Alt Bike Culture - Kansas City Lowrider/Custom help:

I'm in the process of building a customized bike, and I need recommendations on where to get a banana-seat re-covered. If any of you locals do upholstery or can recommend a good shop where you've had stuff done, I'd sure appreciate it.

What I need to do is get this slightly-worn white banana seat covered in silver glitter vinyl.

Otherwise, I will try to find some glitter vinyl and do it myself, but I'd kinda like to not screw it up. I'm okay with the paint and the mechanicals, but I have never re-covered a seat before.

ive never done that before, but when ya get the bike done lemme know and my son and i will roll w/ ya on our lowriders! are you a member of any local clubs?
fast eddie outty

Eddie, we've met before. I hang around with the ACME crew, I've been to a few of the Frank Tuesday gravity races, and I was selling home-made hats and "helmet fluffs" at the swap-meet at ACME in May. My name's Michelle, and I usually ride a green singlespeed road-bike with sliver-glitter accented lugs.

I'm a big nerd for glitter.

I'm not a member of any clubs; I'm kind of a bike-dork generalist.

Here's what I have done so far:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2142/1698369313_de13f09687.jpg?v=0
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2095/1699226586_37ebd668c0.jpg?v=0
These are lousy pictures; I need to re-do them in natural light.

It's going to be built up with 27x1/25" alloy rims as a singlespeed-coaster-brake bike, but I'm also going to have the original caliper brakes on it, too, so I'll have three brakes total, for maximum ridiculousness. I did a more detailed writeup of it over at my blog meetzorp.com (http://meetzorp.com/2007/10/22/reupholstery-for-a-banana-seat/)

i know you!!! very cool youre building a lowrider, hope to see ya at the acme swap saturday! maybe you'll have your lowrider there? and if your interested, me and some locals have put together a myspace page (as of today) for midwest gravity riders to keep in touch and find eachother, pm me w/ your mysapce url and ill send a freind add if y'ad like. always good to see fellow kc bike dorks like myself! by the way, i thought the helmet fluff ya had on last time really accented your skin tone well! very stylish!

thats supposed to be a lowrider? i wouldve at least bent the fork some

No, it's not going to be a lowrider at all. I like to use the term "mild custom." The original concept is for a super-girly grown-up sized "stingray-type" bike. Ape-hangers, banana seat, sparkly accessories, chrome fenders and chainguard. It's going to have a pretty stock stance, aside from the seat and bars. The rims & tires are going to be original spec (27" X 1.25")

No, it's not going to be a lowrider at all. I like to use the term "mild custom." The original concept is for a super-girly grown-up sized "stingray-type" bike. Ape-hangers, banana seat, sparkly accessories, chrome fenders and chainguard. It's going to have a pretty stock stance, aside from the seat and bars. The rims & tires are going to be original spec (27" X 1.25")

Are you going to have some little flowers (like your avatar) on the bike?

I should do something like that with my old World--it's a decent rider, although heavy, but I think some silver glitter would perk it right up :p .

East Hill

hey michelle, hows that bike comin?
fast eddie outty

...I did a more detailed writeup of it over at my blog meetzorp.com (http://meetzorp.com/2007/10/22/reupholstery-for-a-banana-seat/)

I had a look around your blog--I absolutely loved the Victorian/Edwardian costume :D .

I think they must have used weights in the skirt hems to keep the skirts under control. Bloomers were certainly a better way to go, though.

East Hill