Mikku

[Mikku]

So this is me, and these are my bikes:-

Name:- Mick (previously known on here as “mickrich393”);

Occupation:- English teacher;

Years Collecting:- That's a difficult one! First off, I think of myself as a BMXer rather than a collector, and the bug hasn’t really left me for over 35 years. That said, I didn’t start dipping in my pocket again until about 2011.

Interests:- BMX, snowboarding, motorsports and the Land of the Rising Sun!

Dislikes:- Photobucket (greedy bar stewards), Facebook ("1984" springs to mind), mis-descriptions of old school bmx bikes and parts on eBay, people who don't acknowledge you when you give way to them and smokers who flick their cigarette butts out of car windows! That should just about cover it for the moment!

Favourite BMX:- 1983 Laserlite

Favourite old school bmx brands:- Kuwahara, VDC, Redline, CW, Torker, Skyway, Patterson, GT, Mongoose, etc, etc.

Favourite mid-school bmx brand:- S&M

Favourite new-school bmx brand:- Crupi

BMX history:-  I’ve always loved things with wheels, be they two, four, or in the case of the Tyrrell P34 Formula 1 car, six, but my route into BMX was the iconic tank that is the Raleigh Grifter, a metallic blue one of which I rode around on in the late 70s. I got into BMX proper in or about 1981/2, cemented by the famous chase scene in ET. I started off buying magazines then picked up an old Cycle Pro frameset with a mish-mash of secondhand parts. Thereafter was a familiar story of constant swapping and upgrading of parts as and when they broke and/or paper round money allowed. The Cycle Pro was replaced by a second or third-hand Redline frameset (can’t remember the model now but it was white!) on which I ended up cracking the fork dropouts and doing a rattlecan spray job. Next up was a white CW California Freestyler complete, which was the second bike of the only guy in town who owned a Kuwahara Laserlite – my dream bike! The CW was the most expensive set-up I'd had up to that point but as nice as it was, I preferred the lines and ride of a racer, so I ended up selling it and buying a VDC-made Trident – the nearest I was ever going to get to another dream bike – a VDC Changa!  I bought the Trident frame and fork set new from Hot Wheels (down in Pokesdown, Bournemouth) in the mid-1980s, carried it home on the bus and had to put some of the stickers on myself. I then built it up with various parts including the white Tuff IIs and opc set-up from the CW, the unknown, nickel-plated bars that were on the Cycle Pro and a new Kashimax Aero which I’d picked up along the way. The bike more or less stayed that way from then through the 90s (following me to university in London, a year up in Chester and subsequent stints in Southampton, Bournemouth and Salisbury) before being put into storage in or about 2004. Below is a pic that I took of it on a visit back to England in 2011.

With the Trident in storage and me teaching abroad (in Hungary, South Korea and Japan), I started looking for an old school, daily rider and that’s when I started looking online and found Radbmx and the BMX Museum. I finally pulled the trigger on an ’87 Haro Group 1 RS3 in 2011, bought from the Museum and shipped over from the States to Japan.  Not the highest-spec Haro but I loved the combination of the classic Haro blue colour scheme with the lines of a racing rather than freestyle frame.

When I first moved to Japan in 2009 I had dreams of finding an old, abandoned Laserlite or in fact any Kuwahara! However, those dreams have yet to materialize so I did the next best thing and bought one from the States, which was still worth doing despite the additional hassle and expense of shipping. The Haro was therefore sold to make way for a '83 Laserlite!

So after 30-odd years I finally had my dream bike. With the Haro sold, the Laserlite became my rider in its homeland (although it’s still not finished – are they ever!?), with the Trident waiting for some attention back in England. My original, quite sensible idea was to build up and keep one or both of these bikes because who really needs more than 2 bikes?! But as many of you know, that’s the start of a slippery road which led to me buying two more flippin' framesets!!!!

So I now have 2 bikes in Blighty (the Trident & Motobecane) and 2 in Japan (the Kuwi and Free Agent)!! I’m currently building the FA over here and plan to sort out the Trident and/or Motobecane this summer, both using parts that I’ve slowly been gathering or can pick up at MK15!

I will update this thread with pics of the 4 bikes as and when they’re done. In the meantime, keep it

[Mikku]

A couple of updates. First off, a sneak preview of another piece of Japanese exotica. This is my new project, but it's going on the backburner until the Free Agent and Motobecane are done, whenever that may be!!

Next up is the Trident, which is finally going to get the attention it deserves. The last 4 years in a Buckinghamshire garage had not been kind to the chromework, so it's now receiving some tlc in Oxfordshire! Below are some pics of it before it went, along with my race jersey and plate from bitd.

[Mikku]

Time for an update!   First up, are some pics of the now-completed Free Agent. & with the FA done, it's now time for a bit of French action! & waiting in the wings is a little beauty from New Jersey!!

[Mikku]

& I'm a sucker for survivor decals, so this one's now waiting in the wings too

[Mikku]

Below are a few shots of the finished Motobecane MX400:-

With the exception of the Tioga disc, I'm pretty chuffed how it came out, though that's the 2nd time I've tried and failed to use that disc well, so it will definitely be left in the parts bin for the next build!! It's now time for the Redline 500a to get some blue and yellow attention!

[Mikku]

Had a bit of a reshuffle of builds, with the Redline put on the backburner and the Ross MX-Time being bumped up the build  list, as per the pics below!

Why the change of plan? Well there's a new arrival on the way, or more accurately, a new school arrival!!    

[Mikku]

& this is the afore-mentioned new kid on the block - my first foray into the brave new world of "new school" BMX in the form of a 2011 Crupi Pro XL! I already love this bike, which is handy because it's going to take me back on the track for the first time in 30-odd years! Riders ready, watch the lights old guy with a shiny new bike!!!

[Mikku]

& here's the Crupi in action:-

[Mikku]

Have made a few changes to the Crupi, namely wheels, chainwheel, chain, seat, seat post clamp and pedals!

[Mikku]

Back to my old school roots for the next addition to my collection, in the form of the Redline referred to above. It's an ’84 Redline 500a sporting the series 3 decals that I painstakingly applied to mine bitd, following a crappy, rattle can spray job! I've therefore always had a soft spot for Redlines and when this one popped up for sale I couldn’t resist it - not only for the good condition of the chromework and those nostalgic decals, but also the og shop decal on the seat tube. Whilst these are always nice to see, this one is from none other than Stu Thomsen’s Family Bicycle Center in Riverside, California. So although this one may not be a Stu Thomsen Redline, at least I can say that it came from his shop! With the frameset shipped over from California to Japan, I started to collect parts for it but then decided to go racing, so the build and my other old school stuff went on the backburner. However, at the end of 2017 the building bug returned and I got this finished by recycling some parts from other bikes and using a few parts that I had been saving for future builds. I also went for a bit of a blue and yellow theme, inspired by a couple of other bikes I’d seen but with a few personal touches of my own. Anyway, enough blurb, here are some pics, the final one showing the bike that started it all, in its naked, post-rattle can, pre-decal state!

[Mikku]

Took some pics of my Crupi a few weeks ago and as I was taking them, my iPhone freaked out and froze! Not sure what happened but I ended up with this piece of psychedelia! I like it!

[Mikku]

A bit of an update - the Free Agent, MX-Time and Motobecane have all gone, leaving me with "just" the Trident, Laserlite and Redline completes and my Thruster project on the backburner. Not forgetting of course my Crupi race bike, the latest evolution of which is shown below in action at Oizumi race track in Osaka.

[Mikku]

2020 update:- the Redline complete is now no more, with the frameset sold off, which leaves me with just the 3 old school rigs. To make up for that, I bought a prototype Quamen race frame, which I will hopefully have up and running before the Spring! That's the latest plan anyway.

[Mikku]

What a funny old year it's been and will no doubt continue to be until Oxford University saves the world with its vaccine! In the meantime our or at least my BMX world rumbles on. All the extra time at home meant that I finally got the Quamen built and am now riding it on a regular basis, as it has taken over duties as my practice bike. It has also seen some track action, as per the pics below. I have also just added another race bike to the stable in the form of a GT Power Series Ultrabox 2. Wasn't looking for one but couldn't resist when one unexpectedly popped up for sale. The seller literally had no idea what it was, so I didn't have to pay stupid money for it either. Have only made a few minor changes so far, but the plan is to take it to the track and see whether I like it as much to ride as I do to look at. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and all that.

[Mikku]

2021/22 update:- The UB2 has taken over as my main race bike and is now sporting the carbon Answer forks (from the Crupi), Shimano DXR cranks (from Denmark courtesy of eBay), the Renthal chainring (from the Quamen), a Promax/GT post with a carbon seat (from a road bike) and some Tioga grips. I may change a few other things this year but fully intend to keep racing this baby! Love it!

[Mikku]

Time for what's panning out to be an annual update on my bikes. The UB2's still seeing action as my regular race bike, as pictured below. The Crupi and Quamen are also still in service and get taken out for the occasional spin around the rice fields. I recently switched out a few parts from the Crupi and the picture below is how it currently sits. I've also got another new school project on the go, based around a 2018 Cult Pro race frame, though at the moment progress is more no-go than go. I also made a flying visit back to Blighty in Feb/March and was reunited with the ol' Trident. I had squeezed a set of early Powerlite "Powerbend" bars in the suitcase and these look great on the Trident. Cheers Dave!  The bars that were on the Trident are now back in Japan and the plan is to use them for my long-term Thruster project, which will hopefully see the light of day this year, most probably this summer. First of all, I need/want to get the Cult up and running. Maybe!!