Freddy Madrigal AKA "Fred Nut" of Salida, California, is doing it again. After his trike, "Living Legend," was featured in the Winter 2000 issue of Lowrider Bicycle Magazine, Freddy knew what his next goal would be. With the Trike of the Year title in mind, Freddy decided to go for the gold and try to win the prestigious prize. Along with the support of his family, the young Legions Bike Club member knew that he would have to use some club resources in order to make a run at the top.
First on the agenda for Freddy's '76 Schwinn Apple Crate was to add on a few modifications. The result was a cantilever frame that featured a support bar with steps, lower shark fin, shaved chainguard, tilted seat post, and front and rear tanks. All of the metal work was done by Freddy's brother Felipe and his neighbor Larry at Larry's Customs in Salida, who left the body work ready for paint.
Once completed, the frame was taken to Poly's Kustoms in Modesto, California, where Poly plugged in and sealed the frame before applying a pearl white basecoat. Poly then proceeded to shoot the complete frame in House of Kolor candy magenta. The frame was then shipped to Allen's Signs in Salinas, California, who took on the pinstriping and airbrushing tasks. The frame and custom trunk were then buried in clearcoat and buffed out to leave it looking like glass.
The trike was now ready to be assembled, but not before being loaded with custom-built parts. With rumors of a few top trikes gunning for the Trike of the Year title, Freddy and Felipe didn't hold back. The brothers found a set of disc brakes and bolted it onto the front wheel. For wheels, Felipe took a stock set apart and relaced them with a six-spoke pattern. The wheels were then mounted in hard to find 20x1.75 Cheng Shin tires. The forks were also replaced with a new set of plasma-cut custom arms, which were used to accommodate Pro Hopper bicycle cylinders. The rear original Schwinn basket was also modified with plasma-cut wings and a custom Z-rack.
The rear basket was also hooked up with a custom hydraulics setup. The Sinister aluminum pump operates off of a Champion motorcycle battery that is mounted on the rear axle. For a hydraulic dump, Freddy turned to his father who used to low ride back in the day and his dad hooked him up with an original Adel dump that is used to control the flow of the hydraulic fluid. Once all of the custom parts were made, they were shipped to Hernan D'Aloia of Whittier, California, who engraved the metal pieces, and then taken to Juan at Golden Plating in Santa Fe Springs, California, who polished, chromed and gold plated the pieces in a winning combination.
The six-month re-do could not have been put together without the support and help of Freddy's family and his fellow Legions members. We're happy to see that Freddy accomplished his latest goal in the lowriding world. That Trike of the Year trophy has found a worthy home at Freddy's house, the home of a Living Legend.