Tractor Project
 

Let me preface my post by saying that I don't know if this the right forum but as an old fart I feel more comfortable here. I smiled the other day when I read a post asking "are those shifters on the downtube?" I imagine a lot of the riders on carbon fiber frames must look at our steel mounts as sophisticated as tractors. That gave me the idea to start a "John Deere" tractor project.

My hybrid project started with a 1991 Raleigh Tangent frame (double butted Tange MTB cro-mo) which I stripped and primed over the weekend. The frame will be painted John Deere green and the fork John Deere yellow. My goal is to get it under 23 pounds so the components will be a combination of Dura Ace and XTR. The bars will be an old Brahma bar wrapped in yellow tape with a yellow Selle Italia SLR saddle. I found a perfect John Deere logo decal for the head tube and I have two "John Deere" die cut decals for the downtube coming from a guy in Iowa that specializes in decals for vintage tractor restorations. I'm building a set of lightweight wheels that will be wrapped in Ritchie Tom Slicks for road use. I doubt I'll ever take it off the road, you know, like they do with tractors, but who knows.

I'll post pictures as completion gets closer, but the frame is going to have to hang in the heat of my attic for a couple of weeks to cure so it will be awhile before it's ready to ride.

Very cool idea. I agree about many carbon riders' opinions on steel, however when you think about it the complex chemistry which went into making the alloy and angles of a fine steel bike are equally as sophisticated in my view, if not more so. If you think about it, carbon's intrinsic abilities makes it almost more easy to make a good bike from it, once you have the basic ability to mold the weave/ resin etc. My road bike is older than I am, and I just love blitzing by people on NICE bikes and wondering what they are thinking when they see the lugged seat stays going down the road...

You could actually start with a real John Deere bike: http://jacksontn.craigslist.org/bik/762971680.html

Nothing runs like a Deere. ;)

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/3/584...87915d11_b.jpg

Dern it! I guess there is nothing new in the world any more. Nice looking bike, gridplan.

Thanks, but it's just a picture I found on the Internet. Apparently some have done the same thing to motorcycles. In any case, don't be discouraged. You'll have a cool and unusual-looking bike on your hands when you're finished.

just outside of Black Oak, AR.......there is a '92 John Deere Cutlass....and it's every bit as hideous as it sounds.....

Do they drive it with or without the tiller attached? :lol:

I tried to find a pic of the Cutlass.................but got this instead........

I would ride a John Deere bike, but not that contraption. :)

Ohh good lord.

Looks might have to paint something in IH Red :D

http://aim.search.aol.com/search/red...mage%20Details

But it's nice to find some more tractor guys here, even green ones

Grass is GREEN...Tractors are RED! :roflmao2: BTW we own JD, IH, MF and Fordson.:rolleyes:

FWIW while wandering around in Amish Country (Holmes County, OH) Saw a buggy done up in JD green and yellow. I don't recall the buggy builder's comment about the owner, but it wasn't too complimentary:D

Aaron:)

I figured I'd find a redneck around here someplace. IH are ok but there is something chic about a 2-cylinder Poppin' Johnny. 45 years off the farm and I still can't get it out of my blood. Maybe when I get my project done we can have a tractor pulling contest. On second thought, I might have to forget about that short block I was planning and put some big gears on it.

Just so eeveryone knows, I don't think it is just after market paint that is John Deere, I saw an old John Deere 3 speed in a thrift store a couple of years back. I think there was some marketing deal with John Deere for some period of time.

A while back, I was asking questions about the Raleigh rod-brake roadsters. One of the owners of one commented that riding it was "like pedaling a tractor". So maybe that would be the bike to start with for full effect. (Realistically, I think a Worksman industrial bike would be a better candidate for JD treatment!)

As to JD merchandise- I think they sold their logo to anyone that would use it for anything. There's probably JD toilet plungers out there somewhere.

You could be right...

The ironic part is that as I recall, the JD bicycle I saw wasn't even green.

In the 70's Deere sold snowmobiles, too.

The slogan "Nothing Runs Like a Deere" still used today by Deere & Co. started with the John Deere snowmobile line in 1972.

for some more information:
http://www.ask.com/bar?q=john+deere+...a%2Fdeere.html

John Deere bikes were made in black, light blue, white, yellow, and green. Each model was a different color.

You need an implement bar and a PTO for the effect to be complete...

I don't know about that, but I'm thinking about hanging a slow moving vehicle sign on the back of the seat just to be legal of course when I take my tractor on the road.

I'm not sure about Texas, but in Ohio, you are not allowed more to go than 25 mph while dispaying a SMV sign. But you said it is a MTB frame, so you should be okay.

Back in the mid 70's there was a bike racing team that was sponsered by Deere. They rode John Deere bikes. I think it was a club out of Burlington Iowa. It was cool to see the Deere name on bikes.

Edit; I should have said their bikes were painted and lettered John Deere. They were high end racing bikes.

I gave my recumbent the John Deere treatment.
http://i7.tinypic.com/870ke3p.jpg
My wife thinks I'm nuts.

All you need now is a cast-iron tractor seat (which has been done).

It occurs to me that a Schwinn Cycle-truck or other low-gravity type bikes would lend themselves to this treatment, seeing as how they have the smaller front wheel.