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Well heres my 25 cents (2cents dont do nothing) I havent been here very long but as fast as people are joining I feel like a veteran, I just built what looked like fun to build,after looking at what I had to build with. I could have used a curved frame for a base, I actually have two, I originally wanted fat tires but being a novice at bike building I didn't even think about the width of the triangle and other things didn't fall into place as planned. But it was a learning experience I think the rules worked well for the build... if I could just get my wife involved in a build to see how much fun she is missing but I shouldn't complain,she works her tail off just keeping the family machine in fine tune she just gets jealous of the time I spend in the garage....the old two wheeled mistress, The next build I will get my son involved thats for sure.
 
this still cracks me up. I guess it's a sign of the times. how about this I think it can only be a Rat Rod if it has flowers on the handlebars! really it's simple on the next build off put in the rules that all styles will be welcome or put all styles are not welcome. but lets not dither, you can't please everyone! the term "Rat Rod" plain and simple has to do with it being Ratty, there's just no way around that! I don't particularly like the ratty ones better than the lowriders or the customs or the hot rods it's just that the rules said mo rat mo better, and people threw that aside with the selfish view that it would mean what they wanted it to mean. I'm sorry if I offend but life doesn't work that way! politically correct only applies to politics. rats are rats and customs are customs! this isn't a 5 year olds soccer game where both sides win so no one gets their feelings hurt. and rules are only made to be broken by cheaters! this is the problem, you are so accomodating with the entries that people get upset when the voting starts and it's a run away in one direction or the other. I was a little upset because I read the rules and stuck to them. I'm not naming names and not singling anyone out because the buildoff was a free for all and lots of people went wherever they wanted without even worrying about what was going on. perhaps the answer is to be very restrictive about what each build is to be and have different builds for the different styles. it solves both problems, first the bikes will have all have a similar feel making voting easier and more fair, and secondly it will make each build off a bit smaller as not all members will enter except for the style build off they like best. in the end it is up to the site owner to give us direction as to how he wants this to go. use a firm hand Steve you've seen the potential of the masses let loose!! :mrgreen:
Scott 8)
P.S. why have so many of my posts been deleted? I have been careful not to use any foul language or to call names or to insult anyone personally. I'm always careful to be polite when addressing a matter even when I disagree. if you delete this one please send me a pm and let me know what I'm doing that offends so I can refrain in future.
 
Scott, you make an excellent point!.......It's made me reconsider what I'm going to build in the future. Rusted "ratty" bikes have never been my favorite. Hot Rod bikes are more pleasing to me. But STILL are not my favorites. My favorite is Long Wheel Base (LWB) recumbents, so that's what I'm going back to building. I DO appreciate Ratty or Hot Rod bikes, that other people build. I also appreciate fully restored vintage bikes (that other people build). I have pictured, in my mind, two LWBs that I've been meaning to build. So those are going to be my NEXT builds. If I ever get to finish them, I'll post them in OTHER BIKES...........So I'm gonna still be here :lol: ... Even though there isn't a category for the bikes I plan on building! So Scott, I THINK I see your point! If your having a contest for the best APPLE, and there's one orange, and your partial to "oranges". You'll probably vote for the ORANGE, and not the APPLE! Your opinion IS valued here, so don't stop giving it............

PS...I voted for Maximum Overdrive AND DevilWing AND ZB140ColumbiaDILIGENC .....3 COMPLETELY different styles.

One from the Fifties.....One from the Sixties.......And one from :? .......Another Galaxy
 
I say we do a run whatcha brung type contest. If there is only 10 or 20 bikes then we can pick a top three. IF there is more, set classes based off what kinda bikes are entered.

Ratrod (flat paint, rusted crome, hotrod styling cues)
Heavy modified (Mad hammer, and others, anything over the top and above)
Custom (everything else)

Doesnt have to be exactly those but it might make people that figure they dont want to bother since they know that cant do what some of the mad genuises on here can. I personally would have entered a bike anyways but I came here late to the game and didnt have that parts,money,or time that I just rescently started to aquire.
 
Because I enjoy conversation and I enjoy reading the posts and ideas, how about this?

No rules ~ But simple clear guidelines! You ask "What's the difference" Rules are clear and steadfast, guidelines allow for creativity within the given parameters. We are all artists and so we do not do well with rules - that much is a given. If you see GTCOMA's cylinder chart with regards to the RRBBO statistics you can see an gradual increase in participation and voting. If you were to measure just the posts and views for this BBO you would be astouded as to the percentage increase over the last two. (and we only have 1600 members - not sure exactly how many are really active) but my point here is that you want to make sure that you take care of the Big dogs as well as the little guys with regards to giving everyone a shot at the crown. If you don't have a goal to shoot for we tend to get lazy and things may not get done or we simply get burned out. You ask how I know. I used to build customized Hot Wheels, much like Chip Foose builds real customs or OCC builds Theme bikes. I was a 4 time PRO divvison National Champion and then poof!!! I was uninspired to build anymore. The game stayed the same, I knew what to create and how to create the cars (What formula was needed to capture the crown) and stayed with in a box. I could have strayed but then what was my goal? After that I became uninspired to create because there was little left in the tank.

Fleetwood - Don't get grumpy and walk away from here (I know you won't but I had to say it). Personally some of the smack talk may have gone over the edge, but I am sure it was done in fun with people you thought would not get offended. I tell my kids if you talk the talk, you better walk the walk or your gonna be disappointed or even insulted. You read the rules and decided to go int he direction you did. You were happy with it, but I dare say I think you really did think you expected to win. And thats just from reading some of your posts. I am probably wrong but there was a tone about them that of course the author and the reader could be 180 degrees off as to the way something is written/read.

It's not that we are beating a dead horse with this post or harassing you or anyone else. It is meant to have an open disucussion about the subject. No more, no less.

I do not have all the answers and I don't want to have them. We are a collection of people who share a common interest that can grow by bouncing ideas off each other and sharing our talents.

I often go back and read Intros after i read the posts that some people make and you can really tell a lot about a person from them. That is why they are important :D

OK, off my soap box now.

Cheers, Joe
 
well said yeshoney and i think we all have some just say in this. it is funny the most unargued builds have been ones where there was a specific type of bike to be modified. like with the diamond frame build off of the kids bike build off. well that one does not count because it was outlaw. really what it all comes down to is the people have spoken and they have chosen the bike that they think is best. one thing i do have to say is with this voting the way it was done if a bike got one vote but the person wanted another bike to be first one vote still was counted towards that third place bike. now please this is not me saying we should do a revote or the wrong bike won. although sensor can tell you for awhile i was dissapointed i have made my peace and very grateful to those who voted for my bike and to the first two bikes your bikes are amazing and to the best bike win.
i do feel that in this build off we should have classes with this many bikes being entered. either that or do like the old build offs were done have a serise of small competitions between two builders at a time maybe? iduno now that i look on my bike i wish i had left it rusty like i had her when she was in mockup out at middnight mass. not that i dont like her shiny now but there is just something about rust. :mrgreen:
 
dumpster_diver said:
I was thinking of a smaller time frame build off for October 1st to October 31 for a HALLOWEEN theme build off. NO prizes, NO voting, NO rules. Who cares who builds what. You can enter 1 bike or a bike per family member (those who will be trick or treating).
Here is a name "HALLOWweeee BBO!".
Click to expand...

In the same vein of thought as DD
is, a "Monster Bike Build Off".
 
Ugh, it's happening all over again!

Seem's like every online group I engage in implodes by me meerly signing on and participating. :D

Seriously, as a fringe builder I'll apologize up front if I put a fly in someone's ointment. I've seen this kind of thing before. With BattleBot's, and the Lake Pepin 3spd tour.
Once online, they both mushroomed into something that was hard to control, on completely different scales of course. BattleBot's got so big it crushed under it's own weight.
The Lake Pepin 3spd tour is filled to capacity five months before the date of the ride.
With a higher number of paticipants there is less chance of winning the big prize, it's just a matter of the math. Every single vote that was put on a bike at the low end of the scale didn't go to the top bikes numbers.
I voted more for my own personal subcatagories, Best Rack and/or Storage, Most Interesting Finish, and Most Rat. :)
The Winners style of bike will be the most popular style for the next build-off, that's the nature of the beast.

And that's what we should avoid, just build what you want, let the vote's decide.

And to those 2 brave souls who wasted a perfectly good vote on my bike I thank you.





Warning, this post is laced with humor and is not intended to "stir anyone's pot!"
 
You do realize of course that I'm considering every jot and tidal of this thread as absolute and complete gibberish. :lol:
 
37fleetwood said:
the term "Rat Rod" plain and simple has to do with it being Ratty, there's just no way around that! I don't particularly like the ratty ones better than the lowriders or the customs or the hot rods it's just that the rules said mo rat mo better, and people threw that aside with the selfish view that it would mean what they wanted it to mean..........I was a little upset because I read the rules and stuck to them.
Click to expand...



Here is my opinion and it's all you will get (because other than this I just don't want to be involved). I wholeheartedly agree with this man in his statement quoted above. I'm a stickler for rules, which is why I followed them closely. They do say mo rat= mo bettah, which is an important note, but another rule which has been barely discussed is this one; 10. KEEP IT CHEAP...remember...IT'S A RAT ROD!!!!
Now of course the inheirent problem here is one's definition of "cheap". I can personally say that I was heartbroken that my bike cost about $45. I was quite happily at the 20 dollar mark, but wasn't happy with the handlebars and had to have that "just right" pair which set me back another 25 bucks. That was a choice I made not for votes, but for my personal appeal towards my bike. And I know there were a few bikes that were MUCH cheaper than that.
Somewhere someone made the statement that we should limit the cost to between 200-300 bucks and I almost gagged. Adding the total cost of the six bikes I own would not approach that amount. In the build-off there are a few bikes that it is obvious cost many times more than mine. And I don't feel that to be in the spirit of the build-off.
The bottom line is this.....If you want to dump a bunch of cash into building a trailer-queen looking replica bike, that is your own business. I think they are beautiful in their own right! However, do them outside the competition. If you want to participate in the build-off, then please follow the rules.
 
I'll chime in a little on this discussion. :D

My intentions when starting the site was to create a community of folks who enjoyed building and creating cool cruiser bikes with that hot rod look and feel. Middleweights and heavyweight bikes were what I had in mind as the basis for the projects that would be built. On the Schwinn forum many folks would refer to their bikes that were built from different pieces and parts as Rat Rods. Since it was a commonly recognized term I decided to go with that name and figured it would help the site's ratings in the search engines. Initially I wanted hotrodbikes.com, but a motorcycle company already owned that domain name. I also felt that Rat Rod was a good term becuase you instantly knew that the bikes on the site would not be nut and bolt resto jobs and it gave the place a little attitude.

Now over the past couple of years we have seen that the hobby isn't just limited to heavyweights and middleweight bikes. Some folks have managed to build cool rat rod bikes out of lightweight bikes and even out of cheap mountain bikes from Wal-Mart. I could be strict about it all and filter everything out that doesn't fit my definition, but who am I to stifle the movement. As long as you built it, looks cool and has that vintage style to it, we're good.

In regards to the build offs, they were started to increase traffic/activity on the site and give the members a semi-structured environment to build a cool bike. Personally I'd like to keep them very simple and not create a bunch of classes and rules. I think when stuff like this starts to get too complicated then the fun goes away quickly. I'd really like to eliminate the voting part of the build offs altogether. I think most folks would agree that the fun part is watching the build diaries and then seeing all of the finished bikes at the end. I guess the element of competition may drive some folks to push the envelope on their builds, but maybe there could be another incentive to voting like...your bike could end up in a calendar, poster or desktop wallpaper.

So my recommendation is, don't get too hung up on definitions and semantics. Just build cool bikes and have fun. :wink:
 
Rat Rod said:
So my recommendation is, don't get too hung up on definitions and semantics. Just build cool bikes and have fun. :wink:
Click to expand...

I agree. I like the simplicity of the site and buildoff's in place.
 
i agree now with steve just keep it the way it is and let the builders take it how it goes. classes do make things more difficult not so sure about less fun but more complicated most defenetly. i am so over the whole "what is a rat rod" deal it makes me sick. we all have different ideas of what it is and thats why we ended up with so many different looking bikes which i personally love. wouldn't it be boring if all of them looked the same?
 
I enjoy building bikes on the cheap and having them look cool. Sometimes my results are "ratty" looking and sometimes they look more polished. This is determined by the raw material that I start with and the available budget and/or parts. Steve is right that Rat Rodding is not just about the end result, but the attitude behind it. The one thing that I will never adhere to however is trailer Queens. Build it and ride it. That one is non negotiable for me, so is having fun. :mrgreen:
 
you hit the nail on the head. who cares what it looks like as long as it is not a trailer queen. i have a sticker on the back of my truck from billetproof last year that says welllll i cant type it here but BLANK trailer queens !
 

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