So, anymore? Rock, Roll, Buddy, fellapart, Rory? What made you guys try the 2 pedal start and did someone teach it to you or did you just see it and do it? What were your thoughts when you first got info about it? Was there a technique or was it just balance and go? Sorry this is cool stuff to me. When I started it was just balance and go, much later I learned to throw my hips into the bars.

Changstar

It was balance, timing, then go.

I can't remember who tried it first. I think we saw the mainland guys doing it, and we gave it a go. It took a lot of practice, however. Balancing on a gate that bobbed around because the starter was struggling to hold back a herd of cattle about to stampede was difficult. It was easy to lose balance at the crucial moment. Then once you got the balance right, timing was key. It was a matter of anticipating the gate dropping. You'd start momentum by throwing your weight against the front of your bike into the gate, hoping you timed it so that as your body movement reached forward, the gate snapped free. Throw yourself too late and this would be a pointless exercise. Throw yourself too early and you run against the gate and stop your momentum. Or worse, you flip over the gate. Timing was a matter of learing the gate starter's cadence. But once you got it, it was explosive and fast and shaved time off the start. I think we had a gate out in Hawaii Kai and would practice. I used to teach Bo the two pedal there.

b.

and i think we learned a lot of technique by religiously studying the bmx magazines. we wouldn't just read them for fun. we studied all the detail. pics of gate starts. turns through berms. everything that you could observe, we absorbed and honed our technique. i think we trained hard and were in great physical condition. but we also raced smart, realizing technique was the other part of the equation. i used to watch motocross and auto racing on tv to understand picking the fastest lines through a track. we put a lot of effort into making ourselves fast racers.

JT used to videotape all the races. i would study that as well. one of the most important thing you can do is watch yourself on video. golfers will tell you the same thing - it's one thing to have a coach tell you what you are doing wrong; it's another to see it yourself.

b.

I found a bunch of pics from Castle Park but they are of very poor quality.My "Ol' man" didn't have the best of photo equiptment if you know what I mean.I'm sure I got more but it's just a matter of finding them.

So when is the next riding session?I couldn't make the last one at HK because we were fishing the whole week prior.----BTW,is the HK trail mild enough for kids to ride?My boy would be down for some riding if possible.

Wow, coaster to freewheel. I remember when I started in '76 I had coaster, but noticed some of the more experienced guys already had freewheel. In about a year almost no one had coaster (of the people I knew).

I remember the 1st or 2nd time the mainlanders came to Hawaii Raceway, about 77 maybe 78, they were doing the 2-pedal start. By the time I left the sport (broken bike and no funds for a new one - jumping over garbage can with Rockne and the gang and my bike downtube broke in half) in summer of 79, Rory was pretty good at it already. I think John Llacuna was trying it but I don't remember him sticking with it.

Also, thanks for those photos you guys have been posting. I'm kind of into photography now and using those shots to take some before/after photos at the same angle of some of these locations. Taking the few I already have brings back many great memories. Also still trying to track down this one guy who took 8mm video, but still no luck. Will post pictures/video when I can.

Ride safe, play hard!

Hey Sug, we missed ya, was hoping you would see the notice for HK ride. Klaus was MIA too. HK has some small sections of whoops about the size as Higa's start gate. Remember jumping that? Maybe about 6 in a row. Big jumps are rollable and about 4.5 foot tall. A few small berms. Mostly soft and loose dirt so skinny tires might dig in. It is on the skinny side, like trails, so not much room if you drift to the side. Might be fun for a little guy, let me know if he is coming and I will bring Amber to ride with him. Back in this thread JK had a link to a MTB site that has a video clip I'll try to find it. It is a fun little place, more jumps than Madusa's. We would have loved it back inthe day.

Changstar

P,

Glad to see you back on the site. Too bad you guys couldn't hook up. Any more thoughts on your reasearch for a 24" ?

jk

Whats up cdub,

Glad to see you back on vintage. Looking forward to seeing your pics. Hopefully you'll have some luck tracking down the 8mm. That would be the cats assss to see - especially if its Triangles. I'm still trying to get Rockne to post on here but he is being weird about it. Not sure why??? I know Rolland is probably reading this righ now too. The Tangs Rock & Roll would love to see you guys post.

B,

We did put an insane amount into training and studying racing as kids didn't we. I wish I had that kinda drive, desire and motivation now. We ate, breathed and lived it back then.

jk

Sug,

Post the pics man! Don't worry about the quality. I would love to see them.

jk

I'm riding at Royal Summit Trail/jumps on Friday with Russel - another old school BMXer and Vintage lurker . You guys wanna join us we are meeting at the end of Kaahumanu at 4pm Friday.

Anytime you guys plan on riding let me know and I'll try and make it.

jk

This might be easier.

A little vid of us screwing around, enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHL48wo5KRQ&feature=user

Changstar

Can't make it this time, but I am looking forward to the next time I can make it. What did Sano say about riding? Did he sound interested? I hope so.

Changstar

I think KS was kinda caught off guard with me popping in at his work place and telling him we are riding again. I didn't talk to him for very long. I didnt want to take up too much of his time at work. The good thing is he still has his old bike and still has a GHP cruiser. So half the battle is won. You just need him to come play! Call him up Changstar. I am sure you can convince him to come ride. Just seeing all the pics on vintage alone made me wanna ride again. Hopefully he feels the same.

jk

I'll work on Sano. Hey did you get to watch any of the DVD's? Or did Rockne hog them up? I handed him about 6 DVD, I just figured you guys would share.Let me know what you think.

Changstar

Thanks for loaning them to us. I have 2 of them Rockne has the rest. I watched one so far. Awesome stuff. But, watching it bums me out even more that I didn't stick around longer. The tracks look so much more fun now. Well actually I like some of how the sport has changed and I don't like some of it. But it would have been great to have changed and progressed with the sport as you did. I hope you can get Sano to come out. We need to revive Hawaii's BMX scene. I think getting the old BMXers to ride again is a great start. Maybe a king of old school series one day? Just a thought. Rockne? You gonna buy that cruiser now aren't you?

jk

I enjoyed those shots of you guys at HK. Roland's nuts (and a little plumper)!. I wish I could join you guys, but my foldup commute bike might foldup permanantly if I use that for jumping.

As for the eating/breathing part, yep! I remember at one point Rockne started to train by riding up and down Harding by his house. Not sure how long he kept that up, but that was some dedication to your sport.

I think I also heard you mention you're a dad. Me too. I have a 20 month boy. Kinda crazy litta fella. With some of the things he does on his own, I can already see the xtreme sport mindedness in him. Girlfriend's not too happy, though. She sees what happens to those guys when I watch the X-Games and she doesn't want him to have any part of that life. Kinda funny to think about.

Anyway, take it easy and talk to you soon.

cdub,

Congratualtions! Yeah, it's wild the things they do isn't it. Wow, thats too funny. My son is almost 2 1/2, Rockne's daughter is around the same age as your son. Maybe, one day they can all hang and ride like we once did.....

Rockne was riding up harding? Secret training, Secret training, Secret training.....30 years later his cover is blown...Just kidding Rock...I really appreciate all the time you took to train me when I was a scrub.

jk

Anybody have trouble getting on the site yesterday? I noticed no post were made for Thurs.
It doesn't seem like all the changes were huge, but I guess because I was there and got to deal with it one at a time over many years. Now you guys have a look and all the things that have changed in 25 years are seen at once. I must say that clip shoes were the hardest to deal with, it just go's against all that we thought BMX is. But I learned to do it for my stepson. I could help learn and train for racing up untill he clipped in, then i was clueless how those would affect what you do on a bike. So I clipped in too. My stepson got the #1 plate. I wonder how many father, son number one's there have been.

Just my thoughts.....BMX kinda lost some personality or maybe I am just out of touch. I look at the jerseys now and I have a hard time making out what company the rider rides for. I can hardly make out the numbers on the plates too. Most of the bikes are black. What happend to all the cool annodized colors. What happen to the cool numberplates like zeronine, haro, crit etc.

The skill level of riders has definately come a long way. Looks like you need to skillfully jump and manual just to survive the track. The riders are definately fast...But, some of the tracks almost look like a pump track where after the first straight the race is won already.

Definately a huge improvement on bike geometry and components but the bikes have lost some charm for lack of a better word.

Of course this is just my ramblings and this is a vintage website....So I may be stuck in the past a little

jk

You are right on all, sometimes a better view of things are seen when you step back. I saw it all come about slowly, so whether it was good or bad it was much easier to adjust to when it comes in small pieces. One thing I feel old schooler's are better at is change. We had more variables in racing back then so we adapted well to it. Now if one little thing is different everybody cries about it. Yeah even clips are just something to adapt to, but no one can argue that it is faster. I don't like them, but the time, money, and effort put in is tough to let someone else smoke you just because of some dancing slippers. Thats why I am trying to come up with a track design that may give back an advantage to being on flats. Or at least even the playing field.

Changstar

I like the idea you had earlier of maybe having a old school section and new school section. Was interesting to see the NBL races on one of your tapes where there were different sections you could take during the same race. I also noticed that at some races different skill level riders had to use different sections on the same track. I guess they call it pro section.

But, back to your idea......Thats actually a great idea especailly with alot of old schoolers wanting to get back into it. Something familiar for us old school guys to feel comfortable on before adapting to the newer sections and clipless pedals and stuff like that.

I really want to hit a mainland nat. Got the ok from the wife. But, watching the video's you loaned us has me rethinking. Those are pretty good jumping skills I have to get down. Where do I practice? I think I can hang speed wise with novices but when I hit the first jump oh boy. I guess same thing like when I raced cruiser with you guys. I felt so out of it technically. But, I didnt train at the time so I got what I put into it.

jk

Yeah being ready is the hardest thing without a track. You can train for speed, strength, and even do gates here. But with no track the rest would be very hard. The local trails help but I know it would have to be much different from what it is now to be like a track in the mainland. Believe me I have thought about it for years. HK has potential, we would just have to make it like the tracks you see on the video but one lane. I think if a few of us had the same goal of riding to get ready for a race in the mainland then some shovel time to build something to help us can be done. Heck If I can maintain a whole race track for a race, then a one lane practice track with some help, could be just awesome. The most important thing would be water. Building, sweeping, smoothing can be done with a few people and some brooms. Look closer at the tracks on the video and you can get an idea what you have to be ready for.

Changstar

What's up! Sorry for not posting for so long. 2-pedal starts, I think I started at the south pacific nationals. Scott Clark to me I should try it so I did. It made about a half crank rotation difference off the start. Denny Davidow won that race, Toby Henderson took second, and I took third after elbowing Stu Thomsen on the jump turn or whatever that was. It felt like I was elbowing a wall, I was only 110lbs! I have a lot of old pictures even ones before racing started. Alex Adams used to take pictures, develop it, and sell it to us for 35cents. hehe I just have to get around to getting it from my mom's house. She lives in Makiki. I live in Kapolei. Seems like I'm driving around the island when I drive there. I might even stop by Eki's to see if they still have the old bmx albums! As for me riding? Sheesh! When my son used to race at Wheeler I tried to ride his bike down the BIG starting hill and I couldn't stop the headshake in the handlebars! I will pick up a 24" in the near future, but it seems the new ones are so long in the front. I have to try to find a more old school one. Talk to you guys later. Rory

Hey Buddy! It will be more just like a ride get together sort of thing then having the show of old school bikes and swapmeet. Just cruising around the park with an old school bike or anykind of a bike for that matter. I can loan you an old school bike if your interested, just let me know how you want it set up, seat height, bars etc.. and what bike. I don't think we will be going that far. I have 2 bikes that I have from Hawaii. One is my chrome Team Mongoose that I had since 83, and the other is Hutch Trick Star I bought at Busters in Waipahu when I was visiting there in 91. I'll keep you posted when I get more details.

P- Sorry I missed you back in Vegas! Suppose to be on vacation and have all the time in the world, but not in Vegas I guess. Went to check out PAL race track this past Tuesday. I'll think I will try my hand at racing. Last time I rode a track it was at Waipahu Gym for some PAL event somewhere around 81-82. Just rolled around the track after the race but didn't enter. I was riding my sister Huffy at the time with no Bmx bike. Then I got into the Freestyle aspect of riding and didn't do the race thing so this will be a new venture for me. As for Freestyle the Big Skatepark here will be open to bikes this Sunday so I'll will be sessioning there! Check out pics of park its big! www.metroactive.com/metro/04.02.08/cover-sjskatepark-0814.html
P--I'm sure it will be another time for sure!

There you go Changstar! I talked to Rockne about the two pedal start too. He basically said the same thing that a bunch of us went for it at the South Pacific Nationals.

Rory,

Lets go man! Pick up that 24" and lets ride. I hope you can track down some old photos I would love to see them. Wow Alex charged you guys 35cents for pics. I'll have to dog him about that. Denny Davidow. He was my favorite rider. I tried to copy his riding style back then.

jk

Russel and his MTB gang were nice enough to show me around the trails at Royal Summit. I had a blast up there. Finally got to meet kevlau too. Man those MTBers are fast. I couldn't keep up. I haven't seen Russel in a long time was great to see him again and hit the trails.

Here's a pic of Russel and I. I'm sure all you old school BMXers remember him.



jk

Yeah I was sick when I found out you guys rode.I was fishing that whole week prior to that Sunday so I wasn't checking the forums.I'll try and make it the next time.
BTW,is there anyplace locally that I can get 24" Comp IIIs or Cheng Shins?

Seems like everybody like Denny Davidow, me too. About 1981 we went on a family vacation and got to check out a local race at Orange county Ca. Denny was there and I watched him comming out of the first turn with the lead. I had never seen feet go that fast in my life. Now I realy knew what spinning fast was. Sure did open my eyes to what fast was.

Changstar

Hey Sug, I might have some tires in my garage, I'll check and post up tomorow.

Changstar

If you guy are looking for a cruiser that rides like a 20, you gotta give my Formula a try. Ask Rock and JK. They both checked it out at HK. I love it and wouldn't ride any other frame. Small, light, easy to wheelie. The old myth of only big guys ride cruiser is dead. Actually, the many top pro cruiser riders were south of 5 foot 8. Like Eric Rupe, Randy Stumphauser, Donny Robinson.

Changstar

ALOOOOHA!!! WOW! that day was AWESOME!! it was really good seeing you again Jeremy, sooo glad your back in our lives again! It was like old times again when we were rushing to get our bikes done before a race that day. Well as you know we wouldn't have been late if rockne didn't take all my better conditioned parts on my bike to put on his....like my handlebar, grips, chain, brake wires shall I go on Rockne.....nonetheless it was a great time, razzing each other like the good'ol days.
Changstar & Jay it was great meeting you we had a blast. It was also interesting to see how the bmx bicycle has advanced after all these years. When i first got on my bike that day I couldn't believe how small it was and couldn't believe the tire and tube held up after all these years and even after riding it, taking the jumps and holding up my uu ummm...husky physique it didn't blow out. You know, I was planning on taking it easy that day that's why I didn't wear any jeans figured I'd just ride the track, roll over the jumps take it easy and get used to the bike but nooo Jeremy had to push me and egg me on...All in good fun though. I think I should get a new bike though instead of riding the vintage one if we're going to start riding again. Anyway check out the picture I bet this brings back memories.
Ahui Ho! Roland
Click to view attachment

Mr. Buddy Ikeda Hiya Do'n good to see your posting, isn't this thing great its bringing us all back together again. You know, we have to really thank Jeremy because he's the one whos really spear heading this thing, getting in contact with everyone etc... Jeremy your the man. Its good to hear Bo, Barry and your Dad are doing well. You know every time I go to Hawaii Kai and travel on your old street I always try to look for your house with your dads car in the garage pretty funny huh.
Well, regarding the breaking the hip thingy. you know that shot of me that JT took....JT took the photo to late that shot was of me just coming out of my "table top" oh well, you can't win them all.

Roland

I forgot to mentioned in the other reply. JT It was VERY COOL of you to have come out to take photos of us in our aging years. Without you alot of our past would've just been only memories with the pictures you've taken we can preserve our past and share them with our children and others. I salute you!
Mahalo Nui Loa,
Roland Tang

Roland,

Yes! You are the man! Thanks for stepping in an joining us on Vintage. I have been ragging Rockne for how long to post. Now its his little brother who steps in and shows him how it's done. Like I said Roland you are the man. Definately was a fun day. You forgot to mention that Rockne took your Mongoose bars and Mongoose grips too! The scramble to get your bikes running was fun most definately. From the minute I got there I had fun. Was like old times like you said we constantly razz each other. We just need Buddy's Verbal quips and Eric's easy going nature and it would be really like old times. We need to find a way for them to come down to Hawaii or we need to plan something and meet up with them in the Mainland. I hope you can get Jeff W. to come out. Would be great to see him as well. Wow, that would be most of your guys team from The Bike Shop. Would be very cool for you gus to do a Team photo again.

Just Go Roland! Get that 24". Changstar is the one to talk to he can help you pick one out. I have one coming in a few months. I ortered a 24" SE Quad. Not as tight as Jasons ride but it's a start. I already bought new pedals for it and I don't even have the bike yet.

Are you going to get a 24" now Rockne?


Buddy, by the way I do the same thing when I pass your house in Hawaii Kai. I remember Bo had all his trophies in his bedroom window right by the front door. So, when we all came to your front door we had to look at his trophies......Too Funny!.......

Just thought of something. Remember Chris Cole? The little freckle face kid that used to hang out with us and rode a blue Team Minigoose. Wonder where he is now?

K-Den guys,

jk

Roland,

By the way nice shot of your strawberries. At least you have the balls to rush the jumps at warp speed. Like I said I am still trying to get my balls to drop. You can tell by my lack of air compared to you Rockne and Jason. Oh and Rockne was kind enough to point out that he has the most style.

jk

Roland--Welcome! Glad to see more guys posting! Nice battle scars! maybe have get safety gear as well so it won't hurt as much. Photo is just like ones we took back in the day with Kodak camera. We talk about that earlier on this forum. Never know how it will turn out until the film is developed. Pic looks like you are coming out from doing a one footer, but it also looks like you are coming down from doing one footed table.

JT---I'm not trying to make fun! good pics of you guys! looks like you all had fun and survived for the next session!

Chris Cole, many years ago, about 15. He was a waiter at the CHart House in Waikiki, across the Ilikai. I actually sold him one of my Eric Rupe signature bikes. never saw him again but some where is or was a mint condition E Rupe complete. Wish I could buy it back now. There was another Chris that rode for TGO in the mid to late 80"s. I know he was a power rider and big for his age, about 14 or so at that time. He raced against Barry Uyeno and Big Lance Murata. Anyone remember his last name? I think he was the last guy to wear the orange and red. Anyone remember Sano and Bo being the only team riders in blue, while the rest were in the red, white and blue, or orange and red. Saw Gabe Cruz a while ago, he still has his last race bike in chrome and pink. It is mint condidtion hanging on his garage wall, he live in Kapolei, is married and has 2 daughters. I think he was a bus driver for Roberts Hawaii. Also Heard from a friend that Scott Iha works for United Airlines throwing luggage on planes, and is a custom surfboard maker. Scott sticks out in my memory, always wanted to see him race Ritchie Anderson, anyone know if Scott ever raced in the mainland? If he did how did he do?

Changstar

Hey JK, is that Quad the retro loop tail on the SE site? I checked out the specs and it is looong. The top tube is 22", mine is 20.5. So you are gonna want to change to a real short stem. You might have to look at stems for freestyle to get one short enough. When I had a cruiser that was about the same size, I ran a stem with a reach of only 33mm, most common today is 50mm. 25mm=1 inch. Front will be on the heavy side. I know it says for riders 5'7" but thats not real accurate if you are fine tuning to race, would be fine to ride and play. For sure for Rock and Roll they would want a top tube of 20.5 - 21 inches, and preferably the shorter. I do have a extra cruiser with a TT of 21.3 which was pretty good with a short stem. But when I switched it to one that was 20.75 it was waay better. Old days bikes were only 18 -19 inch TT, and a half inch is a lot. Let me know if I can help, I can at least get the best out of what you have.

Changstar

FORMULA good ole "Chrome moly"


20" FRAMES Top Tube Chainstay BB Ht. HT ST Seatpost Headtube Weight

Pro Series
Pro Lite 19.5" 13.0 - 14.25" 11.0" 74.0* 72.0* 26.8 1 1/8" 4 lbs 6 oz.
Pro Minus 20.0" 13.0 - 14.25" 11.0" 74.0* 72.0* 26.8 1 1/8" 4 lbs 6 oz.
Pro 20.5" 14.0 - 15.25" 11.5" 74.0* 72.0* 26.8 1 1/8" 4 lbs 7 oz.
Pro Plus 21.0" 14.0 - 15.25" 11.5" 74.0* 72.0* 26.8 1 1/8" 4 lbs 8oz.
Pro XL 21.5" 14.5 - 15.75" 11.5" 74.0* 72.0* 26.8 1 1/8" 4 lbs 9 oz.
Pro XXL 22.0" 14.5 - 15.75" 11.5" 74.0* 72.0* 26.8 1 1/8" 4 lbs 10 oz.

24" FRAMES Pro Series

Pro Minus 20.0" 14.5 - 15.75" 11.5" 72.5* 69.0* 26.8 1 1/8" 4 lbs 4 oz.
Pro 20.5" 14.5 - 15.75" 11.75" 73.0* 70.0* 26.8 1 1/8" 4 lbs 5 oz.
Pro Plus 21.0" 15.0 - 16.25" 11.75" 73.0* 70.0* 26.8 1 1/8" 4 lbs 6 oz.
Pro XL 21.5" 15.0 - 16.25" 11.75" 73.0* 70.0* 26.8 1 1/8" 4 lbs 7 oz.
Pro XXL 22.0" 15.0 - 16.25" 11.75" 73.0* 70.0* 26.8 1 1/8" 4 lbs 8 oz.


I would say for Rock and Roll the 20 TT would be good, which is even a half inch shorter than my cruiser.

Changstar

Roland,

How's it going, Dude?!?!?! Great to hear from you on this site. I saw you last about 20 years ago at St Louis Drive Inn. You told me your father had recently passed away.

R and J - my dad sold the HK house about 5 years ago and bought a condo in Waikiki.

As for all those trophies, I have no idea where they went.

You know, if I came across Chris Cole, I would not recognize him. But I have wondered over the years what became of him. Cool kid with a cool father. The father owned those Chart House restaurants in Hawaii. When I first started racing, I rode to the track with Chris and the dad in their van.

We really have to do a reunion in 09 or 10. I'm sure Faye must know where everyone is.

Later,

Buddy

Changstar,

Yeah the SE Quad on the website is the one. Just for ride and play. Thats alot of info you gave us that I have to absorb. It's so complicated now days. Too many choices. I wanted to get the SE because it has some pretty good roots compared to alot of the newer companies. Of course I never thought much of geometry when I decided on it. I never thought I would start to get serious again. Just wanted something to tool around on.

I also rode Russell's Blk Mrkt yesterday at Royal Summit. Holy Cr:p! I want one! I was looking at those a few years ago when they first came out. Thats a tight frame man......But, I'm not sure if I want to go the MTB route. I would set it up single speed of course. Like I said so many choices!

I rode at HK for a few hours today. Still not feeling comfortable on the jumps with the 20". Several mtbers came right before I had to jet. kevlau showed up too with an awesome scoot that reminded me of a blk mrkt. I'm hoping to get some more "dirt" time tomorrow. Was thinking today while I was riding...Hawaii BMX guys kicked some [not so fast, sparky] back in the day. Considering we only raced once a month and we really had no track to practice on between races. Was just thinking....

jk

Sorry to overwhelm you with info. I guess I am a detail nerd in BMX. But that is due to me having no talent. Nothing about me racing came natural, all of it I had to learn, and I am not a fast learner. So when it came to bike set up I put a lot into understanding how everything affected riding. I needed every little thing I could find to make me better. For other guys they were just plain fast so they could ride anything(Like Rory). Not me. I even would help mainland guys dial in their bikes and gearing. Yeah I am the nerd that would work on my brakes for over an hour to get it to feel just right. I would take things apart and put them back over and over again. But this helped a ton when I raced in the mainland, you need everything right to be in the game there. When I ran the track here, before every big race I would have a garage full of bikes. Everybody wanted me to dial them in before the big race. I could have made a pretty penny for all those, but I did it for free and never turned anyone away no matter how many I had to do.
As for Hawaiians on the mainland. I think you could take of our top dogs and let them stay over there for a month or 2, just to race BMX and they would have been a top national rider. It is soooo hard to fly up just for one race and do well. It takes time to adjust, and just when we are getting warmed up, the race is over and you are going home. For me thats what got me competitive with those guys. Mongoose would fly me up for long stays and I would get to hit 2 or 3 different nationals. I even would be there 2 weeks before the national just to ride at the locals and get prepared. The team would point out what to work on for 2 weeks and then I would do the national race. I think any of our past top guys would do just as well if not better if they did the same. I always heard stories of how everyone was trying to figure out the gate or how to fight in the pack. Thats why we always gave them trouble when they came here. We were comfortable and could put out our best without a bunch of new things to figure out. It has been said many times about many Hawaii riders "if that guy raced over here more he would be real good".

Changstar

<a href="http://s16.photobucket.com/albums/b50/changstar/?action=view&current=DSC00001.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b50/changstar/DSC00001.jpg" border="0" alt="SX cranks"></a>

ooops

Anybody seen these before?

Changstar

Changstar,

Perfect! You can dial our bikes for free!

What kind of cranks are those. I remember when you and Sano had those black one piece cranks that you guys had offset with a torch. I guess to get that second stroke out of the gate faster. Just seemed odd to me trying to spin those offset cranks the rest of the track.

jk

HK 430 anyone?

jk

Sano and I were trying those cranks for a while but we could never get the bend right. It felt like you had bent pedals. Then years later a company named Supercross came out with those about 1991, I had talked about them to many people in the mainland and I guess a few people had the same idea. I was lucky enough to get to test the prototype ones. The cranks itself were good, a little flexy being alum, and the spider was bolted on with small allen screws that would come loose and bend. The bend in the cranks never proved to be any better than straight cranks. But at least we got to see an idea go all the way through to the track and become a reality. It did mess with peoples thinking, since no one knew for sure if they were faster. Can't make it to HK this time. Do you see more guys out on Saturdays? I am thinking for next week which day would have more people.

Changstar