HELP me tiki-fy my new bicycle

I need help from my fellow Tiki friends. I purchased a new Electra Townie Bike, but I need to find someone who can do an amazing job adding some tiki themed painted pinstriping to my new ride. I live in Los Angeles.

Thanks,

cycle art in vista....these guys really know how to paint bikes!!!

Heres mine I did last year .

Go on ebay and start searching for accessories for the main features for your bike , then start thinking of how you want to paint it . I did all the tapa pinstriping myself . The cool thing about tapa is that it is supposed to be a little imperfect . Have fun on your project , Ray

wow...thats nice. good luck on yours now.

Dayyyaammm Ray, that's sweet !

That is one AWWWEEESOOOOOOOOOOOME BIKE!!!

Love that bike Ray!
but when you gonna learn to ride a two wheel?

WOW!!! Fabulous Ray...everything is just right...great details. You otta start a business.

That is a great job on your trike! I was just about to post some work that I did on my wife's trike under "other crafts", but I feel like maybe it should go here instead. Hopefully other cyclists will post their TikiBikes here, either stock bikes with cool add-ons or totally unique creations.

So here is a picture of my wife's current summer cruiser. It is just a Nirve Lahaina with a Nantucket Basket (in the front) and a set of Electra Panniers (in the back). the other goodies are an original brass taxi horn, removable lantern (from the 60s or 70s), and a coconut drink holder. The latter being absolutely critical for the monthly Carbondale Full Moon Cruiser Ride that happens 12 times a year up here in the mountains.

Anyway, for winter riding to work, we bought a beat up tricycle from the senior housing near our home for $100. We tossed out the old (trek) frame, cleaned of the rear conversion kit, and bought a much better looking 1960s Raleigh from our local bike shop (The Gear Exchange in Glenwood Springs). The guys repaired the 7-speed hub, put in new brake lines, shifter lines, and found us a 700x35c front wheel and tire that they just had laying around. The bike worked, but just looked like a bolted together Frankenbike. We gave our friend the rear 2 wheels and new (40 year old) frame to weld together. In doing so, he lengthened the bike by about 18". Also got some custom ironwork on the sides to make it a bit more unique.

Skip to a year later. The bike was cool, but totally un-themed. During one of the rides, we tossed a few tiki torches (haphazardly) on the back...and a theme started to develop.

[ Edited by: TikiTie 2012-06-06 12:37 ]

[ Edited by: TikiTie 2012-06-06 12:49 ]

So with 3 pieces of bamboo that we bought at Target (we're STILL waiting for Oceanic Arts to open a location up here in the Rockies) I got to work.

I started using a Dremel to split the bamboo. It was only later that I learned that a sturdy knife and mallet works a lot better! The Dremel did come in handy when making the angle cuts, though.

After gluing the pieces together, I made some some brackets with scrap metal.

Split some more bamboo and glued it together around the frame tubes, using bungee cords to apply tension as it dried.

Here is the TikiTrike so far. It has the torches on temporarily for the Full Moon Cruiser Ride.

Definitely a work in progress, but I think it is a nice start. I was going to make a cargo bed out of Bamboo Laminate Flooring, but I like the bamboo slat design that TIKI-RAY has a lot more. If our bike looks half as cool as his when we're all said and done, I'll call it a victory!

[ Edited by: TikiTie 2012-06-06 13:09 ]

I think that we'll stick with the vintage crankarm/pedal set that we have now. I will probably make (or buy) a set of wood grips.

We will be doing a set of bamboo drag bars on our next project, which is a rusty stock OCC Schwinn Stingray.

These are excellent ideas.

Very interesting, those are nice and simple wooden handles. It looks like there is plenty of room for embellishment with tiki/tapa patterns. I'm looking forward to seeing more photos. Wish I had the time (and the space) to do that kind of work. I already have too many hobbies, interests, and commitments - they cut into my drinking time! heh...

That is such a cool bike Ray. Tiki Tony has a cool one too. Dont know if hes done with it yet. But it looks like its going to be pretty rad. :D

Not to derail, but I'm doin it! I rode my bicycle with a trailer at Midnight Madness one year (07?). I loaded the trailer with a lighted palm tree and a bucket of Mai Tais in plastic pineapples. I had to ditch the trailer due a mechanical & call for back up to get home. :) next weekend was Oasis.
I'll try to get a pic of my neighbors rickshaw that has bamboo and the same fabric as my lounge cushions.

Here is the pic of a bike near the house.

Derail away. That trike is pretty damn sweet! Does it have a bench in the back for a bartender, or is it purely aesthetic?

I agree...nice rig...love the roof!!!

So here is the next step in the TikiTrike:


Two coconuts drilled-out (and filled with lights)to reveal Port and Starboard when riding at night.
I haven't put them on yet, as I haven't made the cargo box to attach them to. I don't know if I'm in love with them, though. Does anyone have a better idea?

I haven't worked on the trike for awhile, but here is a picture of a random "tiki" from the last Tour de Fat in Ft. Collins.

We're just starting to get our costumes set for this year. I'll post pictures later in August when it starts to come together.

Nice.

Search for an old article on making pipe look like bamboo in making tiki. They sculpted body putty into ridges and notched them with a 3x5 card. When it dried and was painted it makes metal pipes look exactly like bamboo. This would work great on a bike frame.

I was searching for the bond-o sculpting and found this: http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?mode=viewtopic&topic=6800&forum=7/&start=0 Check out further along in the thread, and they do an AMAZING job with pvc pipe. Here is a great link that illustrates the faux-bamboo-with-pvc method: http://www.instructables.com/id/Faux-Bamboo/#step1

Thanks for the heads up! I can't wait to try one of the methods.

[ Edited by: 2012-08-20 08:10 ]

On CL right now in Portland. Sweet Ride!

http://portland.craigslist.org/clk/bfs/3206130882.html

I'd still love to see more TC-ers bikes! I found this little thread http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=19150&forum=12&hilite=bike , but here are some of the choice pictures:

I figured that I'd post a few more bikes from around the interwebs since I haven't been working too much on mine. Maybe they'll inspire a few TCers.

Join the club.... http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=29198&forum=5

As tempting as that would be, I already have a garage full of bikes! The green tiki headlight though...

So, apparently you don't only have to use bamboo as decoration, it can be structural as well.
Saw this article on building bikes out of bamboo:
http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-city/lawrenceville-man-to-make-bamboo-bikes-666375/
Here's a How To:
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Build-a-Bamboo-Bicycle/

I knew it was strong and still used as scaffolding, but a bike?

Getting a bit of work done on Sara'a Tiki-Trike. Our neighbor got his hands on a bunch of rift cut teak from a house up in Aspen. Couple that with a few lengths of bamboo, some time on his hands, and some money (formerly) in mine...

I'll upload the pictures once my wife opens it as her Christmas present!

[ Edited by: TikiTie 2012-12-23 17:41 ]

[ Edited by: TikiTie 2012-12-23 17:41 ]

TikiTrike on a white Christmas morning outside the house.

Next we'll get some brass cleats and some netting

A convenient place to hide contraband!

Lastly we'll carve up the sides with a tapa pattern or something else to make it feel unique.

CheekyTiki in the UK made this bike for Monkey Shoulder Whisky. Just change the barrels into rum.

We just bought this yesterday for my wife's bike at The Gear Exchange in Glenwood Springs.

found this bad boy behind a rental property of mine.

I'm no expert, but I think you might should get a new chain for that bike!

Maybe there'll be a tiki inspired bike or two down in Alameda. If you see any, snap and post a picture or two. Thanks!

Tiki Ray's Trike is awesome. A customer gave me this beat up rusty 3 wheel Worksman, so I stripped it down, painted it, and made a tiki bar for the back from our old fence we replaced. Still haven't added any carvings or accessories yet.

The trike looks great so far. I really like the red paint in the inside of the chain guard; pretty subtle and pretty cool. I can't wait to see the rear box carved up and customized!

The trike looks great so far. I really like the red paint in the inside of the chain guard; pretty subtle and pretty cool. I can't wait to see the rear box carved up and customized!

The trike looks great so far. I really like the red paint in the inside of the chain guard; pretty subtle and pretty cool. I can't wait to see the rear box carved up and customized!

The trike looks great so far. I really like the red paint in the inside of the chain guard; pretty subtle and pretty cool. I can't wait to see the rear box carved up and customized!