Can somebody shed light on this BMX

[robonmac]

Hi all,i'm new to this site and reckon you lot know your stuff so here goes:-

I have finally dug out my old bmx from the garage and do not intend to ride it,namely the neighbours looking out of the window thinking look at the 36 year old bloke riding his kids bike!

Well what do they know.
Anyway it isn't a bike i particularly liked at the time,more 'cos i wanted a Robinson or a Quadangle but not being a spoilt brat i didn't get one.So i ended up saving every penny of pocket money to buy a shop soiled REBEL bike,It's quite a nice frame actually and is stamped Reynolds 531 tubing so it ought to be well built.Question is ,is it worth much?
I remember them being fairly well advertised in BMX action and BI-weekly but do not recall seeing many in the flesh,i think they were fairly expensive BITD.
I will post some pics on here shortly but for now you will have to rely on imagination and good memory.The frame/forks are powder coated in white and features the top tube disecting the seat post (similar to VDC)running through to a secondary thinner vertical tube for strength behind it,this isn't making sense is it?
The decals are in good shape and have the confederate flag (general lee)plastered all over it.
So can anyone come up with a bit of info on it.
The other bits on it were added at the time namely a redline 400 flight crank(which is still mint) and i aquired a pair of handlebars from a mate who lavishly plastered red/orange paint like he was painting with nancy on them.Trouble is they look like VDC Changa bars but have no way of telling,any ideas?

[dannywhiteley]

Hi I just pm'd you.  I will post some info on Rebel later on when I get back in from the match...

[magna13]

Pics As Soon A Possible Please 

[daz bmx it!]

It'll be the same f+f's as this one in the museum then

[dannywhiteley]

Fill yer boots.

http://www.radbmx.co.uk/forum/index.php'topic=58414.0

Its a strange frame thats for sure, I had one recently that I sold for £21...

p.s. the decals in that one above are [sarcastic tone]wrong[/sarcastic tone].

[macky]

Ahhhh..... Rebel 'hybrid' Freestyler!!!

apparently a freestyle frame with race geometry...

It was the 1st freestyle f & f's i had... Loved it!!

Did you buy it as a complete bike??

Love to see some pics!!! 

[robonmac]

Yup! that's the one i have,at last another one for real.
The decals may well be more dukes of hazzard than bmx but they are slightly different to mine,those ones are a bit too OTT,mine are more subdued.
£21....£21 is that all,these are  quality bikes even though no-one knows it!
My bike was bought from a shop called Thorpes in Stockport in Cheshire,quite a big Mongoose dealer BITD,he was moving premises and wanted shut of the ol' Rebel Freestyler frame and forks plus handlebars,it should have been £150 but i got them all in for £50,the handle bars were well weird,imagine CW bars with the flat top tube and then bend it forward into a sharp "v" point sticking out at the front(slightly dangerous) anyway my dad somehow managed to not realise what they were and lobbed them at the tip(cheers dad).
Good job i kept the frame and forks at bay for the last 23 years!
Pics still to follow even though you now know what it looks like!

[dannywhiteley]

The decals on yours are correct, the ones on the frame above are bad repros.

The CW / V bars you mention are shown in one of the photos in the link I posted. 

I have a white Rebel Freestyler (classic twin top tubing variety) with straight CW style Reynolds 531 bars.  Been meanng to finish it for a while, but ive been a bit slack. 




And heres and idea of how it looks at the moment... (looking at it, the wheels and seat have been changed and brakes now fitted)

[robonmac]

Those repro decals are a real top job,from this distance you couldn't tell them from originals,does the guy who does them do Redline flight crank arm decals?
It was nice to see those original scans of the rebel ads,brings me smack bang into my youth,i especially remember the ad featuring the prices,that's where i first realised the brand.
If the chap of the a.b.a. fame owned Rebel then are they American made or is it a case that there are two Rebels ,one US and one UK?
So which is the rarer Rebel, twin top tube,race frame or the twin seat post tube freestyler cum racer?
I'll post my frame and forks up by the weekend,i'll have to dismantle the other bits from it as they are a right mish mash,Redline crank,one rear tuff II in orange,one (i suppose quite rare) Aero zytec front mag wheel in orange,VDC changa reps,dia compe reps,cheapo seat and clamp.

[dannywhiteley]

Race frame is rarest I think, very rarely come up for sale.  Its certainly the most desirable.

Mine (twin top tube) is probably the most common, simply because the FAZE 7 freestyler used the exact same frame set.  However, with any old Haro gen 1 a-likey style frame it is reasonably sought after.

Yours and the one with the large stand behind the seat are rarer than mine for sure, and possibly rarer than the race frame but IMO are less desirable.  They are interesting frames, but probably more interesting to Rebel collectors (or UK frame collectors) than most BMX collectors.

To be fair the one I sold for £21 was pretty rough with a seat tube stuck in the frame.

Speak to Del on here about the decals.  He did a top job on mine.

[daz bmx it!]

Here's my old one complete with them bars you mentioned

[oberonspacefruit]

rebels are top.

maketed under several other names though.

[robonmac]

Such as?

Well, the moment you've all been waiting for,the pictures of my Rebel freestyler:-












I finally got round to taking it to pieces,do you realise that this is the first time since 1985 that these bits have been removed from the bike,incredible to think really.
It's held up quite well considering,mind you it got very little use BITD,and the majority of the last 23 years it's been stuck in my parents cellar!
There are obviously a few dings and scratches to the coating and decals but given the amount of crap that been stuck on top of it, it's no wonder!

Now then what should i do next??

[dannywhiteley]

Sell it to me?

[robonmac]

Well it's certainly a possibility that i may let it go,thing is that i'll never get a bike like this again,on the other hand it's real bad at work at the mo so i face an uncertain future!
Sh*t happens.