mattyfu.com

Rat Rod Bike Buildoff #6

mattyfu — Thu, 05 May 2011 23:15:27 +0000

While I am doubtful to participate due to work and school ~~wasting~~ taking up all my time I’d just like to point out to anyone who may be reading that the Rat Rod Bike Buildoff #6 has begun over at Rat Rod Bikes. While there are many cycling and bike building forums out there I enjoy RRB the most because it’s really friendly and laid back and for the most part it’s not about who can buy the nicest cutting edge components and slap them together it’s more about finding something in rough shape and turning it into something that looks cool but is still meant to be ridden. While reading the project logs building up to the final vote might not be for everyone I think that browsing through the finished bikes is something most people will get a kick out off, check out the previous gallery of finalists here.

Adding to the stable – 1945 Westfield Columbia Compax Paratrooper

mattyfu — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 03:54:13 +0000

Here’s my new oldest bike. It’s a skiptooth 1945 Westfield Columbia Paratrooper. I had it shipped from the states so it wasn’t cheap but it was just too cool to pass up! It comes apart into 2 pieces and the handlebars fold down. It was originally designed this way so that it can be strapped to a paratrooper jumping out of a plane, how cool is that? The design was popular even after the war so they kept producing them and that’s what mine is. Check out the National Bicycle History Archive of America for their cool article on this bike.

Current Project: 1947 Ladies CCM Roadster

mattyfu — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 03:24:54 +0000

This is a bike I’m currently building up, well technically it’s just sitting in the garage but the idea is that I will at some point when I’m not working or doing school work. As much as it will cheese off the purests out there it will end up being a mix of the original and newer parts. The plan is to make it look something like a dutch bike, for example the Pashley Princess. I found the bike in its current form at the antique mall for $50, literally in a snow bank outside. It’s missing the headbadge and has quite a bit of rust as well as the rear wheel area is out of wack so there will be some bending to get it back in shape before things get started. But for a 64 year old it’s got pretty decent bones. The front fork is straight which is the #1 thing I looked at when considering buying it because the chances of finding another fork for a reasonable price are pretty slim. I’m planning to strip it down to bare metal (hopefully the restoration purests stopped reading before that) and paint it a as yet undecided color and switch the wheels to a 3 speed 26 x 1 3/8 wheelset which as a bonus (to the future rider) will lower the bike 3cm from the current 28 x 1 1/2 wheels. I do currently have a pretty full stable of bikes but right now this one is the oldest…I am however waiting for a package from the mailman with a bike of 1945 vintage. Here she is, don’t mind the mess:

Project: Vintage Clock Refinishing

mattyfu — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 19:39:11 +0000

This is a made in the USA between 1945-1949 telechron clock model #3H151 “The Pharaoh” I bought and refinished for my lovely girlfriend for christmas. I used Minwax pre-stain wood conditioner (helps to get an even finish, so says the can) and Minwax Wood Finish Golden Pecan 245. It came out a fair bit darker and more orange than I was expecting but still looks great in my opinion and she seemed to like it. I also gave it a new plug in because the old one was pretty scary with exposed wires.

Before:

After:

SNFU, E-Town Beat Down and Burn Hollywood Burn @ New City April 26 2009 (I think)

mattyfu — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 01:05:20 +0000

Wheew it has been awhile! I’ve got some pictures kicking around to post but I’ll get to those as I can but first here’s the crazy crazy SNFU show pictures. It was a long time ago so I might have the wrong name for the one (not Edmonton) band but y’know that’s how it goes.

Burn Hollywood Burn

E-Town Beatdown

SNFU

BA Johnston @ The Wunderbar March 22 2009

mattyfu — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 01:17:22 +0000

I wasn’t planning on taking pictures at this one because I only had my little party camera but it was such an awesome show I couldn’t help it! Click for the pictures!!

Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco Mexico Trip – Sunsets and whatnot

mattyfu — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 02:49:47 +0000

I miss it so much already. Here’s the sunset collection

Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco Mexico Trip – I LOVE SAILBOATS!!

mattyfu — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 02:45:55 +0000

Seriously, sailboats, coolest looking things ever. Click to see a sampling of the bazillion pictures of boats I took!

Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco Mexico Trip – Everything Else

mattyfu — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 02:41:21 +0000

Just random images from around PV. Click to view!

Still kickin

mattyfu — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 01:04:50 +0000

I’m still alive. I’d lost my nice camera after a show and so I held out as long as I could on buying a new one hoping that someone would call my phone number that is on a sticker on it but it hasn’t turned up and as a side note the EPS lost and found system is stuck in the 70′s (it’s a duotang with what has been returned to that station only, not kidding.). But anyways I have a couple websites to share. One related to camera losing, it’s a blog called Found Camera’s and Orphaned Pictures where if say you found a Sony DSC-H3 digital camera when you got into a yellowcab in Edmonton you would grab the pictures off the memory card and send some of them to that website and they will post a entry for the owner to hopefully one day find. It’s also neat to just look at strangers pictures. The other one is the blog of a rad local cab driver who I met the other day, it’s called TaxiTalk it has lots of interesting stories and insights.