A post in the for-sale forum got me to thinking about this, a question I've been meaning to ask for some time from ye historians:
- What was the F1 period of BMX? I take it the bikes had gears and some roadie orientation?
- What was an F1 race, and most of all, why isn't it done any more?
(Pictures?)
Full Version: 'Splain to me the F1 thing
I missed it. How it came out of BMX, is beyond me. A succession of the Hanebrink concept perhaps?
Late 80's fadsville. Weren't they a bit of an offshoot of the gravity race bikes that were happening ? I think there were some organized races that were covered by BMXA and I'm pretty sure Cyclecraft even had a frame.
Looking at that pic, I think it's pretty obvious why that fad died.
Haro, Diamond Back, Hutch and a few others started to mass produce F-1 bikes in '87. Shimano was a big supporter of F-1 style bikes. Turbo Harry, Mikey King, Tinker Juarez we're among the early competitors.
I recall seeing something, maybe a couple years earlier, in BMX action about some of those guys making multi speed BMX bikes ... and racing several laps around an autocross type course in parking lots.
Anyway, they were 20" ... some faired, most "nekkid" (motorcycle terminology) ... all were multi speed ...
I don't know much about the racing ... but, the bikes never sold ... F-1 was a strange idea. Like closed circuit crit racing on 20" bikes.
Kevin O'
I recall seeing something, maybe a couple years earlier, in BMX action about some of those guys making multi speed BMX bikes ... and racing several laps around an autocross type course in parking lots.
Anyway, they were 20" ... some faired, most "nekkid" (motorcycle terminology) ... all were multi speed ...
I don't know much about the racing ... but, the bikes never sold ... F-1 was a strange idea. Like closed circuit crit racing on 20" bikes.
Kevin O'
LOL. come on Paulie, the laughter would eventually die down after your friends saw ya on one.
So, what, this racing was all done on paved surfaces? Like BMX of the time race but on asphalt? (Picture: That looks near-death to me.)
big men in tight shorts on little bikes. yum yum
red x of death again
Randy, I was getting ready to post the same thing but you beat me to it. Too Funny!!
In Fla, we would try anyhting for the sake of racing. Someone once held a 3 mile race on regular 20" BMX bikes around a 3 mile oval track in the park next to Tampa Stadium.
Oh yeah, I'm pretty sure I got third, in what I remember as probably 14 over
[ January 06, 2006, 04:42 PM: Message edited by: Florida Vaughn ]
Oh yeah, I'm pretty sure I got third, in what I remember as probably 14 over
[ January 06, 2006, 04:42 PM: Message edited by: Florida Vaughn ]
I still got my F-1 bike. I used to race for General. Yup, it was pretty silly and definately a fad. I'm not sure who it catered to. I knew a lot of BMX guys and road guys who used to race BMX who were into it. Parking lot races on Sundays around coned off courses. Whoo Hoo!!!
Florida Vaughn, was that Drew Park?
Man, I was so into the F-1 thing. The first time I got to talk to Harry Leary was at the first NBL sponsored F-1 race at Memphis Tenn. At that same race, Steve Giberson talked me into racing the test bike he brought that was supposed to be ridden by Eric Carter (he was a no-show).
I actually started training for real for F-1 racing. 5 mile motos were a bit tougher than a 40 second sprint. I was rather disappointed at the NBL for not finishing the '89 season after it was started. Three virginia riders were cleaning up on the comp. Anyone remember Rockfish F-1 bikes?
I actually started training for real for F-1 racing. 5 mile motos were a bit tougher than a 40 second sprint. I was rather disappointed at the NBL for not finishing the '89 season after it was started. Three virginia riders were cleaning up on the comp. Anyone remember Rockfish F-1 bikes?
Yes, I think it is and was...It's in the Drew Park area of Tampa
Somebody, please, tell me what an F-1 race was; why was it different than a BMX race?
Please.
Please.
quote:1. The bikes. The ones shown in Brian B's picture are typical of F-1 bikes.
Somebody, please, tell me what an F-1 race was; why was it different than a BMX race?
2. The absence of starting gates.
3. Here in So. Cal. the races were held on Malibu Grand Prix courses and had a far longer duration than BMX races. However, they did utilize wooden jumps.
The best description that I can come up for these races was that they were a cross between Criterium racing and BMX.
Kevin
Was this F1, or a gravity bike?
That's an F1 bike...note the chain. Gravity bikes usually had no drivetrain, just pegs or some other platform for your feet.
quote:so it was multi-lap, or no?
cross between Criterium racing and BMX.
(I <3 that picture)
Here's Schwinn's version of the F-1. It's called a Qualifyer, from 1989.
There were multiple laps. The ability to draft was a factor. I never saw an F-1 bike with a fairing on it like the one in X-it's pic. The bike with the fairing appears to be a BMX bike with a fairing and MTB handlebars. Note the frame. It lacks the elevated top tube that was standard to F-1 bikes. This was to provide additional seat height without bending the seat post. I had a couple of friends that were hardcore F-1 racers BITD. Their bikes pretty much started out like the red schwinn pictured above, and then they tricked them out with high end Shimano components and some F-1 specific aftermarket products. They both had support from Shimano with this project, and Shimano seemed to have some interest in making F-1 racing work.
Kevin
[ January 07, 2006, 11:13 PM: Message edited by: Kevin Harlow ]
Kevin
[ January 07, 2006, 11:13 PM: Message edited by: Kevin Harlow ]
Nope. The Schwinn was also a 20" I purchased the one I had from Sylmar Schwinn. It was a blast to ride. Used to ride Mulholland about every other month.
That first pic looks like something from Miami Vice
[ January 07, 2006, 07:00 PM: Message edited by: Minx20 ]
[ January 07, 2006, 07:00 PM: Message edited by: Minx20 ]
HAHA....I was lookin at the NEWEST MT BIke Action (I think) today at the grocery store and they had a similar type racing in there. It showed cycloX and mtn bikes outfitted with slicks. Brian Lopes was sportin a full on body suit with one of those funny space helmets that teardrop in the back like the ones they use for the tour de france, he also had smooth covers over his shoes! AND it shoed Eric Carter flyin' with one of those fairings like that hutch in the pict above. wish I bought the mag and had a scanner. Somebody post it if you can. its a riot as it fits this thread PERFECT!
even the kid in Schwinn's own ad is laughing at F1 bikes !!
Elvis,
It seemed like every race they were fine tuning the rules. All of the NBL races that I attended had no jumps in them. They kinda settled on a long-race/short-race moto format. Some, like Pittsburgh, had short moto(5 mile), long moto(7 mile), short moto format. It was a lot like Crit race meets bmx. You did do multi laps as the typical course was about 1/3 to 1/2 mile long. You raced on mainly flat courses with lots of hairpin turns which gave the bike handlers (bmxers) an advantage over the road bikers. You could race any bike you chose as modified bmx'rs, road bikes and F-1 specific bikes were on the course at the same time.
As for the Hutch in the above photo, It was a production F-1 bike that came out very shortly after the Diamond backs and Haro's were introduced. It was not good to race with cause as soon as you laid the bike over in a hairpin turn with that 15 pound fairing, it would pull the front end to the ground. I watched someone trying to run that at the Memphis national and he kept dumping it.
To make things even worse for the short lived sport, all the Diamondbacks and Haro's were equipped with the famous Shimano Bio-pace front chainrings.It almost seemed as if those three manufacturers got together and invented a sport to sell parts for.
There were a lot of big name pros riding F-1s, Harry Leary, Tinker Juarez among the bmxrs, and "Fast" Freddy Markum riding for Hutch from the road bike side. A Virginia Cat-2 rider named Boris Starosta was doing quite well on them also (one of the Rockfish F-1 creators). I once saw him leading a three man break at a Charlottesville, Va. crit race on his 20" Rockfish F-1 bike. Now that was funny.
[ January 10, 2006, 12:10 AM: Message edited by: Popeye ]
It seemed like every race they were fine tuning the rules. All of the NBL races that I attended had no jumps in them. They kinda settled on a long-race/short-race moto format. Some, like Pittsburgh, had short moto(5 mile), long moto(7 mile), short moto format. It was a lot like Crit race meets bmx. You did do multi laps as the typical course was about 1/3 to 1/2 mile long. You raced on mainly flat courses with lots of hairpin turns which gave the bike handlers (bmxers) an advantage over the road bikers. You could race any bike you chose as modified bmx'rs, road bikes and F-1 specific bikes were on the course at the same time.
As for the Hutch in the above photo, It was a production F-1 bike that came out very shortly after the Diamond backs and Haro's were introduced. It was not good to race with cause as soon as you laid the bike over in a hairpin turn with that 15 pound fairing, it would pull the front end to the ground. I watched someone trying to run that at the Memphis national and he kept dumping it.
To make things even worse for the short lived sport, all the Diamondbacks and Haro's were equipped with the famous Shimano Bio-pace front chainrings.It almost seemed as if those three manufacturers got together and invented a sport to sell parts for.
There were a lot of big name pros riding F-1s, Harry Leary, Tinker Juarez among the bmxrs, and "Fast" Freddy Markum riding for Hutch from the road bike side. A Virginia Cat-2 rider named Boris Starosta was doing quite well on them also (one of the Rockfish F-1 creators). I once saw him leading a three man break at a Charlottesville, Va. crit race on his 20" Rockfish F-1 bike. Now that was funny.
[ January 10, 2006, 12:10 AM: Message edited by: Popeye ]
Shimano was trying to find a way to get kids interested in mini-criterium events, came up with the component package, and Diamond Back and Haro were among the first companies to buy into it and give it a whirl.
I never saw any F-1 events that used jumps. I know there used to be some BMX events at Malibu Grand Prix tracks (those pre-dated the actual F-1 phase), but they didn't seem to last long.
The bikes were actually pretty fun to ride, but they were an answer to a question no one was asking. They tried to borrow a lot from road race motorcycle styling, and kids never really bought into the concept, so I think sales were pretty dismal.
Yep, Cyclecraft did make a bike...actually, I still have the one I rode in my garage. I was toying with the idea of throwing it onto eBay. I'll see if I can rustle up a photo for you guys.
I never saw any F-1 events that used jumps. I know there used to be some BMX events at Malibu Grand Prix tracks (those pre-dated the actual F-1 phase), but they didn't seem to last long.
The bikes were actually pretty fun to ride, but they were an answer to a question no one was asking. They tried to borrow a lot from road race motorcycle styling, and kids never really bought into the concept, so I think sales were pretty dismal.
Yep, Cyclecraft did make a bike...actually, I still have the one I rode in my garage. I was toying with the idea of throwing it onto eBay. I'll see if I can rustle up a photo for you guys.
I can't find a pic on his site, but if you're in the 'hood stop by and check out a mint condition Hutch F1 with fairing at http://www.oneononebike.com - have a cup of joe while you're at it.
^^ that is a really cool and fun page; thanks
Uck...F-1's...
I know why they never caught on and died fast.
BMX was made up by kids to have fun...grassroots.
F-1 was thought up by a few corporations to promote something that they wanted people to do.
There was never any real grassroots interest just marketing, and why you would market that thing to guys who like to JUMP is beyond me.
Thank your local deity that those things are g o n e.
I know why they never caught on and died fast.
BMX was made up by kids to have fun...grassroots.
F-1 was thought up by a few corporations to promote something that they wanted people to do.
There was never any real grassroots interest just marketing, and why you would market that thing to guys who like to JUMP is beyond me.
Thank your local deity that those things are g o n e.
Well, I think the corporate guys were jumping on, but what really drove these things were guys who had a love for speed. I think the corporate guys were trying to make it spectator friendly by putting on distance races, but it was the gravity freaks that kept it going.
Before F1's we used to do the same thing on our BMX bikes.
One of the most memorable of these was a trip to Denver for the MH Nats - my brother took us up to the top of Mt. Evans on the 4th of July - the highest road in the US. We drove to the top, until the snow over the road blocked our way... then unloaded and started coasting down.
There is a mile long stretch near the top that we used to draft and catapult past each other - my brother said he was doing 55 mph and we were pulling away.
No helmet, goggles, or any protective gear. What a bunch of boneheads... but man, what a blast.
I have friends who built up gravity bikes and made trips out to CO every three weeks just to bomb the mountians.
Before F1's we used to do the same thing on our BMX bikes.
One of the most memorable of these was a trip to Denver for the MH Nats - my brother took us up to the top of Mt. Evans on the 4th of July - the highest road in the US. We drove to the top, until the snow over the road blocked our way... then unloaded and started coasting down.
There is a mile long stretch near the top that we used to draft and catapult past each other - my brother said he was doing 55 mph and we were pulling away.
No helmet, goggles, or any protective gear. What a bunch of boneheads... but man, what a blast.
I have friends who built up gravity bikes and made trips out to CO every three weeks just to bomb the mountians.
i like them i have 2 haro darts and 2 hutch hpv. they were also made by general and diamondback. i also have pics in old mags that show shimano made one. hutch actualy made 3 modles. tha hpv the gp1 and one other i cant think of the name of at this time. hutch even made one with no crank called the gpv (gravity powerd vehicle) obviously down hill only.
Here's a brand new out of the box Haro Dart on Ebay
http://cgi.ebay.com/NOS-Old-School-bmx-198...1QQcmdZViewItem
http://cgi.ebay.com/NOS-Old-School-bmx-198...1QQcmdZViewItem
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