So... i'll go first. I have already spoken to ANIMAL (Steve) about entering this as it is mainly built for our charity bike ride next weekend. As such i am not expecting too many votes, but i am posting this to raise awareness and hopefully generate a little support for our cause. We have quite a few BMX riders heading down from London to Brighton with us for this event..... 54miles!
As such i have built this with an eye towards comfort and light-weight, using a tall gearing (46/14T) and the longest OPC I could find.
The most elusive WHEELS frame of all… here we have a Birmingham WHEELS Pro - one of only 4 known and one of only two in the UK. This 18.75inch race frame was sourced from the Netherlands, having originally been part of the p.v.HOOF supplied Birmingham WHEELS Dutch team line up, and comprises Reynolds 531 tubing.
Frame: 1983 Birmingham WHEELS ‘Pro’ BMX in butted Reynolds 531 tubing. 18.75inch TT length. Early frame number of 091. Original candy white paint, with a custom black decal set including the p.v.HOOF shop logo as found. Custom early head tube decal designed from an early original provided by the ex-WHEELS team manager; created by Mike ‘GRABONKID’.
Dimensions: 18.75inches centre of seat tube to centre of head tube (top tube), but lowered down the seat post tube to dramatically alter the seatpost tube angle, increasing distance from bars to seat.
Forks: Bottema M-2 race forks. Original chrome finish. They also came with a cork ‘butt-plug’ which I have retained. Never seen this before….?
Bars: Original Birmingham WHEELS Reynolds-tubed race bars.
Stem: Tuf Neck Patent Pending.
Flex-fighter: NOS Raspberry TT Racing Jam Buttie.
Wheels: Rib-sided Ambrosio skinny rims laced to polished low flange Suzue hubs. RADial front.
Tyres: Schwalbe Durano Raceguard.
Padset: Original Birmingham WHEELS top tube pad only.
Headset: Original 80’s NOS red Tange 125 headset.
Grips: Super-rare NOS black/white Akrons.
Brakes: NOS black/white combo Dia-Compe 901.
Brakepads: White Dia-compe.
Brake Cable: White with red text 84 dated Dia-Compe.
Lever: Red NOS early 80’s Tech 2's.
Cranks: Super-rare 180mm Hanabishi OPC.
Spider: Bullseye, drilled out to accommodate an OPC prior to my ownership.
Pedals: ACS Stoker in black.
Chainring: NOS red YES! Racing 46T (Birmingham WHEELS sponsored by YES! BMX).
Chain: Half black Izumi chain with a single NOS red ROE Whale Tail chain tensioner – drive side only.
Bottom Bracket: NOS Sugino.
Seat clamp: NOS Raspberry TT Racing Jam Buttie.
Seat post: NOS UNI Graphite Pro 14.
Seat: Black with Red generic modern padded(!) mountain bike item.
Plate: NOS Mirage III with original NOS UNI number (Birmingham WHEELS sponsored by Alan's BMX, providing them with Mirage race plates bitd).
Griff has very kindly loaned me the water bottle holder - tried and tested on a 36mile training run last weekend. My sister, wifey Rachel and I are joining several other OS BMXers on 11th September for the ride down to Brighton, so wish us all luck!
Here's the charity link one last time....
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