Hey all - I'm new here, just a couple of posts, but have been lurking for a while. I started this build a couple weeks ago - pretty excited to see it shape up.
The Bishop started it's life as a Felt Surf City that I picked up a few years ago. It was a cool looking bike, with a great frame, but it wasn't really doing it for me anymore. The biggest problem was that the thing was built to celebrate Huntington Beach. A few years back, there was a big lawsuit between Huntington Beach and our local surf spot - Santa Cruz - over who could use the name "Surf City". HB won, so I have a bit less remorse over what I am going to do to this Felt Surf City...
I'm going to do a few things to this rig - first off, the paint has to go, then I am planning on ditching the 26" tires for some 24's with a bit more "girth" to them. The saddle has to go, the bars probably have to go, the front fork can hang around for a bit - need to decide what the permanent replacement will be... Suicide shifter is also in the works.
For a paint scheme, I am thinking of flat black - except for the tank - that will be polished. I will probably throw in some white pinstripes at some point - seems appropriate for The Bishop...
I spent the afternoon one Saturday pulling off the components and getting the frame stripped. Airplane stripper is good stuff, but getting the old paint out of those welds is a pain in the butt.
The garage is a disaster, with all kinds of crap piled up - most notably the empty beer bottles. Beer and bikes are a great combo.
Once I got the paint stripped off the tank, I decided to give The Bishop a little polish to get a feel for what it was going to look like. This was a super quick buff, but I could tell, this was going to be pretty sick!
I know I don't have a lot of time for this, but what the heck - may as well give it a go, right?
JA
The Bishop started it's life as a Felt Surf City that I picked up a few years ago. It was a cool looking bike, with a great frame, but it wasn't really doing it for me anymore. The biggest problem was that the thing was built to celebrate Huntington Beach. A few years back, there was a big lawsuit between Huntington Beach and our local surf spot - Santa Cruz - over who could use the name "Surf City". HB won, so I have a bit less remorse over what I am going to do to this Felt Surf City...
I'm going to do a few things to this rig - first off, the paint has to go, then I am planning on ditching the 26" tires for some 24's with a bit more "girth" to them. The saddle has to go, the bars probably have to go, the front fork can hang around for a bit - need to decide what the permanent replacement will be... Suicide shifter is also in the works.
For a paint scheme, I am thinking of flat black - except for the tank - that will be polished. I will probably throw in some white pinstripes at some point - seems appropriate for The Bishop...
I spent the afternoon one Saturday pulling off the components and getting the frame stripped. Airplane stripper is good stuff, but getting the old paint out of those welds is a pain in the butt.
The garage is a disaster, with all kinds of crap piled up - most notably the empty beer bottles. Beer and bikes are a great combo.
Once I got the paint stripped off the tank, I decided to give The Bishop a little polish to get a feel for what it was going to look like. This was a super quick buff, but I could tell, this was going to be pretty sick!
I know I don't have a lot of time for this, but what the heck - may as well give it a go, right?
JA