RRBBO7 HYPE UP THREAD!

[outskirtscustoms]

So what characteristics in a bike do you think helps in obtaining votes?

I normally grade on 5 points:
1. Be original. Something that has not been seen before or using of old parts in new ways.
2. Balance. Don't over do it but don't leave it half finished.
3. Form and function. How is the riding position, nothing looks out of place and nothing is missing. No one piece over-powers the bike.
4. Choice of colors. I have seen so many bikes that look killer and the color ruins it for me.
5. Craftsmanship. Is it slapped together or does it flirt with factory?

[inshane64]

My build off bike will be a 60's Schwinn Middleweight. I want to put 24x3's on it but to do so would require me cutting off the kick stand and fender mount, spreading the rear a half inch, and re-welding. Would this violate the rules?

[outskirtscustoms]

My build off bike will be a 60's Schwinn Middleweight. I want to put 24x3's on it but to do so would require me cutting off the kick stand and fender mount, spreading the rear a half inch, and re-welding. Would this violate the rules?

I think you'd be safe. Grinding of brake tabs and brake bridges is allowed and you're not changing the geometry of the frame. Maybe some others can weigh in on this.

[yoothgeye]

My build off bike will be a 60's Schwinn Middleweight. I want to put 24x3's on it but to do so would require me cutting off the kick stand and fender mount, spreading the rear a half inch, and re-welding. Would this violate the rules?

You're safe on this point.

As for the banana seat thing? I don't think that adds to a vote getter, the $400 wheelset I've seen get votes, but basically I think it comes down to who you are, who you know, and your reputation here. Yeah, I said it. It's cool, I'm still in.

[tanksalot]

My build off bike will be a 60's Schwinn Middleweight. I want to put 24x3's on it but to do so would require me cutting off the kick stand and fender mount, spreading the rear a half inch, and re-welding. Would this violate the rules?

You're safe on this point.

As for the banana seat thing? I don't think that adds to a vote getter, the $400 wheelset I've seen get votes, but basically I think it comes down to who you are, who you know, and your reputation here. Yeah, I said it. It's cool, I'm still in.

Youth I have to respect your last comment .I can tell your a Honest Guy..
I have another rules question.. As you can see my avatar side car is a working piece.. I broke the 4 speed linkage on the raleigh bike .I cant even begin to tell you what a pain its been to find another one .(Its annoying special..)

So this is giveing me a excuse to put the side car on another bike.(Ive always wanted the side car on somthing else anyways.) My question is can I use the side car on my build off bike its been seen & it works .( But I will be upgrading the side car in a lot of ways That I dont want to get into.(Top Secret) I will say the side car getting a major upgrade ...And Im going to build a bike to match it one way or another ... Id appriciate any thoughts I dont want to do the work just to find out I cant use the side car..

[brett4christ]

Tanks

My opinion is the sidecar is an accessory, so using it on the build-off bike would be cool, just as long as you don't just bolt it to another previously seen bike and call it done.

BTW....cool sidecar!

[yoothgeye]

Yes, the sidecar can be put on any bike, it is an accessory, but like already stated, this "competition" is a build-off, so people are going to be paying attention to how you are building the bike.

Is your sidecar something you bought or made? I'd like to see how it is attached to the bike.

[tanksalot]

The jury is still out on what the side car is .My guess is its manufactured back in the late 1920s or mid 1930s .. The Seat has been recovered over the original Tweed fabric.The floor is Wood & Scalloped metal on the underside.. The Side car tub has some serious age to it. (I had to clean sand & repaint it fix the window & change a lot of hardware ! ) The story is that the last owner was from England & brought this to his estate in Maine .( He used it along with the English bike in my Avatar as a Garden decoration over the years .He stored it in a barn in the winters .( The only other one Ive seen that was even close to this side car is in a Monkees Video for the 1960s for about 5 seconds )So I do believe it was manufactured.. The last owner did a so so restoration in the late 1970s using some wrong parts (The fender being the most ovious ) He did make a bar to go under the side car to attach to the rear Axle. ..The seat attachment support bar is original .The front frame Attachment support was made more recently .. I used this the last two years After a serious restoration on my part with kids in the side car on the Girls English Bike it came with mostly to keep the bikes weight down & so I could shift it.. I would like to see this on a correct period Balloon bike & Ive come up with a new way to make it shift maybe..Ill try to put up photos of the attachment points after the Build off starts ..Im going to make the correct fender & make a spring suspention for the side car..If I can find the time to go for a build off build.

This may help on the side car attachment?

[FunkyStickman]

I normally grade on 5 points:
1. Be original. Something that has not been seen before or using of old parts in new ways.
2. Balance. Don't over do it but don't leave it half finished.
3. Form and function. How is the riding position, nothing looks out of place and nothing is missing. No one piece over-powers the bike.
4. Choice of colors. I have seen so many bikes that look killer and the color ruins it for me.
5. Craftsmanship. Is it slapped together or does it flirt with factory?

This is pretty close to what I vote for. I favor originality... not in the "gosh he put 3 wheels on it" but more of a "Cool, I see what you did there" kind of thing. People that come up with cool new ways to solve problems get massive points.

I'll put it like this: when you see a car done by Troy Trepanier or Chip Foose, you can easily tell what kind of car it is... but the closer you look, you notice its taillights are just a little different, or maybe the wheelwells are shaped slightly different, or maybe it has subtle changes in the roofline... maybe the exhaust was relocated, or they used fender trim from a different car.

The changes are subtle, but when you put them all together, it just makes the car "look right." A properly done bike should be the same way. Obviously not stock, but it looks well-built enough that it could be. I'm looking for the complete package.

As for the banana seat thing? I don't think that adds to a vote getter, the $400 wheelset I've seen get votes, but basically I think it comes down to who you are, who you know, and your reputation here. Yeah, I said it. It's cool, I'm still in.

Yeah, the $400 wheelset guys will always get votes, but you know who the real contenders are. If the rest of the bike looks like it was haphazardly thrown together, the voting will reflect that.

[Gold Street Customs]

All I know is I have two pages of possible names for my build off bike I am going to go Traditional, with cool parts and my biggest concern is

[yoothgeye]

Here's my from the heart from last year's build-off, the first I participated in. This might sound silly or childrish for a (at the time) 34 year old, but this is how I recall it.

I was building a bike I wanted to build for myself and the build-off deadline gave me the motivation to stay up late nights and actually finish something. As the start date came I was planning in my head and had a general idea of each part I would be making, colors, tricks, ideas, and even how I would record my progress. I took as many photos as I could during the work instead of just before and afters, I even used my timer to get action shots of sparks flying or action welding shots. I had my first entry already written, an introduction to my build and when Steve opened the forum I quickly copied and pasted it in and had the first build-thread posted in the forum figuring that I needed as much exposure as I could get. I decided to stick with my "76er" theme throughout by posting facts from the year 1976 on each official build entry, trying to maintain readership and a following. I knew I didn't have the coolest frame or the best parts, but I was showing heart and getting a lot of views. I was proud of my work and thought it was worth all the efforts of modifying or making nearly every part that went onto the bike. Even though I didn't care if I won or not I felt like I had a pretty good chance based on the "work" that I was doing compared to the assembly of parts that others were doing. So I kept my build updated and my updates regular. I replied to everyone who commented or asked questions on my build, because I was proud of it, I wanted to answer questions, and it kept my build up top in the forum. Whenvoting started I was excited... until the results started coming in, I saw a trending towards favorites, sure they had cool bikes, but I couldn't see the same amount of "work" put into them as mine, and I saw more money/available assets in theirs. It was kind of heartbraking and I kept waiting for a rally in votes for the 76er, but it never came. About halfway through the voting I just kind of gave up and enjoyed the ride and tried to stay out of the drama. At that point I understood what was going on here and I just dealt with it. I was never the popular kid in school and I watched those kids get the class president and other awards because they were well known... I'd been there before. In the end, I had what I wanted, a finished bike, and over 8000 views on my build thread meaning that people all over the world had seen what I did. Losing was a hard blow, but I'm willing to lose again for another cool bike that belongs to me and won't be scavenged for parts for another build or sold off for a profit.

The end.

[kingfish254]

I just didn't see it that way in last year's voting. Hard to say what anyone was thinking as they placed their votes unless you have a magic eight ball, Quija board, or Vulcan mind meld.
I don't think I voted for any of the top three bikes.

All I know is that I was happy to get 1+ votes.

Live Long and Prosper!

[yoothgeye]

I don't think I voted for any of the top three bikes.

Neither did I, they were all deserving bikes though, but I could see many other deserving bikes that would've easily been top 3, even above mine. haha It just worked out a little too lopsided for my taste based on all the great choices.

[Chips_Mahoy]

I love taking my cars to shows but I never compete. I enter in display only. My bikes will be the same for the most part. I'll enter the build off to support it and the site activity, but I don't enter to win. I do it to challenge myself and to have fun. I go in knowing I will not win but I don't care. This, and the car stuff, is for fun and comraderie! It's a hobby.......it should be fun!

[kingfish254]

This, and the car stuff, is for fun and comraderie! It's a hobby.......it should be fun!

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