The Rat Trail Bikes

Yep totally unnecessary.

Bit of a dick move with this thread title IMO

Done.

New wheels ready with 50mm tubeless (testing without sealant), and cheap m:part stem I took a sandpaper to;

2 Attachments

Done.

Much better title, explains the asthetic you're going for now.

I’m really enjoying the direction this is heading.

Should have sanded down a Chris king for full vibes

Good choice with the paint BTW….. I’ve not seen iron based rust effect paint used locally like Caren has on this - looks good. I’ve only seen it used on entire bikes, which is a bit OTT IMO. (I’m assuming Caren has done the paint on your frame?)

Pre-fucked paint is deffo the way for off road bikes. It’s what I did on my Topstone….. albeit much less thought out than your Isen. I did mine over two lunch breaks just using whatever leftover mixed colours I had used that week that were still useable and hadn’t chucked out yet….. minimal thought/effort was put into it! (Mostly due to laziness!)

1 Attachment

Daymn that looks good

Your bike is where I got the ideas from! I’m actually quite impressed how authentic they managed to make it look after doing so many fade paint jobs.

The headtube badge is untreated steel so it will go rusty eventually, another Caren’s handiwork.

1 Attachment

Yeah. I’ve never been a fan of the whole candy fade thing TBH.

Rub vinegar on the head tube badge every few days if you want to speed up the initial surface rusting to get it to match quicker. Getting the initial covering of surface rust is what usually takes a while…. Once it’s got that though it will age on its own through use pretty quick.

Or soak a rag in saltwater, and place it over the badge and leave over night….. probably best not to do it this way whilst badge is attached to frame though.

Or counter point, you could oil it occasionally and watch it slowly rust over the next year or so

I’d have gone for copper HT badge on this personally….. the turquoise tones of oxidised copper would look great with the frame colour.

Good call, bit late but happy with the steel badge.

Now, to dent or not to dent stainless steel mudguard…

Ant Bikes does this very well IMO.

Great starting point for a bike. Excited to see how it builds up!

I have done experiments with Hematite (get it at Tiranti's close to Euston square) and heated steel + motor oil.
I can't remember what I have done here but it should be possible to discolour your mudguards

2 Attachments

Basically heated it to as hot as you can and dip it in oil?

Yes that's the dangerous and fun version. But I am pretty confident hematite will work as well.

Now, to dent or not to dent stainless steel mudguard…

Don't dent them atmo.

Oh man I really love this
Edit: don't dent them

Time to @amey this bike up with Paul’s, except it’s the other way round.

RED AXS, Eagle GX AXS, 11-50t, and Yokozuna Reaction cableset.

1 Attachment

what cranks

GRX with wolf tooth 38t, already own it so that’s a bonus.

upmost respect if you take some rough sandpaper to your new paul brakes.

Get them reanodised in silver and red to look like bb5s.