I'm sorry, but I liked it much better before the improvements. The tipped front rack is the worst part. The old tires looked better. What was wrong with the old saddle? The bars need to be tipped forward a bit. The fenders are heinous. Hanging more stuff on it is not the way to make it a head turner.

At least you got rid of the awful blue bar wrap.

It's coming along nicely. Concur with your opinion on the water bottle cages and bar wrap. I'm thinking the water bottle cages should be stainless steel and the bar tape should be a in a different color... yellow or yellow cloth tape shellac'd to turn it dark brown?, maybe a glossy black tape will work better. Maybe others can come up with a better idea.

To fix the tilted down front rack, try to bend the piece that goes into the fork until the rack is pretty much level. Will you be commuting with it?

Harsh, but some truth, I'm not in love with the fenders just what I had. the old tires were dry rotted, My butt didn't like the old saddle. I planned to work on the front rack, but didn't want to break, so seeking some advice there.

Rob, lookin' good. Cable routing and bar wrap looks good to me. I like the fenders! New bottle cages and it will be complete.

Glad to see you figured out picture posting!

It's steel. I have the same rack and bent it to fix the same issue. I bent it using the steel fork for leverage. No problem.

thanks

thanks pastorbob - it's ready for the BRPW next week. climb up Mt. Mitchell and Mt Pisgah

I like it better now than I did before, and it's looking like a great commuter.
I don't know if the bars are upside down or not...that type of bike is so foreign to me, I can't say much about it.

Don't take it too hard on yourself or the bike. The bottom line is to experiment with this process of making your bike stand out. There will be things that you like and other things that you might want to change little by little. Focus on things that will add comfort to you rides but that will also look nice. You already changed the saddle, then look at the bar tape. The current fenders seem to be temporary. BTW, flat fenders protect just a little from water, especially if you live in place that sees considerable amount of rain. Look into fenders sold by VO if you're on a budget, or Berthoud / Honjo if you feel you can splurge a little. These fenders will also give you much better protection. If you're thinking of buying accessories (panniers, saddle bag, etc.), choose carefully. I see some really awesome-looking bikes but the owner decides to put a horrific looking sports bag. Functional: YES; Aesthetically pleasing: Heck No!

Post more pics once you've completed the next batch of upgrades.

It would look MUCH nicer with Honjo fenders, ESPECIALLY with those racks. I also agree on the tires, they're available in skinwalls with flat protection. At least I think they are? The blue Candy pedals are throwing me off bigtime. Were they to match the wrap originally? Also just my opinion, but brown saddle and tan wrap would have set off the paint color much better. Great looking bike overall.,,,,BD

Honjo Fenders

https://www.bikecult.com/works/archiv...coastTZMrv.JPG

Wait a second, yellow cables?,,,,BD

Easy Changes:
- black leather bar tape
- silver braided brake cables (lose the yellow)
- Honjo, VO, or Berthoud fenders
- VO or Nitto bottle cages

Bonus round:
- IRD, VO, or vintage crankset (Spidel / Nervar / drilled Sugino)
- Shimano M700 Deer Head or Suntour Cyclone or Shimano Crane long cage
- Chrome Soma Classic Curve CX fork

Personally I agree with the yellow tape. Or white tape and cables. The front rack has to go, unless the rack is actually being used a crooked rack no matter how expensive look awful. tan wall Pasela tires may help to dress it up and brighten it up too. Maybe a honey Brooks too

Unless you use this in wet weather check out Woodies custome made fenders.....https://www.woodysfenders.com/store/i...=index&cPath=7

Now if your really want to turn heads..... strip the frame and hold it over your head.... then slam it into the ground dropouts first to give the rear triangle a little shape.

Oh Boy, I was hoping this had dropped off the radar. Rack will be fixed, just didn't know how much stress it could take. The fenders are what I had and they will most likely come off, honjos maybe, woodies NO Thanks, I'm not much into fenders anyway. I like the yellow cable, I have seen the silver braided and don't think there is enough polished on this bike to make those work. I have obtained some faux leather black wrap. I do have a honey brooks... want to see if I can make the black work. The candys are by necessity to ride this coming week on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I have a sugino drillium double, but it does not afford me the gearing I want, however it would look good.

So I will go back to the drawing board with the constructive criticism and opinions (no I'm not slamming anything on the ground) and try again.

Really want it to turn heads? Have a pretty girl ride it.

Hmmmmm.

I liked it better naked. My r3commendations would be:

Gumwall tires, white SKS fenders (spend the time to get the fenderline perfect, this is the biggest impact on overall looks IMO). Lose the VO rear rack, it's too small and sits too high. Do a black/white harlequin wrap on the bars, go back to black housings, level out the front rack, polish the holy bejeebers out of the cranks and rear mech. Wire bottle cages and white bottles. Normally I don't advocate for white on a bike but that maroon's a hard shade to work with. Since all that will work is black or white, make them work together for you. I think the harlequin wrap on the mustache bars will really sell it.

If you wanna turn some heads think something like this. The primary colors are very similar, though I think your paint may be have a touch more red than my bicycle.


Bilenky 650B Constructeur Tandem - First Ride - 13 by Sallad Rialb, on Flickr