Author Topic: Responsibilities of restoring BMX (Read 1418 times)

slurp · « **on:** October 01, 2009, 09:43 AM »

Do we have responsibilities when restoring old bits and bobs.

If we get an old and tired chrome frame do we rechrome at £200 or paint it a non original colour for £60?

If we need a gold tuf neck stem for a show build should we reannodise a silver NOS one or wait for a gold one to turn up.

Should we all stick to survivor builds and forget the show ponies?

This is not having a dig at anybody by the way but sometimes I find it hard to open my bits NOS packaging, not because of the money side but because I feel it should be preserved for what ever reason the way it was in the 80's.

JT71 · « **Reply #1 on:** October 01, 2009, 09:55 AM »

rip the NOS packaging away, bin it, build it how you like it with NOS or not parts. ride it, thrash it. have fun!

some times seeing red/blue minty never ridden TAs get's a bit dull, I like things with a bit of individuality and some dirt on the tyres.

How amazing was it seeing Glen basically thrash a TA with Tuffs on the charity cruise? Awesome!

meticulous · « **Reply #2 on:** October 01, 2009, 10:11 AM »

i sort of agree with joe, if the chromes nackerd then get it rechromed or even resprayed, as it will only help preserve it longer and enhance the looks of it... it would be a shame though to respray a mint original chrome job though...

HEYWOOD BMX · « **Reply #3 on:** October 01, 2009, 10:15 AM »

Valid arguments for both points.My thoughts for the "carpet queen" bunch is to build at least 1 bike & bloody well ride it.You`ve no excuse,unless you`re dead

neiljonarcus · « **Reply #4 on:** October 01, 2009, 10:23 AM »

i love the word "refurb" as alot of other people on hear do also . these is time for refurb and time to leave thigs as they should be " aged " . i love to see surviour bikes it give the true meaning to old school bmx . but to get a load of old rusty chipped paint work stickers missing and bring it back to shop window quality is a massive buzz

brummie · « **Reply #5 on:** October 01, 2009, 10:30 AM »

Quote from: HEYWOOD BMX on October 01, 2009, 10:15 AM

Valid arguments for both points.My thoughts for the "carpet queen" bunch is to build at least 1 bike & bloody well ride it.You`ve no excuse,unless you`re dead

what he said

JT71 · « **Reply #6 on:** October 01, 2009, 10:33 AM »

I love it when a chick p1sses in her jeans.

neiljonarcus · « **Reply #7 on:** October 01, 2009, 10:39 AM »

Quote from: JT71 on October 01, 2009, 10:33 AM

I love it when a chick p1sses in her jeans.

me too ....................... is this bad to like bmx wee wee and people hurting them selves

HEYWOOD BMX · « **Reply #8 on:** October 01, 2009, 11:10 AM »

Nothing wrong as such as with building showbikes(& some are too rare/valuable to be thrashed)just of the opinion that some people should stop creaming over them & get a BMX ,OS or NS and ride it.Some need to learn that BMX didn`t stop in 1987 & that riding is fun regardless of your age...

Withy · « **Reply #9 on:** October 01, 2009, 11:33 AM »

clean it, do what you need to make it look as cool as the day you bought it, then ride it. They weren't designed to hang on a wall or sit in a stand on a carpet
just my point of view

pickle · « **Reply #10 on:** October 01, 2009, 11:52 AM »

i don't think there's any rule book as such for restoring BMX parts and bikes........you build a bike with parts and colours that you as an individual like or love.

i don't have any real oppinions on wheather a bike should be thrashed or hung on a wall......at the end of the day you do whatever floats your boat.

i do however (and this is only myself) believe that there are a few things that should never be done.

1. paint tuffs (either buy a set in that colour, bleach them or dye them) people have spent decades trying to rectify this from BITD
2. repair a frame and powder over it, then selling it on without bringing this to the buyers attention (Just not cricket)

but if it's your bike/part you can however build it and do with it, whatever you want to

JT71 · « **Reply #11 on:** October 01, 2009, 11:53 AM »

Quote from: pickle on October 01, 2009, 11:52 AM

i don't think there's any rule book as such for restoring BMX parts and bikes........you build a bike with parts and colours that you as an individual like or love.

i don't have any real oppinions on wheather a bike should be thrashed or hung on a wall......at the end of the day you do whatever floats your boat.

i do however (and this is only myself) believe that there are a few things that should never be done.

1. paint tuffs (either buy a set in that colour, bleach them or dye them) people have spent decades trying to rectify this from BITD
2. repair a frame and powder over it, then selling it on without bringing this to the buyers attention (Just not cricket)

but if it's your bike/part you can however build it and do with it, whatever you want to

but Rob...what's your view on chicks p1ssing in their jeans?

pickle · « **Reply #12 on:** October 01, 2009, 11:55 AM »

fooking lovely!!! and use it as mouth wash

diesel · « **Reply #13 on:** October 01, 2009, 12:00 PM »

Its a difficult game this. But by far - Patience is the key

FIRSTLY - I've made my fair share of mistakes (mostly from being impatient)

I think you should do the very best that you can.

If you need a 'gold tuf neck' and you have a 'blue' one, then you should try your hardest to trade it or find a replacement 1st.

If that fails and its 'not' NOS then I see no reason why it can't be re-anodized as it would have been originally.

One of my bains at the moment is people mirror polishing stuff - Most old school alloy would have been Satin finish, which in its own right looks stunning.

I could go on and on but I think you probably get the general gist of where I'm coming from.

HEYWOOD BMX · « **Reply #14 on:** October 01, 2009, 12:03 PM »

Quote from: JT71 on October 01, 2009, 10:33 AM

I love it when a chick p1sses in her jeans.

I dunno ,nowt worse than a piss filled drip tray.(a gusset to all you layfolks)

Swivel · « **Reply #15 on:** October 01, 2009, 12:25 PM »

Quote from: n2cus on October 01, 2009, 10:23 AM

i love to see surviour bikes it give the true meaning to old school bmx . but to get a load of old rusty chipped paint work stickers missing and bring it back to shop window quality is a massive buzz

telelogic · « **Reply #16 on:** October 01, 2009, 12:45 PM »

I can't/won't own anything that is not used (it keeps the clutter down and stops me from buying stuff I don't need) So if I build a bike it will be ridden.
that doesn't stop me from making it look pretty! we all chopped and changed part's like mad back in the day, so I don't have a problem with mixing and matching.

re, keeping things accurate for history's sake? fook that! we Are talking about "kids bikes" here.
the only reason they seem so valuable is that we all keep pushing the prices up ourselves. the intrinsic value of this stuff is bugger all!

double chevron · « **Reply #17 on:** October 01, 2009, 01:17 PM »

Quote from: diesel on October 01, 2009, 12:00 PM

Its a difficult game this. But by far - Patience is the key

FIRSTLY - I've made my fair share of mistakes (mostly from being impatient)

I think you should do the very best that you can.

If you need a 'gold tuf neck' and you have a 'blue' one, then you should try your hardest to trade it or find a replacement 1st.

If that fails and its 'not' NOS then I see no reason why it can't be re-anodized as it would have been originally.

One of my bains at the moment is people mirror polishing stuff - Most old school alloy would have been Satin finish, which in its own right looks stunning.

I could go on and on but I think you probably get the general gist of where I'm coming from.

Can only agree with this, I like restoring parts but I always try to make them look like they used to but necessarily like they should if I was a professional polisher

Get the historical argument about preservation, too. But who else will "enjoy" something NOS in the packet if he's not a collector ?
Will it even be more enjoyable in 10 years ? God knows...

Anyways, yeah kids bikes, so each to their own I presume, have fun in what you do, either trashing an oldschool ride or keeping some carpet queen away from dust...

oldschool rider · « **Reply #18 on:** October 01, 2009, 01:23 PM »

I personally don't restore bikes but I do love looking at a beautifully restored bike, as stated before we all changed parts on our bikes BITD as long as the bike looks good that should be all that matters. Rider replicas however DO need to be exact or it's not a replica !!

Carpet queens or riders it's all BMX and it's all good in my book, just keep enjoying whatever you do!!!

ok suns out I'm gonna ride.

Cheers,
Steve.

dannywhiteley · « **Reply #19 on:** October 01, 2009, 03:03 PM »

the only reason they seem so valuable is that we all keep pushing the prices up ourselves. the intrinsic value of this stuff is bugger all!

Intrinsic value of a roman jug? Banksy original? VW Golf once owned by the Pope? - next to feck all basically, but for some reason people seem to pay over the odds for things they deem collectable and 'rare'...

slurp · « **Reply #20 on:** October 01, 2009, 03:06 PM »

Quote from: double chevron on October 01, 2009, 01:17 PM

Quote from: diesel on October 01, 2009, 12:00 PM
Its a difficult game this. But by far - Patience is the key

FIRSTLY - I've made my fair share of mistakes (mostly from being impatient)

I think you should do the very best that you can.

If you need a 'gold tuf neck' and you have a 'blue' one, then you should try your hardest to trade it or find a replacement 1st.

If that fails and its 'not' NOS then I see no reason why it can't be re-anodized as it would have been originally.

One of my bains at the moment is people mirror polishing stuff - Most old school alloy would have been Satin finish, which in its own right looks stunning.

I could go on and on but I think you probably get the general gist of where I'm coming from.

Can only agree with this, I like restoring parts but I always try to make them look like they used to but necessarily like they should if I was a professional polisher

Get the historical argument about preservation, too. But who else will "enjoy" something NOS in the packet if he's not a collector ?
Will it even be more enjoyable in 10 years ? God knows...

Anyways, yeah kids bikes, so each to their own I presume, have fun in what you do, either trashing an oldschool ride or keeping some carpet queen away from dust...

Who enjoys anything if there not into it in the 1st place. If I found one of Michael Jackson gloves it would just be a glove to me as he means nothing to me. To his fans it would be worth thousands.

I guess as BMX was a massive part of most 30 odd year old lives BITD do we, as people still into the scene have a responsibility to preserve it, and are we? If we powder coat every chrome TA white then that part of BMX history is gone. ( I appreciate they can be re chromed again ) or if we all went out and trashed our JMC, VDC or burners until they cracked beyond repair then again that piece of our history has been lost. The same with NOS parts in there original packages. If we open them all up to use on show bikes will it matter in 10, 20 years time. As stuff gets rarer we cant just go to our local bike shop and replace it.

Fook knows my head hurts just thinking about it.

dannywhiteley · « **Reply #21 on:** October 01, 2009, 03:07 PM »

I'll give ya £1000 for that glove, he meant the world to me.

slurp · « **Reply #22 on:** October 01, 2009, 03:09 PM »

Swap it for your Quad, you beat me by seconds when you bought it.

dannywhiteley · « **Reply #23 on:** October 01, 2009, 03:20 PM »

You know what... I would (if you had a Jacko glove that is)...lol

Back on track...

Retaining NOS parts in original packaging is a funny one. Years ago I was into collecting vintage 70/80's Star Wars toys, where the original packaging holds (90% + of the value in many cases). Compare a 1978 Palitoy 12 back Darth Vader at several thousand pounds when in original packaging, compared to a few quid when mint and loose.

Compare that to old school BMX parts and you just dont have the same issue. Most of the value in NOS packaged OS BMX parts is in the fact its NOS (or mint), not necessarily in its packet. The packets were usually fairly utilitarian, so offered little other than protecting the part from damage while on show in some bike shop somewhere. Does anyone really care if your Hutch Donut clamp is in a little baggie or not as long as the condition is the same?

Speaking of crazy collectors. I watched a pair of 1973 Nike 'Made in Japan' trainers go on ebay the other day for £600+ and a pair of early 80's Adidas Gazelles in the original box go for £800+. Surely thats more crazy? Who is gonna wear a pair of £800 trainers with that invested in them? Atleast on a bike you can roll it around fairly carefully and only worry about the tyres.

slurp · « **Reply #24 on:** October 01, 2009, 03:34 PM »

Good points mate. I agree about the packaging thing is not an issue like with the toys ( star wars or dinky toy etc ) and the trainer thing is only as bonkers as paying x amount for 80s BMX stuff of which 99% of the population either put in the tip in the 90's or let them rust away in the shed.

I guess I just want to show my little ones something original from BITD when im old and pi$$ing my self like n2cus avtar.