I ain’t afraid of no ghosts! Jeff sent in a Ghostbusters-themed Surly Ghost Grappler for this week’s Readers’ Rides and we can’t wait to show you all the details. Let’s get to it!
We run an independent bicycle shop in a small town in Kansas. During the cold of winter when things slow down we get bored and spend a lot of time brainstorming crazy ideas. Most of our crazy ideas provide a few minutes of entertainment and produce nothing more than a few chuckles, groans or eye rolls. But, when Jon, our shop mechanic, suggested we make a Ghost Busters Bike out of a Surly Ghost Grappler we knew we had to do it. We immediately called our good friend Mark, owner of Groody Bros. Bicycle Restoration, and ran the idea by him. He loved the concept and agreed to do the powder coating and frame preparation for the bike.
A few weeks later we drove to Topeka to drop the frame off at Groody Bros. Over barbecue and beers we fleshed out our plan with Mark. By this time our idea had expanded to include an Intergalactic Surly Summit event at our shop. This would be a great way to show off our creation and also serve as a hard deadline to keep the project on track. April 1, (Fool’s Day) seemed like the obvious day for the summit.
We started gathering the parts to complete the build and Mark started working on the frame. Everything came together the week before the Intergalactic Surly Summit. Mark delivered the frame along with a surprise. He had crafted a Ectoplasm Ghost Trap device out of bicycle parts and other odds and ends. Mark animated the Ghost Trap with working lights, switches, and sound. We attached the device to the back of the bike on an Old Man Mountain Rack using a few Voile Straps. The Ghost Catcher was the cherry on top and really made the bike pop.
We had a great turnout for our Intergalactic Surly Summit which included a bike show, swap meet, food truck, a poker run bike ride, and a visit to our local brewery. In the middle of the event, we rolled out the bike to the Ghost Busters soundtrack. We had so much fun that we’ve decided to make Intergalactic Surly Day an annual event to be held on the first Saturday of April.
It was really satisfying to see our plan come together and everyone enjoyed seeing the bike. We’re not sure how we can raise the bar for next year. Our thanks to Mark at Groody Bros for making this bike and event special.
Build Spec:
- Frame: Surly Ghost Grappler size Medium
- Powder Coat by Groody Bros. Bicycle Restoration: East Side Pearl White with Red accents
- Hubs: Spank Hex
- Rims: Velocity Blunt 35 polished
- Tires: Teravale Coronado 27.5 x 3
- Rack: Old Man Mountain Elk Horn
- Bars: Ritchey Comp Beacon XL
- Drivetrain: Microshift Advent X
- Pedal: SupaCaz
- Saddle: Brooks B67
We’d like to thank all of you who submitted Readers Rides builds to be shared here at The Radavist. The response has been incredible and we have so many to share over the next few months. Feel free to submit your bike, listing details, components, and other information. You can also include a portrait of yourself with your bike and your Instagram account! Please, shoot landscape-orientation photos, not portrait. Thanks!
