SpokesPeople (2023/issue2)

Exclusive Feature with Jim Henderson, TRM Convertible Tanks

The world of custom bikes is stacked with myriads of bespoke bicycles known as rat rods – each as unique and different from the other. No two are quite alike and everything relies entirely on the imagination and creativity of its maker.

SpokesPeople had the privilege of interviewing one such custom-maker, known as The Renaissance Manufacturing Co., or TRM in short. Here’s a behind-the-scenes conversation with Jim Henderson, founder and brains behind the eye-catching, head-turning TRM bike models.

SP: What is TRM? What does it stand for and how did it come about?

Jim: The name originally came from my being known as ‘The Renaissance Man’ on a couple of online bicycle forums. That was eventually shortened to TRM and when I decided to start making custom bicycle parts, it just seemed logical to use the same moniker since many in that bicycle community were already familiar with me.

SP: Who are your customers and how do they come to know about you?

Jim: Simply put, our customers are people with a creative desire to customise a bicycle. To some degree, I think that everyone likes to add their own personal mark on whatever they can and do it by whatever means that they’re able to achieve. Even as kids, who didn't like to put stickers on their bikes? Or get really crazy with a can of aerosol paint at some point!

I believe that we all like to take something that’s common and make it into something that we can call our own. The convertible tanks have offered a way for our customers to build a unique custom bike without the need for extensive skill sets or expensive tools. The kits do require just enough work though to make it rewarding to the sense of pride that comes from doing it yourself.

Almost all of our customers have come to us by way of social media. As our Facebook followers have grown, it’s been amazing to see just how many countries from around the world are represented. At last count, there were bicycle enthusiasts from over 50 countries and every continent except for maybe Antarctica!

If you think about it though, custom bicycle hobbyists are a fairly niche group of people in any single given location. However, in today’s world, it’s much easier for small factions of cyclists to find each other and to connect all around the globe.

Much the same way that you at SpokesPeople found us. Thanks to the internet, we’ve been able to make our products available to practically anyone with a shipping address!

The Speedline Brat

Photo courtesy of TRM Convertible Tanks

The SPEEDLINE BRAT was built using the fiberglass reproduction TRM Speedline tank, chainguard, and rear carrier on an original 1930’s Shelby wishbone frame. Rather than build up a stock version of the classic Hiawatha Arrow bike, TRM decided to take some liberties with the design and create a brat-style custom.

SP: How does one go about customising a TRM convertible tank?

Jim: The first thing is to find a suitable girls’ bike to start with. Girls’ bikes are generally less expensive and vintage examples are easier to come by than the boys’ bikes from the same era. As a bonus, girls took better care of their bikes, so they’re typically in good condition! Back in 2014, I had the idea to make a ‘convertible’ tank that I could easily install on my wife’s early 1960’s Spaceliner bike.

When people contact me about purchasing a tank, I try to help them to determine if it’ll be a good fit for the bike that they have in mind. Even though the tanks can be made to fit many types of girls’ bikes, some flow better than others. Once the customer has the tank in hand, there’s an instruction sheet that explains the steps involved in mounting it.

Basically the two halves of the tank fit together like a clam shell. The customer has to match the tank up to the frame and then cut away notches in the fiberglass so that the halves clamp together over the bike’s frame. All of the work can be achieved using common tools like a drill or jigsaw and a file or sandpaper.

Once the tank fits the bike, it’s like a blank canvas ready to finish in any way that one sees fit. I'm always intrigued to see how everyone approaches their custom bikes using our tanks.

SP: What is your most ambitious/satisfying project to date? And why?

Jim: That’s a really tough question. I pour myself into every project that I take on, so each one has its own challenges and rewards. I suppose that if I had to choose just one, it’d be the Elgin ‘Decoluxe’.

I'm a huge fan of the 1930’s art deco styling and with that bike, I got to really immerse myself into the mindset of the great designers from that era. Before I started any work whatsoever, I did a lot of research and knew exactly what I wanted.

It was very satisfying to work through the process and see it come together. That bike was eventually sold to an art collector in San Francisco that specialises in art deco pieces. That was confirmation to me that I had achieved the styling goals that I had set for it.

Jim and his signature – Elgin ‘Decoluxe’

Photo courtesy of TRM Convertible Tanks

SP: Has TRM taken part in any custom bike competitions?

Jim: There’s an online build competition held annually at RatRodBikes.com that I participate in. In the years since TRM started, I’ve used the RRB build-offs as a showcase to demonstrate what can be done with our products. It's a great way to promote our parts and motivates me to get a bike built within a specific time frame.

When the competition ends, I end up with a new bike to ride and to take to shows! The competition requires you to keep a running journal on the builds, so it has also been a good way to show the process of installing parts in a step-by-step fashion as the work is happening.

Speedline Brat – Winner of 2022 Rat Rod Bikes Build Off

SP: Any plans for the future of TRM?

Jim: After the success of the convertible tanks, we started producing a few hard to find vintage parts. The most recent being our TRM Speedline Parts which includes fiberglass reproductions of 1930’s Shelby Airflow and Hiawatha tanks along with the Shelby Speedline chain guards and rear carriers. There are a couple more parts that I’m looking into adding to our vintage reproduction series for 2023.