W.I.P. — MKE Bruiser 700c ATB Ratbike Rebuild

I’ve been excited about this build-in-progress and wanted to share a bit about it as I go. It’s basically the 3rd iteration of my original Milwaukee Bikes Bruiser frameset which I purchased the year of release (‘09ish I wanna say?). At the time, I was a courier in NYC. fast-forward 15yrs and I live a couple hours north of the city, with a vastly different lifestyle, and different bike needs. Two other recent build projects have had me dipping back into my life-Long bike obsession, and it seems like it’s time to give the Bruiser a refresh as well.

Stripping the frame was not my initial intention, but the 15yo GunKote black finish was a lot worse for the wear after years of neglect, so I started at it with a wire brush on a drill. This is about the least efficient way to approach this, but it’s been strangely satisfying, and the aesthetic imperfections that come with the process have turned out to be pretty interesting. My 9yo son has been helping with the task, and is trying to convince me we should leave it in the state it’s currently in—a half-stripped back-to-front silver-Black fade of sorts—so at his suggestion we threw it all together a couple days ago as a sort of quick mock-up, even tho some of the parts are placeholders.

A mix of old and new components, the frame’s evolving patina, and a few choice shiny bits give off a nice rat rod vibe. It’s rolling on Velocity Chukkers laced to 36-Hole Profile fixed hubs, now wrapped in a UD Rosé 42c tire up front and a Cava 39c in the rear. Beat-up old Omniums with a 42-tooth Zen Messenger ring and a 17T EAI cog for the drivetrain, Animal BMX pedals with Burro straps to make it go. It’s got an Izumi chain on the way as well as a fresh rear cog as the current one is pretty chewed up (Final chain will also be the proper length unlike the current placeholder so the wheel will be further towards the BB as it should be 🙂

The current repro-Turbo saddle is held up by an EXA Form 27.2 Dropper post secured by a brass clamp from Monē, and will be replaced by a vtg Bernard Hinault Turbo in worn brown leather. Cockpit is a Thomson stem w more Monē brass on top, some Doom Bars, and lock-on Ourys on top of a Chris King Headset.

I test-mounted one of two Widefoot Cargo Cages today with some of the King Cage universal support bolts and it seems to hold well and work great 🙂 I’ll likely add a light front rack, and/or some stem or bar bags at some point for longer rides where I need to carry shit and make use of all that wide-bar real estate. I’ve never ridden fixed with a brake, but I’m Considering one. Prolm is I kinda want it to be a disc and that triggers some more modifications I probably can’t make right now (gotta stop somewhere, right?!😭)

Still gotta figure out the final finish. Leave as-is? Tear it back down and wire brush it all? To clear or not to clear after? Or just do it “right” and media blast it hahaha. In the meantime I took it for a test ride and it was a blast. Look forward to finishing it up once the final parts arrive and giving it a proper outing on dirt to asses its capabilities. Stay tuned…