Author Topic: The future of Old school BMX... ? (Read 1270 times)

othomas2 · « **on:** June 17, 2008, 03:45 PM »

I was wondering what the future holds for OS BMX... ? Are these the golden years right now... ??

Has the whole thing reached it's pinnacle in terms of the amount of people involved in restoring old bikes and attending events; the max cost at which parts sell for etc etc... will it all die off from here leaving a handful of die hard collectors ??

IMO In 5 years of so... I can't see this growing more that it has done already... I don't think there will be enough interest in OS BMX to breed a sufficient new generation of enthusiasts... I'm 25 now and most of my pals don't really get it and those I know of that age group are limited numbers right now, let alone anyone younger... will the older BMX forum members of today keep the flame lit for years to come & still own several bikes as a pensioner

What do you think ?? Please discuss...

JT71 · « **Reply #1 on:** June 17, 2008, 03:50 PM »

type bigger please, my eyes aren't what they used to be.

meticulous · « **Reply #2 on:** June 17, 2008, 03:55 PM »

if you look at classic cars they always have a following, even if the car is 70 years old, i suppose as long as the bike is in mint condition then i think they will always appreciate in value

PHIPPSIO · « **Reply #3 on:** June 17, 2008, 04:04 PM »

We collect bikes from a certain era, i.e the era when we discovered bmx as a kid but i also think its about a time in your life now. I havent been collecting that long as it didnt really appeal to me when i was pi$$ing it up in my youth but at a certain point when i discovered the scene, i was hooked.

My point is (if i even have one), when you get a bit older perhaps you become more interested in looking back and collecting things from bitd. Theres also the mid school scene, will that be the next collectible era as those who rode ms bikes will become collectors when they reach a certain age......or am i actually taliking a load of sh1t $:-\$
There will always be BMX collectors, but perhaps the collectible era will change?

OrgasmDonor · « **Reply #4 on:** June 17, 2008, 04:04 PM »

greater appreciation for midschool and then for what we call new school now, will become more apparent in passing years which may in turn have collectors looking back over towards the 70's n 80's to complete a lineage in their collections, the early stuff in any collection is always desirable, i don't think there is gonna be much money to be lost, if any, on the things people are buying now

baldbmxer · « **Reply #5 on:** June 17, 2008, 04:05 PM »

New collectors will have to more patient in their wait for parts as they start to dry up. This is already happening but they will still be available in the future altgough not as often.

Bikes get built, bikes get split and sold on. Collectors move onto fresh pastures whether it be new projects, new interests or responsibilities or even divorce!

Gone are the days when you could order your complete OS custom build of the shelf at Alans, those days are long gone.

baldbmxer · « **Reply #6 on:** June 17, 2008, 04:09 PM »

I think Mid school gear will be hard to source over here in the UK, there wasnt nearly asmuch Mid gear in this country as the craze had passed. Yes it was available but again there wasnt the variety as there was in the early 80's.

Mid gear is getting popular over the pond, but we didnt have he importers over here so there is a shortage

Waxintaxin · « **Reply #7 on:** June 17, 2008, 08:10 PM »

its grown every year , and has little promotion to a mainstream audience

if we as a country had what , 2000 builds at the mo ,i think thats a high estimate but take 2000 as an example

then that number of good old school bikes will always have people wanting to buy them

no fooker was alive when steam trains , second world war memrobilia,penny blacks were around , but they still get collected

objects of desire will always be collectible#

prices will always shift around dip and fall,but people will always want shiny things

Mattdub · « **Reply #8 on:** June 17, 2008, 08:21 PM »

Quote from: Waxintaxin on June 17, 2008, 08:10 PM

no fooker was alive when steam trains , second world war memrobilia,penny blacks were around , but they still get collected

harris · « **Reply #9 on:** June 17, 2008, 08:29 PM »

this is just the start,we have had a few years of mad fast building but it will slow for sure ,but the building will go on
collecting and always findin more bits old mid and new.
our collections will get more defined and dialled in better and proper collections will grow.
as i said this first few proper years of old school is like the first rush into a free sweet shop but what is yet to appear will have be more thought about and refined.
we will loose a few of you along the way no dought ,but we aint ever going away and its upto us now to carry this top sh1te on to the future.

Jt · « **Reply #10 on:** June 17, 2008, 08:51 PM »

said like a true pensioner

have spoken about bmx to 3 people through work..they are all now active on the sight and looking/toying with getting into it...

i dont know anyone who isnt interested when i talk about it, everyone 30-45 had one, in some form or another when they were growing up.

cant see it slowing down at all.

PHIPPSIO · « **Reply #11 on:** June 18, 2008, 07:01 AM »

I was interested to see the Rockford pictures on vintage the banner at the show had the strapline "get back into it". Are they actively encouraging new people to get involved?? im suprised if they are as my overall experience over there is that they are very colse knit and are suspicious of newbs

Maybe thats the way to go, recruiting new people to get involved. Good to freshen it up and good for the economy of the hobby....particularly good for JT as he will shift a load of reflex's

bodamus · « **Reply #12 on:** June 18, 2008, 04:01 PM »

Sell up now before it's to late $:-\$

ron burgundy · « **Reply #13 on:** June 18, 2008, 04:12 PM »

The end is nigh...

sell, sell, sell...

subwax · « **Reply #14 on:** June 18, 2008, 05:15 PM »

This is a very good topic indeed, and one that was heard time and time again at Rockford. Concern about repro products was mentioned, as well as the direction of the hobby in general. Whats next? After the gold trickstar, what else can top that? No doubt in about a year's time we'll have the answer.

I see the camp between "keep it original" and "make a custom build" becoming more and more distant. There is only many times you can see a Trickstar in standard config before they become a "nothing special" build. Truth be known, there were only a handful of Trickstars at Rockford, and only 2 RL20II's. I wonder whether the creation of a gold bike sounds the deathknell for that particular bike - there was a gold RL20II, and now they dont appear popular - there's a gold trickstar, and yet there were only a few Trickstars at Rockford, even though Woody was there.

So I reckon its going to be showing the more and more rare bikes (what can be left?), or modifying the more popular builds using non standard parts and colours.

Just my take on it.

Sparky24 · « **Reply #15 on:** June 18, 2008, 05:57 PM »

if you are selling parts i think now it,s hit it,s peak. i have been buying bits and bobs from the states, due to the fact that it is still cheaper buying and having it shipped over , due to peeps getting greedy. i:e £250 for mx1000,s & tec 3,s and £150 for kashimax aero,s and £185 for a tange 125lp headset,s my builds are for me a hobby not a investment, i couldn,t have top of the tree bmx,s when i was a kid so i have built the two bikes i always wanted now but i refuse to pay over the top prices

OrgasmDonor · « **Reply #16 on:** June 18, 2008, 06:11 PM »

i personally have always thought custom builds are the true old school builds, as thats how bmx's were BITD, you used to save up n buy the best bits you could or the bits you liked and hoy them on your forever changing bike set up, stock bikes are lovely, don't get me wrong, and i really appreciate the effort put into them but they all look the same, factory replicas, rider replicas, team replicas, replica replicas, i prefer a good bike with carefully chosen bits to a brochure bike any day. Jesse james' Hutch with the parker hubs n studd stuff on it fookin rocked in my book, i know you aint gonna be able to re create something like that easily but it was way cooler than any of the gold hutches IMO as it was alot more creative. fashion has gotta change before people take a chance on rarer less known frames, take a look at bigplinkys bike of the month this month, pure quality and something fresh

he aint gettin my vote tho coz he's a c*nt!

Sparky24 · « **Reply #17 on:** June 18, 2008, 06:37 PM »

i agree with orgasmdonor, about bmx building. my aero pro is not chrome and is not a factory build, it,s a sparky24 build so at mk08 when it,s along side other aero pro,s i know mine from there,s and i hope peeps will see the thought thats gone into it

Waxintaxin · « **Reply #18 on:** June 18, 2008, 07:12 PM »

Glad to see you posting neil

and i agree the camps for original and custom are going to split

its in its infancy imo and whether numbers of collectors drops it will still be a hobby for some people, its fashinoble at the mo and i reckon next year will see some mainstream exposure , IE television or major magazine coverage as its such a cool thing and collector numbers will rise and then fall off as it drops out of fashion , but there will always be collectors for sure

and i think that repro parts will become much more prevalent and fool a lot of people , like they do now imho
provenance and the ability to know the stuff you have is genuine, will play a big part and the history of parts will be more of a concern

all in all the hobby is here to stay imho and if your a collector and do it for the love ,it matters not if prices fall or go up and numbers of interested collectors drops or falls

love it all me , but i find non standard bikes ( ie custom pits,things in colours and finishes that they never came in,gold bike s) not for me , and i am more of an original parts type of person

Rich

harris · « **Reply #19 on:** June 18, 2008, 07:34 PM »

just give eth me the part and i will restore it and fook about with it till im happy .
i got me slippers on and sitting comfy so pull up a chair and just enjoy what we rearly like
talking sh1te spending countless hours months and days enjoying this sport/hobby.

brass monkey! · « **Reply #20 on:** June 18, 2008, 08:05 PM »

This is how I see things...

Okay whats the ave age of a collector in the UK ? mid 30's ? Ave age in the US must be 40 ish ?

If thats the case, then theres at least 5 years of mileage in the UK market..

So, how long will this hobby keep our interest? Probably as long as there's a new build to be built, but there again what is left that hasn't been covered? How much more are folks willing to spend to get 'that' ultimate build that no-one else has done, been able to afford/buy etc... Difficult one to answer...

Available Cash ? Surely the credit crunch has hit the US Guys harder than us? I have seen a few big collectors selling up....

I think 3-5, possibly more

years left, but there will be peaks n troughs as far as prices go as always.

There's some very exciting stuff going on, particularly John DeBruin aquisition of the Hutch Brand, that's gotta add to the longevity of the hobby...,I personally have no problems with re-issues as long as they are clearly marked as such.
i reckon it'll end up like most hobbies; classic car enthusiasts, the numbers will swell, then die down, but the hardcore collectors will be around for a while yet. I hope so as this hobby, RAD BMX and VBMX have made the life a whole lot more interesting

Personally I have as many bikes as i can afford/my wife will tollerate in the house, 7 at the mo, inc 3 of SE's finest, Trickstar, 2 Torkers...., maybe one or two more, but will probably sell first.

double chevron · « **Reply #21 on:** June 18, 2008, 08:15 PM »

Quote from: monkeybiscuits! on June 18, 2008, 08:05 PM

There's some very exciting stuff going on, particularly Mike Caruth's aquisition of the Hutch Brand, that's gotta add to the longevity of the hobby...,I persoannly have no problems with re-issues as long as they are clearly makr as such.

John de Bruin, you mean ?

brass monkey! · « **Reply #22 on:** June 18, 2008, 08:18 PM »

Quote from: double chevron on June 18, 2008, 08:15 PM

Quote from: monkeybiscuits! on June 18, 2008, 08:05 PM
There's some very exciting stuff going on, particularly John de Bruin's aquisition of the Hutch Brand, that's gotta add to the longevity of the hobby...,I persoannly have no problems with re-issues as long as they are clearly makr as such.

John de Bruin, you mean ?

Thats what I said wasn't it

Caruth is the bloke who's just started the bidbmx website,

confused.com - yes..........