I didnt have one of those on my bikes, I just used to tape Reggie Jackson & Cal Ripken JR rookie cards to my frame. I guess thats one of the worst products as you would only get the motor sound for a few minuets, and then youd have to tear it off and go grab another card...LOL

uh...a Huffy.

the schwinn freestyle seats with the little roller on the very back of the seat for tricks. all my buddies had to have that seat but i never saw anyone doing that trick with the seat on the pavement.

uni disks were a waste of money.

The "California Power Slide" As seen on TV

I had Grab-Ons way before anyone ever HEARD of Greg Hill, and loved them. I'd still put them on a rebuild if the color and style were correct and I could find them NOS. So there.

Anyway, yeah, the side plates, plastic levers,
monkey bars or whatever those bar/stem combos were called (boy did I laugh at my friends), that stuff was weak.

Anyone remember zip-tying their spokes together?
All that did was make mine creak something awful.

There was a plastic chain protecter that looked like wire loom for computer wires. I forgot the name of it, but when I saw it for the first time, I was like " what the heck is that ??? "

Did I hear someone say TUNE TOTE? Here's mine...from my personal collection.

R. Serafin, that plastic chain guard was called a "Pro Guard" and I remember Toby Henderson using it all the time. I always wondered how it worked.

Who remembers the "adjustable width" Zeronine handlebars with small allen head set screws underneath to make them as narrow or as wide as you want ?


Tony
Bicycle Junkie

Not one mention of an aftermarket plastic gas tank? Is that too old school here?

Dude, I'm so old I had an aftermarket plastic gas tank. It was red. The plastic "cap" tightened around the clip that held it to the top tube.
I got it at the same time I got my first big giant double clamp stem for 2.50 at the Spring Valley Swap Meet. I was prolly 11 years old. I remember that day in 1974. Ran out of gas with my dad driving the 1970 Ford "Ranch Wagon" walked the rest of the way home carrying that stuff.

I win.




b.

Is that leadsled in the upper righthand corner?? LOL!!!! You know BND, Dave House was the magic behing both Super BMX and the come and already disappeared Twenty. Kinda makes you wonder eh???

On another note, if you ever get to see Mr. Bill's personal old school collection, it rocks! He has most of his old Factory bikes and they are bad to the bone! Check them out if you get a chance.

wow do i feel old,,,,,,,i liked those jox/jag slip ons,,,,i had a saber plate,,,,,,i even had a addicks seat clamp that was not mentioned,,,,,,and a protec helmet,,,,,,,,,,my gas tank was a gift from a defunct bike shop back when,,,,,,i sent 2 to hollywood mike miranda when he rode for cw racing,,,,,,,,,,,maybe it wasnt about cool or function,,,,,,maybe WE LAUGHED and the s### was free. its what i remember at least.

You know what's funny? Aside from throw away gimmicks like Pro Gaurds, which keep getting mentioned by people who haven't read the whole thread, most of this stuff pushed the limits and tried something new...Terrycables, DX cranks, Z-rims...it all has it's place. Galindo bars reappeared decades later as Answer bars (based on Renthals...) When I broke the plastic crossbar they sent me an aluminum replacement.

So what I'm saying is, it's the freaky stuff--or the willingness to do something freaky--that advances the tech of the sport. Sure, DX cranks weren't so hot, but where would we be without DX pedals?

And about layback seatposts: I don't know what you guys are talking about. Sure, they were more prone to bending, but in a world of 18" Pro top tubes, 19" if you were lucky, what's a 6' kid to do if he likes his kneecaps? It amazes me that it took so many years of XL stems and laybacks before someone made a long frame that really was long. Was it S&M with the Holmes that had the first frame you didn't actually need a layback to ride? (There were plenty of frames that claimed to be XL...but they were still pretty short, weren't they? What's the TT length on a JMC Andy Patterson?)

Also funny is the fact that some of what's labeled "junk"--Mongoose and Hutch grips, which were rock hard, those DX cranks that creaked and stripped--fetch the most cash from collectors. Sadly, I remember cutting my friends brand new Mongoose grips off his bars with a razor knife. "You'll never want to ride with these horrible things again. Now let's put on these Oakley 3's."

Has anyone mentioned those pro guards?

I will admit I got suckerd into having one.

Gooser--I believe the Free Agent Limo is first real long TT frame. It might quilify for the top 10 best list. Also, the JMC AP had a longer rear tri, not TT.

Not one mention of scooters. How did that fad slip by you guys.

Oh I forgot to mention GPV racers. They were fun to ride down a big hill, but what did they do for the sport? I was going to say F1 bikes but someone mentioned the Hutch F1 already.

I have to say Oakley 1's ... so uncomfortable, you could only hold 'em one way. (Oury's were so soft ... how could they be the calous builder?).

Addicks sprockets ... pretty bad, and Z-rims ... even worse!

How about the "drilled out cranks"?! that's a GREAT idea there! (who made those? I even had some).

I remember GJS frames being pretty long for the period. My friend had one and we would tell him his bike was way to long. I guess JU was ahead of his time.

Drilled out cranks how about drilled out everything. That reminds me of a drilled out PK Ripper I saw back on the early eighties. Little kid running a PK and his dad drilled out the frame all over. That's a double ouch...1 for ruining the frame a 1 for the day the kid decided to jump something. Back then dads drilled out everything to lighten bikes, ever sit on a drilled out plastic seat?

Yeah, I think a lot of that came from the drilled-out Race Inc story in BMXA back in the day...it as really well done, but overkill, of course. The kid had 1 1/8" wheels and did some kind of weird asphalt course quasi BMX racing. Does anyone have that issue? I think it was in the John Piant in DG colors doing a powerslide cover issue (I remember because it was my first BMXA). I'd like to see that article again.

I've got a SuperBMX mag that ran a story on a powerlite with modified Mathews forks and the lightest stuff they could find - to race at Malibu Grand Prix tracks.

Welded the seatpost to the seat rails, ground the tread off the sew-ups, etc....


Does that sound like the article?

Two words - Clem Twins

I'm supprised no has mentiond rear brake guards. so you wouldn't get your pants cought on your brake. Lame. or how about those tioga roller pegs. the ones that had the roller end that looked like roll on deoderant. the GT fork standers were prety lame, the spring always popped out, and eventually you just left it out and it clanged all the time.
lets not forget the lay back seat post with the handle or the seat with that too.

What company was it that actually manufactured the cro-mo drilled out cranks? I had some, I can see them ... but I don't remember ...

What about sidehacks? I never really got it.

The Vector bar & stem combo also seems lame looking back on it, but I wanted one.

Gators, Oakley O Wings, and anything Addicks top my list.

Roll'n Thunder--that'd be a cool article to have a look at, but this was definitely a Race Inc and in BMXA. It had a drilled out Uni Seat, drilled hub shells, drilled crank & sprocket, drilled pedal cages, brakes, etc. And it was raced on some kind of asphalt course. Someone's gotta have it...

And as far as Tioga Roller pegs...the roller part was ridiculous, but BITD they were the best grinding pegs for street, while thread-ons were the only pegs around. Just pop off the stupid roller ends with a screwdriver.

I actually liked the brake guard.....It looked lame but I used to get my high top vans caught on my MX1000 and they solved the problem...

Kmart

Oh yeah - I know which Race Inc. you're talking about.
I totally forgot about that one.
I have that article on disk here somewhere.

I'll try to find the disk and scan the the other article tonight.

I love the chain tensioner in the picture. These guys were way ahead of their time.

This is very modern for the BITD discussion but how about the infamous Pro Forx? I had those things and didn't lasted a season. Only for the looks and I ended adding one more pound to my bike.

ACS Z-Rims did not sell BITD, in fact they were a joke. Why do you think there are so many NOS sets left out there in all the popular colors?

Gators were a cross over from MX and function wise were worthless but during their time period the style points were through the roof.

For gooser, I'm with ya on the laybacks. But I don't think it was TT length. If you rode freestyle and needed to hold the seat and grip together,while still able to clear the seat, those 27"-28" bars (BITD) REQUIRED a layback post. Eventually some FS frames had a better seattube
angle, if you were into that company, lol. Anyway, the only layback I ever bent was a new Oddysey, one day after install, 6 months ago. (funny thing, I'm 5'6" 140 lbs, and gentle. Old School RULES)

Further, no one has mentioned Pacific Freestyle. Anyone remember those framestanders? Now, to my shame, I'm DYING for a pair, color-condition unimportant. My tiny feet slipped off every horseshoe shaped stander out there. Any sellers?

Super Sucker tires. They were solid urethane.

Hey, who said O-wings???
Actually the premise behind them WAS stupid, but I liked them because they had a smaller diameter than most and a simple but effective pattern.

I think you guys pretty much covered it. I myself am not keen on motomags. Spider mags we called them when I was a wee chap.

I think I had almost every one of the products mentioned. What or who made those drilled out one piece chromo cranks? I had some that lasted about 2 years before breaking. I think of the stuff were OK if you were not a big or heavy guy. Z rims would be fine if you were under a 100 lbs, same go's for Addicks sprocket and plastic pedals. If I was building a mini for an 8 year old I would use Hare pedals. I actually liked Pro Forx, still have a set of factory polished ones. They worked very well on bumpy turns, and took out some of the sting of casing the front tire.

Changstar

i remember back in ohio at a presidents cup race for the nbl 1988 or so Billy Au of eagle Snacks / Profile... now that i think of it not sure he was still on Eagle snacks...

he had these Neoprine Foam Fork Protectors. Thats right i said "Fork Protectors".... they were made to wrap around your forks and had these sorta wing shape to em... lol. I bought a pair cause i thought they looked cool and looking down on em when ur goin over jumps it kinda helped to line up a good landing... and as a bonus my forks never got cold in the indoor season. Also they prevented those nasty scratches on your forks from staging..


I think they came in teal/aqua yellow black red blue...

When billy showed up to the track with em on i think every kid there was buggin mom for 20 bucks to get a set. lol

I have it. You're right. Piant on the cover. It's a cool article. Happy to scan and send your way. LMK.

planetx, can you post the article here so we could all see?
mike

I had a Meno helmet, it was a great!!
Don't knock it if you didn't try it.

Dd

Oakley 3's = Fugly

Did anyone mention Box Bars?