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Brain: Many of your component designs are quite complicated.
To what extent do you use the computer to aid in your work; is it extremely important?

Hannan: Computors are very important,  especially the use of what is known as  mid-range engineering software. This way whatever design you have in your head you can immediately show to sub-contractors, or put it directly onto the CNC machine tool you're using. Using computers is the way to go for me.  You also save time and material in the end. You don't have to start over from the beginning as often.
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Brain: Can modern computer design programs tell you where the structural strength of a design lies, along with where potential weaknesses are? And does your ability to create 3D computer images give you an advantage in creating a new visual design?
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Hannan: Definitely, analysis by finished element is the way we test the frame before it is even built. We run test simulations on the computer program and it can tell me if there are any weaknesses, and where it may need to be reinforced. So even though a frame's initial design might be very stylish it needs to be checked over to make sure that it isn't structurally dangerous. Computer design programs can tell you if you need to use thicker material in certain areas, or, if you need to reinforce the frame's structure with gussets or ribs.
And, in regards to the 3D rendering, it's great to play with colours and different backgrounds, especially if you're doing commercial work and you want to propose something to someone across the ocean or in another city. With the internet it's
a must; it's a tool you must have.

Brain: How quickly can you work up a design for a customer? Does it take a long time to create one on your computer?

Hannan: I can work out a computer design very quickly; it is especially good when I am actually sitting with a customer.
They can tell me what they want and I can render an image on my laptop right away. We can often work out a design very quickly, and it gives the customer a high degree of input in the decision making, which makes them very happy.

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Brain: I wanted to ask you about the materials you use when building your bikes. Whereas most fabricators are content to use mild steel for the majority of their component fabrication you use other materials, that are slightly more exotic. What kind of building materials do you use to make your bikes, and why do you prefer them over standard mild steel?
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Hannan: Yes, I use stainless steel, and the reason I use stainless as a base material is because of the way it can be worked and bent. I find that it doesn't distort when I roll or bend tubes in my dies. With mild steel the die or roller has a tendency to dig into the material more, because mild steel is a softer metal. Stainless steel has a better resistance to distortion when compared to mild steel of the same wall thickness. Stainless is stronger for the same wall thickness as mild steel. So,  that is why I use 304 stainless steel for my frames.

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Brain: What do you use to weld stainless?

Hannan: I use stick rod,  mainly because I'm most comfortable with it and it is readily available for when I need to use it.

Brain: What about 4130 CroMo as a frame building material, why not use it? Does it have a disadvantage over the use of stainless?
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Hannan: CroMo is hard to bend, it's expensive, and for a kustom bicycle where extreme performance is not really an issue, CroMo isn't really necessary. Let's face it, kustom bicycles are more for cruising than for racing. On a cruiser you can use materials that are slightly heavier and easier to weld. I like what stainless steel does for me, and I use it to my advantage. For me, it's the ideal building material; and it doesn't rust. CroMoly is also much harder to get.

Brain: Eric, one of the hallmarks of your bicycles is that they have extremely large wheel and tire combinations on the rear end. What drove you to pursue this particular styling? Where do you get your tires; and more importantly, where do you get rims that will take a tire that large? Other builders who have attempted to make bicycles with large rear wheels tend to use modified motorcycle wheels or car wheels, which tend to be very heavy. Is this the route that you take, or have you solved the problem another way?
Hannan: Well, first there's the weight. A motorcycle wheel- especially one with a 300 MM-wide rim will be around 40-45 pounds, depending on the design of the wheel center. My rear wheels only weigh 10.3 pounds; that includes the centre hub, so the less weight you have in motion, the easier it is to accelerate.
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Brain: Where does tire diameter and gearing come into the picture; do those come into play in a big way for the performance of a pedal-powered machine?
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Hannan: Well, basically being a motorcycle tire, the structure is designed to hold a 900-pound motorcycle, and with the tread having a rounded profile, the contact patch is small, so, with low pressure like 30 psi the area that the air is pushing on will cause a lot less deformation than on a regular bicycle tire. So basically, the rolling is optimal, the only thing that you have to fight is the weight, and this is where the gearing comes into play. You can go up hills on slow gear, but these bikes are cruisers, so they're not so much performance and speed-oriented.
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Brain: So, what you're saying is that gearing is one of the big factors in allowing your bikes to perform as well as they do. What components have you used to help accomplish this?
Hannan: I use regular mountain bike gearing- 11 to 32 teeth, and a regular BMX front sprocket. If more adjustment needs to be done you can always work with the final drive ratio. Because I use a primary drive with a jackshaft which is connected to the rear sprocket, I can always play with the ratio there, too.  If you live somewhere that is very hilly then you can go with a larger ratio on the final drive and still use the regular mountain bike gears.

Brain: Has seating position and ergonomics come into play when you design your bikes? And do they affect performance.

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Hannan: Of course. One of the big reasons I design the bikes' ergonomics the way I do, is so they can be as mechanically- efficient as possible.  It's comparable to a rowing machine: you have your abs with your upper body, along with your legs- your legs being the strongest muscle of your body. When you're on a regular bicycle you're pushing with all of your weight, and we all know that one leg is able to support a lot more than your own weight, so, when you put that force onto that bike pedal you can really grab onto the handlebars and push on the pedal, and pull on the handlebars. That's a lot of power, and  that's one of the reasons why I can accelerate on the bike from 0- 32 km an hour in 14 seconds, even at 43 years old (laughing). That's almost 300 feet, so that's pretty good for a 90-pound bike.
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Brain: Aluminum seems to be a great metal to use in kustom bicycle applications. Have you been able to use this material to good effect on your bikes?

Hannan: Yes, I'm using two types of aluminum. I'm using  6061 T6 aircraft-grade for the upper and lower fork trees, all the jackshaft system, the hubs, the center of the rear wheel, the front wheel. I'm using 1100-grade aluminum for the dishes on the rear wheel because it's more pliable and can easily be bent into the shape I need. If I were to use 6061 T6 for the same application it would crack, so I use the 1100-grade in applications where the metal needs to be more forgiving when you need to work it. With the rear wheel being so big and having so much area, it's almost a pressure vessel, so it would be very dangerous to go with a stiffer aluminum, you would risk cracking and bursting the side of a rim! You could lose an arm- it could be really dangerous.
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Brain: Is it true that you don't use inner tubes on the rear wheels of your bicycles? And if so,  how have you achieved this?

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Hannan:  Just like a regular 3-piece rim, you would see on a motorcycle, the center piece has O-rings- one O-ring on each side. The two pieces are bolted on that center piece, compressing the O-ring. Funny thing also, and very interesting, is that there is no valve stem going through the section of the rims, it goes through the center of the rim through a hole, injecting the air into the tire right in between the two sections. So it's better than having a hole drilled into those rim sections for a valve stem, because that would make an area that would create cracks with the pressure, so, not having this gives you two round pieces with no holes, no interruptions, no place to start stress cracks.
Brain: Have you pressure-tested your rim and tire combinations for failure? If so, at what point would they fail?
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Hannan: Yes, I did my destructive testing when I pumped 120 PSI into the tire! That was scary, but the only thing that happened is that the aluminum being soft actually caused the air to evacuate from the tire, from between the bolts that holds the two sections together, so no burst happened. I didn't want to have a burst. At one point I was wondering if the tire would burst, because the manufacturer recommends a maximum of 44 PSI. and  I put in almost 3 times this amount. But I felt I had to test it to the limit, it's all part of being a responsible manufacturer, and I take this kind of thing very seriously.
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Brain: What's the procedure you use to make a set of custom mag wheels, how are they cut, what are the steps from beginning to end?
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Hannan: First the customer sends me a sketch of what he wants, and I take that sketch and insert it into the engineering software, and I do a cut out. Then I do the color, the chrome,  and everything is integrated. It then goes out to the customer for approval. Then, once it's approved we make the wheels. The tools that I like to use to cut the wheels would either be a CNC machine for radius cutting or when 3D effects are needed, or, it could be simple and we would go with water jet cutting.
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Brain:  Many bike builders say that they had early influences that helped them to be creative in an automotive way. Can you point to any influences that you believe brought you closer to what you're doing now? Who gave you inspiration in this sense?


Hannan:  My inspiration comes from a lot of sources. I like the work that the motorcycle builder Jesse James has done with frames, for sure he has always designed stuff that I liked. I also have to say that I love Hank Young's custom motorcycles. Another big influence for me was Indian Larry. I liked it when Indian Larry said that he liked motorcycles with no front fender, no front brake and at least one spoked wheel. This is what I did with my bike "The Larry Special". The Larry Special is in memory of my father, but I can also say that  Indian Larry was also an inspiration for the bike.
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Brain: It's understandable that custom motorcycle builders, especially the ones that are currently featured on TV became an inspiration for today's kustom bicycle fabricators, yourself included. I was influenced by the chopper motorcycles I saw in magazines back in the mid-1970's. It was the closest thing available that was related to what I was doing at the time.

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Hannan: The motorcycle builders definitely influenced me, because when I started doing my first bike, the "Larry Special", I didn't have a clue as to what other bicycle builders were doing in other parts of the country, or what was happening on the kustom bicycle websites and forums on the internet. I found out from a guy I work with about the internet forums.  After seeing what was going on in the forums, I felt that what I was trying to do was fairly unique and innovative, I didn't see anything that was really close to what I was doing. Maybe one or two bikes I saw used motorcycle tires, but the people who made them weren't fabricating their own wheels, and I thought their style was totally different from what I was trying to do.

Brain: Have you had an interest in bicycles and maybe even kustom bicycles since you were very young? What was the first bicycle that you modified? Did you kustomize the bikes you owned as a kid?

Hannan: (laughing) All of them.all of them, yeah, as soon as I got them. The first bike that I modified was done with pieces off an old swimming pool ladder, I flattened the end of the tubes on the sidewalk and drilled some 3/8" holes for the axles, then put my wheel on it. This was on an old CCM muscle bike with 20-inch wheels. So that was my first chopper. For my "Larry Special" bike I wanted big forks just like the bikes I made when I was a kid. By the way, the bike that I made with the swimming pool ladder didn't last very long, I actually hurt myself with it, and my mother said:  " I told you this would happen". She was right, but I was still glad that I made it.
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Brain: We've seen quite a bit of growth in the last 4 years, in the kustom bicycle movement. What are the positive things that you have seen in the last few years, and where do you see the movement going in the future? Do you see continued growth?
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Hannan: Well, I think that the availability of new components and builder-oriented parts that are a stage between bicycle parts and motorcycle parts would bring a lot of inspiration to many of today's builders. Personally, I hope that what I am doing will inspire people to explore building this way. It wasn't really my cup of tea to build bicycles only from available bicycle components.  I was influenced by motorcycle fabricators, and I would like to see more of their kind of skill and building techniques used in the making of better kustom bicycles. When I was young, my bicycle was my life, it was my identity, it would take me anywhere. The day my bike got stolen was the worst day of my life. But then there were mopeds and motorcycles and all that, and I couldn't wait to move from bicycles and onto those motorcycles. So now that I've done all of my racing and spending the money and hurting myself, now this is finished, and I have a family. It's nice to go back to bicycles and be creative in that way.
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Brain: What do you think it is about kustom bicycles that fascinates the general public so much? They often attract more attention than even a kustom motorcycle can.  When you ride
your bikes on the street, I'm sure you find that people react to you in the most incredible way.  Kustom bicycles really knock people dead, why do you think this is?
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Hannan: What I believe is that there is a part of those people that always wanted to have a big motorcycle, and there is another part in those people that can relate to bicycles, because everybody had bicycles- everyone can relate to them. So, its something that is in some way untouchable- the motorcycles, that is. And now here is something that even they can ride. So what the people checking out your machines say is "you can ride this?" and you say "yes, you can ride it". I think what it is really all about is the approachability of bicycles, and it plays tricks on me too,  because sometimes my bike is parked- and I mean my bikes cost a lot of money to make and people will just come up and grab the bike and sit on it, and say "Wow, a bicycle" and you know they wouldn't do this with someone's motorcycle; so that tells you how approachable those creations can be.
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Brain: So you think that for most people a motorcycle- especially a kustom motorcycle is out of reach, and is an impossible goal for most people,  but a kustom bicycle is something that anyone can aspire to own and ride?
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Hannan: Yeah exactly, and especially if you have the skills you can start with something very small that you can find in someone's trash, and make it into your own treasure. So if you have the skills and the space, you can start slowly with something small and then it can grow into something bigger, like a business.


Brain: Speaking of business, your company is called Hannan Customs; what is the philosophy behind your company what are you trying to achieve and what are your goals for the future as a fabricator of kustom bicycles, what do you want for yourself and your company?
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Hannan: Well,  to start I was interested in putting together a business that I could pursue into retirement, something that I could do at home , that involves no engines so there wouldn't be any complaints from neighbors, and when I started to make all the related tools for bike fabrication I decided to make the products from them for sale. So a lot of different avenues have been explored, ideas like mass production are now out of the question. It costs way too much. So now I'm looking more at corporate builds and I believe the marketing power of these bikes has great potential. I believe that the timing for this kind of thing is really great right now.

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Brain: I know that you've been concentrating on pedal-powered bicycles, but in the last few years there has been a lot of interest in electric motors and bicycles, is this something that Hannan Customs might be exploring in the near future? Will Hannan Customs go electric?

Hannan:  Yes, I'm already working on a prototype for a customer, and its very promising. The advantage of the electric motor is that it helps you overcome difficult road conditions you might encounter when you're out riding. If there is a strong wind or a hill to climb, then the motor just assists you. An electric motor also permits you to put more kustom parts on your bike- it helps with the extra weight and gives you a more comfortable ride. Right now I have orders for three bikes that will have electric-assist motors.

Brain: So, in the future the electric power option should be available on all the bikes in the Hannan Custom line?

Hannan: Yes, I want this option to be available to customers, there seems to be a great interest in it. And I think it has great potential.

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Brain: I know from riding with you that your bikes attract an incredible amount of attention. What are some of the common reactions that you get from people when you're out riding on the street, and what are the kind of questions they ask you, when they enquire about your machines?
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Hannan: Well, what's funny is that the first thing that seems to be on many peoples' minds is the question: "Where's the engine, did you forget the engine?" and stuff like that.  And I usually answer with "It's not a snow blower, it's a bicycle".  When they hear this response of mine they usually laugh it off.  Other times they go with the other big question I always hear which is " Is it hard to pedal?" that is probably the question I hear the most, then, after that people want to know "How much?". Those are probably the three most common questions I get asked.

Brain: What is it like when people go out on test drives for the first time? What do they say about the experience when they return?

Hannan: As soon as they sit on the bike and lift it off the kickstand, they get a big smile on their face, and give out a big "Wow!" They comment on how it doesn't seem as heavy as they thought. Then they take off on it for a 5 or 10 minute ride and when they come back they are almost speechless. The first thing they want is a business card and answers to all kinds of other questions. They really like the experience.

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At one point I was at the Daytona Beach bike week, on the main street with my bike late one night. There were still lots of people around, and one guy asked me if he could ride it with his girlfriend, so I said "sure, go ahead", and he left on the bike with his girlfriend was on the back. He came back maybe 15 minutes later, and asked me for more business cards, and his girlfriend told me that it was so much fun, and so nice that they could talk to each other and hear the crowd reacting, she said "we felt like movie stars walking the red carpet at the Oscars", she said it was the most romantic thing that she had ever done with her boyfriend, riding that bike on Daytona's main street.
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Brain: Much of the kustom bicycle world uses the Internet to get together and share ideas online, but do you think that it's just as equally important or more important for kustom bike people to get together and ride together in organized events like weekend cruises. What's your experience been with this kind of thing?

Hannan: I think that it's very important for people to get together and ride. It's a lot of fun to share your interest with others who are doing the same thing. It's good to be with other bike builders face to face. It's then that you really know that you're not alone in your passion. It's also a good way to compare bikes and you get to test drive other peoples' bikes and exchange information and stories.  It's just a lot of fun to do.

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Brain: How do you feel about judged show competitions? Do you think that it helps promote a higher quality of kustom bike?
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Hannan: Yeah, definitely. You enter a competition and even if you win, you can't expect to sit on your ass and expect to win again the following year. Because someone else is always trying to come up with something new and better to have the upper hand in the judging. Showing a bike really promotes creativity and top quality, it's a good thing all around. It's also good for people who are in the business of bikes. At shows you come into contact with people and businesses in related fields; you can sometimes make contacts with others who can help provide services you may need.


Brain: You recently exhibited three of your bikes at the Detroit Autorama show. Now, you live in Montreal, what was it like for you to get down to the Autorama show? And once you got there, what was the reception like from the people who saw your bikes?
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Hannan: Yeah, it was a 9 or 10 hour drive, from Montreal, and I don't regret anything, it was an awesome experience. First was being with all the other builders who made bikes in different styles like cruisers, choppers, and a few lowriders too, and some trikes,  I saw some really nice trikes at the show. And, of course, the cars on display. The Detroit Autorama is the show to have your bike at, the show to win , it really is a top honor to have a winning bike at this show. The Al Petri bike shop organizes the bicycle show and did a wonderful job. It's a show that has lots of classes for the competition; it's very fair and is well judged. One of the things I really liked is that there were a number of kids entering their bikes in the show, I think it helps promote a new generation of builders when you include the kids in these kind of shows. Those kids who enter bikes in shows today may grow up to be tomorrow's top builders.

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Brain: About how many bicycles were in competition at the Autorama when you were there?
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Hannan: there were about 50 bicycles at the show. I'm not sure about how many classes there were. I had three bicycles at the show, and my bike the "Larry Special" won best of show for radical chopper, and along with my other bikes I got 1st 2nd and 3rd  place trophies.

Brain: I would put the build quality of your bikes as being some of the highest in the world.  What were some of the things you saw at the Autorama that gave you inspiration. Did you find what the other bicycle

builders were doing of interest? Did you find what the car builders or the motorcycle builders were doing inspirational?

Hannan: I found a lot of inspiration from some of the car builders at the show. They gave me a lot of ideas about themed builds, the way to machine parts, the way things were put together. Even some of the car grilles gave me inspiration; I could see how they were made and it gave me ideas about how I could do the same kind of metalwork on my bikes. My head is bursting with ideas that I got from seeing all the different kinds of fabrication work at the show. I want to use my computer knowledge with the software I have to work on new ideas. Not only the cars were inspirational but some of the things I saw on the bicycles gave me great ideas. I especially liked what was done with some of the trikes at the show, and how some bikes incorporated the use of drive shafts instead of chains.
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Brain: For you, Eric Hannan, what would the ultimate personal bike build look like? If you could have anything on a bike what would you have? How would you build the ultimate personal bike?

Hannan: It would look a lot like what I'm doing right now actually. But now that I have all the tooling and parts available I would like to go with a World War 2 airplane-type of theme, something like the P51 Mustang. I've got a lot of ideas like that in my head. I see a nice nose-cone in the front and pipes coming out the side- that would be pretty neat to do. I'd also like to experiment with a 330mm rear tire.

Brain: How does finish come into play with the look you're trying to achieve on your bikes? Where does chrome or paint or other finishes like raw metal fit in with what you're trying to achieve?

Hannan: I'm very flexible on finishes, as long as it fits the theme or look that we are trying to go for. I especially like the raw metal finish that can be achieved on stainless steel. I use different grit on the buffers to create different effects on the metal's surface. I will even use a torch for heat and then quench the surface with oils to make a unique finish, one that gives more depth. Done right you can even clear coat it. It's a look that is unusual; you don't see it done often, not even on custom cars. I want to integrate more of this kind of thing into my overall design. When it comes to paint finishes I like powder-coating in flashy colours. I'm not all that interested in flat black surfaces, if the customer wants it, I will try to incorporate it in a creative way, but in a way that pleases me as much as the customer. I won't build a bike in a way that I don't believe in; I have to like what is going into the bike and how it will look. I have to like a bike before I deliver it.
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Brain: What do you think about 3- wheeled bikes, Are we going to see Eric Hannan make 3- wheelers in the future and what will they look like?

Hannan: I've done a few quotes for 3-wheelers, and I think they are gaining in popularity. What I like is that with a 3-wheeler you can integrate more of an automobile aspect into your designs. So it's nice to play with different car-like designs on a 3 wheeler. Things like double wishbone suspension, like on the trike that I saw at the Petri show in Detroit; that was awesome.  Differentials, wheelie bars, you can integrate a lot of the car world into a trike design and this is where it can get really interesting.

Brain: Are you going to experiment with front and rear suspension designs on your future builds?

Hannan: I do want to experiment with suspensions in the future. I used to race dirt bikes for 10 years and 4 X 4's and so I know a lot about suspensions. With kustom bicycles it not only needs to be functional but it also needs to look good and be visually clean.  I also like the way that a good suspension gives volume to a bikes looks. A bicycle suspension fills up space that would otherwise be less interesting. There are lots of possibilities when it comes to incorporating a suspension system onto a bicycle.
Brain: What are some of the other more unusual components you'd like to experiment with in the future?
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Hannan:  Of course I would like to experiment more with suspension. I would also like to use a different kind of drive, like shaft drive. Maybe something that is really complicated but looks simple- like a single-sided swingarm or hidden chain drive; maybe deep-dish wheels. There is incredible potential for experimentation on a bicycle, unlike a motorcycle where you have a lot more mechanical constraints. You can push the design of a bicycle in ways that would never be possible with a motorcycle, because you don't have those mechanical constraints. You could run a rear fender a quarter-inch off the tire- something you could never do with a motorcycle. I feel the possibilities for kustom bicycle design are endless. Personally, I would like to see all the big name motorcycle builders challenge themselves and make a kustom bicycle that could be a flagship for their businesses. I think it would be a great marketing tool for them and it would probably get them more attention than anything they could imagine.
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Brain: In the last few years we've seen incredible growth in the worldwide kustom bicycle movement, what do you think about the European scene; and would you like to go over sometime and take part in some of the big events that they have?
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Hannan: Oh yeah,  I would like to, they seem to have a kind of philosophy that if a bike has big, big tires they consider it probably less than ideal for road use. We had an Internet competition a while back and I think the Europeans didn't give my bikes a lot of votes because of this. I would like to fly to Europe and ship a bike over, and show them that my bikes are great road machines. I think they would be surprised to see what my bikes are capable of, and be proved wrong. I would like to see if they could keep up with me; it would be fun to make the trip, anyways.
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Brain: Now, I don't remember ever hearing the European guys giving your bikes a thumbs-down. I'm sure that they would enjoy your company on a road trip. It sounds like what you would like to do is go over and show people in other parts of the world that "extreme" can work.  I can understand how people might be skeptical unless they've seen it with their own eyes. The sheer size of the rear wheels and tires you use is so mammoth that it may take seeing it in real life to be believed. Or, better yet, giving the skeptics a road test. Any thoughts on when you might get over to Europe, Eric?

Hannan:  Oh I don't know; unfortunately  it's not really something that I can fit into my schedule right now. I have a lot of projects I need to get done; and I have many months of work ahead of me to fill orders right now,  that I have to get done before the summer.
Then, when summer arrives I will still be busy with promotions and other projects. I hope to make the trip to Europe someday with my wife. I'm building her a small bobber-style bike to ride. I don't know when, but I would like to make it over eventually. I met Rhalf from The Chopperdome in Wasaga Beach last year. I think he was skeptical about my bikes at first; but I think he changed his mind once he rode them. Maybe I will get to ride with him in Amsterdam some day in the future. But I can't say when it's going to happen exactly.

Brain: Eric, on behalf of BikeRod&Kustom we appreciate your taking the time for this interview. Best of luck with your projects, and here's to future success in your business.

Hannan: Thank you John, I enjoyed doing the interview; say hi to Jim Wilson for me.
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