pastorbobnlnh 

Many of you are familiar with the children's book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, written by Laura Numeroff and illustrated by Felicia Bond. It was published in 1985 and describes how the mouse, after receiving the cookie, requests a glass of milk, and next a straw, followed by.... The story is sort of about the Gift which keeps on Requesting.

Well, this is a tale about how a thread started by @jdawginsc Cool and Interesting Bar Tape, started me down a path in which one thing led to another, along a common theme.

jdawg's thread is about bar tape which has an alligator or crocodile pattern. I teasingly replied to the thread saying I had some cowhide embossed with a 'gator pattern and I could make bar covers which might look cool.


Not wanting to offer up vain promises, I started making covers for the bars I would use on a recent project. I soon decided the bar covers needed matching brake lever hoods and I made a pair at the same time.

(The imperfections in the bar wrap and hood are reflections)

Not surprisingly, the reaction to my work was mixed, with some loving, some hating, and others with no opinion. The naysayers, however, inspired me to go a little further. I figured I could tweak their sensibilities a little more, by making a saddle bag from the same hide.


As can be seen, I originally installed a black Brooks B-17 on this bike. I thought a blue saddle might look better, so I conducted a poll and asked if I should use the Black B-17, a Navy Blue Professional, or a Blue Denim Cambium. The Navy Blue Professional won by a slim two vote margin over the B-17.


However, that thread had at least one bad mannered BF member mouthing off about how "hideous" the 'gator bar covers, hoods and bag looked. His comments inspired me to propose a gator skin saddle. This time jdawg conspired with me and sent an early 1980s Avocet Racing saddle. Its cover was slightly damaged and peeling away from the base. Fortunately the base and padding were in good shape.



Without any further delays, I give you the one, the only, the original, Gatorcet Bike Saddle!



Now--- what's next? Shoe uppers? Handlebar bag? Frame pack?

What are your One Thing Leads to Another (OTLTA) projects?

merziac

Looks great, I dig it!

Do you anticipate it being a rider of much distance?

jdawginsc 

I vote for frame pack installed at the head-down-too tube junction. Thin to win.

...and the saddle looks great. Have you tried it out? Might need to wear a bit to soften up, but you gave that saddle new life!

AdventureManCO 

Maybe toe strap coverings? I completely respect and admire the DIY ethos and somewhere around here I've got some veg tan brake hoods that were on my Super Course when I had drop bars on it. The bar was wrapped with 1-2oz veg tan cowhide 1.5" strip leather. Here's a pic of a similar setup (sans leather brake hoods) with the same leather. It would be better if I had a setup to shave/taper the leather ends, but it still works well. As time goes on, they will age and darken with use and exposure.

nlerner

Bob, if you get some Speedblend tires on that rig, you’ll really be stylin’:

jadmt

mad skills for sure

sbarner 

It just screams to be mounted on an '80s Italian classic (any one, as they are all the same) fitted out with one of those gold plated Campy groups.

obrentharris 

Toe straps... shoes and gloves... Hairnet helmet!

Or you could give a whole new meaning to the term "skinsuit."

Brent

pastorbobnlnh 

I'm letting the glue cure for the next 3-4 days and I'll take it out for a 20-30 mile ride. I'll report back afterwards.

Actually, it is not hard at all. The cover is similar to the original, as far as give is concerned. I'll provide a ride report later next week.

I like the frame pack idea. I'll give it more thought.

Great suggestion! I'm using clipless now. I need to find a decent set of 1/2" pedals for the 1950's cottered crankset.

Thank you. Lots and lots of practice. Not all that different from teaching yourself how to service your own bikes.

Not a bad suggestion, but I'm sticking with the '75 Schwinn (Panasonic) Voyageur II, '51 Sturmey Archer AM hub, and '50 Schwinn crankset.

How about a couple of more pictures?



And before I started stitching, stretching, gluing, and clamping.

retswerb

Fellow leatherworker here - I'm in the can't-stand-the-look-of-that-leather camp but you sure do nice work.

pastorbobnlnh 

Neal, not a bad idea--- but I'm guessing they don't come in 27" versions for the SA AM wheel you sold me. Which continues to be a blast to ride.

pastorbobnlnh 

Thank you for the positive comments on my work. Sorry you don't care for my leather selection. As I mentioned in the beginning, the gator work was inspired by a joking comment about alligator or crocodile bar tape.

Have you checked out this thread, DYI Bag Making? Possibly you will like some of my other leather selections better. Don't ding me on some of my early attempts using tubular tires.

merziac

@pastorbobnlnh

I'm thinking about sweaty, humid, hot muggy temps on a long ride.

Any maroon gatorskin to be had?

retswerb

No offense intended or apologies needed - different strokes for different folks!

I perused that other thread with interest - some really nice work by you and others there as well. I haven't tried my hand at anything bike-related yet (other than leather-wrapped bars) but I'll definitely post here when I do.

philpeugeot 

Love how you went through all this work just to spite the person who bad mouthed the croc-skinned items.

non-fixie 

Well done sir!

Obviously you can't ride that in a hundrum cycling outfit. A pair of matching Chelsea boots are just what you need:



Oh, and gloves, of course:

pastorbobnlnh 

Wow! Those are so stylish! Beautiful work. I've been wanting to try my hand (sic) at gloves. I should YouTube to see if I can find anyone making fingerless ones.

Too be fair, I had been working on the Voyageur II build with the old Schwinn crankset and Sturmey Archer AM hub off and on all fall. I had to source a few parts from Great Britain and find other parts which I had stored from my move in 2021. Everything was in hand or in place by the New Year, with the exception of bar wrap. I had kept debating colors in my head, and all I could come up with was boring black. jdawg's thread got the creative juices flowing.

The negative comments from others kept upping the ante. And OTLTA! My response was; "So, you don't like this? How about this!"

Despite the despairing remarks, I've enjoyed being pushed to new aspects of leather crafting. It's just surprising, how some folks just have to open their mouths and let their vitriol out. I suppose they watch too much cable news and decide the world is a better place because they publicly shout out their opinion, when the rest of us could give a dam.

Personally, I am really enjoying the additional suggestions on things to make. Plus, a 'gator accessorized bike is perfect for my southern US island riding. I've had alligators in my driveway and spot them often on my rides.

The finish on the leather will repel the sweat, and my exceptional speed will disperse it off the back. Watch out riders, who try to draft me! They will be showered in butt sweat!
Like this?

(Alligator Hide on Ebay) Is this Maroon enough? I have some color blindness.


Brent, I missed your reply last evening. I've been pondering making a hairnet helmet. Now I know what hide to use for my first one!
Please post a photo here of your leather wrapped bars. We would love to see your work.

cudak888 

As always, fantastic stuff, Bob. Dare to be different!

I'm immensely curious how the saddle wears in and the stitching at the edges. Any miles on it yet?

-Kurt

P.S.: I think a Paramount needs one of these, don't you?

Chuck M 

I saw this thread yesterday and didn't open it for whatever reason. But I must say I'm very impressed with the craftsmanship and the overall unique style it gives the bike.

Saudadeii

Well played!! I think they look OUTSTANDING.

MooneyBloke

The sight of those stitches gave me nightmares about trashed shorts and wicked saddle sores. Maybe I'm over-reacting.

Darth Lefty 

My wife has this "dragon" purse that's an artificial gatorskin in iridescent unicorn colors. I think that's your next step.

merziac

Think Black Cherry, more black, I didn't see any big, dark enough pieces that weren't real, I think it needs to be the embossed stuff.

We'll see how yours does.

pastorbobnlnh 

I'll take the bike and Gatorcet saddle out for a 20-25 mile ride one day this week. I'll report back on any trashed shorts, saddle sores, or other anomalies. Being a Brooks guy, my guess is that it will be too soft.

I really just made it to see if I could successfully recover a saddle. I've never had great success with riding on anything other than a single layer of thick cow hide.

MooneyBloke

Given the cost of replacing a SSM Rolls these days, I can appreciate the thrift.

As far as any damage, you'd want to do some longer rides daily to get the true effects. I had a Fizik with stitched cover a while back, and while it didn't eat my shorts (stitches were internal), I certainly had evil saddle sores. I was doing daily 50 milers. I've not seen any issue like that with the SSM Rolls, but I also avoided the versions with the showy embroidery on the covers.