1998 Barracuda Cuda Cat XC

[Slow6]

Picked this up cheap a couple of days ago.. I really didn't have much clue apart from the fact that it reminded me of the catamount photos that I have seen on Bikepedia (searching for say 1996 front rear gives you a whole swag of full suss retro oddness) anyway.. usual disaster, quick offer and a short drive later I bought this home for $80 (45 poundsish?) Advertized as "BARRACUDA MIDNIGHT CLUB3 - DUB EDITION" I figured it would be an XC with a video game sticker on the top tube.. an XXC or an XXXC would have been using up too much of my limited luck reserve
It's well loved (yes it does come with a post clamp) and the top tube is scratched up but no rust, front forks and rear shock (although budget) are fine.
The freewheel was knackered and spinning freely both ways so the wheels in the photo are ring ins from another bike. I must say I thought a full steel frame like this might be too flexy but it rides surprisingly well, well enough that I'll be keeping a longer post and saddle handy for it so I can sneak it out when loml's not looking. It's destined for her, it only took one ride and she was sold.. it's a much more stable ride than her proflex which admittedly can be a little hairy off road.

Righto.. photos. HATING the silver/black.. seriously it makes me want to hurl it over the fence so it's defo getting a repaint of some kind. LOVE the Cuda decal.. can't wait to get that into photoshop.

 

[al]

45 nicker!!! blimey,didn't he do well.

Now take all the gears and spare bits off and go SS. You would be the most awsome bloke down your road!

Al.

 

[Slow6]

go SS

It's for the better half and no matter how much pleasure I take in watching her get up out of the saddle, somehow I don't think I'd get away with giving her a single speed.

Maybe I could get away with losing the granny.. I deserve a little fun

 

[jbsteven]

cool bike.

I've been rockin' this one since the mid 90's. It's got a few different parts on it now.

 

[Slow6]

Nice one There don't seem to many photos of these things around. It's nice to see that white suits it.
Plan is a simple white powder coat, fresh decals and some nicer bits if/when they come along. If I can hunt down a pair of white 26" deep V's I'd be a happy camper.

I did get of my rear last night and figured out what a vector is and started on the decal.. Still have to clean up the vector and add the teeth but here's my first few vague ideas. Any thoughts?

 

[saltyman]

any one of those will look good on a white frame.

 

[beepbeep]

Nice to see some 'Cudas
Liking yours jbsteven!

One these frames kept appearing on ebay a while back, I guess someone bought it. Got a feeling it was NOS.

Slow6 - Some advice with the decal design. I see from your vector that you've copied the photo. Because of this you can see that the top and bottom are a little out of proportion because of the decal wrapping around the frame. My advice is to (carefully ) remove the decal and take a photo of it flat to turn into a vector. More work I know, but I think you'll find that the results will be much better.

This I learnt when reproducing the decals for my Dagger...

 

[Slow6]

I was hoping you wouldn't say that
I did my best to un-squish the photo before starting the vector as the decals on the bike are under the clear top coat and I don't like my chances of getting them off even close to intact.

I think I'll try again anyway. The whole vector is a bit jagged and clunky.
I reckon there must be a tool or plug in designed to flatten out an image from a cylinder.. I did google it last night but just got a whole swathe of tutorials on how to MAKE cylinders in photoshop :?


Really nice bike that Dagger btw, would never have seen it if you hadn't posted. Cheers

What make are the red bear traps?

 

[beepbeep]

I reckon that'd be hard to do in Photoshop. A vector graphic program like Illustrator would probably give you more scope.

digitalkreation on here used to have a Barracuda website/forum which I believe has been taken offline now. Might be worth getting in touch with him, maybe he can help you with decals.

Thanks for the compliment!
Daggers are a bit like Barracuda in being unusual (but cool! )

The pedals are Odyssey Shark Bites. NOS ones can be often found on ebay UK for £10-15, you can usually get them in blue too.

 

[Slow6]

Shark Bites. Found em Thanks for that, they look much cleaner than the set I was about to pull the trigger on for the ground control.

I'll give digitalkreation a shout and see if he has something flat.

Cheers again!