The next build off? Plans for the future

[hamqqea]

@OddJob what builders need most is EQUAL encouragement encouragement encouragement. If you're going to showcase builds you like it could alienate others. @LukeTheJoker was one of the few vets who embraced pretty much everyone equally. I truly do miss him.

 

[dropstep]

My first “muscle bike” build ended up with skinny tires

 

[OddJob]

@OddJob what builders need most is EQUAL encouragement encouragement encouragement. If you're going to showcase builds you like it could alienate others. @LukeTheJoker was one of the few vets who embraced pretty much everyone equally. I truly do miss him.

I'm trying not to read too much into your comment, hamqqea (or is it hamppea? I'm not sure...) Or to take offense from it. I have always been ready to compliment, add an idea or suggestion, ask about a 'how to' technique I liked, and many other subjects in regard to all builders during these build offs in the past. Again, I'm not sure where you are coming from, with regard to your insinuation in your comments.

Nowhere in my post about doing the Weekend Updates do I even suggest they will be only 'showcasing builds I like'.

Over the past 8 years of my involvement with RRB, the OddJob Award has been given out to 42 different members in the Annual Build Off, and another half dozen or so in the two Muscle Bike Build Offs I have participated in. The representation from our community is across the board in these award recipients; from first time builders to veterans, a wide variety of styles, and without regard to any kind of discriminatory factor whatsoever.


2015
Idiotboy
Vin-new
g-ratter
macncheese
Waldo Jeffers

2016
Scribble
Georgediii
G-Matt
Missing Link
Falstaff
Metalchewey
Mrs Link
Hunter Cummins

2017
American Vintage Bicycle Supply
Kirkpatrick
Kingfish254
MazdaFlyer
The Renaissance Man

2018
Dizzle Problems
G-Matt
Idiotboy
Rat Track
Reallybigtim

2019
Chad T
KJV
Machine Age Victim
Uncle Shish
N.Kildare1718

2020
SoulGarageOH
Deven-Science
tjwilson
OC_Rolling_Art
BobbyStillz

2021
gowjobs
KJV
CruJones
EricStreetRat
SwissGuy

2022
us56456712
benjimanactive
LeMad Hatter
Couch tater
Bike from the dead
Dr. Tankenstein

 

[Couch tater]

I probably won't have time or mostly , energy, to pull off a build for the Winter Build Off this year. A thought struck me this morning that perhaps I could be involved by contributing a 'Weekend Update', inspired by the old SNL skit that was first created by Chevy Chase in 1975. It wouldn't necessarily be that comedic, but would have elements of humor, information, updates from the past week on the WBO builds that are in progress, and photos in kind of a slide - show format as shown in the sample video below. I would of course ask for permission from any builder before featuring them or their photos in the Weekend Update.

Following is a very short example of the kind of thing I might do. The production of this sample one is lacking, I used the mic built into my laptop, and didn't select any timing features for length of each photo, etc. So please disregard the quality of production for now. Just let me know if something like this would be of interest. And also let me know if you can watch the video on your various devices as posted here. Thanks, and ...RaT oN~!

View attachment 210159

That would be cool. You-Tube needs more rat bike content so heck yeah.

 

[hamqqea]

Hope to see a few randonneurs
On 42mm tread.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Hope to see a few randonneurs
On 42mm tread.

I've been down a rabbit hole (trous de lapin?) with those french beauties on another forum. I'm completely smitten with the hammered fenders!

 

[Mr. Monkeyarms]

I've been down a rabbit hole (trous de lapin?) with those french beauties on another forum. I'm completely smitten with the hammered fenders!

Take a break from the French bikes. This one is Japanese. '75 w/new fenders.

Sorry I can't get the good pics to load.

 

[Captain Awesome]

^Yeah, they look most impressive in person.

Anyone want to bet how many finish / vote for this one.

Last years View attachment 210165
View attachment 210166
Please get us more than 56/44 @OddJob
Thank you.



I leave this for my fellow competitors.

The only way the winter build off will get as much traction as the big summer build is through promotion. Emails from the administration before and after reminding people to check it out as well as vote. Also people pumping it on social media by whatever means they have

 

[MattiThundrrr]

I leave this for my fellow competitors

Rob is down for a skinny build:

 

[Lowe Beau]

Nice background music.

 

[Wildcat]

The Wing Bike with tensegrity design frame.
View attachment 210149

View attachment 210151
View attachment 210150

Awesome! Looks like it could make music.

 

[GuitarlCarl]

Personally, I don't care who likes or dislikes my ideas of what is and what should never be. Even in a build-off, it's just participation to me and mainly about community without the need for approval other than my own. Approval is nice, but not required in my book. Anyone who has left due to lack of approval from others are what I feel is at least partially an unfortunate side-effect of the way the modern media-fed world seems to be teaching people how to think and feel. You're still here and for that, you have my respect.

About once a month I fire this up and it gets turned up to Eleven.

I call baloney.
Anyone posting their builds on a forum with the only payoff being recognition can't say they don't care who likes or dislikes their bikes. It's also not because of your opinions that serious builders have stepped away. But when a rusty tank bike cruiser does better in the polls than a pristine restoration of a true muscle bike in the Muscle Bike Build Off, then you just have to realize it's a rat rod forum and it's what you'll get in the polls. It does discourage restorations but there's other forums for that. Long live Rat Rod Bikes, where I can build what I want.
(within the parameters of the build off)

 

[GuitarlCarl]

If you're looking for traction for the WBO then I'd like to suggest attraction rather than just promotion. Why do folks come here? To see bikes. Why here rather than any other forum? RAT ROD ETHICS, individual creativity and unique perspective. That said, it's only my opinion but unlimited classes while usually smaller in numbers allows builders to "go off". So the unlimited "skinny" class may bring in a few builders. We'll see.
But we have the baddest bikes on any forum. Show them. Is Facebook bike of the day still a thing? Fire up a Snapchat and/or Instagram account solely for the purpose of showing the bikes. The archives are full of dusty old pictures (figuratively) use em. The perk of seeing one of our bikes chosen is another benefit.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Anyway, it's all about having fun with bikes.

 

[ifitsfreeitsforme]

I've been down a rabbit hole (trous de lapin?) with those french beauties on another forum. I'm completely smitten with the hammered fenders!

must have hammered fenders someday.

 

[Captain Awesome]

1. Who is eligible to enter the BO?
2. How long does a member have to be registered to vote?
3. Can a member with zero post or reaction count vote?
4. Can multiple members share the same IP address?

5. Who is handling the final rankings?

1. Anyone that is a member
2. We set different parameters each time to keep a certain amount of anonymity to it
3. See #2
4. Technically they can and do. This is also something we monitor
5. Not sure what you mean. The polls give us the final rankings when the vote is over. If you mean compiling all the posts and/or picture galleries (which are just a bonus and not "required") that is undetermined
5a. At this point I'm not even sure who's going to run this

 

[Captain Awesome]

You edited post #199?

Nope, sure didn't

You said last year you were going to do something about the low vote counts

I said that?

RRB is not doing nearly enough to bring participants

Take it up with them. Don't forget this isn't Steve's labor of love anymore. It's owned by a company

How can WE bring new people at this date if we don't even know if they're eligible to vote.

I think you're kind of missing the point of the restrictions. Not going into too many details but let's just say that during a very recent contest we had a giant influx of shared IPs and what we would consider errant votes from members that were new either just before or just after the deadline and since we monitor on the daily basis the vote counts we can see where the spikes are and correlate them based on rough IP proximity. It's not rocket science to understand that we have members here that only login once a year at the time of a particular contest and only visit that voting thread and then disappear for another year. If we just open it up and have no restrictions this will just continue and proliferate. We saw a ton of it with the last build-off that just closed as well, only we were able to mitigate quite a bit of it

 

[hamqqea]

Nope, sure didn't


I said that?


Take it up with them. Don't forget this isn't Steve's labor of love anymore. It's owned by a company


I think you're kind of missing the point of the restrictions. Not going into too many details but let's just say that during a very recent contest we had a giant influx of shared IPs and what we would consider errant votes from members that were new either just before or just after the deadline and since we monitor on the daily basis the vote counts we can see where the spikes are and correlate them based on rough IP proximity. It's not rocket science to understand that we have members here that only login once a year at the time of a particular contest and only visit that voting thread and then disappear for another year. If we just open it up and have no restrictions this will just continue and proliferate. We saw a ton of it with the last build-off that just closed as well, only we were able to mitigate quite a bit of it

I totally get the point of the restrictions. That's why I asked the questions, so I could invite participants by word of mouth etc for the winter build. But it seems they might not be eligible anyway.
I don't need to take it up with the corporate. I can bring more and more people to register over time.

Actually you did mention there were things you guys had planned about the low vote counts when @MazdaFlyer brought it up at the end of the winter BO which I thought was strange being that he didn't even enter. It was around the time you said you were going to turn in your tin star. It might even be in that thread or close to it.

My faith has been restored knowing it wasn't you who deleted my content, why I asked. I said to myself no way he did that!

Well, you know what I said about when the game bugs someone and what they can do about it.
Perhaps we'll meet on the playing field another time.

Hamp

 

[Karate Chicken Industries]

I call baloney.
Anyone posting their builds on a forum with the only payoff being recognition can't say they don't care who likes or dislikes their bikes. It's also not because of your opinions that serious builders have stepped away.

We have the ability to agree to disagree and I do enjoy deli-grade Baloney sammiches on MTB rides from time to time.

I'm not serious about bicycles but find them relaxing and enjoyable, even when doing something that the majority of those who find seriousness in it all would not ever consider. That applies to building bikes and riding them equally. To me, seriousness takes the fun out of bicycles, which is why I avoid crowded bike "scenes" unless it's all about fun like Tour De Fat was.

FWIW, I still respect you for staying with something you appear to find unfulfilling in an extrinsic manner.

 

[Pondo]

What I really enjoyed about the last build off (my 1st) was the camaraderie and the excitement of seeing the creative ways people build their bikes. I found all of the builds to be cool, unique and enjoyable. Originality is cool but I prefer custom builds, it gives me a creative outlet.

Here's my ideas for the builds I might engage in this time:

Off-road:
Far and away my favorite category bar none. I'm a mountain biker and have been since before mountain bikes formally existed. Klunker research is how I found this uber cool forum. I've been building my own bikes since I was in the single digits because my family couldn't afford a BMX bike for me so I built my own out of what was available. It was nothing special but it got me in the dirt [heavy 20" Free Spirit frame that I bought from a guy who said I had to paint it {I now know that meant it was stolen, I was 6 or 8 so maybe I get a pass?}, Tough mags, Ashtabula fork, cheap bmx bars and a gooseneck my dad made from scratch]. I've enjoyed rolling my own ever since. So I'll be Klunking this category. It's just a matter of choosing a frame and parts group. Derailleur & gears? Probably. Drum brakes? Maybe. Vintage? Most likely. Fun to build and ride off road? Absolutely. Maybe I'll build up one of my Shelby frames or my American Flyer:

Muscle bike:
The category I understand the least. I think they do make really cool custom builds and I've seen some really amazing ones on this forum. I wasn't into them when they were still on the streets and they don't do much for me now. My buddies that rode them back in the '70s abandoned them to rust as soon as their paper route money was enough to get a BMX or 10 speed. Who knew they would be so cool and potentially valuable in the future. I'm hoping they will grow on me because they can be so cool. And I do think it would be fun to build a creative interpretation. Maybe out of this lovely obscenity:

It's already got a cool fade. I'll probably build some bars for it unless I can find some butterfly bars for nearly free; cheap banana; I can use these on an early '70s Crested Butte style klunker build in the future. Mis-matched wheels I've got under control.

Skinny:
This one I already have mostly planned out and am really looking forward to building. Starting platform:

'30 Elgin. Apparently I like my skinnies like I like my buffalo wings, extra crispy. I've got most of what I need for this one and tentative plans for some cool details.

Like Kingfish says, it's about building better bikes together. I think that makes it really fun so I'm looking forward to doing it again.