fox 4styler resto - my holy grail

[theRuler]

i'll start at the beginning . . . .

the fox 4styler was my first "decent" bmx. i got a crappy bike for xmas in 83, and rode it to death and beyond.
but xmas 85, i got this:


xmas day 1985.

i was 12 at the time. this bike made a huge difference to my riding, as it was far far better than the 80 quid bought-from-a-petrol-station bike i had rode for the previous 2 years.


xmas day 1985 - off with the chainguard and reflectors, and into a gumbie

i rode this bike for a couple of years, but i cracked the frame during year 2. i rewelded it a couple of times but it kept cracking behind the seatclamp. it was the layback putting the stress on the frame, but that was seized in and i couldn't shift it!! afterwards i rode a gen one haro up until i quit at the end of 1989. but the fox was special as it was my first "decent" bike.

when i got back into riding again in 1996 i looked around for another one, but in those pre-internet days there was few places to look (my dad had binned all my bmx stuff after i left it cluttering up the garage).

i had posted on most bmx forums over the years asking if someone had one. only a few people had even heard of them.

until about a year ago - dan harris won one off ebay. he didn't know what it was, but dan is a bmx magnet and will buy anything that looks interesting!  i got wind of this ebay purchase and literally couldn't believe it!! a complete fox4. under 100 quid too!! i badgered dan to death, until he cracked like a fox frame. the following day i collected the bike in person from near manchester:


the picture in the ebay advert

it had been ridden like that. the stem was locked up tight with the bars in that position!

it was a bit beaten, but complete and with all it's original parts (slightly different spec to mine, but some were sold with zytecs, some with sumo alloys)

so i stripped it to bare metal
resprayed it in 2k white
sourced all the parts that were on the list for the one i had - copy comp 3's (lol), aero zytecs, suntour power stem copy

i restored/reused:
frame, forks
crank, powerdisc, chainring
seatpost
brakes - and cables !!!!!
bars, headset, BB

got a new seat, new zytecs, new chain, new tyres, new black mushy's (toadstools)
i redrew the stickers from photos, and steve p printed them out for me (thanks steve)

i have built the bike to the exact spec that it was when i got one on xmas day
except i used a genuine suntour power stem (the copy wouldn't fit!!!) and i used shimano dx's instead of wellgos, as i had a black set kicking around

anyways here's the pics . . . .
(excuse the lol qual - taken on my phone)

















and here's a token gut lever



it was easier 21 years ago



thanks for reading, and keep searching for your own holy grail. one will turn up!

[Del]

Great history with some great pics, fantastic build and congrats for finishing your holy grail, I remember a kid had one of those around my way BITD. 

[downhill3375]

  that gra 

[b45t4rd]

Cool story
Cool bike, like it a lot, is the headtube steeper than a TRM?
One on the bay at the mo £250 starting price!

[harris]

nicely put together,and great history of you and the fox   

[bodamus]

That turned out really well and a great story to.

I like the look of it never ever seen one before and probably never will again.

Job well done mate.

bodamus

[highrisedrifter]

Lovely bike. Great story too. 

HRD

[QUADROPHENIA]

cool gra, nothing like having a copy of ya bike from bitd, hope you gonna bring it to MK, ideal for ice cream cones

[Stodgy]

Nice one Grae - glad it's finally finished.

You must be chuffed mate.

 

[RATTY]

It does look amazing, and with the personal history behind it, makes it even better.

Gra, a question, I got a mongoose 2 last year, which I am slowly building up as it was my first bike, but one thing I cant decide, do I build it up like the day I got it, or how it ended when I got rid of it after many modifications?
What made you decide to build it as NOS? and not after you modded it?

[MartyC]

Nice one Gra, looks much better in white than the green, must have been a burner rider that owned it before 

A replica build of your bike from bitd is deffo worth doing and to me brings the most satisfaction, top job 

[theRuler]

thanks for the comments guys
and it can hold 5 ice creams ok

Gra, a question, I got a mongoose 2 last year, which I am slowly building up as it was my first bike, but one thing I cant decide, do I build it up like the day I got it, or how it ended when I got rid of it after many modifications?
What made you decide to build it as NOS? and not after you modded it?

i pondered upon this one too.
although i have built it as it was new, after MK i will rebuild it to the spec how i rode it.
basically the same but with alloys, pink o-wings (not hopeful at finding them) white tyres and GT wheel discs

i built it as "new" so i would get that xmas day look.

i could do with another, to go balls out with all the quality components of the day.

i have seen that one on the bay, but 250 start with reserve not met is sadly out of my price range.
the one on the bay is the ONLY other one i have ever seen, in the last 20 years. other than the ones in freestyle magazine when they tested them. to be honest i think MT racing went bump not long after making this bike. lol.

i'd like to think that there are some others kicking around, but i think mine is one of the only 2 left in the world.

[theRuler]

Cool bike, like it a lot, is the headtube steeper than a TRM?

it has very different geometry to the trm, although a similar shape. the front end is super strong!
the trm was a bit poorly thought out, angle wise iirc.
cool looking though and i would love to add a trm to my collection now

[b45t4rd]

I have seen another Fox a while back on VBMX, blue I think, had a nibble at getting it but no luck
I had a couple of TRMs bitd, to be honest they were awful to ride, lazy steering & shocking forks (one dropout torn in half the other hairline crack, close shave!)
But I,m from Bham so they were cheap & everywhere, hence two owned!
Your Fox shows what could have been done....

[daz bmx it!]

I was gonna buy that off ebay but noticed the name of the bidder(s) and did,nt want to bid it up, glad you got it in the end and have done it real justice,stories like that are pure Bmx 

[lazychubs]

looks nice mate and the ruler has mags lol
wanna see ya do a endo with them on

[Steve P]

Great story Graeme ... I've been waiting to see this one complete for some time and it was well worth the wait 

I bet you're well chuffed now ... nice one 

Steve

[oldboyburner]

that looks sweet matey wont try any of them tricks on mine as last time i did i cracked a ribb

[theRuler]

looks nice mate and the ruler has mags lol
wanna see ya do a endo with them on

yes mate they are my first set of placcy mags in many a year
i rode it round the garden earlier and it was pretty wobbly
i rode on mags sometimes back in the day, but i would rarely have a matching set. i found that the hubs would disintegrate too quickly.

i know the zytecs' hubs on my fox fell to bits inside a year

[winnit93]

thank fook thats finnished,i thought it had beaten you

hang on where are the wheels trim shite things,i thought you got some sorted

[theRuler]

thank fook thats finnished,i thought it had beaten you

hang on where are the wheels trim shite things,i thought you got some sorted

no i didn't get any in the end

i am on the lookout though

[theRuler]

got the final sticker made for it by Del - thanks mate!

[Stodgy]

Nice touch. Del's the man.

[brass monkey!]

superb bike, super story,....another cracker from the RAD Stable ! 

[Superkav]

I knew a lad with one of those BITD, he moved away with it but I remember the tob tube seemed really long and he actually did hold a Cornetto in it while riding. Funny what memories these bikes bring back. Saw it at MK and it looks lovely in the flesh. Top job mate.