BO15 Ratcumbent
- Thread starter johnp.smith
- Start date
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The new seat came today. I cut the rails off and mounted it to my bracket and hated it. So I reused the original base and the backrest. I put it where it was and the backrest all the way down. This gives me the back support I need. I also played with the rack a little. Going to rework it and lower it a bit. I like this so much more than the beach chair back that it came with. Have to pick a fabric for the seat and back still
Im a big fan of all this George Barris and Ed Roth
Im going to be looking for a light and bright green to set off the whitewalls seat and other white parts
That seat looks like a lazy boy compared to the web sling that was on there. i imagine it's a lot better. I've seen guys try to build bikes without that little bit of lower back support and when you are pedaling forward it's just too much fatigue. Have you used the tall apes before? It's a different feel too.
GC.
GC.
I have several recumbents. Im used to the leg power. Using a recumbent frame is going to work out a lot better with the crank way forward instead of underneath like the last few Ive done
This was the last one I did. After wearing me out at a few bike parties, I got rid of it. The angles werent right. The easy racer is a different story. Its designed for your hands to be up. I barely rode this one but have another version and a 40-50 mile ride is no problem.
That seat is a much better fit for this hot rod-cumbent! I could see a big ol' long custom chain guard running the length of this. You've got a lot of open frame space in the front and mid-section that you could play with too, John. Of course, I'm in that mode right now so that's the first thing I think of. 
I like your idea of a bright '60s mod color. I have had good luck with 100% acrylic paint on vinyl as well if you wanted to color the seat. Use a spray clear over it after to seal the deal.
RaT-cumbent oN~!
I like your idea of a bright '60s mod color. I have had good luck with 100% acrylic paint on vinyl as well if you wanted to color the seat. Use a spray clear over it after to seal the deal.
RaT-cumbent oN~!
The chrome wheels came in. Not the best quality chrome but I have a can of nevrdull and Im gonna go to town on them. The rear wheel is so much fatter than the aluminum. Also talked to a friend that knows a guy that paints for a screamin deal.
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I like the idea of a sissy bar on this. Wheels will shine up nicely. Not familiar with the Nevrdull product? Show us your work!
Nevrdull is a metal polish no longer available in CA. I tried a small piece last night and they shined up. I have to take the wheels apart to lube them up, put in new rim strips and new tubes still, i will polish them up then and Im sure many times after. I went through my parts bins and found a crank set last night. I found one with a few scratches that I will try to polish out. This bike is going to be a rider and its going to get scratched anyway This picture is of my wifes Catrike Road AR and my other Easy Racer EZ-1 On a ride to the next little town. I will be taking the ratcumbent out on many long rides and the larger wheels will work out even better for the crappy farm roads we have here.
Todays new parts: tubes, rim strips, grips and a pie plate
This is a toy Ive had for at least 30 years. Ive always been a fan of old hot rods like T buckets and model As with the fenders taken off, open wheel race cars and home made racers out of old fuel tanks. Muscle bikes like stingrays have always captured my imagination too but I never really felt right riding one because they were so small. As far as bike building goes, Ive always leaned towards choppers because the overall size of the bike felt like the right proportion to me but to be honest, they have always ridden like crap. My last three builds have had a jesse james tank and a triple tree fork. Just getting away from that is huge for me. Doing this project has reopened my imagination to do more of adult sized hot rod type muscle bikes. The small skinny front wheel and big fattie on the rear looks like a dragster. After I stripped all the rusty parts off of it, the frameset consumed my imagination and parts cant show up fast enough. Its going to be very tricked out yet ride like a dream and be able to be used on long rides.
Im already looking at another of my recumbents for a different style of hot rod build once this one is done
Im already looking at another of my recumbents for a different style of hot rod build once this one is done
Mold breaking is fun, isn't it?
Yes indeed. Im thinking about bicycle builds in a whole new direction. If the Easy Racer was in good shape, I would have left it alone. It wasnt until I stripped it that my mind started racing about doing a hot rodMold breaking is fun, isn't it?
More parts came today. I have to run some honeydo errands and then its gonna be like Christmas when I get back
Aah ha, I was saved by a phone call from her mom and got to open a few. I have been concerned about the fit of the truss rods. The length I measured was perfect but I was afraid they would not leave clearance for the front brakes. There is plenty of clearance to leave the posts and mount the brake arms. So happy they are going to fit.
Not all the parts are for this build but Im happy with what is here. My crank looks like crap next to the shiny chrome, might have to get a new one
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Truss rods look perfect on this bike, they continue the flow of the bars and makes the front end look far less top heavy.
