Wanted a rat bike for going to the shops with a bit of ragging through the woods thrown in 
so decided to go 20" this time. My penchant for all things USA and a bit of ebay searching unearthed this seller who has proved super-helpful with quick shipping and great packaging (although probably wondering why someone would buy a $10 frame, $5 forks and $20 stem and pay a fortune to have them shipped over the pond ).
Not sure if anyone will be interested as I know it's a POS bike but I kinda like it and am determined to get it trail-worthy. Already thrown far too much money at it but we're getting there . . .
Arrived safely along with a coaster wheelset (big mistake but more about that later) and I managed to pick up a set of NOS 4 piece bars, Odyssey Pitbull lever (already had a cheapo caliper in the spares box), 1 piece crankset and cheapo pressed steel sprocket and a pair of Grifter copy knobbly tyres for not much cash on ebay.
Forks are pretty beat up and rusted but sound and the frame is riddled with scuffs and scratches. I was pretty sure that the decals weren't original due to their placement and sure enough on removing them I found just one original sticker remaining on the non-driveside. Bit of googling and flicking through old catalogues reveals it to be a 1995 Dyno VFR which would have retailed for far less $ than I've already spent but hey :facepalm: . . .
First ooops moment came when the one piece cranks arrived. I run 165s on my MTBs so wanted similar on the BMX so was pretty chuffed to find a nice shiney set on the 'bay. However, when they arrived I realised that the sprocket tab was just tack-welded and was reminded of a rather painful knee/handlebar interface back in the 90s when a similar tab broke off when honking up a steep hill :evil:
Lesson learned and it was back to the 'bay to find a forged set. 170s will have to do so got it up and running for a first test ride . . .
Coaster brake was, shall we say, interesting. I've had a coaster before on the little Schwinn cruiser, and that was fine for, well, cruising, but hopping up and down kerbs and steps was another matter. Decided to do a ghetto coaster-freecoaster conversion before I injured myself (ha!) - cheap gripless pedals from under the stairs didn't help either. So the brake was transferred to the back of the bike and it was off to the woods again . . .
Being the eternal fettler though, the drive take-up lag from my freecoaster conversion annoyed me so I thought I'd give the coaster another go :facepalm: Cue another strip down and brake swap but this time I got cocky and decided to 'give it some' The rustbucket (as I've christened it) decided to bite back big time, chucking me over the bars as the coaster kicked in while bunnyhopping a kerb into the local woods Thank freak no-one saw!
The coaster is now buried in the back of the tool box, ghetto conversion has been redone and I'm sitting here aching and picking scabs wondering where the hell this going is gonna go :facepalm: I've spent far too much to chuck it in the skip where it belongs and I refuse to give up on it - looks like it should be far more fun than it is. Fitted a slightly smaller front sprocket this morning in the hope that I can actually ride the thing out of my street and grippier pedals are on the way (a pair of 1/2" Sharkbites would be perfect if anyone wants rid). I may venture out for a tentative test-ride if I can actually bend my knee or failing that spend the afternoon giving it a bit of love with the old touch-up paint.
Rat bikes freakin' rock! \m/
so decided to go 20" this time. My penchant for all things USA and a bit of ebay searching unearthed this seller who has proved super-helpful with quick shipping and great packaging (although probably wondering why someone would buy a $10 frame, $5 forks and $20 stem and pay a fortune to have them shipped over the pond ).
Not sure if anyone will be interested as I know it's a POS bike but I kinda like it and am determined to get it trail-worthy. Already thrown far too much money at it but we're getting there . . .
Arrived safely along with a coaster wheelset (big mistake but more about that later) and I managed to pick up a set of NOS 4 piece bars, Odyssey Pitbull lever (already had a cheapo caliper in the spares box), 1 piece crankset and cheapo pressed steel sprocket and a pair of Grifter copy knobbly tyres for not much cash on ebay.
Forks are pretty beat up and rusted but sound and the frame is riddled with scuffs and scratches. I was pretty sure that the decals weren't original due to their placement and sure enough on removing them I found just one original sticker remaining on the non-driveside. Bit of googling and flicking through old catalogues reveals it to be a 1995 Dyno VFR which would have retailed for far less $ than I've already spent but hey :facepalm: . . .
First ooops moment came when the one piece cranks arrived. I run 165s on my MTBs so wanted similar on the BMX so was pretty chuffed to find a nice shiney set on the 'bay. However, when they arrived I realised that the sprocket tab was just tack-welded and was reminded of a rather painful knee/handlebar interface back in the 90s when a similar tab broke off when honking up a steep hill :evil:
Lesson learned and it was back to the 'bay to find a forged set. 170s will have to do so got it up and running for a first test ride . . .
Coaster brake was, shall we say, interesting. I've had a coaster before on the little Schwinn cruiser, and that was fine for, well, cruising, but hopping up and down kerbs and steps was another matter. Decided to do a ghetto coaster-freecoaster conversion before I injured myself (ha!) - cheap gripless pedals from under the stairs didn't help either. So the brake was transferred to the back of the bike and it was off to the woods again . . .
Being the eternal fettler though, the drive take-up lag from my freecoaster conversion annoyed me so I thought I'd give the coaster another go :facepalm: Cue another strip down and brake swap but this time I got cocky and decided to 'give it some'
The rustbucket (as I've christened it) decided to bite back big time, chucking me over the bars as the coaster kicked in while bunnyhopping a kerb into the local woods Thank freak no-one saw!The coaster is now buried in the back of the tool box, ghetto conversion has been redone and I'm sitting here aching and picking scabs wondering where the hell this going is gonna go :facepalm: I've spent far too much to chuck it in the skip where it belongs and I refuse to give up on it - looks like it should be far more fun than it is. Fitted a slightly smaller front sprocket this morning in the hope that I can actually ride the thing out of my street and grippier pedals are on the way (a pair of 1/2" Sharkbites would be perfect if anyone wants rid). I may venture out for a tentative test-ride if I can actually bend my knee
or failing that spend the afternoon giving it a bit of love with the old touch-up paint.Rat bikes freakin' rock! \m/
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