And cost me around $2 in material. Debbie also stitched white stripes on the outside of the seat (that was my idea) and it came out fine. The cover is made of three pieces, and stapled to the original plastic seat pan.
And here's the finished product:
Well, now that RRBBO4 is closed, I'll "finish" the bike later on. I had plans for making some nice plates to go on the sides of the tank area out of red mother-of-pearl. I'd also like to pinstripe it, but I didn't have time to learn myself, and I couldn't find anyone locally in time. Still, I'm not ashamed to say it's done: but you know how it goes. It's never really finished. And yes, I know as kids the first thing we did was strip the reflectors off the bike, but this bike will see some use on the road, so I didn't want to take chances. It could also really use an old-style headlight, and a horn. *sigh* here I go again...
