No pictures to add this morning, but things are happening...
My Sturmey Archer front hub arrived, so I dropped it off at the bike shop last night to have a wheel built. While the original board track racers didn't have brakes, living in Houston requires a front and rear brake! I thought about doing a disk brake up front, but stylistically it's not appropriate for the era; hence, I went with a hub brake. I also ordered stronger rims and spokes. The 12-gauge spokes I have now look the part, but the reality is they are just old pot-metal spokes...so I'm having some double-wall downhill-racer wheels built--black rims, chrome spokes.
I also ordered a new front fork...again, something appropriate for the period. I went with a Monarch replica. I like the design of the forks and think they compliment the rest of the bike. And yes, I've read all the comments on the Monarch forks on the Internet. I actually called the guys at Crossbow--apparently they were aware of earlier problems with the forks and have addressed the issues. The forks are now welded--not brazed--but if needed, I'll reinforce it with extra welds where it's needed (if needed).
I also got a chrome exhaust...it was cheap (really cheap)...so I thought, why not.
And I'm still waiting for my Felt Quick Brick tires to arrive--they've been on backorder forever...ugh! I'm told they will ship today...though I was also told they would ship on the 8th. Maybe they’ll arrive before my wheels are ready...
So when all those bits and pieces arrive and are installed, that will pretty much be the end of the "building" (aside from moving the choke cable from the handlebars elsewhere)...then it's on to the finishing. I have to clean up welds; Bondo where needed (smoothing out the tank, for example); sand blast a few parts; send a few parts out to get chromed (my buddy owns a chroming and plating company); paint the frame, tank, and faux oil tank their respective colors; and so on. But the question is...do I want to do all that finish work? It's not that I'm lazy or averse to the work...the reality is, I sorta like the bike just the way it is--bare metal and raw! Most folks I talk to (you cannot go anywhere on the bike without random people talking to you about it...I love that part) love it just the way it is...in general folks are trying to persuade me to leave it a rat bike. I dunno...I guess we'll see...
the rat look is gaining popularity yes, either way clean or rat, you've done one hell of a job already!
ReplyDeleteThanks Nicholas. It's a blast to ride, but the fun has definitely been building it. Waiting on parts isn't much fun though :-|
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