Author Topic: I'm Treading Into Unknown Waters! TITS Content! FINISHED (Read 8520 times)

renegaderacer · « **on:** February 07, 2013, 01:08 AM »

I've finally taken the plunge (with a little push) and got my first mid-school bike!

Thanks to Londonhellboy, I'm now the proud owner of an Ace Racing 'The T.I.T.S' frame and fork.

I tried to find out something about the company and bike but had little luck apart from they were made by the same people who made Pro-Lite and I think, Fishbone, amongst others. The company is now called Mission Bikes, I believe.

Looking through my old Ride mags, it seems only Cycle Sport UK advertised them from around the end of '94 onwards under the section for Pro-Lite bikes.

I found an ad in the June/July '95 issue of Ride for the bike and it says 'as seen in Ride'. Unfortunately, I have no previous issues from '95, so if anyone has any I would be very grateful if you could look for any tests on it.

It's impressively light being full 4130 chromoly and is about the same size as my Badlander (roughly holding it up next to it).

The initials stand for Totally Intergrated Technology System, which is just a poor excuse to write TITS on the side of the bike!

I was toying with the idea of getting Del to knock me up some new decals but I'm going to leave it in survivor condition and just clean the frame up so it's spotless!

Now I have a small picture of the bike, I could rebuild it to as standard as I can work out but I'm going to ride this and if I'd bought it BITD, I would have changed things straight away. With that in mind, I'm going to dress it with the finest ~~tack~~ components only mid-school bmx companies could do. After all it does say TITS on the side!

As they are connected to Fishbone, I'm going to raid their parts bin amongst others, whilst parts are still cheap.

They seem pretty rare and I've never seen another, so I'd like to find out as much as I can about them, The serial number's KC5B0010, so maybe this is the tenth one made?

So here it is, what do ya think?......................

Gnarlyscoots · « **Reply #1 on:** February 07, 2013, 01:27 AM »

Awesome bro

Can't wait to see this built up and actually get to go on it

Jaymz · « **Reply #2 on:** February 07, 2013, 06:26 AM »

Is there a manufacturers name etched into the steerer of the forks? I have a set that came with that decal on and thought it was just a sticker

Mark1 · « **Reply #3 on:** February 07, 2013, 06:30 AM »

Glad to see this has gone to a good home and that its going to get built

Well done on the detective work youve found out more in a day than i could find in nearly a year

Cant wait to see this built, good luck man

renegaderacer · « **Reply #4 on:** February 07, 2013, 07:19 AM »

Quote from: Jaymz on February 07, 2013, 06:26 AM

Is there a manufacturers name etched into the steerer of the forks? I have a set that came with that decal on and thought it was just a sticker

I'll have a check for you when I get back from work.

renegaderacer · « **Reply #5 on:** February 07, 2013, 07:24 AM »

Quote from: mark1 on February 07, 2013, 06:30 AM

Glad to see this has gone to a good home and that its going to get built Well done on the detective work youve found out more in a day than i could find in nearly a year Cant wait to see this built, good luck man

Cheers and thanks for selling it,

I must admit, it took a lot of hunting around to find anything on it as I'm sure you're well aware!

Can't wait to get this built and ride it in anger!

Giles

GavinDavis · « **Reply #6 on:** February 07, 2013, 07:28 AM »

I like it

.....good looking frameset and the fact that it says "the tits" on the side makes it an instant winner

renegaderacer · « **Reply #7 on:** February 07, 2013, 03:36 PM »

Quote from: Jaymz on February 07, 2013, 06:26 AM

Is there a manufacturers name etched into the steerer of the forks? I have a set that came with that decal on and thought it was just a sticker

Just had a look at them and it says 'APREBIC' on the steerer.

Does this mean anything to you?

Jaymz · « **Reply #8 on:** February 07, 2013, 05:58 PM »

Quote from: renegaderacer on February 07, 2013, 03:36 PM

Quote from: Jaymz on February 07, 2013, 06:26 AM
Is there a manufacturers name etched into the steerer of the forks? I have a set that came with that decal on and thought it was just a sticker

Just had a look at them and it says 'APREBIC' on the steerer.

Does this mean anything to you?

i will have to check but I think I have a set of those forks

renegaderacer · « **Reply #9 on:** February 10, 2013, 06:08 PM »

Did a bit more work on the bike over these last few days.

De-rusted the frame and forks but noticed the chrome has a protective coating on it which makes it hard to polish up, so I've cleaned it up and left it looking survivor style.

Was going to get an Odyssey Gyro but bought a Fishbone X-UFO gyro instead as I wanted the components to be more mid-school and I know people used Gyro's for years but they were 10 years old by the time this bike was made.

Bought some dodgy, mid-school, NOS, flatland style bars purely because they were cheap at £11.99 delivered. I will change them in the future if they look terrible. They're kind of a KHE Phil Dolan rip-off................kinda!

As everyone had bloody huge pegs around that time, I picked up some bargain Fishbone pegs for £5 a pair, delivered! While I was at it, I picked up a NOS Fishbone seat clamp for £3, delivered!

I know some of these parts are a little later but they're still mid-school and if I had this bike back then, I would've been constantly changing parts as things wore out or better parts became available. Just like anyone else would. This isn't meant to be a restoration, it's just a fun build, captivating the mid-school spirit!

I managed to pick up some cheap 3 piece cranks off The Captain and decided to try and polish them up.

Before..........

After............

And on the bike.............

Well, I'm pretty much there now. Everything else is on order apart from wheels and tyres and pedals and chainring. Just got to wait for the poxy weather to improve now!!

Giles

bobbbbsy · « **Reply #10 on:** February 10, 2013, 06:16 PM »

nice - wont be hard to find a compact disk !!

GavinDavis · « **Reply #11 on:** February 10, 2013, 06:39 PM »

Looks good! Will definitely be a good rider

Discostu · « **Reply #12 on:** February 10, 2013, 07:15 PM »

Nice work giles.

Mark1 · « **Reply #13 on:** February 11, 2013, 10:18 AM »

Wish i kept it now

. I know what you mean about the coating over the chrome its really weird stuff

Will follow this to see the end result, well done man

renegaderacer · « **Reply #14 on:** February 11, 2013, 10:29 AM »

Thanks for the kind comments guys! I'm pretty sure this isn't going to be everybody's cup of tea but that par for the course with my builds!

renegaderacer · « **Reply #15 on:** February 11, 2013, 10:32 AM »

Quote from: mark1 on February 11, 2013, 10:18 AM

Wish i kept it now . I know what you mean about the coating over the chrome its really weird stuff Will follow this to see the end result, well done man

Well, I'm glad you sold it!

That coating stuff is like the super chrome you got on Burners. At least it's protected the frame well. It'd look really good if it was all stripped off but then you'd have to replace the decals and I want to leave it all original.

renegaderacer · « **Reply #16 on:** February 12, 2013, 12:57 AM »

Another day, another delivery!

Picked up a pair of Bulldogs off Gav, which I gave a quick clean and just bolted on. Normally, I'd be doing a full resto on them but this is going to be a rider and eventually I want to change them for a Boa up front with a Pitbull on the rear, so these are fine for now. If anyone's got a cap for the front bolt though, that would be nice!

My Fishbone levers came through too and in my eyes anyway, they're the nuts! Really nice feel, hinged clamp with sprung lever and skulls on the ends!

Bolted them to the bars and fitted ODI Longnecks which originally resided on my Badlander many years ago and all of a sudden, the bars don't look too bad after all.

ED209 · « **Reply #17 on:** February 12, 2013, 07:42 AM »

you can get that coating off with Synstrip if you were ever bothered

nice progress

GavinDavis · « **Reply #18 on:** February 12, 2013, 07:45 AM »

Thats starting to look really cool Giles

....Glad you got the calipers ok. Those levers are nuts, didnt realise they had skull ends until I saw the last pic

renegaderacer · « **Reply #19 on:** February 12, 2013, 08:05 AM »

Quote from: gavindavis on February 12, 2013, 07:45 AM

Thats starting to look really cool Giles ....Glad you got the calipers ok. Those levers are nuts, didnt realise they had skull ends until I saw the last pic

Cheers Gav,

Glad you like it!

Must admit, I did buy the levers just for the skulls!

Quote from: ED209 on February 12, 2013, 07:42 AM

you can get that coating off with Synstrip if you were ever bothered

nice progress

Cheers Ed,

I was thinking about it but I wouldn't be able to do it without taking the original decals off, so I'll leave it survivor for now but if I can get Del to make me some replica decals in the future, then the coating's coming straight off!

thecaptain · « **Reply #20 on:** February 12, 2013, 06:23 PM »

looking cool as hell, glad myy cranks went to good use!

renegaderacer · « **Reply #21 on:** February 13, 2013, 08:14 AM »

Got my new seat yesterday. I always liked these BITD and nowadays when you want to sit down a bit more, they're definately more comfy than plastic!

renegaderacer · « **Reply #22 on:** February 14, 2013, 06:45 AM »

Right, here's a bit more info I found out on these bikes!

Webbie very kindly gave me a copy of the April/May '95 issue of Ride where they did a mini test on this bike.

Turns out they were made in colaboration with Pro-Lite for Ace Racing and it shares it's frame and forks with Pro-Lite's Heavy As Feather. The forks were made in the same factory as Haro bikes and are basically Haro Shredder items. Pro-Lite's Heavy As Feather also has kneesaver bars with chevrons on the sides and they both have unbranded Fusion style stems. It also has a 35in wheelbase which Ride say makes it good for mini-ramp and flatland which is perfect as that's what I want to use it for!

Quick run down of the stats:

FRAME: '95 Ace Racing TITS, 4130 cromoly, 13/8ths inch downtube, 1 1/4 inch toptube, 5/8ths inch seatstays and chainstays, 34 1/2 to 35 1/2 inch wheelbase, 14 1/2 to 15 1/2 inch rear triangle, 17 1/4 inch long toptube.
FORK: TITS, 4130 cromoly, tapered legs (Haro Shredder forks)
HANDLEBAR: 2pc, cromoly
STEM: Aluminium head, cromo shaft, like a Fusion
HEADSET: Generic
GRIPS: Pro-Lite
SEAT: Velo (Dominator style)
SEATPOST: Layback, cromoly
SEATCLAMP: Aluminium, single bolt
Crank: 1pc, cromoly (similar to Redline or GT)
CHAINWHEEL: Compact Disc
PEDALS: DX Platforms
CHAIN: Generic
BOTTOM BRACKET: Generic
TYRES: 1.75" blackwall
WHEELS: 48 hole aluminium rims, Sovos high flange sealed mech
BRAKES: Odyssey caliper front and rear
LEVERS: MX88 copy, sprung
EXTRAS: Odyssey Gyro, steel thread-on pegs all round (like Fusion)
COLOURS: Chrome
PRICE: £279

Got some more parts through yesterday. Ed sent me a lovely polished DK stem, I got a cap for the pivot bolt on the front Bulldog and I recieved what probably is going to be the most contraverial part of the build, Odyssey Triple Traps! I know they're race pedals and I know they're huge but I wanted a big, chunky pedal to go with the oversive parts I'm fitting to this and I think with a 3pc crank, it doesn't look too bad! So, I'm sorry Terry, they're staying for now. You'll just have to trust me!

Much better with the end cap

Ooh err, do I, don't I............

Obviously, I do.....................for now!

Lovely, polished DK stem

I've finally ordered everything I need, just got to wait for it to all turn up. Hope it turns out the way I see it in my head now!

renegaderacer · « **Reply #23 on:** February 14, 2013, 06:15 PM »

My WTP chainring I bought off bullseye arrived today and I was going to leave it black but changed my mind decided to try and polish it up. Didn't come out too bad but there are a few marks I couldn't get rid of (need new mops), so I might sticker bomb it. Not sure yet................. $:-\$

Sorry about the blurry pics........