![]() ![]() See Electra Bikes on REI Quick Facts About Electra Bikes Despite their humble beginnings, the Electra Bicycle Company is now owned by Trek after being bought by the American cycling giants in 2014, but their philosophy remains the same, to have fun on a bicycle and to make bikes that look and ride great. The Electra Cruiser gave the American people a more casual riding option in a market saturated by mountain and road bikes, making going to the grocery store or making short trips a more laid-back affair.īaensiger’s designs combined classic and contemporary, with the Electra Cruiser (the Electra DeLuxe Cruiser) featuring the now-famous two-tone paint scheme and the tag-line, “Modern cruisers, with modern components, for modern people”.Īs the years went by, further bike models were added to the range including the Townie, the Loft, and a range of kids bikes. Uninspired by the cycling scene at the time in the US, they wanted to bring back the fun of owning a bike and re-launched the ‘cruiser’ to the American market. Erforth was a salesman, and together they decided to launch the Electra Bicycle Company. Both Baensiger and Erforth grew up in Germany but were attracted to California by the sunshine and proximity to the beach.īaenziger was a graphic designer formerly working with Adidas and other sports brands before deciding to turn his talent to bicycles. There is a Rat Fink poster on the blue wall at stage left in The Pee-wee Herman Show.Electra bikes or the Electra Bicycle Company was founded in Leucadia, California in 1993 by two German friends Benno Baenziger and Jeano Erforth. The song was featured in the film Beavis and Butthead Do America, along with an animated sequence reminiscent of Ed Roth's artistic style.įink's, a bar-and-grille in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is named in tribute to Rat Fink. The band White Zombie produced a song titled "Ratfinks, Suicide Tanks, and Cannibal Girls". West Coast and in Australia (Roth drew Rat Fink artwork for the album Junk Yard by the Australian band The Birthday Party). Roth's lucrative idea to paint hideous monsters - including the Rat Fink of the title - on children's T-shirts.Ī Rat Fink revival in the late 1980s and the 1990s centered on the grunge/ punk rock movements, both in the U.S. ![]() Ogling fins and drooling over fenders, the movie traces the colorful history of the hot rod from speed machine to babe magnet and, finally, museum piece and collector's item. Jeannette Catsoulis reviewed in The New York Times: Rat Fink and Roth are featured in Ron Mann's documentary film Tales of the Rat Fink (2006). ![]() Sloane and Steve Fiorilla, who illustrated Roth's catalogs. Other artists associated with Roth also drew the character, including Rat Fink Comix artist R.K. Rat Fink continues to be a popular item to this day in hot rod and Kustom Kulture circles in the form of T-shirts, key chains, wallets, toys, decals, etc. The initial run of the kit was from 1963 to 1965, but the Rat Fink kit, along with Roth's other creations, has been re-issued by Revell over the years. Also in 1963, the Revell Model Company issued a plastic model kit of the character. The ad called it "The rage in California". Rat Fink was advertised for the first time in the July 1963 issue of Car Craft. His T-shirt designs inspired an industry. By the August 1959 issue of Car Craft, "weirdo shirts" had become a craze, with Ed Roth at the forefront of the movement. Roth began airbrushing and selling "weirdo" T-shirts at car shows and in the pages of hot rod publications such as Car Craft in the late 1950s. He is often seen driving cars or motorcycles. Rat Fink is usually portrayed as either green or gray, comically grotesque and depraved-looking with bulging, bloodshot eyes, an oversized mouth with sharp, narrow teeth, and wearing red overalls with the initials "R.F." on them. Roth conceived Rat Fink as an anti-hero to Mickey Mouse. Rat Fink is one of several hot rod characters created by artist Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, one of the originators of Kustom Kulture of automobile enthusiasts. ![]()
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