FATRAT

[bean]

I'll start with the negatives first, then proceed to the positives.

Negative:
I rode this bike for nearly 2 weeks and put a lot of miles on it before it was stripped for paint and it was smooth as......I had fitted a new bottom bracket which was great and the chainline was perfect. So.....when i put it back together, the chainline is crap for some reason and the BB keeps developing play .
After pulling and refitting/adjusting about 5 times and managing to chip paint in the process , I bought a sealed BB from my LBS . Man, I'm done with traditional style BB's from now on.....so smooth and easy to fit (we don't get too many one piece cranks in Oz).
I also couldn't get a new black headset, so had to settle for a chrome one, but it looks OK I guess.

Positive:
I stuck a fork in it...............It's done!!! Pics are up.

OK, I've finished my first RRBBO bike, and as well as enjoying the process, I've ended up with a bike that I'll be riding regularly. The bike ended up being totally different than planned. Everything changed when I got the tires mounted up and stuck them on......I knew they had to be the main feature of the bike, and the stuff I had made/was going to make and fit just took focus off the wheels and tires. I'm really happy with the bike. The color is growing on me......it was a little brighter than I initially thought, but at least it stands out.
Because I cut the brake bosses, fender and stand mounts etc off, and didn't put too much back on, the bike is really light and quite fast (I'm sure I could give the lycra wearin', latte sippin' dudes around here a big fright if I geared it up a bit, pumped up the tires and lift the seat ).
I made up a few spoke cards for a laugh as well (only stayed on for the pics though).

Chips


Spoke Cards

[sensor]

at least the chips are an easy fix.........
im guessing it was rattle can paint? if so just spray some into a cup, grab a match, dip it into the paint,let it dry(if its lower than the original paint you put on let it dry all the way repeat until its above the rest of the surrounding paint) ,then hit it with 2000 grit paper(wet..aka with water) until its level with the rest of the paint then grab some rubbing compound and polish it out by hand with a flannel rag, follow that with some glaze and wax and youll never know it was there

[bean]

at least the chips are an easy fix.........
im guessing it was rattle can paint? if so just spray some into a cup, grab a match, dip it into the paint,let it dry(if its lower than the original paint you put on let it dry all the way repeat until its above the rest of the surrounding paint) ,then hit it with 2000 grit paper(wet..aka with water) until its level with the rest of the paint then grab some rubbing compound and polish it out by hand with a flannel rag, follow that with some glaze and wax and youll never know it was there

Thanks sensor. That's pretty much what I intend to do, except I use an old felt tipped coloring pen instead of the match. If the paint keeps chipping, I'll probably get it powder coated. I just got some wheels done locally for a vintage pedal car resto and the place does real good work. Quoted $60AU ($48US) to sandblast and powdercoat a frame and fork.
Lucky my wife and boy were out when it happened (twice) or I would have been emptying my wallet into the swear jar!

[bean]

Posted a new pic in the Finished Bikes section.

[bean]

I've been asked to take part a couple of charity bike rides, one of which is the "Tour de Chaplain", which raises money for chaplaincy projects at local schools. I won't be doing the whole ride (an 80 mile road ride between two towns, with lots of big hills), but will be part of a relay team......I'm going to pick the last leg which is nice and flat .

The event won't be taken too seriously and I think there will be themes and costumes etc. I always like to be a little different than most folks, so I'm thinking about a bike to ride .......... looking at my flatbar singlespeed ........ looking at the FATRAT................looking at the flatbar singlespeed..........looking at the FATRAT.............and:


No clearance issues with these



It is very light and faaaaast!! The bike is not going to stay like this, but now I'm going to have to get a 700c wheelset built with a coaster hub for my Raleigh Retroglide.

[deorman]

And here I was, planning to ask about brakes.

[bean]

And here I was, planning to ask about brakes.

Yeah, a bit scary with no brakes . I took it for an early morning ride around our quiet neighbourhood, so it wasn't too bad. I'm gonna have a coaster brake and fit a front brake temporarily for the Tour de Chaplain though.