Author Topic: Old School / New School (Read 1717 times)

Ramp Rat · « **on:** November 15, 2005, 06:05 AM »

It's funny, when I go down the Santa Monica skatepark and see the new school kids, I see them do sweet manual rolls and lip tricks, peg grinds on coping some big airs, but granny style airs, plain airs, no cool or rad style while in the air, now I aint saying kids today don't have style, but, looking at all these old school pics. you see a definate style that seems to be a lost art. Was it beacause we all used to race on dirt tracks and learned our style from jumping, then transposed it to vert? Bit like the old schools skateboarders that imitated the surfers and came up with their fluid style.

Secondly, all the new bikes are black on black, no colour schemes, no chrome, really boring looking. Or maybe I'm just an old boring git wishing I had a ramp to ride.

(Tony, hurry up and build that ramp and get your own password to log in)

Check out the style of Stu Thomson..the first ever Aerial on vert. 1977. Turn down, racing style.

The following quotes are from Byron Friday, either on the VintageBMX.com website or in E-mails to Bob Osborn, spanning April, May, and June of 2005...

"One thing that sticks out about that point in time... bikes were finally being built with better quality and we were finally able to start pushing the level of riding to the next level!"

"I think an important detail that needs to be considered is Stu is riding true vert. The bowl that PK is riding is a mini bowl and not true vert.

"I had been riding SkaterCross for a while... when Stu showed up and started popping like three or four foot airs [out of a vert bowl]. I couldn't believe my eyes! Seeing Stu perform that stunt really blew my mind and to this day it is one of my favorite BMX memories."

"I have to say that Stu is indeed the first full-fledged 20-inch BMX vert rider...[to] pop big air!"
The first skatepark bicycle aerial out of a vert bowl is an important milestone in the development of freestyle...important enough to reiterate the documented points of its evolution. They went like this...

Bike riding in abandoned swimming pools (1975).

Bikes carving the coping in pools (1975).

John Palfryman's Kick Turn on the coping of a pool (1975).

Stu Thomsen's aerial out of a vert skatepark bowl (November or December 1977).

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yoda · « **Reply #1 on:** November 15, 2005, 08:12 AM »

Hey Damon, good to see you on the site. I think theres still plenty of style out there in terms of riding, however as far as bikes go I agree. It has almost become uniform to have the Blk on Blk look that we see everywhere. Does this reflect society's preassure on young people to fit in. Fk ive even seen kids get stick for even doing 'non-trendy' tricks let alone having the wrong bike. Maybe the difference is that some riders today lack the individuality or are maybe afraid of just not fitting in. Either way though I love all the new school stuff in terms of levels/standards of riding and quality of product which is out there. Great pic by the way (fk that wall looks like it has zero transition)

Ramp Rat · « **Reply #2 on:** November 15, 2005, 06:37 PM »

Hey Dave, good to hear from you. Are you still riding? Nice pic in your aviator.

Interesting theory about society under pressure and not wanting to stand out. I always remember the UK being hard on kids that stand out. One of the reasons I loved Ca was how accepting they are with people. As a kid on a BMX, I used to get mates from the pub scene giving me shit for riding a BMX. '"Grow up will ya", "are you staring at my bird"? Always looking for a fight. shuffle munsterers.

billstup · « **Reply #3 on:** November 15, 2005, 10:29 PM »

I think back then to start with the colour was cool, but it went a bit silly towards the end of the 80`s from what I `ve seen. When I stopped riding in Jan 85 it was so that I could go out with my mates to the pub, clubs ect, get in to fights, and start a love affair with cars, but at the time it was the right thing for me to do.
By then I wasn`t enjoying my riding like I used to so when Peter Hawkins dropped me from the Skyway factory team I could have gone two ways, got another ride with a different team or give up, and I chose the later.

I never even thought of bmx for 20 years untill going on e-bay and seeing what was on there, and now that I`m back on a bike I`m enjoying it more than ever

I must admit that there seems to have been a lot more style bitd in the ariels, but they were a lot more basic back then, they look a lot more technical now so a lot harder, is it the fact that we used to go more or less straight up and down because of the width of the ramp where as its more to do with carving so you never have a point where your not moving as such ?

Well thats enough rambling for one night me thinks

Ramp Rat · « **Reply #4 on:** November 16, 2005, 02:54 AM »

yeah, some of the colours in the later 80's got a bit silly. Pink on Pink, no wonder they spat in my beer...

BTW What cars did you fall in love with? Escorts MK2? Cortina's? Mini Cooper's? I would love a suped up Escort MK 2 here in LA, well cool cars

Seems like most people quit after riding on the Skyway team, Tony and I were talking and remembered how Chris and you both quit BMX after leaving Skyway, we felt the same way, lost interest.

Yeah..the truth is, it was very simply stuff bitd, all we did were aerials, not many lip tricks etc.

keyhole kid · « **Reply #5 on:** November 17, 2005, 07:55 PM »

hi damon i totally agree with what you are saying about the lack of style nowadays me and mr westfield were only speaking the other day about this,though the airs are good and high they just lack any charisma, there just not very photgenic or is it just me. so are you and tony still riding!........

theRuler · « **Reply #6 on:** November 18, 2005, 09:07 AM »

Quote from: Ramp Rat on November 16, 2005, 02:54 AM

BTW What cars did you fall in love with? Escorts MK2? Cortina's? Mini Cooper's? I would love a suped up Escort MK 2 here in LA, well cool cars

i had a mk2 escort. started as a 1300L

i fitted:

RS2000 engine
1600 sport interior
quickshift + quickrack (needed stong arms to park)
RS2000 gearbox with "rocket to atlas" 1 piece prop
Atlas axel off a 3.0 capri
X Pack bodykit
13 x 7jj supalights
then i sprayed the lot red white and blue valvoline colours

i will dig out a pic and scan it. i did this over 2.5 years owning the car, then got into VW Golfs as soon as i turned 20 (at that point, the insurance on a mk1 GTI was just under 1000 third party only - affordable)

i spent hours and hours working on that car. welding chopping spraying lowering (axel blocks!!!) fitting stereos fixing rust

the good thing about a mk2 escort was the choice of parts at the scrap yard. find a 2.8 capri and you were laughing!!! all the parts would swap over

billstup · « **Reply #7 on:** November 18, 2005, 11:39 PM »

I had 3 x mk lll cortinas to start with, then a mk ll lotus cortina, stag, rover 3.5 p6, dolimite sprint x 2, 3 x jags, a range rover, 325i convertible, another jag, jeep and a few shiters in the middle too