#1 reason... Because it bugs the wife! :mrgreen:
Why do you build custom bikes?
- Thread starter IronSpadeCycles
- Start date
Help Support Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum:
While what I do would be considered more "refurbishing" or "customizing" bikes than actual ground-up custom building, I'm going to chime in here anyway.
(Let me start by saying that I'm another member of the "older generation" here, just for reference' sake...)
First and foremost, I'm a bike fanatic. Have been for years, and have ridden - and sometimes competed - on all varieties of bikes. So anything I own, which at this point consists of around 20 bikes, has got to be ride-able. The fun I get out of riding a bike, period, is almost indescribable, and the kick of riding a certain bike for the first time, especially an oldie that I've brought back to life even in the smallest of ways is immense. That I can indulge my favourite pastime of bike riding with any of these little gems is just icing on the cake! Very few days a week slip by that I'm not in the saddle, if only for a few minutes...kind of my own personal version of "a day without bike riding is like a day without sunshine". The fact that I get much-needed exercise is a great side benefit, too. At 50, I'm proud to say I'm about 6 ft. tall and only run 175-180 lbs., which few of my similarly aged buddies can say!
Working on bikes is also a huge source of therapy. I'm a business owner, and especially now with a crippled economy, my stresses are almost unbearable at times. I have a whole corral of vintage cars, but I find myself having less and less interest and ambition to work on them, and it seems like even the most basic parts cost an arm and a leg. On the other hand, bikes are simple, fun and relatively cheap (if you can keep your habits under control!) to work on. I can spend a few minutes tinkering on a bike at the end of the day - heck sometimes during the day, since I have several here at my office! - and literally feel the tension and pressure seep away. It's a true pleasure to do, something I enjoy a lot.
There is also the aesthetic value, as others have alluded to; there have been many, many times I've just sat and stared at some bike or frame, awed by its beauty, clever design, or mechanical wonder...or because of something I've done, changed or added to it. In fact, I nearly always have one of mine mounted on the wall in my office like a kinetic piece of art...which, really, to me, it quite literally is. As I've stated here many times, I love cantilever frames, on Schwinns in particular, and have a thing about diamond frames having a top tube that is parallel to the ground, NOT angled down toward the seat tube like the latest trend! Do I sound the part of the fanatic yet here??? I guess if I didn't feel I was in the company of like-minded individuals, or at the very least, those who can relate to my thoughts and feelings, I probably wouldn't be professing all this...ahem.
(Let me start by saying that I'm another member of the "older generation" here, just for reference' sake...)
First and foremost, I'm a bike fanatic. Have been for years, and have ridden - and sometimes competed - on all varieties of bikes. So anything I own, which at this point consists of around 20 bikes, has got to be ride-able. The fun I get out of riding a bike, period, is almost indescribable, and the kick of riding a certain bike for the first time, especially an oldie that I've brought back to life even in the smallest of ways is immense. That I can indulge my favourite pastime of bike riding with any of these little gems is just icing on the cake! Very few days a week slip by that I'm not in the saddle, if only for a few minutes...kind of my own personal version of "a day without bike riding is like a day without sunshine". The fact that I get much-needed exercise is a great side benefit, too. At 50, I'm proud to say I'm about 6 ft. tall and only run 175-180 lbs., which few of my similarly aged buddies can say!
Working on bikes is also a huge source of therapy. I'm a business owner, and especially now with a crippled economy, my stresses are almost unbearable at times. I have a whole corral of vintage cars, but I find myself having less and less interest and ambition to work on them, and it seems like even the most basic parts cost an arm and a leg. On the other hand, bikes are simple, fun and relatively cheap (if you can keep your habits under control!) to work on. I can spend a few minutes tinkering on a bike at the end of the day - heck sometimes during the day, since I have several here at my office! - and literally feel the tension and pressure seep away. It's a true pleasure to do, something I enjoy a lot.
There is also the aesthetic value, as others have alluded to; there have been many, many times I've just sat and stared at some bike or frame, awed by its beauty, clever design, or mechanical wonder...or because of something I've done, changed or added to it. In fact, I nearly always have one of mine mounted on the wall in my office like a kinetic piece of art...which, really, to me, it quite literally is. As I've stated here many times, I love cantilever frames, on Schwinns in particular, and have a thing about diamond frames having a top tube that is parallel to the ground, NOT angled down toward the seat tube like the latest trend! Do I sound the part of the fanatic yet here??? I guess if I didn't feel I was in the company of like-minded individuals, or at the very least, those who can relate to my thoughts and feelings, I probably wouldn't be professing all this...ahem.
Hammond, PM sent!
Later Travis
Later Travis
I don't scratch build (no welder), but customizing my bikes is a creativity outlet. I am a graphic artist so since I can't ride my computer, I like to make my bikes say something about me. It's great when people compliment my rides, it's very gratifying. 8)
Nope, it's not just you! I remember my "second first bike", which replaced the original stolen after only a couple days. It was a Columbia "All American", white with red fenders and I think, a red white & blue banana seat. I bring this up because it wasn't long before I took the fenders off! Or the goofy space age decals on my new Schwinn Predator a few years later! I have a constant urge to make things look better to my eye! I even look at houses in town and think "what they really need is a nice porch there!" I work for a handyman service, and before carpentry I worked in paint shops/auto body. I agree with most everyone elses' reponses too. Finding RRB was a threshold moment, a league of fellow bike maniacs to talk shop with and ogle their rolling iron! :mrgreen: ~Adam
I think for me is that I am consumed by accomplishment. I like knowing that what I have made (not just bikes) is a one of a kind. I dont really like to be the center of attention as I am generally a very humble person, so I know it is not to show-off. I get personal satisfaction in making things that come from my imagination and I seldomly ever make anything from a blueprint. Its just something I do and I cannot explain why.
