OS Objectivity.

[chromeOrange]

I discovered this site a couple of weeks back now and it is simply one of the best forums about any given subject that i've been a part of. In the main there's far more on here than I could ever have expected...but I can't seem to quite find what I need regarding objective fact and figures on OS machinery. Am I looking in the right place - should I simply be looking at OS magazine reviews for those sort of things?

It is hard to explain what I mean. For example, BITD, myself and a few friends had Mongooses and Torkers. We knew they were a damn sight better than Burners and the like (this is the bikes remember, not the skill of the riders - and I fully understand this may not be in the spirit of things now). Then there'd be a richer kid down the road who'd roll in on a GT Performer or a Hutch. Attractive bikes to look at. All those years riding and I never saw a PK Ripper, Quadangle or CW. No wonder so many old skoolers desire these bikes now (including me).

But really, what was good and what was bad BITD. Because now, every NOS ride cost big money. Like mini pieces of art. Collectors objects and the laws of supply and demand skewing hard facts and figures.

I really love the look of the Skyway Streetbeat. Maybe that should be enough? But was it really any good and should it be worth £450 now?
What was the best racing bike BITD. And why was it superior to its rivals?
How much does a HL Turbo weigh? How rare was it? How much would a frame set me back today if I could find one?
What would be the better card to have in a hand of Top Trumps - a Rickman Freestyler or a DP Freestyler?

I'm struggling to find the answer to these sort of questions. Not everyone's cuppa, but I've always likeed to know what is the 'bestest' and why it should be considered such.

Finally, I'm assuming that pretty much everything (within reason) Mid-Skool and New-Skool is superior to OS in terms of frame geometry and frame strength etc. Or maybe not...

Mark.

[jimmyp]

Good questions, im sure we should be able to help you 

[brass monkey!]

welcome to the site !!

the thing about this OS thing is it's all about personal preference.., I never had rich parents, so being at school I didn't have the money to by HUtch, PK Rippers etc, the best bike I had was a low end Redline, but i've owned or own most of the bikes I craved for BITD,....

if you have specific q's, stick em in the Tech & resto section, by tbh the bike you build is for you, and no-one else IMO,

and to answer one of your q's.....Skyway Streetbeats are not uncommon, you should be able to get a F&F pretty cheaply depending on condition

[kdw712]

objective fact and figures on OS machinery

the only way is to scan the for sale section here and of course ebay for sale end prices

but the market for this has boomed in the last 18 months and seems to be slowing a bit
but in 2004 complete set of MX 1000's £35 to my door

today ? £100 £150 ? or more for black and blue

[sweetbeats]

Alright Fella,
The thing with OS BMX is everybody has a different memory about it and different things bring on different emotions...I suppose you could say that it is personal just to them...this could be a specific frameset,an old skool rider,a certain freestyler or a certain make of component etc etc

Prices for oldskool stuff can look expensive but it is like antiques...and I think it is cool finding something so old like a set of oakley grips still boxed that have been stored for say 28 years somewhere in a vault or dusty garage but look like you have just been in a bmx timemachine back to the 80's bike store.

With regards what is the best bikes...again its all individual so there is probably no complete answer...probably haven't helped in your quest for knowledge but hopefully you get my drift

If you are looking for an oldskool ride there is loads of bargains to be had,mongoose,torker and cw that you mentioned aren't too expensive (someone just picked up a nice torker freestyler for a bargain a couple of days ago) in comparison to some other bikes..so worth shopping around and seeing what is out there...good luck jason

[chromeOrange]

Thanks for your responses guys.

Monkeybiscuits - that's three times you've welcomed me to this site! You are a gentleman sir! 

Your sentiments, along with Sweetbeats are exactly what I was talking about. And believe me, I share them too or I wouldn't be on here. Time travel, nostalgia, personal preference, one man's meat is another man's poison  the very best that you can afford and the very best that you can build etc...

Still, from an engineering and design perspective, standing back in the 80's or right here today, some bikes must have been far, far superior to others. Even if prices today do not sure that qualitative variation.

  I want reviews like they do of fast cars 

 

Mark

[Broggie]

I'd love to be able to tell you that certain bikes were better than others technically because a, b or c.  But the only thing I can is that probably a lot of 'inventions' were pushed on factory riders which didn't work, but that the riders had to say were 'awesome' because the sponsorship depended on paying lip service to the factories and their profits.

The problem is not finding the bike that most people find the best-est...but finding the bike that is best-est for you.

I've spent thousands of pounds on desired bikes, icons of the period, only to find that the best bike for me is a 1995 Haro Group 1 that I bought for £40.

Go figure.   


Ray.

[OrgasmDonor]

I've spent thousands of pounds on desired bikes, icons of the period, only to find that the best bike for me is a 1995 Haro Group 1 that I bought for £40.

Go figure.   


Ray.

i aint spent that much, but in a nut shell this is bang on, i was utterly oldschool but sold all of it bar one bike n got into midschool race bike as they ride fantastic.

i aint ridden any jmc's so i can't comment on them but ive rode alot of bikes n my top 2 would be GHP race wise n Haro sports freestyle wise, as i prefer the extra inch to the masters, buy what you always liked BITD and build it as you wanted to BITD, there are too many stock bikes at the mo (all very nice) but i think its time a few more started "to mix it up" a bit as variety is the spice etc etc. the only rule i use when buyin frames (i buy usa frames ive never even heard of before) is that, if the geometry looks good and the welds look good, then its more than likely gonna ride well, and thats what keeps me smiling. theres a whole world of bikes out there, don't be afraid to think outside the box as your the one whos gonna ride the fooker

[chromeOrange]

Can't argue with any of that at all...

I've also just discovered Moley's 'BMX Recollection scans'. Just what I was looking for. Great stuff...

Mark.

[Frosty]

Ther is no answer to what was best for racing and best for freestyle, if there was there would only be 1 of each bike BITD. Horses for courses and riding styles etc - there is always something new appearing on this site vbmx or osbmx even though for the earliest stuff we are looking at being nigh on 35+ years old. Also in most instances there will usually be someone on forum who likes, wants or needs something that to a lot of others aint worth a 2nd glance -burners do serve as a good example for this phenomenon - knocked by most but equally a lot of folk have them!

Just go out and get something and build it as you want - back to oem or as you would likely have wanted it in the day - less decals and with all your favourite components!!

Don't worry about what you build, just be sure to post up pics when it is done

[bobafett]

What would be the better card to have in a hand of Top Trumps

chromeOrange - OS BMX Top Trumps ! Do I like the sound of that 

[DIRTBIKER250F]

What would be the better card to have in a hand of Top Trumps

chromeOrange - OS BMX Top Trumps ! Do I like the sound of that 

Yeah me to, Rad pull yer finger out. Radbmx old school top trumps for xmas. We all want it 

[sweetbeats]

You may want to try this site as a reference for oldskool stuff martin-bike.com

That should help pass the time i.e you will end up on there all weekend

Some great sections on there that I am sure will wet the old bmx appetite..and also a section of oldskool bmx price record breakers from ebay.com

which will give you an idea of what the most sought after stuff is going for these days.

Have a good weekend

[bobafett]

You may want to try this site as a reference for oldskool stuff martin-bike.com

That should help pass the time i.e you will end up on there all weekend

Some great sections on there that I am sure will wet the old bmx appetite..and also a section of oldskool bmx price record breakers from ebay.com

which will give you an idea of what the most sought after stuff is going for these days.

Have a good weekend

seconded 

[sweetbeats]

Cheers Bobafet

[chromeOrange]

"You may want to try this site as a reference for oldskool stuff martin-bike.com
That should help pass the time i.e you will end up on there all weekend
Some great sections on there that I am sure will wet the old bmx appetite..and also a section of oldskool bmx price record breakers from ebay.com
which will give you an idea of what the most sought after stuff is going for these days.
Have a good weekend"

Awesome site. Thanks sweetbeats. That takes care of Sunday... 

Mark.

[Waxintaxin]

Good questions
heres my take

The old school stuff is collectible so that skews any real meaning on price against the technical quality of a part or frame. Hutch is a prime example of this , tbo pretty crappy made stuff hutch ,technically pretty poor the chrome was shite and fell off the cranks didnt work the frames were OK but i have seen some god awfull errors on hutches consistently.

Rippers prove that supply and demand dont always hold true, there are 100s of loopy rippers out there yet they do go for good money, why. they are in mine and a lot of otheres opinion the most iconic frame and forks from the 80s , SE were ahaead of thier time in terms of marketing and image,but the ripper was a good, if a little snappy frame , too small to ride now but still cool and as such gets high scores on the collectible scale

an example of fashion over quality is Curtis , fantastic well made bikes some of the best quality welding i have ever seen and great frames, yet a more common and less well made frames get bigger money

there are so many reasons that old school prices are the way they are and in reality the bestest bike dosent exist as everybody is different and thier riding style is different so different frames work best for different people

 JMC are a lovely made technically superb frame and forks ,and fetch high prices so maybe its a JMC , but for me its anything SE so go figure

Rich

[sweetbeats]

"You may want to try this site as a reference for oldskool stuff martin-bike.com
That should help pass the time i.e you will end up on there all weekend
Some great sections on there that I am sure will wet the old bmx appetite..and also a section of oldskool bmx price record breakers from ebay.com
which will give you an idea of what the most sought after stuff is going for these days.
Have a good weekend"

Awesome site. Thanks sweetbeats. That takes care of Sunday... 

Mark.


More than welcome mark  have a good weekend.

[kevin rettie]

What would be the better card to have in a hand of Top Trumps

chromeOrange - OS BMX Top Trumps ! Do I like the sound of that 

That sounds pretty Rad..

I have access to graphic designers and printers so could easily set up a template if we wanted to make some up? 

What you all think?

[DIRTBIKER250F]

Id buy em, although a room on Rad were you could play against each other with random shuffled card would be Ace of base 

[bobafett]

Id buy em, although a room on Rad were you could play against each other with random shuffled card would be Ace of base 

Online OS BMX top trumps - does it get any better than that ?

[sweetbeats]

Id buy em, although a room on Rad were you could play against each other with random shuffled card would be Ace of base 

They already play top trumps in the secret room as well as bmx bingo

[bobafett]

They already play top trumps in the secret room as well as bmx bingo

BMX bingo - does that have all it's own bingo callers catch phrases ? Like instead of 2 fat ladies for 88 it's 4 mint tuff wheels 

[sweetbeats]

They already play top trumps in the secret room as well as bmx bingo

BMX bingo - does that have all it's own bingo callers catch phrases ? Like instead of 2 fat ladies for 88 it's 4 mint tuff wheels 

You guessed it....sweet sixteen mike dominguez
1 fat lady..glyn lewis etc 

[chromeOrange]

"Rippers prove that supply and demand dont always hold true, there are 100s of loopy rippers out there yet they do go for good money, why. they are in mine and a lot of otheres opinion the most iconic frame and forks from the 80s , SE were ahaead of thier time in terms of marketing and image,but the ripper was a good, if a little snappy frame , too small to ride now but still cool and as such gets high scores on the collectible scale..."

'PK Ripper' was the one name that stayed with me through all those years of not BMX'ing. Iconic like you say. And handsome too. Even the SE cruisers are spot on IMO.

Mark.