Earth Day - anything planned?

[neo_pop_71]

Hey all-

As Earth Day approaches (Friday April 22nd, 2011), I'm putting the finishing touches on my annual Earth Day bike build, I'm almost there and I can't wait to ride my newly recycled bike. I just thought I'd share a couple pics of my Spring Break efforts... this is my $10.00 Craigslist score, a 1989 Richard Cunningham Nishiki Alien, and man did it need work! The fork was some ancient Trek "boat anchor" suspension fork and all the components were garbage. First thing was to grind off the fender/rack tabs on the frame's drop outs and off the 'Cuda fork... I prefer a clean look and I've never seen a race bike with threaded eyelets. I stripped and sanded the Alien down to bare steel, I also did the same on my rigid Barracuda fork (recycled from my A2L). The Alien is made from Tange Prestige, so it's super light weight, and I wanted to try and go as light as possible. Here is what's going on the Alien:

XT shift pods
XT canti brake levers
Kooka red/silver/blue crank
XT front derailleur
XTR rear derailleur
Odyssey brake straddles
Barracuda quill stem (recycled from my A2L)
SDG seat
Ritchey Logic flat handlebar
Odi Ruffian lock-on grips
XT hubs with Ritchey hoops (wheelset)
Carbon Fiber sleeved Suntour seatpost (recycled from my '89 Nishiki R.C. Ariel)
Time ATAC pedals
Specialized "Armadillo" 2.3 tires

The cool part is this whole build is coming out of spare parts from the part bins. Aside from a bottom bracket, cables & housing, and a chain... nothing new will be needed. Recycled bikes and parts are the coolest, it's great not having to get the wallet out!!!

Peace'fo'real,

-DON-

p.s. I've included a pic off the web that shows the crazy cable routing on the Alien... long exposed cable with no housing plus multiple bends = major cable lag!

[mixalive]

That is a pretty interesting frame. Are you leaving the mid sections bare without paint?
I will probably be at a swimming pool on Earth Day with a cold Dos Equis thinking about that elusive 14" XX Team I have been looking for..

[neo_pop_71]

Relaxin' with a few cold brews sounds perfect ! ! !

Yes, I'm leaving the raw steel exposed. I wanted to get away from a solid color, there's enough of that out there, and I wanted to do something unique. The frame and fork have been clear coated, so rust won't be an issue. I'm thinking of having my car pinstriper do some crazing stuff but that's just one idea... I have options.

I'm an artist so solid colors don't get me warm and fuzzy. Two builders who have inspired me to start making my own frames are John Slawta of Land Shark and Sacha White of Vanilla Bicycles. Superb eye candy mixed with the purest artistry in frame building. Have a look if you don't know these two craftsmen!

Check out Sacha White & Vanilla Bicycles:

http://vanillabicycles.com/frames/

-and-

John Slawta & Land Shark:

http://www.landsharkbicycles.com/gallery_steel.html

http://www.landsharkbicycles.com/gallery_procarbon.html

The mountain bike pictured is just one of the countless paint jobs John has come up with the years. The tricycle and child's bike were built by Sacha for his daughter, both inspire me so much! Just to give you an idea of what people are willing to pay for fine handcrafted bicycles, Sacha has a waiting list 5 years long. In 2007 when I inquired about a custom bike, the base frame (without a fork) was $2,150 and with numerous custom possibilities, a frame and fork alone could easily cost over $4,000. The paint jobs are works of art! His frame painter takes anywhere from 5 to 10 weeks, insane commitment to detail. God, they are gorgeous!

[mixalive]

nice

[sithlord3]

thats a crazy trike.

[neo_pop_71]

Yep... I strive for that level of bike fab'in skill... all of them are works of art but the trike is my favorite hands down!

How many other tricycles can you imagine having a teak logo tread pad, a Phil hub on the front, and teak grips with logo end caps? Oh yeah, down forget the lugged stainless steel construction! Sacha joked once that after his daughter outgrew the trike, he'd sell it for $1,000.00... the nutty part is there'd be a line of collectors clambering to buy it!!! It's nice that he didn't sell her tricycle. I'd sure love to have it! I could see my dumba$$ trying to take it down the hill in front of our home after tossing back a couple glasses of liquid courage... I can see it now...

first...

then...

finishing with...

with my wife giving me...

and my daughter...

(been there, done that ! ! !)

[mixalive]

I like that purple LandShark paint job..

[neo_pop_71]

* * * U P D A T E 4/22 * * *
(now with build pics)

* * * * * D O U B L E - U P D A T E 4/24 * * * * *
(I just updated the pics of the Nishiki Alien aka "RASKAL", now with decals)

Happy Earth Day to all of you!

I just wanted to update this thread with some progress pictures. It's very close, some last minute touches and it should be on the trail this weekend.

Have a great weekend!

-D-

[mixalive]

nice

[cudarider1]

That look great Don, really cool!