I promised this last week but (insert lousy excuse here). Here is J-Dogg's entry that netted him a copy of HL2. He might not have won over all, but he did beat everyone on PR.

So there you are, braking deep, forks bottomed, the back wheel locks up on the road stripes as you downshift into 2nd gear exiting Babc0ck street and turning onto Port Malabar Rd. You come wide, like the sport bike guys do, start on the outside of the turn, ease the front wheel ever so daintingly close to the inside of the curb, digging into that ragged rubber edge much like balancing a grape on a knife, then swing those huge ape-hanger handlebars wide back to the outside like you were Lance himself. You then proceed to wind that 54-tooth Iron Cross big ring as far as it'll go in 3rd, then throw the stainless steel Shimano Click-Shift into 4th.

A gentle 65*F seabreeze helps keep things cool as it is 6AM. You blast through the alleyways and backroads at 30-plus through black and white, but daylight is slowly creeping up in the East, and you still need your lights so the rest of the sheep in their cars can see you as your crap stock Weinmann brake pads couldn't stop Rat Fink in a Hot Wheels car let alone a 185-pound mass of muscle hurtling down the road. The last thing you need is having to tell your supervisor you can't come to work because you lost a game of knee hockey to a patch of blacktop.

The road quality is that of a washboard, as your balloon fenders reassure you of this fact because they are rattling worse than the trunk of a poorly-insulated Caprice Classic toting 15" Rockford Fosgate subs.

By now you're probably clipping along at 30 miles an hour riding half past 6th gear and dialing into that 13-tooth 7th gear. It's all Mount Everest from here. The tall gearing helps you coax the 1020 lightened steel frame to 40-mph. 26-inch aluminum feet wearing 1 inch wide tread up front, and a 3 inch wide rear wheel out back make for an inefficient ride, but who gives a f*ck about efficiency when you're on a custom-built Schwinn Sting-Ray?

If it were an ice cream, it would be an Arctic Swirl with all the toppings on it. If it were a supermodel it would be Jenna Jameson donning a pearl necklace, and only that. If it were music, it would be ZZ Top. This is a bike unlike any other, because it is modded. It is a one-off, a custom. It makes a statement, one of defiance and non-conformitism. It's refusing to accept the status quo, resisting the desire to comply with the rest of society for they are all sheep and look the same, but because you practically raped your mountain bike with a Dremel, a couple trips to your neighborhood Schwinn dealer, some Loctite and an imagination as colorful as two men holding hands during a Gay Pride Parade, you are different from the rest of society and therefore you have modded yourself. The popular belief is that modding is limited to the Silicon World but everywhere you look, our society immerses itself in modification, in the form of customized hot rods, choppers, lowriders, even something as simple as painting your house or sprucing up your front yard. Modding is an artform much like ceramics and single-stroke. It's casting practicality to the wind in favor of stunning curves and absolute raw unbridled performance. People ask you if your bike came like that, and trying your damnest not to grin you reply "No I built it. It's a custom".

Some people say the finished product is the ultimate prize of modding. Others say it's the process of modding that pays off the most. But there is no feeling quite like that of pulling up next to a geek-wobbler on a Bianchi while you, on your Sting-Ray with your black West Coast Choppers tee, cheap sunglasses, your "New York brim and goatee display", just nod and say "Great night for riding, a'int it?"

For me, modding isn't breaking out the Dremel and peeling open a computer case like a can of sardines. It isn't even drooling over the finished product which could pass for a sequel to "Independence Day"

For me, modding is guys on motorcycle choppers giving you the thumbs-up at a stoplight. It's all the looks on the faces of people when I careen through Downtown Melbourne weaving in and out of traffic. Because I know nobody, not a soul in the world, owns a bike much like this.

Double post.. but my thread, sue me. J-Dogg. You know you could've won, but you made some mistakes. I can't help but point out that you talk about your bike WAY to much. Your final line is about no bike like this not even no rig like this.

Quote: Originally Posted by j-dogg For me, modding is guys on motorcycle choppers giving you the thumbs-up at a stoplight.

You have watched Groove one too many times, eh j-dogg?
Excellent writeup though, but you still aren't converting me to Schwinnism.

Actually no, I have never heard of Groove, nor do I watch much TV or movies. Maybe a couple flicks here and there, a good pr0n every once in a while, Lost and Blue Collar TV. Foxworthy is the funniest comedian alive, better than Carlin, probably because I can relate to a lot of what Foxworthy talks about.

Infact I didn't even watch the Tour this year, and last year I only watched Stage 18, Limonges, that's a critical stage in the Tour, because I would rather be out there doing it than watching someone else on TV do it

i had a stingray once, i think i was maybe 9 or 10 at the time. now i ride a cannondale. use to race too, when i lived in n. carolina.

I've got a 1995 DiamondBack Vertex TR Team Issue....same one that their pro team used to race except mine was made from cromoly steel while theirs was made from carbon. I used to spend tons of money on that thing every year, updating the brakes to the "V-Brake" style once they hit the market.

It got a little too abused riding over in Italy and a few years ago when I was in California, I got it back out again to ride the hills down towards Santa Cruz. It was feeling a little shaky and sure enough, too much frame stress. So, I went out and spent $400 on a new Schwinn Homegrown dual suspension frame.

Want to know where that's at right now?

When I moved from Cali to Minnesota in 1992, the packers wrapped it in packing paper and it went straight to my closet once I got to Minneapolis. Well, it's still sitting in my closet....poor thing.

Congrats J-Dogg and if I ever hear of a Schwinn mod for the HL2, I'll be sure to drop you a line.

Rob

Quote: Originally Posted by Rob I've got a 1995 DiamondBack Vertex TR Team Issue....same one that their pro team used to race except mine was made from cromoly steel while theirs was made from carbon. I used to spend tons of money on that thing every year, updating the brakes to the "V-Brake" style once they hit the market. It got a little too abused riding over in Italy and a few years ago when I was in California, I got it back out again to ride the hills down towards Santa Cruz. It was feeling a little shaky and sure enough, too much frame stress. So, I went out and spent $400 on a new Schwinn Homegrown dual suspension frame. Want to know where that's at right now? When I moved from Cali to Minnesota in 1992, the packers wrapped it in packing paper and it went straight to my closet once I got to Minneapolis. Well, it's still sitting in my closet....poor thing. Congrats J-Dogg and if I ever hear of a Schwinn mod for the HL2, I'll be sure to drop you a line. Rob

Dual suspension? In 1992? That sounds a LOT like a Moab. That's a bike sought after by collectors much like the Sting-Ray because it was one of their last bikes before they were bought out by Pacific.

Quote: Originally Posted by j-dogg Dual suspension? In 1992? That sounds a LOT like a Moab. That's a bike sought after by collectors much like the Sting-Ray because it was one of their last bikes before they were bought out by Pacific.

Whups! My bad...meant to type 2002. It is a dual Homegrown from Schwinn. Wanna trade the frame for your RAM?

Rob

I have a dual suspension moutain bike of some sort in the garage rusting away. I used to ride when I was on my healthy kick.

Now I wait for the day I can Buy a Big Dog Chopper, 135 Cubic Inches on two wheels feels good. Of course it will be a while, $20,000.00 price tag.......OUCH

When I win the next Corsair TwinX kit giveaway, maybe.