ESP 1"1/8 Stems

[gossa]

OK people, I have taken an ESP stem to a shit hot engineer friend of mine and he has reprod it amazingly well.

Now before all you ESP owners get out of your prams, i'm not going to get a load made and flog them on the bay and devalue yours, this is just a way to finish a couple of private builds for personal satisafction (not even mine actually).

Now I'm not sure what the repro etiquette is, i'm sure a lot of people are against it, but this stuff is for personal use, not commercial exploitation, this little project got me thinking.  My idea is to make and ESP stem that looks like a traditional quilled stem that is actually an 1"1/8 clamp on stem.  The head needs to clamp onto the fork but any bolts in the head will detract from the og look.  So i'm thinking to machine into the head a built in flex fighter that will work as the clamping mechanism.  Then I got really carried away and thought that under the flex fighter you could machine what looks like a threaded headset lock nut so when fitted on top of a nice threadless headset, it'll look like an old school build. Any thoughts, gay or cool?

He's also reproing me some SonLite hubs, I have mine from 86 but want to get some done for my new builds, I might get him to engrave Con Lite Racing on the flanges just for fun.....

[baldbmxer]

Hey

the whole repro world is surrounded by opinions. Its Ok for limited run personal use or modern recreations of old classics such as an 1 1/8'' version of an ESP stem but if you where to recreate the actual 1'' stems and mass produce them then you're on thin ice!

Being a huge fan of the ESP (I still have mine from BITD and it helped me to snap you plenty!  ) I am very interested in this ESP repro venture.

They made a 1'' mini stem that clamped over the treads.

You got PM.

JJ

[gossa]

Ah JJ, you might have got the snap on me but let's face it, my second pedal was devastating.......

I thought reproing anything would be frowned upon in the OS circles, that's why I put the thread out......

[harris]

a full re pop or a retro is something that would need to be quite obvious
as alot can sell on as original to the lesser knowledge buyer .
if its only of a similar style with a definite difference then its just retro
but having something stamped on it somewhere making it very tricky to pass of as og will help.

[baldbmxer]

Second pedal yeah, get the snap and get the ole' JJ elbow in front of you!  

some damn good races through 87/88/89 fella

[gossa]

See your point Dan, when fitted this stem looks identical to the original but out of the bike, anyone in the know could tell it's not OG.  The shaft threads into the head rather than pressed, the shaft is shorter as the original shaft was too long to fit all the way into a lot of forks and the shaft is stainless.  Perhaps I should get him to stamp a manufacturing date on the shaft but these aren't going to be sold on, he's making me two.

[Bigplinky]

If your making exact copies of something then you need to stamp them as a repro (on an unseen surface, maybe the clamping area or down the shaft) so somebody in years to come can't easly pass it off as an original. Let's face it alot of this gear is rarer than hen's teeth and repros are going to be the only affordable way to get what you want and if it's done right so they can't be passed off as originals I don't see any problem, take the guy in the states doing the GT pads he prints every set on the inside with the make year.

As for the ESP 1 1/8" make it look like any ESP but don't do anything gay like have a nut underneath or a fake bolt head on top just an ESP inspired retro stem would be way cool, standard configuration two clamp bolts at the back, and call it a GSP.  

Andy

[gossa]

GSP! Like it!  I see this is a very grey area, I don't want to make anything that will rip anyone off in future but I can't see me ever getting shot of any of it.  Maybe the alternative name like the Con-Lite hubs would be a way to go, like homage to the originals.  I might get some alloy cranks done and call them Crook Brothers!

I guess the stem could be stamped R.I.P rather than E.S.P.!!!

[SaMAlex]

how about having the A-head clamp bolts on the inside of the stem. (bit like the profile piston stem). Then, like you said, off the bike it would be as clear as day, but on the bike it would all be hidden. It would be a bit of a pain to have to take the handlebars off to loosen the stem/forks, but Im guessing it aint really for a rider anyway.

[gossa]

Alex, these would be for my ripper and floval so will be ridden.  Good ideas though....

[SaMAlex]

Alex, these would be for my ripper and floval so will be ridden.  Good ideas though....

Cool, even better that its going to be ridden

Some of those clamp on stems with internal clamps dont really look like clamp ons at all. Im sure you know more about them than me, Ive only ever used S&M clamp on stems! haha.

[gossa]

 Ive only ever used S&M clamp on stems! haha.
[/quote]

No there's a surprise, you redneck!

[Dingobmxer]

personally I dont have a problem with repop stuff but it MUST be stamped as such to protect potential buyers in the future

as for n/s clamp on the Pro Neck has been done so why not ESP OR Hutch 

http://www.retrobmx.com/

I'll take one in polished for my Quad 24" if you do them  no crappy lock nut/flex fighter though it would look sh1t

  DINGO

[stuntmaster]

put some kind of stamp on it to mark it repro as otherwize it cause problems like the hutch aerospeeds that are now out there that people say are original but aren`t unless you seen originals are hard to tell  and some one out there will pay stupid money for a fake .

[teamsano]

clive, i say do whatever you want.
some people dont get the grasp of what you're trying to produce here (a tiny run for personal use).
and seeing as its 1/1/8th itll never get passed of as the original.
i think its a great idea, and as theyre going to be ridden, most folk on here wont understand that either.

[gossa]

Gogo is that you fella?  Man you rock, how are ya? 

Thanks for all the feedback people, 1 stem has been made, OS with quill and expander, it's for Matt Farrow at Hotwheels to finish his Patty rebuild.  It looks awesome, if you have an ESP you would notice subtle dfifferences (metric bolts mainly).  If I do a small run of these (quilled ones) they will be engraved as repops with a manufacturing date on the shaft, I need to do about twenty but the guys still pricing it up to see if it's viable.  The clamp on version is what I want for me and my bikes so i'll keep you posted. I'll whack a picture up.

[DY85262]

Clive. Interesting topic, Matt mailed me recently and I just knew there would be a whole debate about this subject. There will always be those individuals who have issues, there will always be those that don't. Looking back in time  when I was a lad (OK a younger lad), I never could afford flights, profiles, in fact hardly anything that was not rubber or plastic such as comp 3's, kashimax, a'mes I or rather my parents just could not and would not  stretch to it, me and other kids made do with what we had and still had such a blast. My point is, this is an opportunity for those that can't afford the real deal  or will be scared to tighten the cap bolts on an OG incase it cracks (Matt take note), ie use it, to actually be part of the parade! So no probs. I do agree that it should vary in some minor detail that is not easily removed  just to maintain the originality for the guy that worked his butt off to earn $600 to buy a real one or the lucky fella that had one sat in his shed for 25 years along with his sonlite's and his aerospeeds. Just a thought you could call it PMT then if anyone gets a cob on you could just look at the stem and say "sufferer?" Ohh by the way I was looking at my GHP new schools and the stems need replacing so keep me in the loop please for your 1 1/8 repro. One thing is don't make it so big that old school stem pads dont wrap around like I have now with Profile.
 See some of you in the summer with a new born who will be stealing your pit bike so keep em locked
Still wearing the red tee with GHP

[gossa]

It seems like it's already going on?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Pro-Neck-1-1-8-cruiser-stem-blue-old-school-bmx_W0QQitemZ190175088533QQihZ009QQcategoryZ64644QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Surely repro?  Pro Neck closed up way before ahead stems no?

let me get some pictures up and we'll continue the discussion.

[Dingobmxer]

Good to see you read what people reply to your thread Clive   

Thats from here  http://www.retrobmx.com/ just like I said before 


  DINGO

[harris]

   oooer never seen on of them before .

[gossa]

Good to see you read what people reply to your thread Clive   

Thats from here  http://www.retrobmx.com/ just like I said before 


  DINGO

aw man, i missed that reply sorry dude, i keep checking back to it and there must have been a few replies, doh! Thanks though and you'd be interested?  Dingo, i did a search for quad cruiser on google (as I want one) and there was a thread on bmxtalk about you selling one ages ago, where is it now do you know?

[Dingobmxer]

Always interested Clive

My old VRP Quad cruiser went to Sid Salisbury, I sold it because it was too big for me,
I now own a Kappa Quad 24 which is one of only 2 made and will never leave me 

  DINGO

[gossa]

Always interested Clive

My old VRP Quad cruiser went to Sid Salisbury, I sold it because it was too big for me,
I now own a Kappa Quad 24 which is one of only 2 made and will never leave me 

  DINGO

I gave silly sid all his SE race gear back a few years ago, funny how it all goes around eh?  Darren Wood got SE JT pants and Factory Ace jerseys off Sid when he raced for SE mid 80's after Sid had quit.  I got it off Darren and kept it in my hoard but was wearing it at a race and Sid was there and was just startled that it was still around and was gutted to have let it go so I just stripped off and gave it back to him!  I do still however have one of Sids Factory Ace Jerseys in me stash, what a prize......

Dingo, what do you reckon to that Quad cruiser coming out for 08?

[Bob_Acid]

clive, i say do whatever you want.
some people dont get the grasp of what you're trying to produce here (a tiny run for personal use).
and seeing as its 1/1/8th itll never get passed of as the original.
i think its a great idea, and as theyre going to be ridden, most folk on here wont understand that either.

What's with all the digs mate?

[Dingobmxer]

Always interested Clive

My old VRP Quad cruiser went to Sid Salisbury, I sold it because it was too big for me,
I now own a Kappa Quad 24 which is one of only 2 made and will never leave me 

  DINGO

I gave silly sid all his SE race gear back a few years ago, funny how it all goes around eh?  Darren Wood got SE JT pants and Factory Ace jerseys off Sid when he raced for SE mid 80's after Sid had quit.  I got it off Darren and kept it in my hoard but was wearing it at a race and Sid was there and was just startled that it was still around and was gutted to have let it go so I just stripped off and gave it back to him!  I do still however have one of Sids Factory Ace Jerseys in me stash, what a prize......

Dingo, what do you reckon to that Quad cruiser coming out for 08?

I am gonna be totally honest here Clive (and as a die hard SE fan this is gonna hurt) I dont like it, the tubes look REALLY skinny (as though they havent upped the tubing size from the 20") and I think they may be prone to flex?
That said, if I didnt have my Kappa I would have probably bought one to give a go, The new 2008 Flovals look a good bet though (21.25" TT and modern geometry)



  DINGO