With minimal skill and wrenching abilities, almost anyone could build this bike, according to Acme Choppers, with one exception: You have to know how to choose, and choose wisely. Sounds like advice for Indiana Jones, but for some builders, as simple and straightforward as it seems, parts selection is done unwisely. Picking parts wisely is like the internal life of each build at Acme in Meredith, NH, and keeping the shop in business, well, at least for the remainder of owners Wayne and his brother Jason's lives.
A common misconception about this bobber is most people think that it's more expensive than it really is. It's natural to see something and assume that if it looks pricey, then it is, which winds up (unfortunately) true in most cases. Some people gravitate towards the expensive things, thinking that they're always better, kind of like the knight in Indiana Jones (yes, we're back to that) choosing the fancy, jeweled cup, and...well...most of us know what happened to him.
Although you get what you pay for, there are ways to creatively cut your costs and have something that looks expensive without having to sell half your belongings on Craigslist. What you save in cost, however, you make up for in time. Many hours went into this bike, because "When you're not willing to spend the money, you make up for it in doing a lot of work," Wayne said. "It takes time or money, sometimes both." To help keep tabs on quality and keep their costs down, they make about 80 percent of each bike in-house and strive to give a decent price point to the regular working guy and gal.