Is building bikes easier now or back then?

[retrogeezer]

I remember waiting by the fence at a car boot sale late 90's because someone had locked a bike up that had ONE Skyway tuff on it!

At that time I hadn't seen a tuff wheel since 1985, the lad must have thought I was loopy but I got it though for a few quid.

[southern andy]

It's harder, most of the desirable parts required are on people's completes now. These people are collectors and not dealers so on these completes they'll stay and fair play to those people.

Repop parts.........no thanks. Ok for a rider but not on a show bike or a stored complete ? Only my view I know.

[factory pilot]

Totally agree re-pops are great for a rider but show bikes got to have OG parts on them!

[Rombloke]

repro parts were topic of major controversies in the early days, aerospeeds being one of the main ones, but i guess after years of collectors collecting, its become a necessity

Dave

[bmxmatt1974]

I remember one of my first ebay purchases was 2 unpainted streetbeat frame and forks for £40! If only I had kept them!! Due to getting what I wanted 10 plus years ago I dont bother buying much anymore, unless I am buying from carboot sales. So for me building was easier pre rad.

[Rombloke]

1983 haro freestyler frame and forks
black alloy hubbed tuffs
gt bars
dc mx brakeset
suntour stem
kashi aero
gt post
shimano sx
takagi opc



how much......




100 quid....yep one hundred whole pounds.....bought out of the back of a geezers volvo estate....once packed in my car i left the scene in a cloud of rubber smoke, laughing hysterically all the way home on the mobile to billstup telling him ive had the buy of the century

Dave

[Rombloke]

it was a little scruffy but you can polish a turd

[factory pilot]

Happy Days eh Dave .. I sure wish I'd got back into it in those early glory days ... It would have blown my mind!

[Jazzchimp]

Back then I bought my mint PK ripper with NOS boxed landing gear forks for 300 quid and you lot laughed at me!!

Muppets!

[john69]

In some ways it's easier to build bikes nowadays with chrome platers and powder coaters aplenty just the old spares aren't so aplenty sometimes

[awkward]

I don't care if parts are repop, I care more about how a bike looks and rides...you can have all the NOS OG parts in the world, still don't mean you can put a good looking bike together.

[E5_DCB]

Im surprised how much prices have gone up in the last few years. My Goose BMX Bandits Replica took around 3 years to build and parts are just becoming harder to find so demand a higher price like anything old these days.
Im glad ive just hung onto some parts and not sold them. But everyone seems to be doing the same at the moment.

[skinheadpaul]

I got back in to bmx last year I have spent the last 15 building choppers and bobbers and rebuilding old panheads and iron heads  now that stuff has goon through the roof  so the bmx parts are ok priced and just as much fun .i love the chase of hunting for parts


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[bobbbbsy]

Now .. 2 .5 pC cranks . Tap in bb bearings . No brakes !!

[eloopnai]

my first build was a mongoose in 2006
found all the parts i wanted easy and lots of  nos i remember paying 30 quid for a suntour stem now they are silly money
doing a build 13 years later and once again found nearly all the parts i needed  and i gotta agree havin repop parts hs made it a lot easier this time and going by todays prices a lot cheaper 
 

[bob1984bmx]

Easier now cuz i have the money, harder now because not all the parts exist new now, im waiting for OGK to remake the white Perigrine Masters 

[moza]

I've stopped building and actually sold up apart from one. The reason was the scene changed and I believe it was promoted and advertising that brought in new collectors. I feel most of the new collectors didn't even ride bitd they just want a collection of bikes regardless of the cost. I go right back to when this site was blue and I can remember parts being in an abundance. I remember black tuffs were not easy to sell and I remember brand new in the box aeroreflex frames for ?40. The early days of the rad site was the best time for me I enjoyed it massively and have known some guys well over 10years now. The prices of stuff annoy me now as it's killed the fun of a build. I will admit I took advantage of the high prices when I sold up and I had no trouble selling. I do still have boxes of part with bits missing or actual spare bits. One day I might go through them and get hold of the missing bits like end caps or wheel nuts. Unrelated but I do have some terrible health issues that means I'm enjoying other hobbies while I can. I do actually own a new school retro bike, although it's not 1980s it looks oldshool and it rides great and was the same price as some no's mx1000s 😂😂😂