Zep-per

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Thanks SaintSeptum!!! I think you need the lower truss rods!!! I have the bike about 95% done and I went for about a 2 mile shakedown romp with it yesterday. The fork works great..... The problem with not using the lower truss rods is the way the fork is hinged. Not using the lower truss's could cause the fork to hinge right out from under you!!!! The fork could be modified maybe to fit your need? The lower truss rods have much possibility!!! Thanks!!!
 
Here is my wheels
Pilewheels.jpg

This is how the wheels looked before. Had this old rear wheel for 30 years. I tied it all together so it wouldn't loose any parts. I have had to move all of this stuff three times to different locations since. I'm still looking for stuff that I've forgotten where I put it. Keeping it tied together made locating it easier. Here, the spokes are installed just as I got them.
NOSwheel.jpg

A before example of the two wheels that I used the rims from. I was at a flea-market about 10 years ago and a vendor had a pile of these wheels. He never would say where he got them. They looked like new take-offs or something. I gave him $5 each for two F. wheels not knowing what I'd ever do with them. They are enameled in appliance white. I didn't think I could improve on them any, so I'm leaving them white. I spoked in the front hub from the old Murray. I felt that the beefier F. hub would be better for the springer. I spoked in the Morrow on the rear. I was able to reuse all but one of the old Torrington spokes. One just didn't want to cooperate!!!
bothwheels.jpg

Here are the completed wheels. I did cross my spokes!!! They really show up well. They have some slight shelf rash but they trued up and cleaned up really well.
mountwheels.jpg

Here they are for a trial fit in the frame. It's coming together!!! Thanks!!!

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Full Race
fullrace.jpg

The minimum Zep-per. Since one spirit of a Rat Rod is to be a racer, this is the fastest set-up I could lay my hands on for a heavyweight frame. Although it would easily be outclassed in a century or crit today, it would be interesting to see how it would do with a capable rider aboard in a beach cruiser comp. Here the Zep-per is shod with Goodyear Wingfoot 175's. The 1.75" tires offer less rolling resistance and less weight than the 2.125" tires and they really wake up the frame and fork combination. The seat and bars are representative as most riders have their own preference that could be adapted. A lot of riders today learned to ride on this seat and bar arrangement. The seat is an old Brooks saddle borrowed from a 1960's Schwinn Super Sport. I've used it for years and is well broken in. The bars were borrowed from a Miyata 10 spd.
frontrace.jpg

The fork continues to amaze me at how well it works!!! It stays almost rigid until you hit the big pebble asphalt, utility cuts, and substrate erosion in the road. I'm going to try the 2.125" tires also and it should give a caddy-like ride with those tires. I apologize for the quality of the these last two pics. The battery level was low on the camera for the time of day they were taken and I'm still learning this digital thing!!!! Thanks!!![/img]
 
10/23/07 Oohh!!! my bad!! I apologize for the picture gap. I didn't know it would do that!!! I'll fix it tomorrow!!! Thanks!!!
 
Thanks Guys!!! I've been working a lot the past week and didn't get much done. However, I was able to try a location shot of the Zep-per. I'm still kicking some ideas around about fenders and lights. Everyone is doing great in the buildoff. I agree there are going to be some sweet bikes when this thing is over. Good luck to all!!!!
track.jpg

This pic was made at a track facility where my son attends high school. I wonder if a racing format where a dozen or more riders using the same brakes and tire size would fill up those empty seats in the stands? It could be like the Nascar of bicycle racing. Thanks!!!
 
Thanks Guys for all the comments!!! I guess I'm an old racer at heart. I had an old 1974 Raleigh Professional MKIV that I used to race in some crits a long time ago. I went from bikes to MX and still have scars and broken bones from that. Nowdays it seems logical to bolt on a bigger and louder motor to go faster. But on bikes, it is more the rider that makes the difference in a race. I wish these 50+ year old legs of mine had a little more wind in them sometimes!!! I think it would be great to get a bike racing series going using common available equipment so that it wouldn't have to be expensive for everyone. It might even snare some old couch potatoes like me to get up and go ride more!!!
nighttime.jpg

Happy Halloween!!!![/img]
 
Hello again and thanks to all for the comments!!! Last night I was finally able to see what you guys are going to be looking at in a couple of weeks. I think you'll like it. Working on fenders. Still a bit of engineering to do. Please allow me to back up a bit here. Here was the pile of parts from which the Zep-per started.
pilerims.jpg

Before the buildoff, I spent time gathering up parts. And I still havn't found some parts that I wanted to use. Oh well, they'll turn up sometime. So we go with what we got!!! This has been a laundry time/patio build for me. I don't have a shop any longer so like several of you guys, I build on the patio. This is at a house that my wife grew up in and we use to store furniture in. I go there to do some laundry and while the laundry is going is when I work on the Zep-per. A little over a month and 12 loads of laundry later, this is what I came up with:
raren.jpg


This is how the Zep-per first came off the stand. Right after this pic was taken, I took it for a two mile romp to sort it out. Here the tires are 2.125" Goodyear Thunderbolt GT's. The Zep-per has been the culmination of a 30 year project for me. Like some of you, I've been kidded in the past about the reason for keeping this stuff for so long. Not to mention the effort and expense of storing it. At times I didn't fully understand the reason myself. I have spent the past five years getting rid of stuff from my parents business that closed in 2002. I saved the bicycle stuff for last because I figured I was going to finally have some fun doing something. And I've had more fun doing the buildoff than I've had in years. I might never have an opportunity to do this again and I am grateful to all you guys for understanding. Thanks and good luck to all!!![/img]
 
Sharp bike!

May i suggest: Tall ape hangers, Skinny Front Tire, Bobbed rear fender maybe a shorty in front? I Think that would look better.. BUT I LOVE IT THE WAY IT IS! Dont let me bum your trip maan. <-- Where that came from, I have no clue. :?
 

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