Fifty Plus (50+) - My winter project, in all its radiant beauty

I know there aren't many recumbent enthusiasts here, but I thought this group would appreciate a 1984 Rans Nimbus frame, anyway. Apparently, it spent some years under a Houston house, and is a bit rough.

When I walked in the front door with it last night, told my wife I'd bought it for $50, and asked her "Ain't it purty?", she had one of those "I'm going to have to put him in a nursing home soon" looks on her face for the rest of the evening. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I guess....

http://www.spinnerbaker.com/bud/images/nimbus1.jpg
http://www.spinnerbaker.com/bud/images/nimbus2.jpg

That wife of yours is a sharp woman :D

Looks like a labor of love to me. Good find.

When I walked in the front door with it last night, told my wife I'd bought it for $50, and asked her "Ain't it purty?", she had one of those "I'm going to have to put him in a nursing home soon" looks on her face for the rest of the evening. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I guess....

She should be happy. That's a project that should keep you out of trouble for a little while. What color do you plan to paint it?

Just tell her antique tractors are a lot larger & dirtier so count your blessings.

I'm guessing you included your mug in the shot of the frame, to make the frame look better?:D

Considering there's no seat tube, that top tube must be really uncomfortable to perch the ole' booty upon! But it does scream "FAST!" Good luck. Will you paint it or will we get into a big argument like they do over in C&V? "It's only original once! Don't paint that frame!"

It's good to have a winter project. It's also good to have a wife that helps keep us in check!

Ah, winter projects! We want to see pictures of your project as it progresses! One of mine is to convert a Raliegh 20 folder to a folding recumbent! Good luck with the Rans!

Very cool find, Bud! Are you sure that's not a '94 vs a '84? The serial number should tell the story. BTW, my wife has a Nimbus. Although it rides fine, it's not a speedster. As you probably know, RANS dropped it about 8-9 years ago because the design was too close to the Stratus and it was the slower of the two. IMHO, forget stock! You should powdercoat that baby yellow and put ape-hanger bars and some Velocity Thracian wheels on it.

RANS sells decal kits.

IMHO, forget stock! You should powdercoat that baby yellow and put ape-hanger bars and some Velocity Thracian wheels on it.

RANS sells decal kits.

BP's got the ticket! Bright yellow with black accents. I always thought steel old Bacchetta Corsa was a beauty, not to mention the yellow Barons. :love:

Looks like a hospital bed railing to me.:p

Have fun!

Here's my wife with her completely stock '97 Nimbus: Red, C-Bars, fabric fairing, and shortback seat.

http://www.biketcba.org/TRICORR/members/mfoltz.jpg

Artkansas, I haven't decided about the paint yet. I bought it for my beater road bike (bad weather days, and such), so I should probably just cover it with whatever, but another side of me says to do it up nice.

Pastorbob, it's already been painted a second time (with a brush, it looks like.......lol), so no worries about preserving the original paint. I sandblasted it today, so it already looks better.

Great photo, BP. There aren't many Nimbus photos to be found online. Does your wife's bike have the cut out 'R' in the frame near the rear dropouts? I haven't found the serial number yet (haven't had a chance to look since the sandblasting). Is it stamped on the bottom somewhere? I'm just going by what I was told for the model year. I might go for those Rans decals.

Since I didn't even get a fork with it, I may get radical and turn it into the first dual 700c Nimbus on the planet (anyone who disputes that needs to post a photo :) ).

My wife was actually pretty nice about it, once she recovered from the initial shock of what I had received for my $50. It was her who pointed out that there should be "before" photos, and she even manned (womanned?) the camera for them. I'll post again when it looks more like a bike.

OOOooOoOoOOOOooOOoh a project! I like it.:D

You're not nuts, Bud, you're damned ambitious. Warm up the dremmel and get a new rust brush! Next spring it will be gleaming I'll bet. New SRAM components?

Great photo, BP. There aren't many Nimbus photos to be found online. Does your wife's bike have the cut out 'R' in the frame near the rear dropouts? I haven't found the serial number yet (haven't had a chance to look since the sandblasting). Is it stamped on the bottom somewhere? I'm just going by what I was told for the model year. I might go for those Rans decals.

Yes, it has the "R" cutout in the dropouts. I can check when I get home, but I think the serial number is on the downtube or bottom bracket. IIRC, it gives the year and the number within the year, so the 14th one built in '94 might be something like 94014. It's a good bet that they won't have decals for a Nimbus, but if you bought a set from something else you could still give it the RANS decals.



Since I didn't even get a fork with it, I may get radical and turn it into the first dual 700c Nimbus on the planet (anyone who disputes that needs to post a photo :) ).

Noooo! Don't do it! Raising the front would make it look just plain weird! Those frame tubes/hospital bed rails have to run parallel to the ground!

Does wifey know how much a new RANS seat costs? "But honey, I need it or the $50 frame is unusable!" :lol:

You're not nuts, Bud, you're damned ambitious. Warm up the dremmel and get a new rust brush! Next spring it will be gleaming I'll bet. New SRAM components?

BTW, I've got a very nice set of barend shifters given to me by a wonderful BF+er that wouldn't work on my new Surly LHT - my bike mechanic said the 'throw' wasn't long enough. Would you like me to send them to you? kind of a 'pass it forward'?

;) to CC

..
When I walked in the front door with it last night, told my wife I'd bought it for $50, and asked her "Ain't it purty?", she had one of those "I'm going to have to put him in a nursing home soon" looks on her face for the rest of the evening. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I guess....


I love the project. I am recently enamored of bents (that sentence doesn't sound right), and looking for a similar project.

Side note: Fear of that same wife reaction kept me from considering purchase of my dream bike yesterday. (for some years now I've concluded I need to own a 1953 Bianchi Tour de France bike. It would be the same age as me, from a great era of cycling, from one of the oldest quality bike makers, and been ridden by the best cyclist of all times --Fausto Coppi. I could go on. One showed up on ebay yesterday, nicely restored, with a buy it now price of $3K. I was expecting to pay twice that someday. It took my breath away. I'm prrreettty sure the wife would have lost it. Fortuneately someone grabbed it before I had a chance.)

BTW, I've got a very nice set of barend shifters given to me by a wonderful BF+er that wouldn't work on my new Surly LHT - my bike mechanic said the 'throw' wasn't long enough. Would you like me to send them to you? kind of a 'pass it forward'?

;) to CC

I'd LOVE barend shifters, but this bike will be a 9 speed (already have old cassette and crank), and if the throw was short for your bike, it probably would be for this one too.

Noooo! Don't do it! Raising the front would make it look just plain weird! Those frame tubes/hospital bed rails have to run parallel to the ground!

Does wifey know how much a new RANS seat costs? "But honey, I need it or the $50 frame is unusable!" :lol:

The fork is going to be tough no matter what I do. Look at the fork on your wife's bike. Walmart just ain't going to have a fork with rake like that; I'm going to end up having to do some bending. At least with a 700c fork, the head tube will lean back further, making the fork need less bending.

I haven't decided what to do for a seat yet, but I don't think my $50 frame is going to end up with a $280 Rans seat. Something used, or a new Sun EZ ebay special sounds more likely.

I blew this year's bike budget on my new Bacchetta Corsa, so this Nimbus (at least the first reincarnation of it) is going to have to be done on the cheap. I may add better bells and whistles later, though. :)

You're not nuts, Bud, you're damned ambitious. Warm up the dremmel and get a new rust brush! Next spring it will be gleaming I'll bet. New SRAM components?

Unfortunately, it will be a dukes mixture of mostly used components, for now. I hope to improve that later.

Under a house in Houston for years! Make sure you put some boric acid in the frame, you know what I am talking about.

White bikes are cool. :) Here's my winter project, which is currently completely disassembled for general cleanup, touchup paint, bearing rebuilds, etc. I am keeping this one close to all-original, except for clinchers instead of tubulars, for practicality. I also found a NOS 49T chainring to replace the knee-wrenching 58T in the picture, and I am replacing the original 14-22 Caimi freewheel with a period- and continent-incorrect 14-26 SunTour.

Thanks to another BF thread, I now know how to remove the San Diego Bicycle License sticker from the top of the seat tube, hopefully without damaging the Reynolds 531 sticker underneath it. (WHY did so many police departments and bike shops put license stickers over 531 decals?)

Yes, it has the "R" cutout in the dropouts. I can check when I get home, but I think the serial number is on the downtube or bottom bracket. IIRC, it gives the year and the number within the year, so the 14th one built in '94 might be something like 94014.

BP,

The serial number is 488322. Is that the 48th one made in 83 or the 4th one in 88? The Rans decals were under the paint and survived the sandblasting, but are too beat up to keep. What a shame someone painted over decals and all.

BP,

The serial number is 488322. Is that the 48th one made in 83 or the 4th one in 88? ...

With many manufacturers, that initial "4" would be the last digit of the year, making yours a 1984 model. As several BF Peugeot owners can attest, it is very hard to tell without a reliable s/n table.

It's Thursday, November 23, 2006. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

The Nimbus is now a working bicycle. Below is a photo, and there is a web page about building it at: http://www.spinnerbaker.com/bud/nimbus.htm.

http://www.spinnerbaker.com/bud/images/nimbus6.jpg

NIce - can I try it out?

I like it - be a bit like riding a harley :D (but I won't mention how you make the exhaust sound :eek: )

Richard

Cool. But I barely understand it.

Great job Bud! You make all us home bike mechanics proud! You should be real thrilled with your abilities and craftmanship. Great website too!

Bud, I am absolutely amazed at your skill-set that allows you to accomplish such things. Bending forks, super-imposing images, etc., etc.

Great web explanation and graphics.

Extremely impressive and it leaves me a bit humbled.

Good job, Mr. Bud. You get two thumbs up here. :)

Crikey, that was quick! More like an autumn project. Nice...both the bike and the Web page.

It's still missing a seat tube (as previously mentioned)..... I'm still searching for the seat tube on my Tailwind.
Did you consider searching for some some Specialized Nimbus tires?
Nicely done.

for some years now I've concluded I need to own a 1953 Bianchi Tour de France bike. It would be the same age as me, from a great era of cycling, from one of the oldest quality bike makers, and been ridden by the best cyclist of all times --Fausto Coppi.

I think we all have our dream bikes. Mine is either a Wright St. Clair or a Wright Van Cleve. The St. Clair is the lower end, but I like it's lines better, and that's the one they used to do their aerodynamics tests. And though I'm not much of a fixie enthusiast. They would be worth it.
http://www.first-to-fly.com/History%20Images/Wright%20St%20Clair%20bike.jpg
St. Clair
http://www.first-to-fly.com/History%20Images/vancleve.JPG
Van Cleve

It's Thursday, November 23, 2006. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

The Nimbus is now a working bicycle. Below is a photo, and there is a web page about building it at: http://www.spinnerbaker.com/bud/nimbus.htm.

http://www.spinnerbaker.com/bud/images/nimbus6.jpg

Very nicely done!

Thanks, everyone. I just got home from my first extended ride on the bike, 24 miles on country roads, and the bike is a great ride. The steering is very responsive; I must have gotten closer on trail than my crude measurements showed. And, despite my best efforts while pedalling sharp turns in a parking lot, I was never able to hit the front tire with my foot, so heel strike is just not an issue.

One thing I can say for sure: if you tackle building a bike from just a frame, you are definitely going to learn from the experience. And my wife is still amazed that I built a bike. Some women are just attracted to geeks, huh.