Pro class racing 87 88

[paulgray]

Great pics and history.

I always thought Ruffell and Schofield were on Raleigh for much longer than a year.

I knew that Ruffell rode for Robinson briefly just before he retired, but didn't know Schofield did too.

It's ironic that Raleigh was responsible for helping BMX to grow by sponsoring 2 of the top riders and offering a mass produced affordable bike to the masses.  Burners were everywhere!  However, I think this contributed to the demise of BMX as well, as Raleigh diverted money away from real BMX companies, and Burners were so crap that people eventually moved on to mountain bikes or gave up riding altogether after they had outgrown or broken their Burner.

Alright Mike,

I remember that Chuck Robinson (the founder of the company) was over in the UK with Travis Chipres round about 88/89. I only met him the once at Chertsey and what a smashing bloke, it was obvious that he loved the sport and he gave us the low down on the latest starting techniques from the US. I don't know if he had anything to do with Andy and Craig getting their rides, maybe they can fill in the details?

 

I mostly agree with your last paragraph but I'm not so sure that Raleigh helped BMX grow. The masses were already well catered for, my mates bought Puch Murray, Huffy, Pro star, Piranha etc and then moved on to real BMX bikes like GT, Redline, Mongoose when we got the chance. Andy Ruffell was a mega star on team mongoose and that partnership was great for the sport. Mongoose made serious bikes and were a real BMX company with an interest in building the sport up. As I remember it BMX was already booming here by the time Raleigh got around to launching the burner. Ruffell went to Raleigh for the money and who can blame him, Raleigh wanted Ruffell to give them credibility which they lacked. Before BMX most parents bought their kid a Raleigh bike like a Chopper or a Grifter so Raleigh had an existing customer base. They knew that parents would go with a familiar brand rather than BMX companies they'd never heard of and having Ruffel on board reinforced their position. Raleigh knew they could sell a mass produced peice of shit (the Burner an insult to BMX) and make a killing for themselves and as far as I can see they did sod all to help the sport. What did they give back? Did they put anything into the sport a grass roots level? How many races were sponsored by Raleigh? Did they promote racing etc. Not to my knowledge, Kellogg's did far more for BMX than Raleigh which says heaps.

In my opinion Raleigh WAS NOT A BMX COMPANY, they were a parasite on the sport and did it no favours. I for one swore never to by a Raleigh bike again and I stand by that to this day.

 

I enjoyed myself there, been wanting to say that for ages 

[dialledbikes]

Paul, I love the passion of your rant 

Burners definitely did the sport no favours.

Have you started racing again?  When you coming to join us in 40+ cruiser?

[paulgray]

Paul, I love the passion of your rant 

Burners definitely did the sport no favours.

Have you started racing again?  When you coming to join us in 40+ cruiser?

Well Mike, it's coming up 20 years since I last raced, I've got an OS bike and now I've found my body armour and I think I've got a few races left in me but I've also got a long running medical condition which prevents me from riding at the moment  . I'm not incapacitated in general but I have to be careful to avoid injuries and that rules out activities like racing, my condition varies in severity over time and it's severe now but if/when things improve then we will see about a come back. My first target will be the OS boys cause I know MADD DOGGY wants my scalp, don't ya Russ  so I'll give him his chance if I can . I've never raced cruiser so that would be a new challenge. So for now I'll be diggin jumps for the young'uns and building my strength up at the same time.

[keiththompson]

Good rant Paul....lol. I agree raleigh were crap and it was so sad to see kids riding em up the quarry and couldnt jump them 6" of the floor because they were so heavy. What really put BMX down was the introduction of mountain bikes and we both went down that route ourselves (though you carried on racing longer). Raleigh tried to do the same thing with mountain bikes and its companys like that that do cycling no good at all.
To add to the rant one thing that p*sses me off is the Halfords advert where they sell crap bikes but get around it by saying all the bikes and put together expertly by experts to cover how crap and faulty the bikes they sell are.
They new then and still know now that its the parents (who dont have a clue) they sell to because come xmas morning the kids dont have a say in what santa brings them and Raleigh and now people like Halfords know who they advertise to.... not the kids but the parents.

[paulgray]

Good rant Paul....lol. I agree raleigh were crap and it was so sad to see kids riding em up the quarry and couldnt jump them 6" of the floor because they were so heavy. What really put BMX down was the introduction of mountain bikes and we both went down that route ourselves (though you carried on racing longer). Raleigh tried to do the same thing with mountain bikes and its companys like that that do cycling no good at all.
To add to the rant one thing that p*sses me off is the Halfords advert where they sell crap bikes but get around it by saying all the bikes and put together expertly by experts to cover how crap and faulty the bikes they sell are.
They new then and still know now that its the parents (who dont have a clue) they sell to because come xmas morning the kids dont have a say in what santa brings them and Raleigh and now people like Halfords know who they advertise to.... not the kids but the parents.

Yes, I'd like to see some decent morals and honest at play here, "Our bikes are crap, but their cheap" is along the lines I'm thinking. If I'd got a Raleigh Bummer for XMas  I think I'd have become an alcoholic hic 

This discussion has digressed and needs to get back onto PRO CLASS RACING dudes. 

[scott250]

Great pics and history.

I always thought Ruffell and Schofield were on Raleigh for much longer than a year.

I knew that Ruffell rode for Robinson briefly just before he retired, but didn't know Schofield did too.

It's ironic that Raleigh was responsible for helping BMX to grow by sponsoring 2 of the top riders and offering a mass produced affordable bike to the masses.  Burners were everywhere!  However, I think this contributed to the demise of BMX as well, as Raleigh diverted money away from real BMX companies, and Burners were so crap that people eventually moved on to mountain bikes or gave up riding altogether after they had outgrown or broken their Burner.

Alright Mike,

I remember that Chuck Robinson (the founder of the company) was over in the UK with Travis Chipres round about 88/89. I only met him the once at Chertsey and what a smashing bloke, it was obvious that he loved the sport and he gave us the low down on the latest starting techniques from the US. I don't know if he had anything to do with Andy and Craig getting their rides, maybe they can fill in the details?

 

I mostly agree with your last paragraph but I'm not so sure that Raleigh helped BMX grow. The masses were already well catered for, my mates bought Puch Murray, Huffy, Pro star, Piranha etc and then moved on to real BMX bikes like GT, Redline, Mongoose when we got the chance. Andy Ruffell was a mega star on team mongoose and that partnership was great for the sport. Mongoose made serious bikes and were a real BMX company with an interest in building the sport up. As I remember it BMX was already booming here by the time Raleigh got around to launching the burner. Ruffell went to Raleigh for the money and who can blame him, Raleigh wanted Ruffell to give them credibility which they lacked. Before BMX most parents bought their kid a Raleigh bike like a Chopper or a Grifter so Raleigh had an existing customer base. They knew that parents would go with a familiar brand rather than BMX companies they'd never heard of and having Ruffel on board reinforced their position. Raleigh knew they could sell a mass produced peice of shit (the Burner an insult to BMX) and make a killing for themselves and as far as I can see they did sod all to help the sport. What did they give back? Did they put anything into the sport a grass roots level? How many races were sponsored by Raleigh? Did they promote racing etc. Not to my knowledge, Kellogg's did far more for BMX than Raleigh which says heaps.

In my opinion Raleigh WAS NOT A BMX COMPANY, they were a parasite on the sport and did it no favours. I for one swore never to by a Raleigh bike again and I stand by that to this day.

 

I enjoyed myself there, been wanting to say that for ages 

It is ironic that both GT & Mongoose are now seen as just as bad as Raleigh for selling out and making naff products 

Same with Haro too.

OS GTs were nice, but don't forget Hutch and Skyways etc were nice bikes too.

The rebirth of BMX from S&M and Standard in the early 90s was born out of all the naff products being made and just a get up and build jumps and ride for the hell of it type of attitude, I guess you could add hoffman too.  Racing is in the Olympics now too, so some money must be going back into it?.  America has always had BMX racing too I think?


Think Dan used to ride a Burner up the quary & loved it  or so he told me, but you never can tell if Dans actually just saying stuff for a laugh, haha.  Dan could ride the quary smooth like - Mike and Ste used to look up to his style alot in the early 90s.

[paulgray]

Great pics and history.

I always thought Ruffell and Schofield were on Raleigh for much longer than a year.

I knew that Ruffell rode for Robinson briefly just before he retired, but didn't know Schofield did too.

It's ironic that Raleigh was responsible for helping BMX to grow by sponsoring 2 of the top riders and offering a mass produced affordable bike to the masses.  Burners were everywhere!  However, I think this contributed to the demise of BMX as well, as Raleigh diverted money away from real BMX companies, and Burners were so crap that people eventually moved on to mountain bikes or gave up riding altogether after they had outgrown or broken their Burner.

Alright Mike,

I remember that Chuck Robinson (the founder of the company) was over in the UK with Travis Chipres round about 88/89. I only met him the once at Chertsey and what a smashing bloke, it was obvious that he loved the sport and he gave us the low down on the latest starting techniques from the US. I don't know if he had anything to do with Andy and Craig getting their rides, maybe they can fill in the details?

 

I mostly agree with your last paragraph but I'm not so sure that Raleigh helped BMX grow. The masses were already well catered for, my mates bought Puch Murray, Huffy, Pro star, Piranha etc and then moved on to real BMX bikes like GT, Redline, Mongoose when we got the chance. Andy Ruffell was a mega star on team mongoose and that partnership was great for the sport. Mongoose made serious bikes and were a real BMX company with an interest in building the sport up. As I remember it BMX was already booming here by the time Raleigh got around to launching the burner. Ruffell went to Raleigh for the money and who can blame him, Raleigh wanted Ruffell to give them credibility which they lacked. Before BMX most parents bought their kid a Raleigh bike like a Chopper or a Grifter so Raleigh had an existing customer base. They knew that parents would go with a familiar brand rather than BMX companies they'd never heard of and having Ruffel on board reinforced their position. Raleigh knew they could sell a mass produced peice of shit (the Burner an insult to BMX) and make a killing for themselves and as far as I can see they did sod all to help the sport. What did they give back? Did they put anything into the sport a grass roots level? How many races were sponsored by Raleigh? Did they promote racing etc. Not to my knowledge, Kellogg's did far more for BMX than Raleigh which says heaps.

In my opinion Raleigh WAS NOT A BMX COMPANY, they were a parasite on the sport and did it no favours. I for one swore never to by a Raleigh bike again and I stand by that to this day.

 

I enjoyed myself there, been wanting to say that for ages 

It is ironic that both GT & Mongoose are now seen as just as bad as Raleigh for selling out and making naff products 

Same with Haro too.

OS GTs were nice, but don't forget Hutch and Skyways etc were nice bikes too.

The rebirth of BMX from S&M and Standard in the early 90s was born out of all the naff products being made and just a get up and build jumps and ride for the hell of it type of attitude, I guess you could add hoffman too.  Racing is in the Olympics now too, so some money must be going back into it?.  America has always had BMX racing too I think?


Think Dan used to ride a Burner up the quary & loved it  or so he told me, but you never can tell if Dans actually just saying stuff for a laugh, haha.  Dan could ride the quary smooth like - Mike and Ste used to look up to his style alot in the early 90s.

Hell my bike knowledge is in a time warp! I aint got a clue what happened in th 90s. GT were always a quality bike BITD, are they really seen as rubbish now  I remember Kenda tires used to be rubbish (e.g. Kenda Karate) but I think they are well respected now and used by top riders, how things have changed.

Hutch riders were nearly always fanatical about the brand as I remember, I always thought skyway was more freestyle than race.

Dan on a Raleigh bummer, he's gotta be pullin yor leg 

[Brandy Truffle]

I agree with comments about Raleigh for the most part guys, but I believe Raleigh DID do BMX a great favour.. BMX certainly was NOT "Booming" when Raleigh got involved early 1982... they had already a successful US team with Jeff Bottema and Toby Henderson

/>at the turn of the decade, so they were by no means jumping on the bandwagon.... they were/are a massive corporate so any decisions were obviously financial (not for the love of it)....

Yes,BMX was chugging along nicely in the UK thanks to the likes of Halfords and Ammaco but it wasnt until Raleigh (and their brightly coloured) Factory Team and National Ad campaign came along that BMX really exploded....thousands upon thousands of kids had burners of every description on the streets and at the tracks.... when they realised for the most part the bikes were not up to it, they upgraded to their Mongoose', Diamond Back, Kuwaharas etc then the more "in crowd" grabbed the exotica like JMC, GT etc....

Guys I saw all this unfold first hand throughout the years 81-86 when i "retired" from working in a Raleigh Main Dealer bike shop weekends and holidays as their resident BMX "Specialist"... it wasnt a local thing either, this was happening Nationally.

Raleigh (as a business) of course were in it for the money....but no-one can say they didnt do the sport any favours along the way. They gave BMX massive exposure through their national advertising.... since when did you see JMC, HUTCH, GT...advertising BMX products in the SUN or MIRROR newspapers back then? Raleigh BMX's were in there every week dragging people into the sport...who eventually would trade up to those "proper" BMX's they would otherwise probably never heard about....and with the average Burner lasting around 50 Bunny Hops before it cracked ..wasn't long!    ...and I know from all the irate parents and warranty claims!

Anyway, just thought I'd chip in...loved the original topic here guys.Awesome read. 

[paulgray]

I agree with comments about Raleigh for the most part guys, but I believe Raleigh DID do BMX a great favour.. BMX certainly was NOT "Booming" when Raleigh got involved early 1982... they had already a successful US team with Jeff Bottema and Toby Henderson

/>at the turn of the decade, so they were by no means jumping on the bandwagon.... they were/are a massive corporate so any decisions were obviously financial (not for the love of it)....

Yes,BMX was chugging along nicely in the UK thanks to the likes of Halfords and Ammaco but it wasnt until Raleigh (and their brightly coloured) Factory Team and National Ad campaign came along that BMX really exploded....thousands upon thousands of kids had burners of every description on the streets and at the tracks.... when they realised for the most part the bikes were not up to it, they upgraded to their Mongoose', Diamond Back, Kuwaharas etc then the more "in crowd" grabbed the exotica like JMC, GT etc....

Guys I saw all this unfold first hand throughout the years 81-86 when i "retired" from working in a Raleigh Main Dealer bike shop weekends and holidays as their resident BMX "Specialist"... it wasnt a local thing either, this was happening Nationally.

Raleigh (as a business) of course were in it for the money....but no-one can say they didnt do the sport any favours along the way. They gave BMX massive exposure through their national advertising.... since when did you see JMC, HUTCH, GT...advertising BMX products in the SUN or MIRROR newspapers back then? Raleigh BMX's were in there every week dragging people into the sport...who eventually would trade up to those "proper" BMX's they would otherwise probably never heard about....and with the average Burner lasting around 50 Bunny Hops before it cracked ..wasn't long!    ...and I know from all the irate parents and warranty claims!

Anyway, just thought I'd chip in...loved the original topic here guys.Awesome read. 

Oh oh! I think this topic has derailed but lets go with the flow ...

Hi Brandy,

As it must be apparent to all that I am a Burnerphobe  , I'm gonna come out fighting, try and duck underneath you and stuff your argument over the top of the next berm  with an elbow in the guts for good measure  nothing personal old chap, just like the good old days .

My involvement with BMX covered the period 82 through 93, with me racing from 82 to 89, so I also remember the period well. I was riding offroad from around 79 and saw BMX arrive here, I got my first BMX in 82 at age 14, a Huffy (cheap but decent geometry for BITD) and there were already loads of BMXs about at that time before the Burner was bodged together. None of the guys at the start had Raleighs because they were still selling Grifters, if a Raleigh BMX had been available then I dare say me and most of my friends would have had one. I started racing at Guisborough in 82 and numbers were climbing each week so my recollection is that BMX was already mushrooming when I got involved. Maybe your idea of booming is based on bike sales (Raleigh bike sales?) where as mine is based on the racing side of things. Having millions of kids owning BMXalike bikes is a sales triumph and if thats how you are measuring it then I understand your argument. To me BMX was dirt riding, jumping and racing, not riding a Burner up and down the street outside your house. BMX companies like Redline were pushing the limits with inovative  new products like 'flight cranks'.  I don't remember Raleigh doing anything innovative, if fact I can't think of a single good thing to say about the burner on the design front. If the Burner had been even loosely based on the bikes that the Raleigh team riders raced that would have been OK in my eyes, but what did a burner have in common with the bike Ruffell rode other than the name? Absolutely nothing is the answer, and to try and associate the Burner with the race teams success was just down right dishonest marketing bullshit. I find it repugnant that a large company makes a huge profit by selling a poor product as a race winner to a trusting but ignorant public and by exploiting the dreams of kids. Raleigh as a company could have should have done so much better. If I'd been a resident BMX specialist in a Raleigh main dealers would have been sacked on day one coz I'd have cut my tongue out before I'd have advised people to buy Burners when they could have got a much better bike for their money. Oh! did I mention my pathological hatred of sales men and large corporations , well there you go 

Finally fellow BMXers, just remember, when you say you rode/ride a BMX most people will picture YOU on an E.T. Burner, surely that alone is reason enough to hate Raleigh with a passion 

Next berm approaching, elbows out ...

P.S.

My knowledge of Raleighs activities in the USA is very limited but I would imagine that it is an independent entity. Was the burner as sold in the UK sold in the states?

Anyone want to talk about Pro Class Racing? 

[Brandy Truffle]

(sorry for stringing out the off topic..just contributing..)


Back on track....

Regards Travis Chipres, i saw him in 84 in the U.S. tearing everyone up.... how long did he race over here for/how did that come about/did any other U.S. notables visit after most of us left after the "Glory Years" 82-86...??


So many Questions..... 

[paulgray]

(sorry for stringing out the off topic..just contributing..)


Back on track....

Regards Travis Chipres, i saw him in 84 in the U.S. tearing everyone up.... how long did he race over here for/how did that come about/did any other U.S. notables visit after most of us left after the "Glory Years" 82-86...??


So many Questions..... 

(and I'll try not to have anymore Burnerphobic outbursts, promise)

I turned Pro partway through the 87 season as I wanted my first Pro race to be at my home track Redcar. I couldn't use my Superclass ranking number so I chose to run #19 for that year as I was 19 years old and it was a free number. The photos therefore show that Travis was here in 87, and as I said before, I think he came over with Chuck Robinson and might have lodged with Andy or Craig for a while (not 100% on that by any means). I guess all the UK riders wanted to test themselves against a US Pro as they set the bench mark that we all aspired to. I only remember racing him a few times so I don't think he was here for long and I don't remember racing against any other oversees Pros.

Looking back I should have turned Pro a year earlier. Staying Superclass for a second year was a mistake. Up to that point I'd always been aiming at beating guys who where older or more established than me and I think that's what really drove me, being the underdog. When I stayed Superclass for a second year the tables turned, I lost my big targets, and wasn't the underdog, I found myself fighting a rearguard action against the blazing fast youngsters like Tom Lynch and Darren Stock. If I'd have gone Pro a year earlier I would have got to race against some of the biggest UK and US names, and I missed out on that, damn  . I gotta say that fighting to get towards the top is difficult but staying up there is even harder. You've really got to admire people who can stay on the top rung for any length of time, when everyone is gunning for them.

Just to help date the other photos I was riding #7 in 88 and then #6 in 89, though the Pro Class was dead.   

[xtremepervert]

Paul, i can remember something i read BITD that if you turned Pro in BMX, that it meant that you would also have to be a professional in any other sport that you may wish to take up later in life. Can't remember which mag it was in? Say if you now took up veterans track & field, how the hell would anyone in that organisation know that you were once a Pro BMX rider? Can you shed any light on this please?

[paulgray]

Paul, i can remember something i read BITD that if you turned Pro in BMX, that it meant that you would also have to be a professional in any other sport that you may wish to take up later in life. Can't remember which mag it was in? Say if you now took up veterans track & field, how the hell would anyone in that organisation know that you were once a Pro BMX rider? Can you shed any light on this please?

XP, I'm not sure how much truth there was in the rumour but I heard that some people who I would have liked to have seen turn Pro didn't because of that reason. Back then it seems a lot of sports were run on a strictly amateur basis like Rugby Union and would ban athletes who played for money. Maybe this was the case with some of the non-BMX cycling organisations, and it could be that some BMX racers had ambitions outside of BMX so didn't want to be associated with the word professional. Speaking for myself, from 15 it was my ambition to race in the Pro class and to see how well I could do against Andy Ruffell and Tim March. I has no desire to play Tennis or Football or Rugby Union so it didn't bother me in the slightest if I was banned from those sports. BITD there was a lot of bad blood between UKBMX and NBMXA or so it seemed to me. In order for the Pros to be impartial and have control of their own affairs they needed there own association the PRA. What always made me laugh was that Superclass raced for money but just didn't call themselves Pro. What was the difference? they still raced for money! I just considered Superclass as a junior Pro class but without it's own independence.

I did a few amateur mountain bike races after I quit BMX without any problems at all.

What's the score now, don't the top riders call themselves Elite or something? Do they race for money? Is Elite just another word for Pro? To me the best should race Pro Class.

[teamsano]

OK this is from 89 and no more Pro class  so it was called SilverClass racing or something silly like that.

This was my final year of racing  Me 6 and Jamie 54 out front in a moto.

small snippet of info, no.1S is noel cowan, who i believe was the first rider to be a number one racer and number one in the bfa freestyle rankings for his age, now works for mtv.
no.55 is david wright, who is a member on here also.

another item in the pro/superclass debate was the fact that superclass couldn't win anymore than £125 (i think) and it still kept your amateur status.
i won some money once at pontins in a freestyle contest and had to hand it back in exchange for vouchers.

[paulgray]

OK this is from 89 and no more Pro class  so it was called SilverClass racing or something silly like that.

This was my final year of racing  Me 6 and Jamie 54 out front in a moto.

small snippet of info, no.1S is noel cowan, who i believe was the first rider to be a number one racer and number one in the bfa freestyle rankings for his age, now works for mtv.
no.55 is david wright, who is a member on here also.

another item in the pro/superclass debate was the fact that superclass couldn't win anymore than £125 (i think) and it still kept your amateur status.
i won some money once at pontins in a freestyle contest and had to hand it back in exchange for vouchers.

To be #1 in two different disciplines is a real achievement, well done Mr Cowan.

I remember Ian Jonson putting on a couple of money races with something like a £300 purse with £100 for first. The first one was held at Teeside Airport, come the main I tangled with John Tucker in the first corner and John Knotman got underneath us both and took a good victory in front of Me and Tuck.

 

I'm sure that none of the riders involved where even Superclass at the time but so what? In my opinion if you want to race and someone wants to offer a prize fund then that's up to the individuals concerned and its no body else's business. I don't know how things are now but BITD it would have been better if the PRO class had been open to anyone that wanted to enter, if you wanted to race 16 and Pro, then fine, or 17+ and Pro then fine, simply put, if you wanted a shot at the money and the glory then fine, whats he problem? Who are these people that make up stupid rules like you can only win up to £125 or be blacklisted as if you're some kind of criminal. I'd like to say to those people "go SHOVE IT" and stop interfering with peoples freedoms.