However not being part of the earliest craze...I was definately in a "craze"...late 80's/early 90's...I remember all of us kids in the neighborhood would all get on our bikes and ride all over town all day, everyday. Aimlessly most of the time, just to ride and have a good time doing it...gone are those days, that's for sure.
FWIW, I had an actual "BMX" (however I don't recall the name), then later got a PowerLite Fireball.
Location: Where everyone's grandparents come to die, FL
Quote:
Originally Posted by LT-4 CE
What years? I was very active when the NBL called their races, War of the Stars.
I'd have to say....1982-1985?? That's when I was the most active also.
The owner of the bike shop that sponsored me was also the director of our local track, so during those big events all the big name pros would stop in the bike shop and hang out, or we'd all meet out at the track for some private "practice" time a day or two before the race. Lots of fun. I'll break out the old photos tonight and scan them.
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Steve 1967 BB Tuxedo Black roadster 2007 Benz S550 Sport 2009 AO 1LT Coupe 2008 Ford F250 SD
Some of this stuff is big $$$$. The high end brands can get real crazy, depending on what you look for. Nomura, Cook Bros, JMC, early SE Racing, Redline, Hutch. Some high end parts alre also crazy $$$. Other than their Beartrap pedals, Hutch never really did anything for me. There are MANY Hutch fans out there though, & they pay!
I've seen, (All in NOS shape):
Hutch 3-piece Aerospeed cranks = $2500.+ (that's NOT a typo)
Hutch Beartrap pedals = $425.+
Hutch grips (black) = $200.+
Hutch RadKaps (black) = $100.+ (for valvestem caps!)
Old school BMX prices are pretty close to having doubled in the past 5 years. Some parts are starting to get really scarce.
Whoa! No wonder someone stole my NOS Mongoose! And it was stolen at least 10 years after I last rode it!
I raced from and did Freestyle 1980 to 1987 and did a bunch of freestyle competitions. In 1983 I rode with RL Osboure and Mike Buff at the ABA Winernationals in Chandler Arizona and it was a total blast because they were the gods at the time. Woody Itson had just launched the "dirt skirt" and Bob Haro was finalizing his deal with Torker to build his Haro Master...life was good. I lived in Tucson Arizona in the early 80's and raced at Reid Park, Manzatita (spelling), Chander, Casa Grande, Tempe and a few other tracks in Arizona. I eventually moved back to Ohio and turned B pro and raced pro cruiser.
I have had some trick bikes and parts over the years and I have a well known GHP Pro Cruiser that used to belong to another Pro Cruiser racer on this forum who would very much like to buy it back. I also have one of Brent Patterson's UNI #10 number plates from the Winternationals and yes it is signed by him. The plate is a 1983 vintage.
I have owned the following bikes: Gary Littlejohn, DG, Kuwahaha, GJS, MCS, Torker, Jag, Haro Master, Nomura, Rebel, SE Quad Angle, I have had 3 different sets of graphite tuff wheels with the campy hubs, had a set of sonlite hubs with some ukai rims, set of phil wood hubs, set of bullseye hubs, sunshine hubs, shimano cassette freewheel hubs, Redline flight cranks 400's and a set of the original 401 without the pinch bolds. Later I got a set of the 401s with the pinch bolts which were much nicer. I had a set of profile cranks which always came loose, I had a set of Shimano DX cranks which were the funky ones that you could adjust from 170 mm all the way up to 180 mm...were very heavy and not worth a darn but boy were they cool looking. We used to use easy off oven cleaner to remove the anodizing from our parts once they got all scratched up...boy was my mom mad at me! Had KKT lightnings on my first nice bike, then went to Shimano DX platforms, then to Hutch beartrap styl pedals. How many of you remember the original UNI seat with the bump on the back and the funky little rectangle on the front (ugly and uncomfortable). Then they swapped it for the UNI aero. My favorite seat was a Elina...oh and the most comfortable pair of grips I ever have were some OGK's that came on my new Kuwahara. I was one of the first guys around who ran a 39x14 gearing with a cassette hub...this was a near trick because it reduced drag, lighter weight gear set on the front and rear and I could run less change...the gearing was the same as a 44x16 ratio but you could actually get out of the gate with it better for some reason.
BMX was a huge part of my life and it sure brings back some wonderful memories. I will take some photos of my Brent Patterson plate and post it on here when I get some time.
NitrousSam / Sam Miller
If anyone has heard or seen Mark Bergenthal (old owner of Atomic Innovations I would love to exchange e-mails or talk with him...great guy who sponsored me)
Location: Everyday you must choose between the pain of discipline and the pain of regret. Fredericktown, OH
Quote:
Originally Posted by NitrousSam
II have had some trick bikes and parts over the years and I have a well known GHP Pro Cruiser that used to belong to another Pro Cruiser racer on this forum who would very much like to buy it back.
Judging by the number plates, jerseys, and everything else in those pictures, we were doing this at the exact same time. Did you get out of PA much to race the nationals?
Location: Everyday you must choose between the pain of discipline and the pain of regret. Fredericktown, OH
Here is a pic of me at the NBL Grandnationals in 87 or 88. This is the pro section doubles I mentioned earlier. It doesn't look that crazy now, but they were pretty tall - just filled with mud. As soon as you landed there was a set of quads to hit. The amateur section next to it was a really cool step jump. You can see some tape holding a cracked visor. Me and one of the BIG NAME pros of the time wanted the same section of track in a pro cruiser moto . . . he won.
Location: Damn taxes! Pimpin' Ain't Easy in Massachusetts
Awesome pics guys, damn I have to get some of my photos scanned in.
I have some videos too but I would need to convert them from VHS to CD then to the computer.
Location: Everyday you must choose between the pain of discipline and the pain of regret. Fredericktown, OH
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Magoo
Awesome pics guys, damn I have to get some of my photos scanned in.
I have some videos too but I would need to convert them from VHS to CD then to the computer.
Scanning that pic made me want to pull my photos out, scan them, and archive them on CD or DVD.
I have a video from the 1986 NBL nationals in Memphis that I'd love to convert to DVD.
However not being part of the earliest craze...I was definately in a "craze"...late 80's/early 90's...I remember all of us kids in the neighborhood would all get on our bikes and ride all over town all day, everyday. Aimlessly most of the time, just to ride and have a good time doing it...gone are those days, that's for sure.
FWIW, I had an actual "BMX" (however I don't recall the name), then later got a PowerLite Fireball.
I remember doing precisely that with my friends. We'd all ride up to 7-11 and buy baseball cards, pop and snack cakes with our allowances. One the ride back we'd always yell hello to Amy Harper's house, or Amy, if she was outside, because she was hot. What a way to spend a summer.
Location: Everyday you must choose between the pain of discipline and the pain of regret. Fredericktown, OH
Quote:
Originally Posted by hendrix68
I remember doing precisely that with my friends. We'd all ride up to 7-11 and buy baseball cards, pop and snack cakes with our allowances. One the ride back we'd always yell hello to Amy Harper's house, or Amy, if she was outside, because she was hot. What a way to spend a summer.
. . . and you'd do something that you hoped she'd think was cool like bunny hopping a bush or trash can.
I need to get back into shape so I can do 8 foot can-can lookbacks over the box at the local skate park I used to ride at and show those guys some old school stuff.
I left out a couple of cool bikes from my list. I had a Patterson which I really liked because it was fairly long. Of all the bikes the Rebel was probably the fastest feeling bike because it had a really long front and a really short rear and a steep head angle. The bike could carve up the berms. Rebel was a smaller scale bike company but had a design similar to Hutch except longer from the bottom bracket forward. Bobby Kati was the man for Rebel.
Michael Dominguez (spelling). I can remember when this kid made the cover of BMX Action and he tore up the freestyle skatepark scene in a big way and if I remember right he was like 11 years old. He was amazing for such a young kid.
Anyone remember the BMX Action that featured Lake Jumping on the cover where they jumped their bikes off a cliff? That issue was cool.
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