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12,350 Posts
My first real bike was a Schwinn Scrambler. Then I got a nickel Mongoose. I've still got the 24" Haro I raced a few years back. Anyone else get their start on a BMX, or still rockin' a 20"?
Who else started out on a BMX bike?
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22 Posts
I did, started when I was 13 I've been through a few bikes, schwinn, gt, dk, and I still have my pro concept cruiser, I'm about to get back into it, I have a daughter who wants to race and I'm going back with her!
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12,350 Posts
My daughter wants to race too.
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12,350 Posts
Stu's rocking a full set of reflectors, and a chainguard. Woot!
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22 Posts
Man, I'm glad I wasn't around for the 80's!
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12,350 Posts
Isn't he a cop now?
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I know robbie Miranda is, and I do believe that stu is in the same department.Industry_Hack said:
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8,414 Posts
I was born in '79 so I was young for the BMX daze, but ET brought BMX bikes to where I grew up. Most kids had GTs with those plastic seats. I wanted one so bad but ended up with a non-BMX Schwinn Stringray my grandfather got at a garage sale or something.
Top-tube "StikShift" but I was too young to understand it, so my father disconnected it and left it on the middle of the cassette. Kid would break my chops about it, but when we went riding, I was comfy as could be while they had to stop to stretch. I just remember that I could wheelie on it all day but damned if you pack-pedal, it'd throw the chain in no time.
I wish I knew what happened to that bike, I think it was tossed out when my folks split up.
Top-tube "StikShift" but I was too young to understand it, so my father disconnected it and left it on the middle of the cassette. Kid would break my chops about it, but when we went riding, I was comfy as could be while they had to stop to stretch. I just remember that I could wheelie on it all day but damned if you pack-pedal, it'd throw the chain in no time.
I wish I knew what happened to that bike, I think it was tossed out when my folks split up.
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12,350 Posts
I should point out that not only did I live in the middle of BMX central, (Redline, Jag, Mongoose nearby) but they even filmed E.T. close to my home. Same neighborhood where Poltergeist was filmed. Also the same neighborhood where Heather Graham is from.
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8,414 Posts
It must suck to be you
I'm from the hometown of "Naughty by Nature", you know "O.P.P" and Lauryn Hill of the Fugees.
I'm from the hometown of "Naughty by Nature", you know "O.P.P" and Lauryn Hill of the Fugees.
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22 Posts
Yeah, that would be worth a small fortune these dayskneedrachen said:
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8,414 Posts
Apparently there was a subversive plan to eliminate the family name after my birth; my parents never removed the shifter...
Jumps---> not such a good idea on that bike.
Jumps---> not such a good idea on that bike.
Oh those were the days. I remember the mongoose lol. I was recently telling my daughter all the cool tricks I used to do on my BMX. She was looking at me like I was mad... maybe I am lol. Everytime I go to the sports shop I cannot help but swing by the BMX stand and relive the memories
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5,352 Posts
I am from before the BMX craze. I remember them first being introduced kids in the neighborhood were getting them right and left.
The only famous event or person I can think of from my neighborhood was Lizzie Borden. Loads of documentry's and movies were made in the city about her.
The only famous event or person I can think of from my neighborhood was Lizzie Borden. Loads of documentry's and movies were made in the city about her.
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5,366 Posts
I started on a Free Spirit BMX bike from Sears. Great bike for what it was. After it was stolen, I went to a brand I'd never seen before or since: Strong Man or Strongman. I don't remember if the name was 1 or 2 words.
The tubes on it were all oval. Great bike, until it, too, was stolen and I replaced it with my first MTB. As much as I love my touring and mountain bikes, I miss the BMX thing. Good times.
The tubes on it were all oval. Great bike, until it, too, was stolen and I replaced it with my first MTB. As much as I love my touring and mountain bikes, I miss the BMX thing. Good times.
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3,610 Posts
I have tons of pics on my gt back in the late 80s and early 90s. Jumping and doing all kinds of junk.
I started on something my dad bought and repainted and cleaned up nicely in Hawaii, 80 or 81. Had to leave it when we moved back to the continental USA. Rode all over kaneohe marine corps air base on that thing.
Next was a something like a huffy or Schwin, 83-87ish. Rode all over Austin Texas on that, back when Austin was not so crowded and a kid could be out all over the place alone.
Then came a Royce union in metallic blue with oval tubes in 88-89. Corona and riverside California.
A diamond back viper in black in later half of 89- early 90 that was stolen. Riverside ca.
A redline in chrome, 90, riverside ca. Stolen
A gt performer in black, 90, riverside ca. Stolen
A dyno pit bike in chrome, 90, riverside ca. Traded for a gt pro series with no gt stamp on the top tube back end. A buddy knew someone who worked or raced for gt and got the old practice bikes for free.
The gt stayed until 94 when it was stolen in Corpus Christi tx.
Then a 24 or 26" inch redline while I was fort benning. Rode it all over post. Sold it when I got out because I couldn't fit it in my karmann ghia when I was heading home.
2004ish. Some neighborhood kids come up and tell me there are two cool bikes at the good will. I played soccer with them and my kids on the street a lot because their dad was gone a lot. They couldn't afford a bike so I told them if they found any cool bikes at the goodwill, I would get them for them. They were always telling me of bikes but they were cheapies, till today. The oldest boy had a mountain bike but his brother still needed a bike. We walk over and it's two GTs someone just dropped off. The bikes still have the number plates an padding on them so someone used to bmx race with them and either got hurt or quit. 5 and 10 bucks for them. I snapped them up. One was a newer style really light weight aluminum frame and the other was just like my old pro series that had gotten stolen. The younger brother took the aluminum on and I took the pro series. My boys, those boys, and I rode all over the neighborhood till we moved to where we live now.
About 5 years ago, someone stole that pro series. I was hot. I vowed to find it and called on every person I knew. I checked all the local bike chop shops and made sure they knew if I heard or found it at their place, I beating some ass and then turning them all in for bike theft. I had this specialized hybrid by then too, bought it on Craigslist for 80 bucks. My boys and I rode each week and hit every bike chop shop in this part of town to reinforce the promise. It never showed up at any of them. Then one day, I am at the supermarket and walk into the vestibule while waiting for the wife and lo and behold, my GT is sitting there, unlocked and spray painted red. Badly spray painted red. I go and verify its mine and send my oldest to call my uncle, he is the manager of the store. He asks how I know it's mine and I explains the front forks are slightly tweaked and you have to sit on it and look straight down the bars and neck to see it. (He is a cyclist too, road bikes). He checks it out and calls security and the cops and we wait by the coke machine like we are just visiting but are actually waiting for someone to jump on it. Some guy, about 20, who is really in rough shape walks out and grabs it and starts rolling it out and my uncle and the security guard grab him and the bike. He immediately starts with I didn't steal it, I found it in a ditch on some street and tries to get away but he is not going anywhere. The cops show up and we explain about the bike being mine and being stolen 6 months prior and they ask for proof that its mine so we go through the fork story again and the cop sits on it and looks and hands the bike over.
They ask what I want to do with the guy and I said to let him go. I knew where he said he found it and knew where he lived and was going to verify his story on my own and beat him if he was lying. It turned out some jr high kids had started their own little bike theft ring on the street he said so I went and broke that shizznit up turned them all in to their parents but that saved that dudes butt. I was going to stomp his butt into next month if he was lying and he knew it, he was scared to death. He moved to another section of town after that.
I live Ina very old section of town that lots of people call the hood. We do have some less then desirable people on some of the streets around here but in general, it's a good old small poor neighborhood. The people are just trying to make ends meet and the kids are just trying to live life without being hassled by rich kids. I moved here because my parents bought this house while I was a senior in high school and I loved it.
Lets see, we already covered I bought the hybrid while GT less so the last bike I bought this past July was the road bike. Well, I actually also bought a weirdly framed dyno for my youngest son about 3 years ago and he rides the wheels off that heavy tank all the time. He does our 10-12 mile rides on it when it's just him and I and our water bottles out in the sun.
I started on something my dad bought and repainted and cleaned up nicely in Hawaii, 80 or 81. Had to leave it when we moved back to the continental USA. Rode all over kaneohe marine corps air base on that thing.
Next was a something like a huffy or Schwin, 83-87ish. Rode all over Austin Texas on that, back when Austin was not so crowded and a kid could be out all over the place alone.
Then came a Royce union in metallic blue with oval tubes in 88-89. Corona and riverside California.
A diamond back viper in black in later half of 89- early 90 that was stolen. Riverside ca.
A redline in chrome, 90, riverside ca. Stolen
A gt performer in black, 90, riverside ca. Stolen
A dyno pit bike in chrome, 90, riverside ca. Traded for a gt pro series with no gt stamp on the top tube back end. A buddy knew someone who worked or raced for gt and got the old practice bikes for free.
The gt stayed until 94 when it was stolen in Corpus Christi tx.
Then a 24 or 26" inch redline while I was fort benning. Rode it all over post. Sold it when I got out because I couldn't fit it in my karmann ghia when I was heading home.
2004ish. Some neighborhood kids come up and tell me there are two cool bikes at the good will. I played soccer with them and my kids on the street a lot because their dad was gone a lot. They couldn't afford a bike so I told them if they found any cool bikes at the goodwill, I would get them for them. They were always telling me of bikes but they were cheapies, till today. The oldest boy had a mountain bike but his brother still needed a bike. We walk over and it's two GTs someone just dropped off. The bikes still have the number plates an padding on them so someone used to bmx race with them and either got hurt or quit. 5 and 10 bucks for them. I snapped them up. One was a newer style really light weight aluminum frame and the other was just like my old pro series that had gotten stolen. The younger brother took the aluminum on and I took the pro series. My boys, those boys, and I rode all over the neighborhood till we moved to where we live now.
About 5 years ago, someone stole that pro series. I was hot. I vowed to find it and called on every person I knew. I checked all the local bike chop shops and made sure they knew if I heard or found it at their place, I beating some ass and then turning them all in for bike theft. I had this specialized hybrid by then too, bought it on Craigslist for 80 bucks. My boys and I rode each week and hit every bike chop shop in this part of town to reinforce the promise. It never showed up at any of them. Then one day, I am at the supermarket and walk into the vestibule while waiting for the wife and lo and behold, my GT is sitting there, unlocked and spray painted red. Badly spray painted red. I go and verify its mine and send my oldest to call my uncle, he is the manager of the store. He asks how I know it's mine and I explains the front forks are slightly tweaked and you have to sit on it and look straight down the bars and neck to see it. (He is a cyclist too, road bikes). He checks it out and calls security and the cops and we wait by the coke machine like we are just visiting but are actually waiting for someone to jump on it. Some guy, about 20, who is really in rough shape walks out and grabs it and starts rolling it out and my uncle and the security guard grab him and the bike. He immediately starts with I didn't steal it, I found it in a ditch on some street and tries to get away but he is not going anywhere. The cops show up and we explain about the bike being mine and being stolen 6 months prior and they ask for proof that its mine so we go through the fork story again and the cop sits on it and looks and hands the bike over.
They ask what I want to do with the guy and I said to let him go. I knew where he said he found it and knew where he lived and was going to verify his story on my own and beat him if he was lying. It turned out some jr high kids had started their own little bike theft ring on the street he said so I went and broke that shizznit up turned them all in to their parents but that saved that dudes butt. I was going to stomp his butt into next month if he was lying and he knew it, he was scared to death. He moved to another section of town after that.
I live Ina very old section of town that lots of people call the hood. We do have some less then desirable people on some of the streets around here but in general, it's a good old small poor neighborhood. The people are just trying to make ends meet and the kids are just trying to live life without being hassled by rich kids. I moved here because my parents bought this house while I was a senior in high school and I loved it.
Lets see, we already covered I bought the hybrid while GT less so the last bike I bought this past July was the road bike. Well, I actually also bought a weirdly framed dyno for my youngest son about 3 years ago and he rides the wheels off that heavy tank all the time. He does our 10-12 mile rides on it when it's just him and I and our water bottles out in the sun.
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18 Posts
Mehh, well I started racing competitively on a BMX bike you could say, but my first bike was some random 20" mongoose. I have owned about 3 BMX bikes over the years.
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