Here are some pics of my favorite brand of beachcruisers: The Sparta Bullet. These retrobikes were made and sold way before the word 'retro' existed. Early ninties I think. One of my girl roommates bought it 2nd hand at a dealer but neglected it after a while. It was kept outside for more than 2 years and was never serviced. My friend got bored with it. She wanted a 'hip' Kronan and sold the cruiser to me for $ 15,- It looked like I bought a total wreck, but after cleaning and a quick service, I saw instant pottential. While cleaning I also discovered the tires had whitewalls! It had a nexus 4 speed, drumbrake(?) in the back, and a v-brake upfront.
When bought new at a dealer it should've looked like this one I found on a dutch auctionsite (top left)
^ I so hate that factory color combination of dark metalic purple and a murky opaque brownish-red...
As you can see, my cruiser had different looks in the 4 years I've owned it. After purchase I ripped off all things I thought were unnessesary on the bike like fenders, lights, frontbrake, chainguard, etc. Bought some cheap fat whitewalls. And the bike looked good already. But I didn't like the front and back tire being the same in size, so I traded it with a slightly smaller one with my brother. This combination is holding up to the day the tire blew, one and a half years ago... But, they're still on the bike...
Ugly things my bike could do without:
Some things I made using all sorts of aluminium strips and profiles bought in a hardwarestore:
I fabricated the fenders, struts, and chainguard. First try, and it all came out pretty fine. (although the fender should be hanging much lower over the the wheel...) The front fender didn't feel right after a while so I eventually took it off. After my old cream leather seat ripped, I replaced it with a Brooks saddle. One I bought for $ 2,50. I put back the carrier out of nessesity. I did use the bike almost everyday.
After the cruiser my focus pointed back towards an old racer I had before buying the cruiser. I used the cruiser every now and then but didn't feel up to really maintaining it. Hence these pictures:
I rode the bike for weeks with the innertube comming through a ripped tire. I eventually got the scare of my life from a big bang inside my appartement, where I stalled my bike...
This is how it 's been looking for a few years now:
Ironically, the bike is looking not too different from the way it looked when leaving the factory. I now notice the similarities in ugly colorscheme. But mine wasn't a paint-job. Just a quick 'temporary' spraying to cover-up the bare metal spots
Is it finished? I don't know... But it looks pretty much like a Ratrod-bike.
