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After some of my latest research I figured it was time for a good ol' fashioned Show n Tell... As some might know, I'm kind of a nut about vintage 26" cruisers. I love them all. Over the years I've had the pleasure of hunting down and owning several different makes and models, again, loving all of them. Over their seemingly short lifespan from the late 70's to around 1984, a few of the BMX brands that got into the 26" steeds always stood out to me, usually based on their craftsmanship, well thought-out design, geometry and handling. One of those is the Cook Bros Cruiser. Being inherently curious, I've spent years digging for every little bit of trivial information and history regarding the manufacturing of these bikes. I've tracked down ex-employees, welders, team racers, old shop owners, just about anyone that had a personal first-hand story about Cook Bros Racing and their cruisers. Most exciting for me has been chatting with Craig Cook(co-owner/machinist/product developer), Bill McIntyre(team rider/head-welder until 1980), Jim Watson(shop manager until approx 1982) and Jack Witmer(owner 1983-current), all of which have their own memories and stories to tell. All of them have been super cool and unbelievably helpful in my research and they've all given me interesting info which lead me down a new path to more info. One of those breadcrumbs...was the name Evan Teske. I'd been hearing the name for years but never able to track him down. Everyone seemed to have an old or expired phone number for Teske, until recently. After finally making contact and meeting at his home, I learned immediately that Evan Teske is not just a super cool cat, he had some serious history to share. Evan started working at CBR around 1978 where Bill McIntyre taught him to weld. When Bill left Cook Bros and bicycle manufacturing completely at the start of 1980, Evan became their ace welder. He was also a team racer and responsible for product testing and development. He would test the strength of parts at the local skatepark on the one day a week that bicycles were allowed. He'd do fly outs of the bowl on his cruiser to flat landings until his fork legs would bend and the dropouts would break off at the axle slots...then he'd head back to the shop to make himself forks with double thick dropouts welded together(like S&M Bikes would do almost 10 years later) and sleeve the fork legs with smaller OD tubing for double walled strength. He came up with the bends/design of the CBR Cruiser bars, and later the 24" bars. On the side, he welded all the early ELF frames when the brand first started. He welded for CBR until about a week after Gary Cook sold the company around 1983, but Gary would continue to have Evan test his short lived "Cook's" products and CQP cranks for years after. One of the most interesting things I learned was that he still owned his original 26" cruiser. Not only that...the bike itself had quite a story to tell. As I would learn from Teske, the frame is the very first 26" frame they made. In 1979 Bill McIntyre welded this frame up and the guys all took turns riding it around the building. Unhappy with the steering angle, Evan watched as Bill cut the head tube welds, pulled the HT out and re-welded it. According to Teske, he did this at least twice before they all decided the bike rode the way they wanted it. Looking at the bike, you can see the welds in that area are built up and don't match the others. There's still tiny cut scars on the headtube peeking out from under the welds. The fixture was then made off this frame. Bill then made a frame for himself and for Kevin Cobb before they went into full production. This first frame became Evan Teske's. The serial number is "0" and under the BB shell the name "Evan T." is welded. For a short period in 1979 the bike was painted white. Here's Teske racing the bike in 79, coaster brake and pre-cruiser bars. The seat was a custom one-off Evan had made for himself and upholstered in red/white/blue vinyl. Less than a year later, chrome was becoming the hot ticket for the 26"ers so on a day when a batch of freshly made frames were getting picked up for chrome, Evan stripped his bike down, tossed it in with the newly welded frames and it hitched a ride to the chrome shop. Here's an article from Super BMX magazine, August 1980. The bike is now chrome, sporting the new cruiser bars, seat upholstery in need of repairs got changed to black, and always experimenting...running a crazy skinny rear wheel and radial laced front. Racing the 26" at the Las Vegas Nationals, 1980. Skinny rear wheel still in play. Cook Bros Classic, Irvine CA, August 10th 1980. And here's the bike as it sits today. Notice the early Phil spider/Shimano chainring and Pete's sealed BB from his old 20" race bike in the Aug 1980 article has been moved over to the 26" cruiser. The custom bread loaf style seat was changed out years back and he lost track of it. Tires have been swapped for Cheng Shin but his original Carlisle knobbies from 1979 are still in tact and currently set aside. Rat traps are welded at all the joints and the outside teeth are sharpened. Where Bill McIntyre cut and adjusted the steering angle. You can still see areas where he slightly cut into the headtube. The base of this Slant Stem was never plated, just painted black by Teske as it was a prototype for an updated process of the underside being partially welded, as opposed to fully welded underneath, which was prone to cracking. This stem was tested hard and held up, production from then on changed. As CBR's 20" bikes would get updated with chain tensioners around 1981, Evan decided to mod his cruiser with the same treatment. Always preferring to cut his bars down...after he welded these, they were cut at the factory then sent to chrome after. Factory Team gear bags and race jerseys. All the originals from the old magazine shots are here. Including his old Charlie Gnarley t-shirt and Factory ELF jersey with the name "ET ?". Another fun idea Teske had during his time welding at Cook Bros...was to make a step-thru ladies bike for his then fiance! Built on the 26" cruiser jig with a standard toptube flipped upside down. Afterwards a couple other guys at the shop thought it was pretty cool idea and decided to make em for their wives as well. There are three ladies bikes and each one is slightly different. This one is serial number "1". Figured you guys might appreciate this stuff being history buffs. Hope you've enjoyed the read. -Ryan

In May, 2019, I picked up this incredibly beautiful original finish 1979 Standard Long. According to the certificate, it was originally sold to a shop in California near the Nevada border. That shop is still in business today. I contacted them to verify that they were the same shop as identified on the JMC Certificate. While the owner couldn't verify specifically that he sold the bike, he did confirm that they have been in business since the 1970's and did sell BMX in the late 70's era. Over the decades, the frame ended up on the east coast and was eventually paired up with the bladed forks for a perfect color and condition match. The blue is vibrant with only minimal wear throughout the frameset. The rear dropouts do show some chipping, but nothing that detracts from the overall condition. It's in incredible condition for a 40+ year old frameset. Some may remember that I built a red JMC back in 2009. I always kind of regretted selling. So, eleven years have passed between the two bikes, and incredibly, they are only 39 frames apart. Red = JMC1191 Blue = JMC1230 The red JMC weighed heaviIy on my mind. I loved that bike and I knew that some components would be similar. I wanted to look for super-clean, used examples of all components to compliment the condition of the frame. I changed my mind many times over the past year regarding the parts I wanted to use, but this is what appeals most to me. I'm very happy with it. BY THE WAY: I would be extremely happy to find two (or even ONE) JMC Racing down tube decals that are not rub-ons. If anyone has a set of white on clear mylar originals (or even Jim's older reissues from 10+ years ago), please contact me. Identical to the fork leg decals. PART LIST: FRAME - JMC1230 Large Airfoil FORK - JMC bladed HEADSET - Tange MX HANDLEBARS - Redline Proline STEM - Redline GRIPS - Oakley 2 CRANKS - Campagnolo BOTTOM BRACKET - Cook Brothers PEDALS - Bob Reedy CHAIN - HKK Smoker SEAT CLAMP - Excaliber SEAT POST - Fluted SEAT - Elina Super-Pro HUBS - Campy (Paramount drilled) AXLES, NUTS,LOCK NUTS - Campy FREEWHEEL - Suntour 17T RIMS - 7B / 7C TIRES - Carlisle Aggressor MX / Cycle Pro Snakebelly BRAKE CALIPER - Shimano Tourney BRAKE PADS - Mathauser BRAKE LEVER - Dia-Compe Gold Dot PADS - Vinyl snap PLATE - Hunt Wilde rectangle (same plate from 2009)

Not sure if this interests anybody... Most of the members that come through this site are a core group. For whatever the reasons, things in the BMX scene have really been blown out and has a lot of people price gouging, non-contributing, and in it for the dough. This site's members seem to be a more "True to this...not new to this" community and thought we could help each other out. I thought about all the random parts that i have stashed away (orphans, bolts, small bits and pieces). I'd feel better about them going to somebody here, rather than to guys on FB or other social media platforms. Parts that could possibly help with a build or complete a full set of something (such as a brand specific bearing cup, crank bolts, chain links, pads, etc). I definitely don't want to look out for somebody who's just flipping shit as soon as they get it though. I know i have a lot of stuff i don't post up, list for sale, or even remember having but i'd be down to dig around for that "hard-to-find" piece to help out a Society member. Some of you might feel the same. i thought we could use this thread to post if you had a specific need, or pics of something you have that you'd consider helping out with for one of our members. Maybe even work a 3-way trade deal with multiple members. Who knows? Open conversation for people here on BMXSociety. Let's keep it in the fam.

Two giants of bmx. Just honored to be listening and listening to them talk is amazing. Wish I had some a recorder but for now, a few pics. Just thought i share. Oh, Elaine Holt of Bmx News and Mr. Mel Stoutsenberger. H

My latest build. The bike I never thought I own again. A true piece of Bmx history and a game changer. RRS Racing Riverside Redlands Schwinn a local bike shop that started making frame and forks. They first made a 20” standard or pro size bike. What made the frame standout was the fixed wheel base with an eccentric bottom bracket. You would adjustment the chain at the bottom bracket by rotating the eccentric. Also the frame had cantilever brakes mount on it. Then RRS Racing built a game changer. The 24” cruiser. RRS was the first company to build a 24” racing cruiser. This bike changed the whole cruiser class. A bike shop did it, not a major manufacturer like Mongoose, JMC or GT. A local bike shop. RRS Racing won the 1981 ABA national #1 cruiser championship on the RRS cruiser. I rode for RRS and I raced 20” and cruiser so when I got this frame and fork I wanted to build the bike as close to the bike I raced. I was not out to build the trickiest bike I could. Instead I wanted to build the bike I raced. I see to many bike that have all the best and coolest parts on them but bitd you would rarely see bikes like that at the track. Thanks for looking and enjoy the photos

"Moto 141, 14 novice to the gate. " Thanks to Dan for the frame, Joe Pernice for the fork and John Severin for the cool fork repair. Champion Frame Speedo dual DO fork ACS hub Bendix High flange coaster Mongoose stem Rascal bars Viking 70s plate American Pro grip 7b rims Schwinn headset and seat clamp Carlisle Front tire Cheng Shin rear

There was once a young man who wanted to race the Big Mama Classic in Corona so bad that he put aside his usual meticulous builds and slapped together a bike with whatever he could find at his shop. Schwinn sprocket from his FMF days, wheel with crappy SX hub on it. He even slapped a front Tuff Wheel cause he knew Skyway's contingency program did not stipulate that he had to run BOTH wheels. P.S. This is not a tribute bike, this is a bike built to bring back memories to a good friend. Big thanks to Ken for the stand, Dan for the use of the fork. Steve for the original head tube decal, Michael for the plate and John WhoDat Brown for the front Tuff. (Apologies to the good dude who supplied the other decals. Can't remember the name.)

We (As the BMX Society) have an "affiliate" relationship now with Rail the Berm. Shortly after the BMX Society / Valley Relics show last spring, I did a podcast episode with the Rail the Berm guys, which was the segue into a relationship rooted in mutual promotion. These Rail the Berm dudes are cool - not really collectors, they are more core racing dudes. It's a good show by dudes who are passionate about BMX racing and race culture. Let's support them by giving a listen and share. They are doing the same for us.

Rick Twomey of Rick's Bike Shop fame's birthday is a holiday for us... the man had such an impact on BMX, this site and indeed... Rick continues to have a deep impact on my life personally - and that may sound melodramatic, but I assure you - it is literally true. Where I live and what I do for a living now... all of it is connected to my relationship to Rick. This is not lost on me. Forever grateful and with deep respect... Happy Birthday Rick

First new project from me since 2010! This project came about during a random conversation with Dan Goins back in early July of this year. He sent me pictures of this frame and a different Redline fork. It looked fantastic and I was immediately interested. We came to an agreement and the search for cool-looking parts was on.... I really like the way everything turned out. I saw the morning fog yesterday, and I sprung into action....there are NOT many good photo opportunities in Michigan in late November. I hope everyone gets a kick out of it. Nearly 10 years in the making.... FRAME: Dan Gurney Eagle looptail with Cook Brothers gussets FORK: Redline nickel HEADSET: Schwinn STEM: Schwinn HANDLEBARS: Dan Gurney GRIPS: O.G.K. PLATE: old motorcross SEAT CLAMP: 70's SR road stem cut off SEAT POST: solid aluminum SEAT: Selle Italia Grand-Prix CRANKS & BB: Schwinn PEDALS: KKT SPROCKET: Three Arrows CHAIN: Union FRONT HUB: ACS REAR HUB: Bendix Red Band turned down RIMS: Weinmann 2.125 TIRES: Cheng Shin PADS: Vinyl snap

A whole lot of people to thank for this one. Dan Goins for the frame, bars and other items. Mark McCorkle for the fork and Dennis Dain for the stem. Torker MX frame Cr-Mo Speedo Dual Drop Out fork First Gen Cook Brothers Stem Redline Victory Bars Bendix High Flange Coaster rear/ACS front (dated 76) Araya Second Gen 105 Rims, Cheng Shin tires KKT Pedals Gummy Bear First Gen Oakley Grips Unicanitor saddle Schwinn/Tange headset KKT Pedals Generic seatpost and seat clamp Schwinn (?) crank 3 Arrows sprocket

OK so here is my recently finished 1979 BMX Products manufactured Team Jag. Had the frame for about 10 years and finally got it built now ! Frame is original Nickel and so I went with a mix of nice condition survivor / NOS / NOS shop worn parts etc. Full parts run down: 1979 Team Jag frame & forks in original survivor Nickel (new decals) NOS shop worn Race Inc bars NOS Winner's Circle/ODI "Octopus" grips Restored Shimano Tourney brake set-up Araya 7C gold rims, original shine sides NOS Cheng shin fat/thin C183 tyres Mongoose gold stem Mongoose stamped headset Shimano Tourney cranks NOS MKS BM-2 pedals Leather Kashimax MX saddle NOS Race Inc seatpost mongoose stamped seat clamp NOS Jag pad set And here she is....... I think I like her better without the pads I think but....... The OG pads do look cool as well....... :-)

Laguna, PL1, cook brothers, xcalibur, powerlite, suntour dia compe

My wife found this on one of her online clothing sites for sale and surprised me with it. 1980 Redline belt buckle.

Looked for four years for the right 1980 Proline with original red finish. Head decal has been replaced, but I think the rest are original. Everything's era correct. Laced 7Cs to sealed sunshines. Tires are Raleigh Racer in the back and Cheng Shin up front. Redline bars & stem. Tourney cranks with KKT rat traps. MX1000 brakes with DC lever. Seat's a Kashimax. Nagoaka post & an Xcaliber clamp. Tange headset. Still have to dial it in. Will add better pictures then.

Just got this blue devil today on a Webco

1984 A Frame

here's my Quadangle in the first gen graphite configuration

Well folks, I've been pretty scarce around the site since we got everything fixed and the new site up in the beginning of August. The reason is that SO MUCH changed in my life last month. You see... I know longer live in Long Beach, CA. I moved to Oregon. In the very beginning of August, I was literally driving up to Oregon on a scouting mission for places to move to, and work, as I was getting messages from the web developers who fixed the cluster fuck that I'd gotten into with the new server etc. That all worked out that afternoon with the website after months of obstacles. It was the beginning of a whole new period, in fact, of things working out for me. I had become used to shit not going my way. It's been a struggle the last few years. I don't want to dwell on that at this point. So, here's the deal: I live in Eagle Point, Oregon now. It's a little town in Southern Oregon My wife and I both work for Jim Belushi. I grow cannabis and she is in the packaging department most of the time. We work at Jim's farm. My boss is BMX hall of famer and Rick's Bike Shop alumni, Thom Lund. Best manager I EVER had. Thom is the man. This is my dream job. It's been a LONG time since I could honestly say, "I love my job". But I can say that now... and mean it. I was made for this shit. I freaking love it. Also... life in a small town - haven't done that for a very long time, arguably never as an adult. So far, so good! Takes me about 8-10 minutes to get to work at the farm. My commute in Los Angeles was NEVER less than an hour and 20 minutes... often two hours etc. Fuck that. It's soul crushing. I love living in Oregon. Zero regrets... the only bad thing is that a handful of homies are far away now. Especially my neighborhood partner in crime, LBshane... he doesn't know it yet, but he will move to Oregon too.

Prodyne elegant piece

I've been wanting a modern Klunker style 4130 frame for a while now. There's really not much out there. I've also been hoping S&M would make a 26" or 29" frame. Well, both wishes came true! S&M came up with this sweet Cook Bros inspired frame and fork. They did it in 2 sizes, 26" and 29". Wagonguy posted his 29er, here is my 26. I've got a 29er on the way too. I'll post that in this thread when it arrives and I get it together. I've owned or ridden nearly every 26" BMX on the market. This bike feels more compact than others, in a good way. It feels great actually, a nimble shredder for us old guys. I can't wait to try it on the local pump track. I'd highly recommend this f/f to anyone. So much old school flavor with all the solid modern componentry. The attention to detail is impressive. S&M welds of course, a "Made in USA" stamp on the seat tube between the two top bars, shield cutouts on the dropouts, S&M shield logo on the downtube gusset, that head badge. The frame is beautiful. I had planned to go with the black, but when this clear gloss showed up with the beautiful discoloration around the welds, I changed my mind immediately. Here's the parts rundown: Frame and fork: 2020 S&M Covid Cruiser 26 Headset: FIT Stem: Hutch Bars: Gary Turner 7.5" cruiser Grips: Oury downhill Brakes: Paul Bottom bracket: Profile Cranks: Profile 180mm Spider: Profile Chainwheel: Profile Chainring bolts: Wolftooth Chain: KMC Pedals: Profile GAS Seat clamp: Profile Slim Jim Seatpost: Thomson Seat: Brooks C17 carved Hubs: Onyx Rims: Velocity Cliffhanger Tires: GT LP-5 Tensioners: Profile

I stand corrected. (It was a figure of speech ) They had an idea and designed the frames / forks and Spec. it and took it to their frame builder and had them built. Robinson, Patterson and at least 6 other brands used trackmaster to build their product. I would say 80-90% of frame and fork company’s use outside venders. It still doesn’t take away from what they accomplished. The first 24” cruiser raced at a national was on a stock 24” Schwinn varsity road bike frame built up by Riverside Redlands Schwinn. They had a custom 24”:cook bros fork made and used 24” alloy rims taken of a couple of Univega unicycles. Everything else were standard Bmx parts. The rider was Tony McDaniels, an RRS rider. The race was at Anaheim Convention center in 1980. He won. See photo.

SE Racing Quadangle

The time has come, after 2 years of Covid based hiatus... the BMX Society Show is back! And this one's gonna be a doozy.... Saturday, June 4th, 2022 @ The Carson Center in Carson, California 801 E Carson St, Carson, CA 90745 ~ TICKET & REGISTRATION LINKS ~ Link to Bike Show Registration: https://bmxsociety2022.ticketbud.com/2022-bmx-society-bike-show-registration Bike Show is 9AM - 3PM you must register to be eligible for bike show awards receive the t-shirt AND to have a guaranteed space to set up your canopy etc. Link to Bob Osborn Symposium Tickets: https://bmxsociety2022.ticketbud.com/bob-osborn-symposium Bob Osborn Symposium is 5:30PM to 9:30 PM Dinner is included there will be a cash bar This will sell out in advance. This is how you make sure you can be there for this historical evening - buy your tickets now. Thanks to Bicycle Motocross Action for their assistance in making this event possible. We are honoring Bob Osborn this year with the BMX Society Life Time Achievement Award and it will be presented to him at the start-studded Bob Osborn Symposium that will be Saturday evening, on June 4th. Times and other details to be announced. But first!... Earlier that same day: From 9am to 3pm on Saturday, June 4th... outside in the parking lot of the Carson Event Center, we will have the legendary BMX Society Bike Show. The whole world turns out for this one, so come be a part of it. You'll likely bump into your favorite old school legends and we'll have the guest of honor, Bob Osborn on hand as well. Come out and see a sampling of the finest examples of Old School BMX bikes, components and memorabilia in collector hands. People come from literally all over the world to be a part of the deepest old school BMX experience you can find... a full immersion into BMX culture. We're gonna have a blast. It's going to be "Bob-a-Palooza"! Many more details to follow, including ticket info for the evening Bob Osborn Symposium and Wizard Publication reunion and registration for the Vintage BMX show, hotel suggestions, the astonishing list of BMX legends who will talk to us about their favorite photos and memories associated with Bob and Wizard Publications and much more. It's going to be an incredible stroll through BMX history and BMX journalism, told by the people who lived it. You won't want to miss it.

This gem came into my life last year. The grips were toast and put a bogus plate on it. Otherwise as found. I’ve wanted one of these for a long time.

My grandson John ”Johnny Rumblefish” Kerr airing it out at Yucaipa Bmx. 7X

A little Moto Pro radness. Usual thanks to Dan Goins

Belated happy birthday! Thanks for all your contributions to the BMX community.

As many of you know, I bought my wife a new DK Swift Pro last August and we started going to the local track every Fri night and watching the races and riding that track every Sat and Sun from Aug through Nov. We then bought a Fresh Park practice gate and used it all winter as well as exercises and treadmill. Well tonight was the first practice night at the track and we went. We were kinda feeling like it was the first day of high school but everyone was so friendly and amazing. There were over 60 people at practice. At 49, my wife and I are the oldest registered racers at the track but we hope to show all the parents that they should join and just have fun. Friday night will be the first BMX race of my life. Hers too. I rode from 4 until 16 but never raced. The feeling and excitement is amazing. We were able to do alot of gate starts and make as many laps as my legs would allow. Wish us both luck on Friday. The only problem is that now I literally have as many new school race bikes as I do old school bikes. It's a disease. We both had our new Chase bikes there but we also made laps on my 2013 GHP 24.

My son shot this picture of my grandson John “Johnny Rumblefish “ Kerr the other night at Grand Prix BMX, Perris, CA I hope you enjoy it and thanks for looking.

Time to start putting some new builds out there. Been awhile. First (well sort of first as I pictured the 1st gen Webco Mono) a little AA trickness. (frame on loan from Mike) AA Frame Simi Mags Ashtabula stem and fork. Schwinn headset, post and seat clamp and sprocket. Windsor seat. Aggressor rear/Schwinn Scrambler front. Wald Bars. KKT Pedals American Pro Grips. Monark Crank. Rad Pad/generic pad combo. Regina Oro track chain. Schwinn US made tubes. Modern air. (The usual moto suspects will spot something and point it out) :-)

First off, a HUGE thanks to Steve Bourke for helping me get it. Not sure how I'm going to do this bike as the original owner said he spray painted it and I do have a set of genuine Webco decals I've been saving forever. First gen Webco mono Ashtabula fork Schwinn/wald headset Takagi MX cranks Simi Motomags A&A or AAA bars Gummy bear Oakley Is Unknown stem (but looks familiar) Cheng Shin Tires Parsons seat KKT pedals Cheng Shin Tires. Unknown but moto front sprocket (Thinking of You Rick Twomey)

I am fortunate (and thankful to my parents) to have been able to keep almost all my bicycles, frames and/or parts from then till now. Of the bikes I do not have, my first bike, a blue heavily (emphasis on heavy) upgraded, AJ wheels, etc 74 stingray. A first gen all steel yellow mongoose (with custom made added brake bridge) and a first year issue all steel blue SE OM flyer. Having said that, I have the frame and fork (along with most of the parts) that replaced the Mongoose. A Cycle Pro spoiler, purchased new likely mid 77. I had removed the original Cycle Pro Foiler stickers and replaced them with FMF in an attempt to fool people into thinking it was an FMF. It did not work, no one was fooled. When I got serious about racing in 78, I embraced the frame as it was sold and reapplied Cycle Pro stickers. I raced it until the end of 79 when I switched to a first generation SE str-1 likely obtained in Dec 79 but that is another story.

"I'd build a bike around that pad." A wise man one said. So I did.. Thanks to Dan for the pad, the Preston Petty plate and the rear wheel (which is there for now.) Ernest for the bars and Paul at Classic Cycle in Bainbridge for the base bike.. According to the person who had the bike before Classic Cycle, the bike, as it were, was found near the old BUMS track. Additional coolness is the Canoga Cycle Center shop sticker. Not sure who else helped out but thanks.

Thank you, Steve. The next phase of the project gets into the historical content; Linn's engineering contribution to BMX in those early days and Red Lines impact on the emerging scene through the late 1970s and 80s. Linn has kindly allowed me full access to his archive. From a researchers point of view, It's a phenomenal resource. We will be sharing a lot of it through the months ahead. We started shooting the Red Line Foundations mini doc a few weeks ago with Linn. In early December, we bring Stu, Bob Hadley, Byron, David Clinton, Bob Haro, and Curt Kastan together to evolve it further. Beyond that I will be traveling to see others including Gene Roden, Scott Clark, John Crews, etc. I look forward to sharing more with you all soon. The website will grow and evolve ten-fold over the next 6-9 months. www.redlinebmxfoundations.com

Ive owned this GT since i bought it new as a 1st year apprentice so while its not the most valuable bike i own in monetary terms sentimentaly it has to be the one id pick.

So I had to come out of retirement for one last build. Joe Buffardi showed me this frame a couple of months ago after he acquired it and told me I had to build it. It’s the bike I could never get my hands on when I was building heavily. Joe basically gave me the frame and I got help from friends around the world to complete the build. After research and verification from Michael Gamstetter’s Torker serial number research, it puts this frame being produced in October of 1978. In BMXA magazine they advertised this frame until September of 1978 and then started advertising the LP. Being that it’s a 1978 it gave me a few more options for parts. The frame is original chrome with NOS decals applied. Dan Goins hooked me up with the incredible NOS TW Pro fork that works so well on this bike! It was tough to put a fork that came unused out of it’s original box on this build, but it had to be done. PJ in Australia had the wheels available and we struck a deal to get them on this bike, they are NOS steel Femcos laced to NOS high flange Shimano MX hubs with .105g Asahi spokes. Tommy Gelinas came through big time with the original uncut Redline Victory bars that cleaned up amazingly! The CEBE stem I got back from Matt Howes and world perfect for this build. Bryan Fox helped me out with the great Takagi MX cranks that have one of Dennis Dain’s original gold Takagi MX chainrings bolted up. Bill Nicholson came through with the NOS Powerlite PL-1 seat clamp and I couldn’t be happier. Michael Gamstetter helped me out with the hard to find Torker frame pad and Torker logo’d V-bar pad. eBay and my small stash of parts in miscellaneous places helped round it all off. I think it’s a really good mix of NOS and excellent condition used parts. I was afraid to start this build originally due to the fact that the frame is so clean, it makes it really tough to find parts nice enough to put on a build like this. I hope I did it justice. I am really blessed to have such cool friends around the world that helped me build my dream bike. I now need to source a red vinyl double clamp stem pad and make a space for it in my home office. Peace, William aka Larock

Back about twelve years ago I was contacted at work by a guy asking me if I wanted to buy a looptail mini Ripper frame. I told him to bring it up and I'd look at it. I did buy it and we got to talking about local Peoria BMX back in the day. A few days later he shows up with two cruisers in the bed of his truck that he had just bought from a long time friend of his. One was a three bar Laguna and the other was a Prodyne. I had only been collecting three years at that point but was already well aware of Prodyne and the connection to JMC. Frank took them both home with plans of redoing them. For twelve years every time someone online talked about Prodyne I just bit my tongue not wanting anyone to know I knew of a local one. Life happens as we all know and I lost touch with Frank and the Prodyne but he and it crossed my mind many times over the years. Fast forward to last month one night as I was driving home from work and my phone goes off. I'll be damned. It's Frank texting me asking if this was still my phone number and if I still lived in the area. After some texts back and forth he tells me he is ready to let go of the Prodyne. A few text convos and phone convos and him stopping by work to see me, we struck a deal. At that point I sold off about nine framesets in the last few weeks to make this happen Today was finally the day. Frank delivered the Prodyne to me at work exactly as it was from when I saw it twelve years ago. The back story on the bike is that Frank's friend, Dan Madigan and his son Danny raced alot in the early 80s. Dan raced his three bar Laguna to an Illinois state championship back in 80 or 81 and the trophy prize for winning the state championship was the Prodyne. Dan rode for Russell's Cycle World (who is still going strong) who was the local JMC dealer. He went on to race the Prodyne alot too. The bike is still as raced. I plan to disassemble the bike, scrub everything down and reassemble it. I have to buy a front tire (sidewall blown out), two tubes and a brake cable. I can't decide if the forks are bent out or just have alot of rake. I will be posting progress pics and good final pics in the next couple of weeks. Here are the pics today literally minutes after Frank delivered it to me.

About 9-10 years ago, the OM said he had a hat for me. Never got it from him but still a cool gesture. On October of this year, Scoty Jr. saw a drawing I posted on the Society's Facebook page where Scot signed the drawing off to "Radical Rick. He contacted me and asked me if his dad called me Radical Rick and if he "owed" me a hat. I told him that I was pretty certain that he called a few people that including Damian. He said he was going to send me the hat nevertheless. I told him I could not really say that was the one for me but he said it was all good. Put a tear in my eye. Scot was so good at making even the lowest moto-filler special. He's still doing from the great beyond.

1977 RA -7 All original except the front tire. Kinda like the Rodney Dangerfield bike. Doesn't get much attention at shows. Only people who know admire it.

I’m partial to Xcaliber myself. The chrome is almost all gone off the one but I still like it.

photos from the 2019 gathering honoring Skip and BMX Products / Mongoose

I walking around a swap meet recently and spotted these leaning up against a truck. nice 1st gen hubs with track axels on some mavic road bike rims. Still deciding what to do with them.

Wow Steve. Some scary stuff happening. Hope you and your wife stay safe and everything remains ok. The bike I’d save would be my childhood bike. The Star Products that’s been through it all with me Like others, it’s not my most expensive but is definitely the one I have the most connection with.