Got this beautiful bike with butt ugly tires headed my way.
Trek Rail CNC
Trek Rail CNC
Trek Rail CNC
- Thread starter kingfish254
- Start date
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It's always possible, but right now I have about 4 builds in my head. One may be driven by a retiring RRBer.
This came in today.
The Renaissance Man
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Cool bike! I've never heard of it before now.
Never seen one either..almost looks like a scratch build...wish I had a nickel for every bike Kingfish has owned that I've never seen before.
Interesting riddle...
...hmmmm
Interesting riddle...
...hmmmm
Oh wow, I have that book too. Gonna have to look at it tonight.
If you want to see a cool custom from one of these, you should visit @Onewheelsqueel 's "Son of Satan" build
http://www.ratrodbikes.com/forum/index.php?threads/son-of-satan-wwii-bomber-tribute-build.88805/
http://www.ratrodbikes.com/forum/index.php?threads/son-of-satan-wwii-bomber-tribute-build.88805/
Quick....remove those tires.
I know. On this bike they visually grab your eyes and suck the life from you.
I actually like the funkiness of the tires, now that I see them in person, but definitely NOT for this frame.
The Renaissance Man
__CERTIFIED DIVER__ (Open Water & Open Dumpster)
Staff member
Moderator
Pro Member
Ha, I guess I had seen one of these after all! Forgot about this one, great build.
here are photos of mine.
I had seen them in the 2005 catalog when they came out (1 year only) and wanted one but not for $1200. In 2006 I bought mine from someone in NYC who rode it at the beach and possibly in the ocean. (salt water). I think other ebayers saw the photos and thought no way. I realized it was aluminum and it should clean up. It was covered in rust when I got it. Yeah we all know salt casues rust. But who knew salt rusts on it's own. I took it completely apart for cleaning. There was still water in the frame. It cleaned up nice. Just a few traces of rust in the hex socket bolt heads.
The frame is all aluminum and clear coated at the factory. I suspect the cost of production was pretty high. MSRP was about $1200 USD. I talked to a Trek dealer one time who told me he could get me a nos from the Trek warehouse where they still had hundreds unsold for just $800. Pass. Trek also sold the more conventional Rail 1 and Rail 3 cruisers.
I made few changes.
Removed the hideously ugly chain guard. Put on a shorter stem so I could reach the bars. With that laid back seat tube angle and the long top 'tube', the bike does have a very long reach. And the pedals. It took many months but I finally scored a set of Glory Hole pedals for it. I spotted them on a bike on eBay. The seller agreed to sell me the pedals after the bike didn't sell. I wasn't looking forward to buying an entire bike for just the pedals. Whew. They are a perfect visual match for the bike.
I took the bike on Ragbrai one year. It got used as a townie each night and was offered out for many test rides.
It's geared too low to be riding 75 miles a day. And the seat is just to wide and soft for long rides. Having gears would be nice but adding any cables would detract from the visual impact of the frame beams. You don't see tapered and curved I beams very often.
The stock Bontraeger tires are near slicks. Just a little line on the edge so they ride very smooth. I totally agree about getting those SweetSkins off yours. What a distraction. Save them for the Gary Fisher Greatful Dead bike.
Rick
More photos:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rickpaulos/albums/72157694324175214
I had seen them in the 2005 catalog when they came out (1 year only) and wanted one but not for $1200. In 2006 I bought mine from someone in NYC who rode it at the beach and possibly in the ocean. (salt water). I think other ebayers saw the photos and thought no way. I realized it was aluminum and it should clean up. It was covered in rust when I got it. Yeah we all know salt casues rust. But who knew salt rusts on it's own. I took it completely apart for cleaning. There was still water in the frame. It cleaned up nice. Just a few traces of rust in the hex socket bolt heads.
The frame is all aluminum and clear coated at the factory. I suspect the cost of production was pretty high. MSRP was about $1200 USD. I talked to a Trek dealer one time who told me he could get me a nos from the Trek warehouse where they still had hundreds unsold for just $800. Pass. Trek also sold the more conventional Rail 1 and Rail 3 cruisers.
I made few changes.
Removed the hideously ugly chain guard. Put on a shorter stem so I could reach the bars. With that laid back seat tube angle and the long top 'tube', the bike does have a very long reach. And the pedals. It took many months but I finally scored a set of Glory Hole pedals for it. I spotted them on a bike on eBay. The seller agreed to sell me the pedals after the bike didn't sell. I wasn't looking forward to buying an entire bike for just the pedals. Whew. They are a perfect visual match for the bike.
I took the bike on Ragbrai one year. It got used as a townie each night and was offered out for many test rides.
It's geared too low to be riding 75 miles a day. And the seat is just to wide and soft for long rides. Having gears would be nice but adding any cables would detract from the visual impact of the frame beams. You don't see tapered and curved I beams very often.
The stock Bontraeger tires are near slicks. Just a little line on the edge so they ride very smooth. I totally agree about getting those SweetSkins off yours. What a distraction. Save them for the Gary Fisher Greatful Dead bike.
Rick
More photos:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rickpaulos/albums/72157694324175214
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Great story and bike! It's cool to see a few more of these pop out of the woodwork. I just found a guy in Montreal that has one too. I would love to run across that Trek warehouse stash if it still exists!!!!!
So... What is your story on this deal @kingfish254 ? Just wondered if there were 2 for sale? Chances are pretty good yours is from the book. Its famous!
