The Renaissance Man
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I really like the mechanical look of all the small bits. The whole bike has a very machine like feel to it! 
Ulu’s Bike Update
- Thread starter Ulu
- Start date
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Choppers were always very mechanical looking machines, because the first thing you did when you bought a bike was take off everything you didn’t need to make it work. Every pound you could shed made it that much quicker.
I freaked out when I saw that the Kingfish’s bike was 82 pounds! That is definitely a heavy cruiser compared to my bike.
I freaked out when I saw that the Kingfish’s bike was 82 pounds! That is definitely a heavy cruiser compared to my bike.
Thank you Kevin.
I am retired and I don’t have any deadlines or schedules, so there’s no excuse for me to be sloppy.
The spare caliper is looking much shinier after several hours with little bits of 220.
This would’ve gone much faster with a bead blaster. But I don’t like to blast in my office while I’m watching YouTube.
I took off a lot of irregularity, casting dimples, arises, and flash. That thick black paint covers a lot.
I’m gonna hit these with some 320 and then put them on the buffing wheel.
This would’ve gone much faster with a bead blaster. But I don’t like to blast in my office while I’m watching YouTube.
I took off a lot of irregularity, casting dimples, arises, and flash. That thick black paint covers a lot.
I’m gonna hit these with some 320 and then put them on the buffing wheel.
Midnite Metal Polishing continues.
Before and after…
On the wheel:
The headset cups and bottom bracket hardware still needs polishing. I think that’s about the last black stuff on the bicycle though.
What remains is for me to buy some stainless spokes and re-spoke that front wheel, painting it red in the process.
At some point I have to fix the paint work as well.
Before and after…
On the wheel:
The headset cups and bottom bracket hardware still needs polishing. I think that’s about the last black stuff on the bicycle though.
What remains is for me to buy some stainless spokes and re-spoke that front wheel, painting it red in the process.
At some point I have to fix the paint work as well.
Well I made some more scratches in the paint today when I drilled out the rivets of the sissy bar and cut it off shorter.
Of course I had to use the right angle drill to get in there.
It’s not quite back together yet so we’ll see how it goes when I ride it. But I was feeling that the back of the seat needed to be lowered and it will be now by 1 1/4 inches.
Of course I had to use the right angle drill to get in there.
It’s not quite back together yet so we’ll see how it goes when I ride it. But I was feeling that the back of the seat needed to be lowered and it will be now by 1 1/4 inches.
This all worked out very well.
So well that it was considerably more comfortable than before. When I went out for a test ride I didn’t stop for 20 miles & I did it in 90 minutes.
This is the longest ride I have done on a bicycle since I was a paperboy in the 1960s.
I only stopped to take one photograph, but I think you can see that the seat is somewhat lower now.
My typical ride has been 4~6 miles every morning, with only a couple of 7~9 mile rides. I didn’t have any idea that I could do 20 miles without pain and I did. I was tired but I certainly could’ve gone further.
Mostly the problem has been my wonky knee, but the seat has not been particularly kind to my butt either, In spite of the improved foam. Now it is much better. Both are feeling much better after 4 months of almost daily practice.
The seat was still just a little bit too far forward at the tail. I ended up drilling my seat bracket, to move the seat back 3/4”. It ended up with the seat lower and back, but the nose raised slightly too. You don’t see that in this photograph.
So well that it was considerably more comfortable than before. When I went out for a test ride I didn’t stop for 20 miles & I did it in 90 minutes.
This is the longest ride I have done on a bicycle since I was a paperboy in the 1960s.
I only stopped to take one photograph, but I think you can see that the seat is somewhat lower now.
My typical ride has been 4~6 miles every morning, with only a couple of 7~9 mile rides. I didn’t have any idea that I could do 20 miles without pain and I did. I was tired but I certainly could’ve gone further.
Mostly the problem has been my wonky knee, but the seat has not been particularly kind to my butt either, In spite of the improved foam. Now it is much better. Both are feeling much better after 4 months of almost daily practice.
The seat was still just a little bit too far forward at the tail. I ended up drilling my seat bracket, to move the seat back 3/4”. It ended up with the seat lower and back, but the nose raised slightly too. You don’t see that in this photograph.
MattiThundrrr
Rattus All Terrainus
Thank you Matti. Except for various tendons and cartilage my legs are in pretty good shape. The seat was holding me back because of an uncomfortable sitting position.
A few years back I was training for the Adrenalina 26 mile skateboard marathon. I was pushing a 12 lb longboard over 20 miles. But I overdid it and I had to quit training. It took a couple years for my Achilles tendon to get back to normal.
But before you get too impressed, you have to remember that I was riding on very level and smooth roads. I have to actually get out of town about 10 miles to find any real hills.
I was bombing around through the suburbs at 6:30 in the morning before anybody goes to work, so the roads were empty and I could haul. It was NOT 100° out either.
A few years back I was training for the Adrenalina 26 mile skateboard marathon. I was pushing a 12 lb longboard over 20 miles. But I overdid it and I had to quit training. It took a couple years for my Achilles tendon to get back to normal.
But before you get too impressed, you have to remember that I was riding on very level and smooth roads. I have to actually get out of town about 10 miles to find any real hills.
I was bombing around through the suburbs at 6:30 in the morning before anybody goes to work, so the roads were empty and I could haul. It was NOT 100° out either.
I set the seat down another 1.5” & this actually causes it to move forward 3/8,
But the seating position is more comfortable and I still get good leg extension.
You can also see that I reversed the gooseneck again to bring the handlebars back a little bit. I could lean them back a little bit more yet.
I think I’m going to put some upholstery on the top of the sissy bar. I liked the look when I had the striped upholstery on there.
This will allow me to sit even further back on the seat without discomfort.
But the seating position is more comfortable and I still get good leg extension.
You can also see that I reversed the gooseneck again to bring the handlebars back a little bit. I could lean them back a little bit more yet.
I think I’m going to put some upholstery on the top of the sissy bar. I liked the look when I had the striped upholstery on there.
This will allow me to sit even further back on the seat without discomfort.
Other than minor adjustments I haven’t done anything else to the BBO bike. I have put together a couple more bicycles and so I thought I would collect the photographs of all my bikes here.
The Lengthy Insanity
The Flyaway
The Sting-Gray
The Leftover Bits
The “Green” Townie
The Nishiki Blazer
Baggins the Nomad
So far now, That represents all of my complete bikes.
The Lengthy Insanity
The Flyaway
The Sting-Gray
The Leftover Bits
The “Green” Townie
The Nishiki Blazer
Baggins the Nomad
So far now, That represents all of my complete bikes.
I found this neat stem clamp at the lowrider bike shop yesterday. This is made from solid aluminum billet. It’s made for a 1.125” stem and 7/8” bars.
That’s basically the same arrangement as the Sting-gray and the Lengthy Insanity. Those were cast, and not billet, But I was able to make them work.
Just barely, because the limiting factor is the distance between the bolts that clamp the bars, in both directions, so you can cut the shape of the bulging handlebar center into the aluminum.
I was able to fit the aluminum to the L.I. handlebars almost exactly, but on the Stingray the bolt holes were too close together Horizontally.
However they were far enough apart vertically that I could drill straight through with a 1 inch bit.
Unfortunately, the close-set bolt holes on the new part prevent me from reaming this unit out to fit the stingray-type bars, Nor is there enough distance to drill straight through 1 inch.
Since I cut up the Accordo, I have been working on a design for a girder fork, and this may be part of it.
I made the L.I. clamp fit the bars exactly (as I could possibly do it by hand) with little 1” stones.
You can see that I tapered the ends of this stone, to grind out the shape of the bulge.
That’s basically the same arrangement as the Sting-gray and the Lengthy Insanity. Those were cast, and not billet, But I was able to make them work.
Just barely, because the limiting factor is the distance between the bolts that clamp the bars, in both directions, so you can cut the shape of the bulging handlebar center into the aluminum.
I was able to fit the aluminum to the L.I. handlebars almost exactly, but on the Stingray the bolt holes were too close together Horizontally.
However they were far enough apart vertically that I could drill straight through with a 1 inch bit.
Unfortunately, the close-set bolt holes on the new part prevent me from reaming this unit out to fit the stingray-type bars, Nor is there enough distance to drill straight through 1 inch.
Since I cut up the Accordo, I have been working on a design for a girder fork, and this may be part of it.
I made the L.I. clamp fit the bars exactly (as I could possibly do it by hand) with little 1” stones.
You can see that I tapered the ends of this stone, to grind out the shape of the bulge.
Whoa!….but wait!
It appears the Raleigh bars may work.
They are nearly 1/16” smaller.
These are also squashed out of round, but we will ignore that for the moment.
Anyway, if I grind out this new clamp, they will fit much nicer than they do here.
But this was not what I had in mind before.
It appears the Raleigh bars may work.
They are nearly 1/16” smaller.
These are also squashed out of round, but we will ignore that for the moment.
Anyway, if I grind out this new clamp, they will fit much nicer than they do here.
But this was not what I had in mind before.
(I have coppied all this aluminum bike stuff over to the off-road build off:
AL-U-Mini )
Yikes! Yoiks! And more bits-a-boikes!
Could this possibly be another build in the offing?
16” steel wheel and 24” coaster wheel (with chrome hubs!) but the rear wheel is alloy, and the front tire is whitewall. More forks from a defunct Stinkray, some old chain and seat post, all adorn this beater aluminum BMX frame.
AL-U-Mini )
Yikes! Yoiks! And more bits-a-boikes!
Could this possibly be another build in the offing?
16” steel wheel and 24” coaster wheel (with chrome hubs!) but the rear wheel is alloy, and the front tire is whitewall. More forks from a defunct Stinkray, some old chain and seat post, all adorn this beater aluminum BMX frame.
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This came with that BMX frame, and it used to be a nice fork. Cro-mo steel, chrome plated, and threadless.
But now it’s bent, twisted, dented, scratched and rusty.
It has a really bad case of ring-around-the-collar too.
This is the trademark, but all I can read is something, ER. The something might be a B, D, or a P. The stamping is not at an even depth.
Anyhow it doesn’t look like I’ll be able to use these for much.
But now it’s bent, twisted, dented, scratched and rusty.
It has a really bad case of ring-around-the-collar too.
This is the trademark, but all I can read is something, ER. The something might be a B, D, or a P. The stamping is not at an even depth.
Anyhow it doesn’t look like I’ll be able to use these for much.
It is raining, and it is the nicest thing that’s happened here in a while. We’ve been under severe drought for several years.
But it’s gloomy out in the boat yard, and the concrete is all wet, and here I am buffing the remaining paint off of this aluminum frame.
As far as I can tell there are no cracks and no dents but a few small pits. The welding looks really nice. I’m jealous.
I just tied it down on my anvil and now I’m going to use the electric drill, nylon shotgun brush, and then a scotch bright wheel.
Most of the remaining paint has been emulsified by soaking it In hot brake fluid & fell right off when I rubbed it with a rag, but some areas were stubborn.
But it’s gloomy out in the boat yard, and the concrete is all wet, and here I am buffing the remaining paint off of this aluminum frame.
As far as I can tell there are no cracks and no dents but a few small pits. The welding looks really nice. I’m jealous.
I just tied it down on my anvil and now I’m going to use the electric drill, nylon shotgun brush, and then a scotch bright wheel.
Most of the remaining paint has been emulsified by soaking it In hot brake fluid & fell right off when I rubbed it with a rag, but some areas were stubborn.
It has been raining on and off for two days now and I had to move my operations indoors. I have spent several hours now scrubbing this frame with scotchbrite and detailing it with little pics, and it’s starting to look pretty nice despite the numerous small battle scars.
It looks like I still have several hours of Scotch bright buffing to get this frame nice enough to clearcoat. But it’s still raining so I wouldn’t be able to do that today anyway.
I don’t think I will use the stinkray forks on this bike. I have a 26 inch mountain bike fork from the fake Schwinn that will take this bike out of the muscle field and into the dirt field.
I have a battlescarred chromed forged crank and some bearings for this, and the cups are all OK. But I might try to convert this to a more modern sealed bottom end if I can get the parts today.
I don’t think I will use the stinkray forks on this bike. I have a 26 inch mountain bike fork from the fake Schwinn that will take this bike out of the muscle field and into the dirt field.
I have a battlescarred chromed forged crank and some bearings for this, and the cups are all OK. But I might try to convert this to a more modern sealed bottom end if I can get the parts today.
I have spent about six hours cleaning this frame and detailing the welds. It needs another few hours before it’s ready to clearcoat.
Every time I look at these welds I want to take up aluminum welding. Anyhow, I want it to look really nice so my grandkids will feel guilty when they scratch it all up on me.
I made it to the bicycle shops today and scored some new bits. An American-to-Euro BB adapter, an RPM sealed bearing kit, a new used crank arm, a new bell, and Shimano steel hardware kits.
The arm & hardware kits are for this Shimano 600 bio-pace set.
This has very long 175mm arms, and it’s just not really off-road gear, so I think this is going to go on my townie bike, and the townie is going to donate its more BMX-looking crankset to the Trek.
Every time I look at these welds I want to take up aluminum welding. Anyhow, I want it to look really nice so my grandkids will feel guilty when they scratch it all up on me.
I made it to the bicycle shops today and scored some new bits. An American-to-Euro BB adapter, an RPM sealed bearing kit, a new used crank arm, a new bell, and Shimano steel hardware kits.
The arm & hardware kits are for this Shimano 600 bio-pace set.
This has very long 175mm arms, and it’s just not really off-road gear, so I think this is going to go on my townie bike, and the townie is going to donate its more BMX-looking crankset to the Trek.
This looks more like off-road gear to me.
