Another Old Timer Falls to the dark side !

[stuartD]

I've had bikes on and off for the last 25 years (now 38) and started riding and building a couple of years ago after giving up due to marrige and kids and mortgages and all that other boring grown up shite..
I stared off with some nice old school haro's ( a cruiser a race bike and a freestyler) but after taking my youngest to the local skate park I started to see just how far BMX had come technicaly in the years I'd been away , no more freewheels and 44toth chain rings no more big BB's.
I built my self a new bike with cassette rear wheel and Euro BB , small front sprocket , wide bars , it turned out great (pictures to follow ) lovely crisp white S&M with Subrosa Pandora bars ( light as a feather), and all other parts in blue.

First ride was a bit strange but what really impressed me with this new bike was how it felt over jumps and how easy it was to hop higher and further than on my old bikes.
Only problem is it looks so nice I don't want to ride it hard ( cost me a fair bit to put together too) , so yesterday I added an Eastern Reaper to the collection, took it out for a ride last night and was amazed at the build quality and feel from a £550 complete..
Now all you old schoolers out there , don't worry the haro's are going nowhere !! but I don't think they'll be getting much use.


You cant stop progress .

[mattuknc]

I ride new and old (when I say ride it usually means a trip to work with a few curb hops on the way!) and love them both.
I do prefer the 'fit' of the old (84 Mongoose Cali), but the solidness and smoothness of the new is hard to beat (2009 Subrosa Pandora dtt).

[Jaymz]

Old school for cruising, new school for playing, my new school collection has now outnumbeed my oldschool collection 4:2 But I love riding, Im crap but i love it!

Welcome aboard and get some pics up, everyone loves pics

[GTnumber1]

DARK SIDE = HARO 

[Peter J]

Very true...

O/S for carpet queen

N/S for riding

Bru 

Wise Man 

[oldschoolrider]

I got back into BMX four years ago after about five years away and I'd stopped reading mags and keeping up with the scene befor that. When I did get back into it, I didn't know most of the current riders and the bikes had transformed quite a bit too. My last bike I rode before quitting was a '93 Haro Sport which I used for flat, street, dirt, and if lucky ramps. Same story as you: married, kids, job, so bikes fell by the wayside.
When I got back into it I decided to build a modern bike and just ride street/park, but after a while I yearned to pull those old '80s flatland tricks which I found where sometimes not possible on todays bikes. So I decided to build up  Mk 1 then mk2 Skyway Street Beats. Although they were ideal for those types of tricks, they're faults soom became apparent. Bad geometry, not strong enough, and I found going back to threaded headsets a total pain, e.g. always coming loose because I couldn't tighten it up to remove all the play because then the bars wouldn't spin freely, and I found while practicing double fire hydrants that the headset would tighten itself up to the point of the bars not being able to move.
I ended up getting rid of those and settled on a Standard Shorty with 1" threadless forks which I have used for the past year or so just for those old tricks, and it's great. Istill use my new bike but for park and street only.
I can honestly say that after riding all eras of BMX, todays bikes win hands down. I've never had a single issue with how bikes are designed today, I haven't broken anything other brake cables in the three years I've ridden this bike. Going back and riding those old '80s bikes was a real shock to discover that actually, they were so badly designed. I will always love that era in BMX history but not the bikes. The only thing I miss is platforms. I think that's why I won't  get a modern flatland bike. It makes things like decades so much harder to land.

[stuartD]

this was the first "modern" bike I built , It's an S&M RV frame, united internal headset, odyssey euro bb, stolen cranks, Eastern Stem , Subrosa Pandora bars, Primo brake lever , shadow consipracy flangless grips, eastern plastic pedals , prolite wheels, snafu tartan seat and an XLC v-brake (race fram so wouldn't atke a U-brake) it's a dream to ride and doesn't require as much tinkering as my old haro's.





And this is the Eastern Reaper that I picked up this week under the Government "Cycle to Work" scheme , even though I can't sit down and pedal on it and I live 40 miles from the office but It was totaly TAX , NI and VAT free so nearley a 50% discount , couldn't say no really .






Old School for show , new school for GO !!!

[Dark Diggler]

Nice RV 

Have you got some tight "just above the knee" shorts to wear while on the reaper

[stuartD]

Not yet Mr.Diggler , do you think I should go and get myself some of those new fangles skinny jeans and cut em off above the knee 

[motomagII]

that rv is ace man