"It's a bicycle, how hard could that be?" "Will you take a hundred? NO? Maybe five hundred?" See, they have no idea what I've been through, or the fact that the tubing and gas alone is worth more than a hundred; not to mention that I consider it a work of art. "So how about $1500?" |
Marty Eden is such a ball of fire when it comes to both building bikes and talking about it, that we've invited him to start doing a regular column for BR&K. We have no idea what sort of craziness he'll be coming up with, so don't expect any guesses from us. It's fairly safe to predict that it'll be interesting, though. Having said that- here it is: |
Hi everyone, it's Marty from Maui; yes, the "Conduit King". Say, where was I? Oh well, it seems I was told to pick up my five bikes from California within thirty days, or possibly never see 'em again. So what's a guy to do, but jump on a plane and go get the bikes Gary Turner was sitting on? And much to my surprise, no tire treads across any of 'em! No, they were all well taken care of; and the day I showed up in Perris (Gary Turner's new digs), I walked in the roll-up door and here sits a line of American Legend Chopps ready to go to paint. Man they were big buggers! I think only I could ride 'em though, 'cause I'm six foot. But hey- they were welded by some of the best welders in the world. |
I'm buggin' 'cause I'm a bit lost as to how he figured the biggest buying market would be the well-grown adult. Maybe I'm wrong, but I know Pacific Cycle has just stumbled upon the biggest and most successful-selling bicycle of all time with their youth-oriented new Schwinn Stingray. Pacific is even introducing a Jesse James/West Coast Choppers bike very soon, and it won't fit any six-foot-tall man. I sure hope those Pacific Cycle executives call me, 'cause man, I'd sure like to sell a lot of bikes, and not just a few. But enough said about that. First of all, I need to thank Jim Wilson. He must be crazy for letting me write another article, 'cause we both laughed how we will probably need to put up the disclaimer on it. But it makes for some interesting reading right? So what th' hey! |
I told Jim if I was going to write a column each issue, I really wanted to write about things that will really help people become better builders. So, in each issue, I won't be buggin' too much- just helpful hints on construction and repair. I did spend many years being a bike mechanic doing most every repair, as well as assembling thousands of bikes, in my days working for seven different bike shops. Over the last couple of months I've built quite a few new bikes; and it's my focus now to just get crazy with it! It's kinda nice right now not being under contract, 'cause I get to do anything I want, and go in any direction I want. And I have. I've got |
five new bikes done right now; and by the next issue expect to see even more done, and all lined up on the beach, with some Hot Chicks on 'em ! And of course, I'll be sitting on one to provide some eye candy for the ladies! I wrote this before and I'll write it again: When you become the artist, you can do whatever you want. If I want to make a bicycle that looks like a train, then I will; and I'm gonna! I call it Crazy Train and it will be finished in time for the next issue. |
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I've caught some flack over using conduit lately, and I gotta laugh; 'cause you're reading my article and not any of theirs. I live on Maui, so everything's expensive and quality tubing is very pricey, and very dirty, of course. I drive Lana, my better half, crazy, when I start bending tubes in the house. But hey, conduit is clean and if you braze it all together, it can be extremely easy to work |
with. A year ago this time I did not know how to weld; I was actually tipping my neighbor with beer to weld my first couple of bikes together. He was getting tired of that, so I finally purchased some small tanks, and back to school I went. You learn fast- how to light it, knowing how hot you need it to get the braze to flow (just before you burn a hole in it). And then, you learn how to fix that because you will burn some holes in it! |
And everyone be careful! I've burnt myself many times and I've visited the mirror to pick metal out of my eye. Building bikes is fun, and can be extremely rewarding: but you do torture yourself a little. I've got holes in most of my shirts ( you hold the grinder right about belly button height, so sparks are just loving your t-shirts. You learn to cool things off before you go too far; or next thing you know you go to grab the thing and "YEE OUCH!!!WATER!!!" When I visited Perris last year, I was still picking a big scab off my leg: 'cause earlier I was welding, accidentally tipped the bike over, and it fell against my leg. Ahh!!! the smell of burning flesh! Hey, don't do that! |
Lately, through a couple of the kustom discussion lists, guys have brought up questions on buying tubing benders- you know, the hydraulic kind. I always answer the same way: don't waste your money. if you can't stand on the tube and bend it, then believe me, your bike is going to weigh as much as a car. And if you are one of these guys who insists on using cromoly, let me give you a salute- 'cause you must already be in the business of metal manipulation; because of all this machinery you need to just to bend and mill chromoly. I could build over a couple of hundred more bikes. Guys&Gals- build bikes for your self; forget about making other people happy. Oh, everyone I meet wants me to make 'em a bike; yet not one of these people cares to ever set foot in my garage. They just don't get it. They see the finished product and think, |
"It's a bicycle, how hard could that be?" "Will you take a hundred? NO? Maybe five hundred?" See, they have no idea what I've been through, or the fact that the tubing and gas alone is worth more than a hundred; not to mention that I consider it a work of art. "So how about $1500?" |
The Conduit King |
Visit Marty's Site |
