# To heck with all the fancy road retros, here's some USA iron :-)



## thinkcooper (Jan 5, 2005)

Talk about your odd ball retro contributions, here's one for you!.

The flourescent rat. It started out as a $10 Murray cruiser bike with 24" wheels. Hard to tell if the frame was even welded. The parts are a mix of flea market finds and our local low-rider shop. Flourescent paint and seat upholstery came together on Saturday morning. I have and wore a matching furry vest while I provided security for the wine club party at Bonny Doon Vineyard. I rode this sled 6 miles each way along the coast to the event, in the vest and accesorized with a retro tophat. The looks were priceless. Was invited by three different groups of tourists to be in their photos.

Before









After











The Columbia trike, an $80 flea market find, came together over the weekend, adding a longer period correct old school fork, a 26" white wall front tire and wheel, new 24" white walls in the rear, a period Wald basket, short ape hangers and redoing the 3 speed sturmy archer cable. Our neighbors have asked for turns riding this contraption, it has a great draw. They should get their licks in now, cause once it transforms they may not want to be seen on it.

Before









After


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## haiku d'etat (Apr 28, 2001)

beauties. tell me about painting and upholstering the seat on that murray.


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## thinkcooper (Jan 5, 2005)

J's Haiku Shop said:


> beauties. tell me about painting and upholstering the seat on that murray.


Upholstery on banana seats is simple. There are tabs on the underside of the seat pan, you can pry them open with a screwdriver. I cut a piece of fur, roughly to fit, with a good amount of overlap. With the screwdriver, stuff the fur between the tabs and seat tub, crimping 'em tightly once the fabric is is in place with pliers. Start at the middle, go side to side, moving to the front, then to the back. It takes half an hour if you're meticulous.

The paint is rattle can. I wanted a crackle effect. I rough sanded the fame sans parts. Degreased with paint thinner. First coat was a gloss white, medium heavy. While the white gloss was wet, I shot the flourescent matt colors. As mattes dry faster than the gloss, they pull the undercoat and reveal white cracks. First color was the orange. I did a fade from top down fading half the bike to white. I let that sit so the cracking sets in. Then I shot the yellow fading up, overlapping the orange. The yellow fills the white cracks revealed when the orange was drying. I shot the rear axle dropouts green, and then faded over yellow to blend in the green a little more.

The paint took about 45 minutes. Then I ran out of time and needed to head off to the event. I'll clear it this weekend 'cause the flourescent is pretty fragile. It looks amazing under a black light.

Silly eh?


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

Great job.... They look great...I think I'm going through some type of roadie burnout and these alternative bikes really appeal to me


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## haiku d'etat (Apr 28, 2001)

well, if it serves a purpose.

i would have no use for that here.

heck, i barely have use for the other ones.


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## thinkcooper (Jan 5, 2005)

Dave Hickey said:


> Great job.... They look great...I think I'm going through some type of roadie burnout and these alternative bikes really appeal to me


Dave, I love my road bikes. I love riding 'em. I love working on 'em.

...but, the stone simplicity of cruiser that you can tear down and rebuild with an adjusatble and a screw driver is amazing. A few added extras to make the job easier? A towel to clean out all the grease so you can run your BB bearings dry and compressed air to blow the last little flakes of rust out of the frame.

At the party, the flourescent rat was a hit. All kinds of famous artists that do wine labels were at the party and they each wanted to take the bike for a ride at the end of the night. I even had this skinny blond German princess from Manhattan, in a tight knit brown dress and heels, riding b!tch on the back, with her bony knees wrapped around my waist. Her skirt was all hiked up, everyone was screaming. My wife was bummed she didn't get pics. I think the princess is very happy that one was missed.


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## thinkcooper (Jan 5, 2005)

J's Haiku Shop said:


> well, if it serves a purpose.
> 
> i would have no use for that here.
> 
> heck, i barely have use for the other ones.


foolishness has its' purpose here and there.


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

thinkcooper said:


> Dave, I love my road bikes. I love riding 'em. I love working on 'em.
> 
> ...but, the stone simplicity of cruiser that you can tear down and rebuild with an adjusatble and a screw driver is amazing. A few added extras to make the job easier? A towel to clean out all the grease so you can run your BB bearings dry and compressed air to blow the last little flakes of rust out of the frame.
> 
> At the party, the flourescent rat was a hit. All kinds of famous artists that do wine labels were at the party and they each wanted to take the bike for a ride at the end of the night. I even had this skinny blond German princess from Manhattan, in a tight knit brown dress and heels, riding b!tch on the back, with her bony knees wrapped around my waist. Her skirt was all hiked up, everyone was screaming. My wife was bummed she didn't get pics. I think the princess is very happy that one was missed.


I agree. I get almost as much satisfaction working on my bikes as I do riding them. 

I love my road bikes too but there are times that I just want to hop on a bike and ride around the block or trail or just cruise.......Your bikes fit that bill perfectly....


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## thinkcooper (Jan 5, 2005)

Dave Hickey said:


> I agree. I get almost as much satisfaction working on my bikes as I do riding them.
> 
> I love my road bikes too but there are times that I just want to hop on a bike and ride around the block or trail or just cruise.......Your bikes fit that bill perfectly....


You can set everyone in the family up with a cruiser cheap and lolligag around town for coffee or ice cream, or a matinee movie, in our case, go to the beach and even carry blankets, food, beer and chairs. I was a hi-end bike snob until I discovered big clunky cruisers.


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## Bocephus Jones II (Oct 7, 2004)

thinkcooper said:


> You can set everyone in the family up with a cruiser cheap and lolligag around town for coffee or ice cream, or a matinee movie, in our case, go to the beach and even carry blankets, food, beer and chairs. I was a hi-end bike snob until I discovered big clunky cruisers.


cool looking bikes. I know what you mean about cruisers. They are kind of an addiction for me. I'm running out of space in the shed for many more. Think as a family we are up to 6 now including 2 kid's cruisers and one tandem cruiser. Just outfitted the Monster Cruiser (36" wheels) with some cold cathode tubes on the back for that down low glow.


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## thinkcooper (Jan 5, 2005)

Bocephus Jones II said:


> cool looking bikes. I know what you mean about cruisers. They are kind of an addiction for me. I'm running out of space in the shed for many more. Think as a family we are up to 6 now including 2 kid's cruisers and one tandem cruiser. Just outfitted the Monster Cruiser (36" wheels) with some cold cathode tubes on the back for that down low glow.


We got you beat by 1. I had to build a corrugated steel and steel column parking shelter in the driveway for the "outdoor" bikes. Have you seen this link for some crazy custom cruisers? http://www.mywilson.homestead.com/gallery0.html 

What color cathodes are you going to run? I was thinking about the same, UV blacklight, for my new new rat. I'd run EL Wire in the past on a cruiser, looks nice, but not nearly as bright as CC lights.


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## Bocephus Jones II (Oct 7, 2004)

thinkcooper said:


> We got you beat by 1. I had to build a corrugated steel and steel column parking shelter in the driveway for the "outdoor" bikes. Have you seen this link for some crazy custom cruisers? http://www.mywilson.homestead.com/gallery0.html
> 
> What color cathodes are you going to run? I was thinking about the same, UV blacklight, for my new new rat. I'd run EL Wire in the past on a cruiser, looks nice, but not nearly as bright as CC lights.


They were supposed to be red, but look more pinkish to me. In any event I went with a super cheap set http://elwirecheap.com/bili.html. I guess you get what you pay for. 

The original Down Low Glow are a lot better. Couple people have them on our cruiser ride, but they are also a lot more money. You do get a rechargeable battery with those which is a big plus. They are a bit brighter as well. http://www.fossilfool.com/down-low-glow.htm


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## thinkcooper (Jan 5, 2005)

Bocephus Jones II said:


> They were supposed to be red, but look more pinkish to me. In any event I went with a super cheap set http://elwirecheap.com/bili.html. I guess you get what you pay for.
> 
> The original Down Low Glow are a lot better. Couple people have them on our cruiser ride, but they are also a lot more money. You do get a rechargeable battery with those which is a big plus. They are a bit brighter as well. http://www.fossilfool.com/down-low-glow.htm


elwirecheap is where I got my lighting supplies for last year's BM. This year, I think I'll try http://www.coolneon.com/ The down low tubes look good and bright. I wish they had a black light version.

I'd love to see more pics of your Coker Monster. Ever think of doing anything custom to it? Do you have to go through Coker for tires and tubes?

edit: If you google "coker monster" your review on RBR is the first listing. heh heh.


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

thinkcooper said:


> Have you seen this link for some crazy custom cruisers? http://www.mywilson.homestead.com/gallery0.html


Thanks for the link. There are some great ideas on that site...


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## thinkcooper (Jan 5, 2005)

Dave Hickey said:


> Thanks for the link. There are some great ideas on that site...


Here's the one that does me in. I don't think it'd be easy to ride, but it sure is pretty.

http://bikerodnkustom3.homestead.com/gallery147.html

-


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## Bocephus Jones II (Oct 7, 2004)

thinkcooper said:


> Here's the one that does me in. I don't think it'd be easy to ride, but it sure is pretty.
> 
> http://bikerodnkustom3.homestead.com/gallery147.html
> 
> -


Looks like customized Dyno Roadster. Cool bike. There is a guy here in town that took a Phat chopper and added an Xtracycle kit to it to really stretch it out. Think he also put a 7 speed hib on it as well as a real motorcycle light in front. Quite a few Roadsters in town as well...cool bikes.

check this one:

http://bikerodnkustom3.homestead.com/gallery265.html


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## Bocephus Jones II (Oct 7, 2004)

thinkcooper said:


> elwirecheap is where I got my lighting supplies for last year's BM. This year, I think I'll try http://www.coolneon.com/ The down low tubes look good and bright. I wish they had a black light version.
> 
> I'd love to see more pics of your Coker Monster. Ever think of doing anything custom to it? Do you have to go through Coker for tires and tubes?
> 
> edit: If you google "coker monster" your review on RBR is the first listing. heh heh.


I have an extra wheel for it because the first hub was crap and slipped, but yeah I assume Coker is the only one to get tires for. Fortunately I think the tires will last a while. The hubs are the real problems with these bikes. The second one they sent me did the same after a short while. I'm either going to get a guy I know to build it up with a BMX heavy duty hub or a Nexus 7 speed. Also want to put a brake on the back and a better one on the front.


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## thinkcooper (Jan 5, 2005)

Bocephus Jones II said:


> Looks like customized Dyno Roadster. Cool bike. There is a guy here in town that took a Phat chopper and added an Xtracycle kit to it to really stretch it out. Think he also put a 7 speed hib on it as well as a real motorcycle light in front. Quite a few Roadsters in town as well...cool bikes.
> 
> check this one:
> 
> http://bikerodnkustom3.homestead.com/gallery265.html


I like that stacked double. I saw a guy riding one similar to it at BM, backpedaling to move forward. I can't picture it to be an easy thing to master. The builder in the link says he rode unicycles, a good skill for his project bike.

The black stretch may have been a Dyno to start out. A lot of folks, including a local shoop here in town, are doing that and parting out the OEM bits. 




Bocephus Jones II said:


> I have an extra wheel for it because the first hub was crap and slipped, but yeah I assume Coker is the only one to get tires for. Fortunately I think the tires will last a while. The hubs are the real problems with these bikes. The second one they sent me did the same after a short while. I'm either going to get a guy I know to build it up with a BMX heavy duty hub or a Nexus 7 speed. Also want to put a brake on the back and a better one on the front.


I checked out rubber and tubes online. Yikes! They're damn expensive. Good thing Cruisers wear so slow. The Nexus 7 speed hubs are going for big bucks online. But they are the hub of choice for lots of project bikes it seems. 

Now you got me thinking...My trike would benefit from one, replacing the 3 speed Sturmey Archer. I'd have to build a flange that would fasten to the Nexus' spoke holes to adapt an intermediary drive gear for the differential. Wouldn't be too hard. I'm going to the flea on Sunday, 6:30 again. I'll keep my eyes open for a Nexus.


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## Bocephus Jones II (Oct 7, 2004)

thinkcooper said:


> Now you got me thinking...My trike would benefit from one, replacing the 3 speed Sturmey Archer. I'd have to build a flange that would fasten to the Nexus' spoke holes to adapt an intermediary drive gear for the differential. Wouldn't be too hard. I'm going to the flea on Sunday, 6:30 again. I'll keep my eyes open for a Nexus.


I have a Nexus 3 on the cruiser tandem now and it works pretty well. If I was going to the trouble of converting it myself I think I'd go for 7 speed.


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## thinkcooper (Jan 5, 2005)

Bocephus Jones II said:


> I have a Nexus 3 on the cruiser tandem now and it works pretty well. If I was going to the trouble of converting it myself I think I'd go for 7 speed.


I agree. Didn't know there was a Nexus 3 speed. I assumed they were all seven speeds. Glad you mentioned that.

Does it use a chain or cable through the axle to change gears, like the old Sturmey Archers? And have a thumb shifter to select gears?


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## Bocephus Jones II (Oct 7, 2004)

thinkcooper said:


> I agree. Didn't know there was a Nexus 3 speed. I assumed they were all seven speeds. Glad you mentioned that.
> 
> Does it use a chain or cable through the axle to change gears, like the old Sturmey Archers? And have a thumb shifter to select gears?


It uses a thumb shifter...push the lever to go up and then push a button to go down. I see Electra has prebuilt wheels for 7 and 3 speed...the 3 is $149..not too bad to save the hassle of building a new wheel:

http://electrabike.com/04/parts/23/23_1.html

http://electrabike.com/04/parts/23/23_2.html


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## thinkcooper (Jan 5, 2005)

Bocephus Jones II said:


> It uses a thumb shifter...push the lever to go up and then push a button to go down. I see Electra has prebuilt wheels for 7 and 3 speed...the 3 is $149..not too bad to save the hassle of building a new wheel:
> 
> http://electrabike.com/04/parts/23/23_1.html
> 
> http://electrabike.com/04/parts/23/23_2.html


$249 for a 7speed wheelset. Wow. It's funny how cheap cruiser parts are after getting used to carbon this and ti that in the contemporary road bike realm.

They probably don't offer the Nexus 7 speed hubs in a 72 or 144 spoke version. I tend to go for that ghetto radial bling look. Perfect for an old white guy nearing fifty.


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## colker1 (Jan 2, 2003)

thinkcooper said:


> elwirecheap is where I got my lighting supplies for last year's BM. This year, I think I'll try http://www.coolneon.com/ The down low tubes look good and bright. I wish they had a black light version.
> 
> I'd love to see more pics of your Coker Monster. Ever think of doing anything custom to it? Do you have to go through Coker for tires and tubes?
> 
> edit: If you google "coker monster" your review on RBR is the first listing. heh heh.


yes? pics of the monster? huh... nope. not yet..


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## Bocephus Jones II (Oct 7, 2004)

colker1 said:


> yes? pics of the monster? huh... nope. not yet..


I'll take some tonight if I remember though tonight is cruiser night and I think the missus and me are taking the tandem out. Will post some soon though. Here's one from when I first got it during last Xmas' Parade of Lights. Have done a ew mods on it since then.


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## thinkcooper (Jan 5, 2005)

Bocephus Jones II said:


> I'll take some tonight if I remember though tonight is cruiser night and I think the missus and me are taking the tandem out. Will post some soon though. Here's one from when I first got it during last Xmas' Parade of Lights. Have done a ew mods on it since then.


Nice! It's funny how scrunched up you look. You're a tall guy IRC from the clydesdale thread. The frame looks all scrunched as well. It'll look very cool with cathodes.

I picked up a new bit of FREE 'merican iron last night on the drive home from work. Mostly 'cause it'll work for a project I want to build and it has all the right parts. Flywheel, huge front chain ring (100 teeth???), weldable frame and support... it'd be a great power supply for a huge music box made out of a steel drum. This image is one just like it off the web...


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## lespres (Jun 17, 2007)

*cool cruiser*

i loooovee the first one! let me buy it haha!!


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