Old School BMX 1980 - 1988 => Old School Race (riders ready, pedals ready... GO!!) => Topic started by: woody allen bars on September 20, 2010, 09:24 PM
Title: MY Redline PL20 - rebuilt after 26 years
Post by: woody allen bars on September 20, 2010, 09:24 PM
With a new baby to care for and being unemployed for nearly a year BMX has taken a bit of a back seat recently in our house, but I finally got round to finishing my PL20 last week. I originally bought the Redline new from Dave Harvey at The BMX Centre in Mousehole in August 1984, replacing an MX-II which had become a bit short. Having saved up long 'n hard I bought the Proline frame and fork, and tho' I'm no Redline expert I'm guessing it's an early example with the gusset behind the seatpost as a mate bought another PL20 on the same day and his doesn't have the gusset plate. I also splashed out on a Tuf-Neck stem and Powerdisc and used other parts taken off the MX-II, including chrome VDC Woody Itson bars. Not long afterwards I picked up a Tioga Task Force one piecer with triangular arms, and a sealed Tioga BB - having just left school and also buying a '65 Beetle project back then there was no way I could also afford Flights for it! As I'm fairly tall it obviously rode a little nicer than the old MX-II, but I wasn't taking racing so seriously as before . . . everone seemed to be getting faster by the week 'cept me.
Late in the summer of '84 the CW Team came to Penzance on a promo tour, headed up by US pros Pete Loncarevich and Jarrett Justice. I pretty much forgot about that day - doubtless due to my lacklustre performance - until Daryl Gibbard posted up this photo on Facebook, the start gate line up for the 16+ group including the two aforementioned Pros plus UK sponsored riders Paul Miller and Richard Thorner, and local CW Support team rider Adrian 'Animal' Watson who was probably the fastest guy in the southwest at that time. Also on the gate were a guy from Devon whose name I can't recall plus Marcus Newberry on a Changa and yours truly second from right on the new PL20. Adrian on his home track gave PP a very tight race, while I finished near the back of the pack. I don't think I raced more than half a dozen times after that, and consequently this is the only pic I've got of me on the PL, a few months before I gave up BMX for other interests (cars, girls, drink, etc - the usual story). The PL got sold on, and I thought no more about it.
In 1990 my brother and I decided to have another crack at riding. I found out that Derrick Pascoe (known to many of the Cornish Oldfools) had my old PL20, and with a bit of persuasion he let me have it back and I rode it for a year before finally getting an early Homeless Mack direct from Trend. This time round the Proline had a lot harder life, but apart from knackered chrome and a slight crack in the seatpost opening it stood up to regular use with no problems. Here's a pic of it alongside my bro's newly acquired Airmaster in 1990, with an original KHE Grindisk, Woody bars, a Redline six bolt stem and Araya ADX rims. The second pic is a street toothpick on the same bike (note unusual riding gear, inc. steel toecap DMs).
With the Homeless frame/fork to use the PL20 frame/fork was consigned to the shed, next to the MX-II frame which I inadvertantly kept. In 2000 I decided to rebuild the Proline in the future, so I picked up a few NOS parts including a pair of black MX1000s for £35 off Alans, a pair of black shinyside 7X rims. and some Grippa tyres the same as I used back then. About five years ago I got the frameset rechromed by Vehicle & General in Hitchen who did a nice job of the fork but were less impressive with the frame. I fitted Redline's dodgy PL20 stickers but I've got a nice repro Proline decal set from Subwax which would suit a new chrome job, maybe one day I'll have the frame rechromed by Newquay Plating who did a fantastic job of the bars and cranks. Like the cranks, the stem and powerdisc are original to the bike, and I resisted the urge to go mad with a polishing wheel, leaving them as tidy survivor pieces. The stem's shaft had originally cracked at the top but Derrick freed it from the alloy base plate and milled the tube straight so it's fine again. I'm pleased with the finished bike - all that's left for me to do is find the red/black Haro Tech plate that I stashed somewhere back in Cornwall.
Frame/fork: 1984 Redline PL20 serial no. 508544 Headset: Beartrap 2 with Suntour Headlock Stem: Tuf-Neck Handlebar: VDC Woody Itson Grips: A'me Tri Lever: D-C Tech III Cable: D-C Rear brake: D-C MX1000 with centralising Seat: Elina lightning bolt Seat post: Fluted chro-moly Clamp: Suntour BB set: Tioga sealed Cranks: Tioga Task Force 175mm Pedals: Shimano DX Spider: Tuf-Neck powerdisk Chainwheel: PPP 45t Chain: Izumi black/chrome 1/2" Tyres: Mitsuboshi Grippa 1.75" Rims: Araya 7X shinyside Spokes: DT stainless Front hub: Suntour sealed Rear hub: Suntour sealed Freewheel: Shimano 16t chrome Pads: California Lite
Big thanks to Del Pascoe for taking care of the PL and allowing me to have it back, my brother Chris for his help in getting the parts, Mikey Richardson for his wheelbuilding skills, and Dave Young for selling me his VDC bars via a tip-off from Alex.
The MX-II will be next, hopefully that won't take me 10 years to complete!
~ Craig
Title: Re: MY Redline PL20 - rebuilt after 26 years
Post by: brummie on September 20, 2010, 09:28 PM
lush 8)
Title: Re: MY Redline PL20 - rebuilt after 26 years
Post by: beard1973 on September 20, 2010, 09:29 PM
Craig... she is stunning!!!! :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten: :smitten:
Title: Re: MY Redline PL20 - rebuilt after 26 years
Post by: HUTCHMAN on September 20, 2010, 09:36 PM
i'm in love...thats luuurvly. :smitten:
Title: Re: MY Redline PL20 - rebuilt after 26 years
Post by: sid1972 on September 20, 2010, 09:39 PM
thats is ace mate - fantastic.. :smitten:
Title: Re: MY Redline PL20 - rebuilt after 26 years
Post by: ron burgundy on September 20, 2010, 09:43 PM
Fantastic, love the history :daumenhoch:
Title: Re: MY Redline PL20 - rebuilt after 26 years
Post by: In2 bmx on September 20, 2010, 09:46 PM
That is stunning .. :smitten: And a great story.. :daumenhoch:
Title: Re: MY Redline PL20 - rebuilt after 26 years
Post by: hunterdubber on September 20, 2010, 09:49 PM
What a great post and story :)
and ultimately a lovely ,lovely looking bike :smitten:
You must be stoked :coolsmiley:
Title: Re: MY Redline PL20 - rebuilt after 26 years
Post by: Jaymz on September 20, 2010, 09:51 PM
What a great story, and the result is bike well worth waiting for
Title: Re: MY Redline PL20 - rebuilt after 26 years
Post by: Gashead on September 20, 2010, 09:53 PM
Stunning :4_17_5:
But how is the bike balanced in the first and last pic ?
Title: Re: MY Redline PL20 - rebuilt after 26 years
Post by: brettypeeps on September 20, 2010, 10:02 PM
Now that is nice :daumenhoch: great pictures
Title: Re: MY Redline PL20 - rebuilt after 26 years
Post by: glenboy on September 20, 2010, 10:05 PM
lovely crisp build that, i love the redlines :daumenhoch:
Title: Re: MY Redline PL20 - rebuilt after 26 years
Post by: double chevron on September 20, 2010, 10:07 PM
Wild !!! The story, the bike, the resto, the pics.... congrats X4!! :daumenhoch:
Title: Re: MY Redline PL20 - rebuilt after 26 years
Post by: fischflo on September 20, 2010, 10:08 PM
great bike --- maybe switch to Redline pads some day :) , but very cool in any way
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ R E D L I N E _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Title: Re: MY Redline PL20 - rebuilt after 26 years
Post by: sweetbeats on September 20, 2010, 10:19 PM
Sexy :buck2:
Title: Re: MY Redline PL20 - rebuilt after 26 years
Post by: michaelprestage on September 20, 2010, 11:14 PM
Great Thread, Great Story, Fooking "A" Redline
Title: Re: MY Redline PL20 - rebuilt after 26 years
Post by: RATTY on September 21, 2010, 07:48 AM
Loving that, very nice indeed :daumenhoch:
Title: Re: MY Redline PL20 - rebuilt after 26 years
Post by: Brandy Truffle on September 21, 2010, 12:14 PM
Superb! Lucky to grab that back! Done it real justice. :daumenhoch:
Title: Re: MY Redline PL20 - rebuilt after 26 years
Post by: Peter J on September 21, 2010, 12:22 PM
Good Story......lovley bike.............fantastic resto :smitten:
:daumenhoch:
Title: Re: MY Redline PL20 - rebuilt after 26 years
Post by: NORTY40 on September 21, 2010, 12:30 PM
Great story with a great bike to go with it :daumenhoch:
Looks mint :coolsmiley:
Title: Re: MY Redline PL20 - rebuilt after 26 years
Post by: brass monkey! on September 21, 2010, 12:55 PM
top work mate !
great story too :coolsmiley:
Title: Re: MY Redline PL20 - rebuilt after 26 years
Post by: Mattdub on September 21, 2010, 01:48 PM
Great looking bike & the history is superb too ;) . Love the gate pic too , JJ got his snap on ! .
Title: Re: MY Redline PL20 - rebuilt after 26 years
Post by: MartyC on September 21, 2010, 05:12 PM
Fook me, that's horny :smitten:
Quality restoration and great to have the history with it :daumenhoch:
Title: Re: MY Redline PL20 - rebuilt after 26 years
Post by: woody allen bars on September 21, 2010, 08:51 PM
Thanks for all the positive comments guys - glad you like it. 8)
I've always liked Prolines since I first saw Stu on that red one in BMXA back in 1980, great looking frames and built to last as this old one proves. Would love to have an early model one day . . .
Cheers,
~ Craig
Title: Re: MY Redline PL20 - rebuilt after 26 years
Post by: mopar lowcar on September 21, 2010, 09:10 PM
Well done Bruv.
The PL's looking beautiful. (It looks even better now that it's out in the fresh air!) Now you've got to get that MX11 sorted ,that's the one I really want to see finished!
Cheers, Chris.
Title: Re: MY Redline PL20 - rebuilt after 26 years
Post by: markyp on September 22, 2010, 10:33 PM
wow,and nice to see h bars instead of god damn awful v bars!!! :smitten: :smitten:
Title: Re: MY Redline PL20 - rebuilt after 26 years
Post by: glenboy on September 23, 2010, 12:03 AM
hiya craig thanks a million after revisiting your post again i realised i had the same frame and forks a pl -20 redline , i was a bit confused with mine as it had the gusset behind the seatpost and the others i saw didn't mine also has a serial number starting with a 5 , is it also known as a proline 2 , mine looks a bit differrent to the post i had it in now as tyres ,stem seatpost now changed but just glad i can finally pin it down exactly :daumenhoch:, i love my redline and its a really nice bike to ride
thats my mate chris sample in gate 6 , had a great day down there and made the trip back on the night train , happy days
That's him, thanks fella, it was a fun day and great memories.
Cheers for the comments about the one piece crank, from what I remember (in the southwest at least) Flights were few and far between, most of us down there used a one piece crank even if they didn't last too long before bending. The Tioga crank is an exception, still as straight as the day I bought it 8)
~ Craig
Title: Re: MY Redline PL20 - rebuilt after 26 years
Post by: magna13 on January 12, 2011, 03:14 PM
awesome bit of kit :daumenhoch:
Title: Re: MY Redline PL20 - rebuilt after 26 years
Post by: Dingobmxer on January 16, 2011, 07:33 AM
beautiful :smitten:
Dingo
Title: Re: MY Redline PL20 - rebuilt after 26 years
Post by: torkertony on January 16, 2011, 06:00 PM
Stunning! :smitten:
Title: Re: MY Redline PL20 - rebuilt after 26 years
Post by: Glynnyboy on January 16, 2011, 08:58 PM
Just seen this....Great story and a great looking job you have done on the bike too. :coolsmiley: