Hey Kenny, I don't know of many cruisers that start with P. Could it be a model name? Like a Mongoose Pro Class cruiser? I can only think of Powerlite, Panda, Paterson, Profile, Prodyne, Pro craft, Phase 2, So maybe was made by a company that gave a P name to the cruiser. If it was a Powerlite, then it would have double top tubes. Maybe if we find a picture we can ID it. I do have a 1982 ish Mongoose 20 inch frame, nickel plated and may have been a Super Goose. I think building the cruiser would be cooler, since that was the dawn of cruiser racing and may be more unique. But of course harder to find. Funny I remember you, but forgot that we raced each other at Castle park. I ran a 39/16 at that track, with 175 cranks. Then again how many tracks had a 75 foot first straight away. Tell us more about the building of that track, who designed it and who else helped to make it.

Changstar

We need a topic to talk about. So how about, what gearing and crank size did you all run BITD?

Changstar

I ran 43/16 with 170 dura ace cranks for most of my racing time. All the guys I hung out with ran the same from what I remember. Rockne, Roland, Buddy, Phillipart. I later switched to 171mm cranks with 43/16 on the Schwinn Sting. I loved that setup. I know Rockne switched to 172.5's and that's what he has on his bike now. Right now I'm running 40/14. Feels good. I was using 180 flights but they are way too long for me. So I traded the 180's for 175's with someone here on vitage.

I remember Rory being way, way way ahead of todays trends of little sprockets. He played with that setup in the early 80's I think. Hopefully he will chime in on that.

jk

Sorry Jeremy just checked the site, let me know next time.

Jeremy, I think it was shimano cranks. I was running a 32/12 or something like that. Crank size was 170mm and very thick. But it was hard to fine tune the gearing, one tooth would make a very big difference. On my mongoose I ran 44/16 175mm, robinson had a little more drive 45/16 175mm, or 42/16 170mm, schwinn sting I think was the best bike I rode, good turning, jumping, everything 45/16 170mm. And finally the GT, 43/16 175mm profile cranks on any track. This bike had the meanest snap of the gate. I'd like to give a shout out to all the people who helped me in my racing. Dennis and Faye Saiki from The Bike Shop, Ed Nakamura from Eki Cyclery, he made the biggest impact on my racing and my early life, and Jim Tomitagawa from Safari Cycles, local shop that was as close to a factory sponsor as you can get. Thanks everyone!

to me, there are a couple of reasons why the new trend of smaller sprockets. the advancement of cassette hubs such as king, stealth, and profile to name a few. they all run at least four pawls of engagement with more teeth, or some kind of clutch mechanism. also, weight being more critical, especially with freestyle, where frames used to be 10 pounds, now they are back under 5 pounds. for street riding, clearance issues were a problem grinding hand rails and stuff. people were ruining sprockets regularly, even with bashguards. and we all know billet sprockets are not cheap. even with the same ratios, there's something about saying you pushed a 45/16 or 46/16 which is kind of cool.

kl

Changstar,

About the track. I just recall Dennis (From The Great Outdoors) having something to do with the design. I recall John, Kevin, Moki, myself and probably many others out there getting the track ready. I was not that easy as I remember as we didn't really have a thick base as it got very slippery around the second to last turn right before the tabletop. I only remember this as I slid out on that turn and let John by me in the first race. I do remember however beating him in one of the heats and had to razz him on that. It was kinda cool setting the track up as we got to practice on it and then watch Moki and Miki doing there crazy a&& stunts off the table top.

Now about the cruiser. I bought it at The Great Outdoors and it was one that Dennis was going to build but decided to let it go. I am now considering finding an old Mongoose or diamond back 26" to build. Starting to look for one now and if anyone has some insight on the location of one drop me a line.

As to your topic on gearing my memmory fails me as I don't have a clue.

Kenny

the trend of the smaller gears is great as technology now can make a set up that won't blow up. I am sure many of you have blown up the old 80" cassette hubs. 14 and 15 tooth freewheels also blew up after a while, so 16 and up freewheels were the most reliable and most widely used. Now the cassette is stronger but what I don't know is, at how small do you start to give up strength? I have seen as small as 9 in the rear. The torque comming off the gate is huge. With the rear gear having the chain on half of it. So on a 16, about 8 teeth are doing the driving. At what point will it be too much, IE on a 9 tooth, only 4.5 teeth are doing the work. So far I feel safe going down to a 13 in the rear. My cruiser is a 38/17, and for 20 it will be 41/15. Both on 180 mm cranks. BITD I ran about a 43/16 with 180 cranks. Those who came to the gate sessions at my house knew how my Dad used to experiment with riders gearing and crank size. We must have done 1000's of gates and sprints. Did you know that the year that Sano got #1 my Dad had him try 170mm cranks. He stuck with that set up after that. At the time alot seemed like just too much detail. We just wanted to go have fun and win. But looking back I understand much more about gearing and it DID make a difference. My Dad was a math wiz.

Changstar

bmx joe,

Don't get me all excited that you might have a 80-81 mongoose frame that you might part with? Since you are somewhat kida close to me I would be more that happy to make a road trip out to pick it up.

Come out, Come out where ever you are??????

Kenny

For some reason I always thought you ran 43/16 on the goose. I remember riding with you and my Uncle Eric way back when I was 12yrs old. I remember how you would just spin for long straights. I agree the Schwinn Sting is a Bad A55 bike. I found my groove riding one.




You guys are animals. I ran a Shimano DX cassette 90% of the time and never blew one up. In fact I'm running one now.

jk

Sorry for not posting for awhile. Been real busy this week and was not able to get on computer. I have red one if your interested. I would have to do some research to find out what year it is etc.. Other then that I did see some gooses at the last old school bmx gathering that were for sale. I have not gotten word on the next one, but I'll be sure to let you know. In the mean time save money and be ready to wheel and deal!

Saving money now....... Just tell me how much and where to send it... Within reason. Also looking for a possible KOS Cruiser frame too but I might have to settle for a Schwinn and put some Tange forks of it. As that is what I truely started racing back in the beginning cruiser days. Pieces Parts is all I need.

What do you want for the red Mongoose frame?

Kenny

Not sure if anyone can tell but I like this new to me website that I have found.

Talked to Malvert today. He said he would need a month to get conditioned to come and ride. He works 7 days a week. Quit riding a while ago because he crashed on a jump at Makakilo and hurt his shoulder. I know that if he comes out he will make me look silly. He never stopped riding till about a year ago. He also said that he threw away his #5 Robinson about 2 years ago. He felt all sick when I told him that it's a collector's item now. I'm trying to persuade Larry to come out too. So about a month from now Jeremy, set the date and I'll pass the word. Rory

Kenny sent you PM!

Awesome! I bet both you and Malvert still have speed and skills. I'll figure out a date and let everyone know. Tell Malvert I said Howzit!

jk

Wow that would be awesome to see you two ride again. I thought I remember Malvert using a pretty big gear and short cranks. Did Malvert race the old ESPN pro BMX series as an A pro? I seem to remember a Robinson rider on TV that had a similar name, I think it was a different first name. And it may have been something like Bewigno. Kinda to similar. I think Gary Ellis won the class.

Changstar

attention all old bmx'ers. the people at hi kai track did some watering and the berms and jump faces are awesome. i just rode there today. let's get a ride together again.

When?

Here's a pic for you guys. Maybe I can lure Rory and Malvert into coming out with this.



BIG MAHALO'S TO LAWRENCE AND VISH FOR ALL THAT THEY HAVE DONE AT HK AND ARE CONTINUING TO DO!

So when are we BMXers gonna represent and help out with fixing up the track? ANYONE GOT ACCESS TO FREE DIRT THAT WE CAN BRING IN TO HK TRACK?

jk

Next weekend same time?

So what new faces can we get to come out? We need to make sure Guch has a real bike. I'll see if I can piece together another cruiser. In Guch size.

Changstar

Then you would need one of those ol' skool 26 inchers.

Where else can I look for parts online?

Here's a pic of two of the jumps at the HK track - For those of you that haven't been there. The jumps and berm are alot better now after Buno and Lawrence put alot of time into it.

[quote name='Sugi' date='May 26 2008, 07:31 PM' post='541868']
Then you would need one of those ol' skool 26 inchers.

the gucher says he feels more comfortable on a 20",... especially one from kmart!

Hey Sug, there are links on the front page of Vintage to mail order parts. Let me know what you are looking for and I can help too. I have an in. Also check out Dans competition, they probably have the biggest selection, I usualy use them just to find stuff, then later look for deals after I know what I am looking for. My garage is a good starting place too. HK looks good, I hope the landings are as good as the lips. Now that it is all smooth I can clip in.

Changstar

Chang,yeah I allready ordered from Dan's Comp a few times before.They don't have the 5.75" bars.BF has the slam ones and not the race version.---I'm also planning to buy cranks/175 redlines?,bottom bracket and 36t chainwheel(so I can get you back your Phil Woods .) It's kind of like if I change one thing,I might as well change the other.If we're going to ride more often,I'll build another bike sooner or later.I know this guy who owns Black Lightning who might give me a deal.Haha!!
I was going to ask you about the 24x1 3/8s.

Small Lance

Yeah just have Kev custom make a frame for you, just copy the Formula geometry. Are you sure you want 175mm? If I were you I would think about 170 or 172.5. Go with a solid front gear. As for bars, you can get them straight from S&M. I was going to order some stuff from them so we can do it all together. For wheels, 1 3/8 is much lighter and easier to throw around but will warp easier too. Maybe go with 1.5 rims. That's what I use and they are pretty strong and lighter than 1.75. You can experiment with tires by trying 1.5 or 1.75 on the 1.5 rims. I use 1.75 tires on a 1.5 rim, so if you want lighter just go with 1.5 tires too. If you don't want to wait for Kev just have me order a Formula frame for you.

Changstar

Here's some pics that I borrowed from Changstar - that he was lucky enough to get from Faye Saiki of The Bike Shop. All the Pics are of The Great Outdoors team. John Llacuna, Moki Fernandez, Miki Fernandez, Kevin Sano, Boy Gomes. Hope you like seeing these as much as I did.

Moki Fernandez and John Llacuna.

Anyone remember MAD DOG?

Moki Fernandez

Any of you guys keep in touch with Cy Shinkawa? I remember him taking some photo's back in the day. Maybe he still has some. Jeff? P?



I'll post more later.

KDen
jk

Great Outdoors pics are sick, indeed!

Thanks for posting them up.. superb stuff from way back then..

I am almost sure Cy kept all his photos, just don't know how to get ahold of him and besides he probably won't remember me either.. I do remember that hair though:-)

Speaking of hair, check out this classic:



Mark Miyashiro and Michael Tyau!

My sister just moved to Colorado and called me.. said she saw Mark in Kaimuki right before she left and could not believe it! Well, they didn't chat but she is 100% sure it was him. Also spotted was Tod Kawakami, on another occasion, naturally.

Got to steer them to this site, they would freak out LOL


Cheers, dirt kickers!


-p




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Whats up P!

Glad to see you back home and holding the old school front again. Looking forward to your photo's as usual! Mark would definately trip on all the OG photos's of you guys at Cannon's.

Maybe Jeff knows how to contact Cy?

KDen
jk

Changstar,

Someone was asking me about the possibility of getting a track running at Keihi Lagoon again. He was bugging me to get the scoops from you. I can't remember the guys name.....I think Rockne or something like that? Anyway, he's totally pumped on getting a track started. But, I can't remember the guys name.......He looks familiar. Said he used to race back in the day. Does Rockne ring a bell? He said he used to race with us. I still can't place him for some reason. I old him probably the 1st step would be to join us here on vintage. Right?


jk

Howdy champ!

Yah, just got back, enjoying the stories, pics and the new look dirt jump pics you posted.

Yummy.. LOL

I hope to see Marky Mark one day, that would be an acid trip for sure..

Thought I would post this one up, me at Cannons Club OLDSCHOOL, haha:



This is by far the stupidest ILL upside-down tabletop jump I have ever done.. and crashed + live to yak about it too. If you wonder why I remember it so well, I went off the 3rd jump on the bottom side of the trifecta of jumps and it was sick that day, the kick was launching us into space. Anyhoozit, I decided to really rip into one and my body got too far underneath the bike and I could not get out of the position. I landed (yes, LANDED) on my left side hip just before the bike, I was helpless. It was like getting dropped from a building onto my side. Within minutes, my hip swelled up and I could barely pedal home. Went to the hospital, but they could do nothing. Painkillers, thats it. A severe bruising of the side. That is just STUPID. Limping like a pirate with termites in the leg, for a week.

What can I say, I was like 15 years old, I think. Geez.. I think we've all done dumb stuff like this.


Feeling like a kid mutation..


-p


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^^^^^^^This is by far the stupidest ILL upside-down tabletop jump I have ever SEEN!

Luckily you have a pic of that! I have seen you do some crazy 5hit back in the day. But, that tops it all. It's not like you were landing on some loose fluffly dirt there. You are talking about A1 prime Diamond Head nasty asssss dirt and rock. I hope you start getting Ill again when you take the plunge and get the 24".

K-Den
jk

Good at jumping is a great skill, good at landing takes even more skill. Everybody on for this Sunday? I hope it is even bigger than last time. Rock and Rol need to be there too. How about Rory and Malvert, Jeff too. Who ever gets there first could maybe throw down some water.

Changstar

I would think Cy would still have some photos. The last time I bumped into him he was working at Sharper Image that was at least 8 years ago. He was married to someone who worked with him there. I will check next time I go to Ala Moana I think she is still working there.

I’m out for Sunday, I have to fly to Texas for a sales meeting : (.


Jeff

I'll be there with my youngest son. Just let me know what time. But don't expect miracle riding from me . I'm still having a hard time with curbs. Be good to be riding with you guys though. Rory

OG, thats half the fun watching things slowly come back. We all are rusty and encourage each other. So seeing each other get better is cool. Wouldn't be as much fun if you came out and rode like it was 20 years ago. Cause we would all be embarrssed. Looking back some of the most satisfying things was learning and getting better. No pressure and with each improvment you were stoked. I think it was much harder when you are on top and trying to stay there. Plus you are tougher on yourself to be better. Now everybody is just chill and we don't push so hard, or expect as much and have fun. Like being 12 again. Although, we all still have that competitive side, which I think will slowly come out as we get better.Then maybe we will have a track and can let loose with some real racing. I am sure Rory would whoop on his cruiser class at the nationals. Stu comes out maybe twice a year and still wins the 46-50 cruiser and gets top 3 in 35 and over expert 20 inch. I am inspired that at his age he is still very good, it gives us all a goal to reach for.

Changstar

Oh yeah. About 4:00 pm or so till dark. I try to get there earlier but always seem to get there at 4.

Changstar

Bummer! I'm on duty this Sunday. Wish I could be there and ride with you. Kev Lau and I put some work in today at the HK track. We added another whoop to the soon to be "rythm section". It's coming along but still needs work. I already lost my SE 24". The wife saw it and wanted it. As long as she rides thats cool with me.

So, Changstar........How much can you get a formula frame for?

jk

Wow,Lau's been sneaking in some secret riding time.Haha!---See you guys tomorrow.

Anyone call Jay M? I'll try to give a call during work. Hey Sug is Cyrany grad from Mililani?

Changstar

No,Serenie just graduated tonight from Pearl City.I must've been the proudest dad there.We just got home from the ceremony then we went to the 50th State Fair.
I talked to J allready,he said he's going to call you for a ride.---I might go down early to squeeze off a few rounds at the range.If anybody is down,let me know.

me and jk worked on the cat poop whoops until i got another flat front tire.

If you guys need measurements for a rhythm section or any other section for that matter, let me know. I have that stuff for when we build the ABA national tracks. Things can get weird if there isn't enough spacing......it's called FLOW!

Aloha!

-Leasure

Leasure,

We definately need the measurements if you don't mind. We are kinda just winging it. Having it flow would be killer.

jk

Sorry I couldn't make it guys. I was real bummed since Rory was there. But, JT was kind enough to send me some pics though. Rory you look good! Still smooth as usual I bet!

Heres the pics from JT:

Kevlau on the shovel and Sugi on the hose.



Lil Sugi.



Royce.



And the legendary Hawaiian himself! Rory Ingano.



jk