So I fancy a retro bike, but didn't really have the money to buy a new bike, or the time and enthusiasm to hunt one down.
However I do have a perfectly servicable MTB that I bought with my hard earned student loan while studying in Brighton.
Its an entry level Carrera, cable front disk no-name suspension forks and integrated gear/break leavers.
There's not going to be any chopping and welding with this one because the frame is aluminium. It might get re-painted at some point but its pretty tidy so I'll stip it down and do that later if I decide I want to.
I needed a style to go for, obviously a lowrider or chopper were out because of the no cutting and welding so I thought about other bike and motor bike styles that may suit a strong frame with fairly modern styling.
I've identified two possibilities, with a hint of another. Build it as a beach cruiser, Flat tracker, or Cafe racer.
So off I went to the interweb to find stuff that I cant afford to buy, and get it sent to school so my wife doesn't find out about it immediately.
First Stop was tyres, all the styling options required some wide tyres I evetually settled on some 26x2.3 Tiogas from Chain Reaction
On they went,
They just about clear the rear stays,
I also bought on e-bay a pair of cheap chrome mudgaurds, obviously these are more beach cruiser style, but a bobbed gaurd on the rear could also fit the flat tracker theme too.
I'm going off the beach cruiser style now i've seen this mock-up, but I still might use a gaurd on the rear as mentioned before.
"But what about handlebars?" I hear you ask, well the nice folks at ride low came up trumps with their Electra Cafe Racer style bars. They also had some awesome 26" tyres including some with a narrow red band, which would have looked great but I'd already bought the Tiogas and definately cant afford two new set of tyres.
Here's how it stands now, I'm rather pleased with it. The handle bars are a little curveyer than I expected, but I think they still have enough straights to suit the frame.
And if I get bored of that I could do this
I'm going to build it up now with the handlebars the right way up.
I'm possibly going to remove the front derailia(sp) so I'd like to source some separate gear and brake leavers, and perhaps even a hydaulic leaver and caliper for the front.
However I do have a perfectly servicable MTB that I bought with my hard earned student loan while studying in Brighton.
Its an entry level Carrera, cable front disk no-name suspension forks and integrated gear/break leavers.
There's not going to be any chopping and welding with this one because the frame is aluminium. It might get re-painted at some point but its pretty tidy so I'll stip it down and do that later if I decide I want to.
I needed a style to go for, obviously a lowrider or chopper were out because of the no cutting and welding so I thought about other bike and motor bike styles that may suit a strong frame with fairly modern styling.
I've identified two possibilities, with a hint of another. Build it as a beach cruiser, Flat tracker, or Cafe racer.
So off I went to the interweb to find stuff that I cant afford to buy, and get it sent to school so my wife doesn't find out about it immediately.
First Stop was tyres, all the styling options required some wide tyres I evetually settled on some 26x2.3 Tiogas from Chain Reaction
On they went,
They just about clear the rear stays,
I also bought on e-bay a pair of cheap chrome mudgaurds, obviously these are more beach cruiser style, but a bobbed gaurd on the rear could also fit the flat tracker theme too.
I'm going off the beach cruiser style now i've seen this mock-up, but I still might use a gaurd on the rear as mentioned before.
"But what about handlebars?" I hear you ask, well the nice folks at ride low came up trumps with their Electra Cafe Racer style bars. They also had some awesome 26" tyres including some with a narrow red band, which would have looked great but I'd already bought the Tiogas and definately cant afford two new set of tyres.
Here's how it stands now, I'm rather pleased with it. The handle bars are a little curveyer than I expected, but I think they still have enough straights to suit the frame.
And if I get bored of that I could do this
I'm going to build it up now with the handlebars the right way up.
I'm possibly going to remove the front derailia(sp) so I'd like to source some separate gear and brake leavers, and perhaps even a hydaulic leaver and caliper for the front.
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