long story short a few friends knew i've been contemplating getting into fixies for awhile, just not much time to dedicate to a full build like a fortunate few here. i decided to just dump $300 to BD for the windsor and add brakes, de-anodize the cranks, seat post, etc when i got it when my friend out of no where went 'hey dood, there's something i have to tell you.' a bunch of my friends and my favorite girl chipped in and ordered the motobecane in orange to match my favorite vdub. it was supposed to be a surprise, but they didn't want me to have 2 of 'identical' bikes.

so, with that said, i am fortunate to have very good friends, but i want to see what you have done to your windsors and motobecanes, as i realize there's a small cult following on these bikes here.

my quick ideas (correct me if i'm crazy):

1. de-anodize the black cranks, seat post, stem and bullhorn.
2. cinelli stem or nitto stem with 'rounder' bullhorns
3. silver deep v's
4. new saddle - not sure what yet.
5. surley tensioner (i just want to have a beer opener at all times)
6. freewheel cog on the other side
7. paul brakes would be nice...unecessary though.

of course this is all for aesethics. (hang me for jumping on the bandwagon)

i'm also thinking of stripping the frame and re-spraying it in a candied orange, satin orange, or pure white. my only problem with that is they bought it in the color scheme for a reason. is the motobecane painted on or decals that i can remove?

i'll be using this primerily for getting around town, if i absolutely hate the platforms i'll swap them for clipless.

thoughts?

bike in question
<img src="http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/images/msg06_big.jpg">

thanks.

..... just not much time to dedicate to a full build like a fortunate few here....... de-anodize the cranks, seat post, etc when i got it .....

1. de-anodize the black cranks, seat post, stem and bullhorn.
.......

i'm also thinking of stripping the frame and re-spraying it in a candied orange, satin orange, or pure white.........

Thoughts?


thanks.

I'll start by saying that according to a couple of well respected, long time RBR posters these are great bikes and a good deal.

However, if you have time to de-anodize (how do you do that anyway) all the parts and re-spray the frame than you have time to build one from scratch.

If you want something that is truly original and reflects fixed gear "mojo" than find yourself a old frame and strip it and spray it. It may not save you much if any money but it will be yours!

Look around you town for an old Shcwinn Letour. Most have dropout that will work and if you find one at a yard sale of thrift store you can pick it up for under $25.


Never mind, it just dawned on me that you said you have one on the way. Check out some threads posted by Ravenmore ( I think that his name). He pimped out an orange one. I think one of the guys in P.O. (Maybe snakebite or Bill one of the "neocons") also has one that looks good. I just don't think those guys check this forum much.

However, if you have time to de-anodize (how do you do that anyway)

Oven cleaner....lots of it. Breathe deep!!

I stripped a crankset last year....after some light sanding and some time on the buffing wheel it came out looking brand new.
It sounds like the perfect little hobby to keep the OP busy during these cold winter months.

Oven cleaner....lots of it. Breathe deep!!

I stripped a crankset last year....after some light sanding and some time on the buffing wheel it came out looking brand new.
It sounds like the perfect little hobby to keep the OP busy during these cold winter months.

i was going to attempt the red devil lye method, but i guess the oven cleaner works as well.

i'm also thinking of stripping the frame and re-spraying it in a candied orange, satin orange, or pure white. my only problem with that is they bought it in the color scheme for a reason. is the motobecane painted on or decals that i can remove?

thoughts?
I have three BD bikes among others and I did just that to one of them. I will post better pics once the frame is completely clearcoated. The Moto has the decals under the clearcoat. This helps protect them from damage and the elements. One thing that I have personally noted is that the clearcoat on the Motos is substantial. It is not an easy matter of finding an edge and pealing off the decals. You will need to sand the clearcoat down to the decals and then either sand some more or use acetone to remove the remnants of the decals. It can be done, but it will take some patience to do a good job.

The frame pictured below is actually a Mercier Draco. It was the Dura-Ace equipped bike that BD had on sale in November. I stipped all the parts for use on a different frame. So now I had this frame sitting here with no real use. One day while on a conference call I started messing with the frame and was able to pull up one edge of the head tube decal. The clearcoat is much thinner than on the Motos. So with a hair dryer in hand I was able to pull all the decals off. I have had Red, White, Charcoal, Black, Burgundy, Blue, Green colored bikes but never Orange. I wanted an Orange bike. Since the Draco was already Silver, and Silver makes a great base color for candies, I roughed up the remaining clearcoat and resprayed it in Candy Tangerine. I made some decals out of laser decal paper and reapplied them to the frame then shot some clear over them to protect them. I have a few more coats of clear to shoot before I am done. I will take better pics then.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v647/bhmmrtn/Bicycles/Other/th__G1S1160.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v647/bhmmrtn/Bicycles/Other/_G1S1160.jpg) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v647/bhmmrtn/Bicycles/Other/th__G1S1159.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v647/bhmmrtn/Bicycles/Other/_G1S1159.jpg) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v647/bhmmrtn/Bicycles/Other/th__G1S1158.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v647/bhmmrtn/Bicycles/Other/_G1S1158.jpg)
Each image above is a link to a high resolution picture.

de-anodize the black cranks, seat post, stem and bullhorn.
If you are going to go Orange, why bother with this step. Orange and Black are a classic color combination. Go Beavers!

[/COLOR][/I][/B]
If you are going to go Orange, why bother with this step. Orange and Black are a classic color combination. Go Beavers!


Thanks for the write up, I'll definitely attempt something when the bike arrives. That candy tangerine looks fantastic. Did you have it sprayed or was this some rattlecan job?

As for the black, I'm just not a fan of the anodized finish on those parts. I prefer something smooth. we'll see.

Rattle can. It will work since I am in no hurry to build it up. I plan on waiting a few weeks before putting any parts on. It all about frame prep. So I have about $50.00 invested in paint. But I have about 40 hours spread out over two weeks in labor. Most of that time is sanding and smoothing between layers of paint to get a finish with no orange peel. It looks really good close up and from normal viewing distances you would not be able to tell it came out of an aerosol can.

i couldn't even tell from the pictures. excellent job.

would you mind sharing what brand paint you used? krylon? duplicoat? paint scratch?

thx,

House of Kolor. It is a very tricky/thin paint to work with, you really need very light coats. This particular finsih has about 9 coats of color each one lightly sanded with 1000 grit wet/dry between coats. The a coat of clear, then homemade decals applied. Then 4 more coats of clear, again sanding lightly between each coat with 1000 grit wet/dry. I have one more coat to apply before rubbing out with red rubbing compound. I will wait until January to put parts on the bike just after putting on a good coat of wax.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v647/bhmmrtn/Bicycles/Other/th_DSCN2449.jpg (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v647/bhmmrtn/Bicycles/Other/DSCN2449.jpg)
This pic is not lit well, I will take some pictures of the frame outside in the sunshine sometime this weekend.