My pseudo Radwood build

All the Radwood discussion about the Challenge this year has me feeling a bit nostalgic, but unfortunately I really don't have the room/time/ambition to attempt another solo Challenge build. Add to that the fact that my doc says I need more exercise(I'm pretty sure they all say that BTW), and I ended up with this:

If you haven't paid attention to vintage freestyle bike prices, they're a bit salty. I've seen prices well over a grand for nice examples from the mid-80's, and hundreds of dollars for what's essentially well-used junk. I also remember how little structural rigidity many of them had & how they weren't really sized for actual adults..

I've also owned a couple mid-90's bikes, but they're way too overbuilt & heavy. I also owned one newer flatland bike from about 10-years ago, but didn't care for the geometry or size of it at all. I'd looked into the new retro bikes, but some were almost as expensive as the vintage ones, and I really didn't want to spend that much for something I'll be falling off of quite frequently. 
 

So like many good(bad?) stories, I was browsing eBay one night looking at vintage freestyle bikes & parts, and found this. It's a 2009 Retro Haro Freestlyer, designed your resemble Bob Haro's original frameset that was manufactured by Torker in 1982. I paid $400, which is more than I'd hoped to spend on a bike, but it also seemed like the right one to fit my constraints. 
 

Originally this bike would have had a front brake & all-4 pegs, but they're long gone and it doesn't look like they were ever on the bike. So I placed a couple orders last night & have the following parts on the way: 

1. Retro Haro handlebars. The ones on the bike are heavy & a little tall for me. These are repops of the ~86-88 bars which I always like & are just over 1lb. 
2. Odyssey front brake. At $17 it's decent & cheap enough.
3. Kool Stop Supra clear brake pads. They're supposed to be best for the (surprisingly real) Skyway Tuff II mags. 
4. A pair of brake levers, because it would drive me crazy to have mismatched ones. 
5. Cheap grips for the new bars. I went with black for now, but at some point I'd like to introduce some color. 
6. 2-pairs of Haro Fusion pegs. They're something like 7oz and way lighter than the steel pegs. 
7. A retro 24-tooth Haro sprocket. I really don't like the old-school 44/16 hearing it has currently. 
    

Speaking of old vs. new-school, this bike is an odd mashup. It has the newer 1-1/8" threadless headset, thick dropouts, and a 1" seat tube. Yet it has an old-school rail-style seat, larger American bottom bracket with bolt-through sprocket, 3/8" axles, 1/8" chain, and pivot-bolt front brake setup. 

I'd like your creative input though. I want to add some retro-type color to the bike, but I'm not sure what to do.

The decals have white, green, and both light & dark blue. I can find colored tires, chains, seats, grips, pedals, and possibly seat clamp & stem. My initial thought was going dark blue for all those parts, but I'm not sure? Unfortunately colored 990 rear brakes aren't available that I've found. 

What do you guys think?

The colors of the time would have been neon brights so since your leaning towards blue maybe bright blue grips

Dude. Dude. Duuuuuuude. Dude. 

Rad. 

My doctor's as fat as I am. He's not amused when I say "You are my role model for fitness."

I heartily approve. You'll want to find a 9 tooth driver setup for the rear to get your gearing back in line for the micro front. I recently switched back to BMX from mountain bikes at the age of 40. I'm looking at picking up a 24" or 26" this spring.

John Welsh said:

The colors of the time would have been neon brights so since your leaning towards blue maybe bright blue grips

Yup. I would pull either the light blue or the green out of the current decals, and smatter it around in other places.

10001110101 said:

I heartily approve. You'll want to find a 9 tooth driver setup for the rear to get your gearing back in line for the micro front. I recently switched back to BMX from mountain bikes at the age of 40. I'm looking at picking up a 24" or 26" this spring.

I'm used to the gearing on my trials bike, which is something like 24/20. So I'm thinking 24/16 will be about right for this bike. 

I assume you're keeping the black mags? That sort of directs your colors. I'm not sure dark blue tires would look good on black wheels. Do they make black tires with colored stripes on them? 

Edit: with the white in the logo can you run white tires and then blue grips/seat?

gumby said:

John Welsh said:

The colors of the time would have been neon brights so since your leaning towards blue maybe bright blue grips

Yup. I would pull either the light blue or the green out of the current decals, and smatter it around in other places.

I'm just not sure what to put where? Here are 2 examples of what I don't want.

I like the cohesiveness of this one, but I'm not sure how to pull it off with chrome + black?

This one isn't bad, but I've not found a blue 990 rear brake & I don't think 1 black + 1 blue brake would look good. I've also not found any good, solid blue brake levers. 
 

Pete, if you don't cover that thing in freestyler pink..... yes, it's a quadrangle. It's still the correct color. 

10001110101 said:

I heartily approve. You'll want to find a 9 tooth driver setup for the rear to get your gearing back in line for the micro front. I recently switched back to BMX from mountain bikes at the age of 40. I'm looking at picking up a 24" or 26" this spring.

Well I heartily approve of your screen name. 

Mndsm said:

Pete, if you don't cover that thing in freestyler pink..... yes, it's a quadrangle. It's still the correct color. 

BTDT. Though my Quad was white - we called it the Quadnoodle because it flexed so badly - but my Diamondback Strike Zone was pink & had the same seat as this bike.

mazdeuce - Seth said:

I assume you're keeping the black mags? That sort of directs your colors. I'm not sure dark blue tires would look good on black wheels. Do they make black tires with colored stripes on them? 

Edit: with the white in the logo can you run white tires and then blue grips/seat?

At this point yes I plan on keeping the black mags, since I already have them. If I do replace them at some point it's more likely It'll be because I'm tired of their heavy flexy nature & replace them with a pair of alloy rims. 
 

I agree that white tires could look good, but I remember them not staying white very long after you start riding on them? At least dark blue tires would hide it a bit more.

Egads! Those examples of what not to do are exactly why I would choose blue OR green. Similar to the white bike you posted, I found this one to be acceptable

Keep your black Tuffs, pedals, brakes/levers. Cables are dealers choice.

I tend to lean toward colored Tuffs and black tires, but that makes no sense if you are considering alloys later anyhow. I will also confirm that light colored tires are a bear to keep clean. I have green sidewall tires on my commuter, and they are constantly dingy. In that regard, dark blue will be a friend. I'd say if you go dark blue tires on black Tuffs, use a gumwall tire to break it up though.

Other that the skin walls on on the green wheel bike, I love everything about it. I always did love the neon part of the rad era though. 

mazdeuce - Seth said:

Other that the skin walls on on the green wheel bike, I love everything about it. I always did love the neon part of the rad era though. 

Oh teenage me would have been all over that like flies on a E36 M3 sandwich! Though even back then I was more about function than form. 
 

What do you guys think about different shades of blue components? Do I need to worry about finding colors that are close in hue, or is it ok to intermix lighter & darker blues? 

I would go allllllll the way with the green/blue mix, and make everything either green or blue. Sorta like this. But with green wheels. 

In reply to slowbird :

If it had a green frame I absolutely would! FYI the green retro Masters still bring $$$ used. Apparently most other people want a green one too. 
 

Next question for you guys - there's some light surface rust on various locations of the bike. What's the best way to clean it without damaging the chrome? And maybe more important, how do I prevent it from returning living in a high-humidity environment? The bike will be staying in either the garage or shed, so it'll bear the full effects of coastal weather. 
 

In reply to Pete Gossett :

steel wool followed by carnauba wax

or steel wool followed by rattle-can clear

Pete Gossett said:

Mndsm said:

Pete, if you don't cover that thing in freestyler pink..... yes, it's a quadrangle. It's still the correct color. 

BTDT. Though my Quad was white - we called it the Quadnoodle because it flexed so badly - but my Diamondback Strike Zone was pink & had the same seat as this bike.

Yeah, I was looking for a pic of a mike Dominguez but no one had them on black mags. 

For chrome, i usually use windex and light steel wool. 
 

edit: should have refreshed before replying. 

Thanks guys! Hopefully I'll have some time this tomorrow to get it cleaned up before the first batch of parts arrive. 

Are those profile cranks?

I really like where you are headed with the build!  Keeping it chrome is the way to go.

If I were to splash some color in, I would key in on the green in the decal on the down tube.  Not sure how available parts would be in that color though.

Im totally following on this one!

In reply to paranoid_android :

Thanks! I believe they're the original Haro cranks, but I didn't see any logos on them. I've found green grips, but not much else.
 

The parts that USPS says we're being delivered today didn't arrive, though tracking shows they're still out for delivery. 
 

I did clean the frame, fork & wheels up a bit today. It's generally pretty scruffy overall, which is perfect for me. 
 

Cool score. Also, one of the most attractive f/f's ever. 

If aiming to keep it looking 1982, I think you're really close. Don't add too much color--remember, we were at liberty of what was available locally. Maybe add some blue grips or tires. This was before things went all pink and aqua. A'ME still makes their retro grips. I run A'ME Tri grips on all my bikes, retro or not.

I vote that you keep the 44:16 gearing. It's part of the look. 

Ditch the Gyro. Those didn't exist in 1982. Potts Mod didn't exist yet, either. 

Add a plastic seat. 

Haro makes (made?) some reproductions of the Shimano DX pedals. They're really close. I run them on my Skyway T/A. 

Keep the Tuffs.

More inspiration here.