The Difference Engine...

Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum

Help Support Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Joined
Sep 14, 2013
Messages
7,804
Reaction score
19,343
Location
Bradley Illinoiz



I'm planning fresh "parts n' paint" for this pair of Schwinn CrissCross's.
I want them to match, still debating on the colors, probably two tone.
So without any frame mods, I'm calling this one traditional...;)
 
I'm working on color schemes now... I want them to match.
Maybe tan and brown with blue tires, grips, and seats...
Anybody know a good bike modeler program that lets you swap colors? o_O
 

picture is looking from the bottom...
Looking at the gap between my tire and the frame... these are 700c x 40mm (42 x 622) I wonder how big of a tire can I get in there? Schwinn put a bit of a roundness on the inside of the frame, it's a bit over 2 1/4" wide and about 1 3/4" from the edge of the rim to the fender hanger...
Schwalbe (50 x 622) should fit..... now to find a rim...
 
Last edited:
The Difference Engine....always and nevermore. Slipping thru time.
Up is down, left is right is wrong, and traditional is as anything goes.
Blue and black, ivory and rust, copper and brass, imitation of corrosion...
Crisscross. Twice.

before...


Carl.
 
Any updates Carl?

If you want software that is easy to use, you can get paint.net as a free download, it is what I use. It is similar to windows paint the way it is set up but has features from other programs, such as, you can set a photo as the background, add a layer over the top and draw whatever you want on it, then delete the original photo from behind giving a nice clean drawing. You can even add more layers that can be moved around easily, I quite often have one layer with wheels, one layer with the frame and forks, one layer with grips and seat etc, very helpful when you want to try out different colour combinations by changing one layer at a time with the paint bucket tool.

Luke.
 

Paint.net works ok... Took a pic of my bike and broke it down to two colors and then started cleaning it up...
Now that the Muscle bike build is over I'm on it... started stripping the bike...
I think I'm gonna try to bend some 3/4 copper for the arch bar... Ivory paint on the lugged parts of the frame.
Black and very dark blue on the tubes with some steam grunge weathering... bronze and red stippeling
Fifty coats of clear... modded Monarch fork. I'm dreamin' big.

Carl.
 
so cool
 

Got some of the heavy sanding done...more to go.
Going to bend some pipe...but I have no bender capable of a nice sweep.:39:
Went and bought a couple containers of table salt...less than a buck.o_O
We'll see if we've learned anything here at RRB...;)

Carl.
 
This is also the only bike I'm doing for the build-off. I probably will be painting them to match, but I'm only entering this one in the contest.

Carl.
 
Thick wall copper, left over from a little plumbing job I did a while back...
I do just about any kind of home repairs, fine and rough carpentry, electrical, masonry, or plumbing. On the side. That's what I love about bikes is I can stretch my skills in other areas to apply to them. I can bend elec conduit with the best of them... but I've never put a sweeping arch in a piece of pipe by hand, let alone in a piece of copper. I'm not payin' some shop to do it, I ain't got my own power bender either! So I read some threads here... This bit of copper along with some yet to be disclosed styling cues are gonna make or break this build. It's a mechanically perfect Schwinn hybrid. Now let's make it look like something Jules Verne would've created for Charles Babbage...

Carl.
 
Tube filled with salt...black tape caps the ends


part way thru "step" bending, a series of small bends...


Bent but not cut to length, salt may not have been necessary but for 50 cents I have no kinks... shiny spot is not a kink... sorry about the dark photos but...


Carl.
 
Oh wow... this is gonna be neato :D

Jules Verne huh... sounds kinda steampunkish. I was thinking of going the steampunk route too, but copper and brass things are just too expensive. Could use paint I suppose... hmmm :39: ... nah :chicken:

Glad you got no kinks in that tubing... wouldn't want a kinky bike now would we o_O

Great work so far... you really got me now :whistle:

Glen.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top