A new category was created this year at Rockford, Best Mini or Jr. 20". I think these bikes deservingly stand apart, and I look forward to seeing more mini/junior builds in the future.

A couple key factors why mini's/junior's stand apart is the fact that component prices were similar to full-size bikes, so for parents to spend lots of money for bikes that will be outgrown in 2 or 3 or 4 years makes them all the rarer. Weight and trickness was even more important on the mini's, which is evident by the ultra-exotic magnesium and titanium components developed at the time.

I'd love to see more mini/junior pics, so please post!

1983 Hutch LiL Holeshot, Sept. 1983 Bicycles and Dirt magazine LiL Holeshot test article/Brit Adude replica. Special thanks to Chip, Tom, Ray, and Rick for helping me find parts, and also the collectors who let them go.







There are at least 3 LiL Holeshots parked around Brit, and also the test bike, so my build is based on a overall perspective of the magazine article. Many ultra-exotic components were featured in this article, including the Ultralite Magnesium Mini Headset, magnesium headset lock, magnesium mini seat clamp, mag/ti hubs, ti-spindle pedals, ti crank spindle, 2024 aluminum mini bars, magnesium 3-bolt stem, and "hollow" aluminum cranks. An NOS headset was located, along with most other parts. Conversations with those who would know indicated that the stem and cranks have never appeared since, which required me to make replicas of those 2 items. (replica parts properly marked)





CW Phaze 1 Junior, 1 of approx. 200 made. Built from nearly 100% NOS. Bullseye cranks, pedals, and hubs. Hubs are 1 of 2 sets that were custom-ordered in that color.





Thanks to everyone who stopped by to take a look at these at the show.

Hospital Sickness there John. That Phaze......dear god

[ June 20, 2007, 12:17 PM: Message edited by: PEP ]

Both bikes are incredible! The time, dedication, and attention to detail are astounding.

Don't forget to mention the pitbike-sized pads on the CW.

Thank you for posting good pics John! All your hard work went well-rewarded.

Can I ask a dumb question? Keep in mind that I am a freestyler never a racer......
What makes it a junior or a mini and/or how are they different from a regular 20"?

I ask becasue I have 3 bikes at home that belong to a friend of mine the he's looking to get rid of. I haven't posted them yet because I wasn't sure how to clasify them and becasue I haven't taken any pics yet.
I think they are all either juniors or minis, but not sure which.
One is a White Bear, the second is a Robinson (junior cruiser? perhaps because it has 24" wheels), and the 3rd is unknow. Maybe a GT.

But they all are super light and have really small bottom brackets.

I hope to take pics this weekend so I'll be posting them up soon.

Thanks

Just size. The mini is roughly for the 6-9 year olds, and the Junior is roughly for the 9-12 years olds. Of course, depending on the size of the child. Brit was 8 in the photos and article above.

As you mentioned, there are also junior cruisers too, because of the 24" wheel class for racing.

That's where I got lost looking at these. I didn't measure them to be sure, but they look pretty much the same size as my 20" freestyle bikes. Maybe a touch smaller though.
I bet they are juniors then becasue my friend said his kids were somewhere in that 9-12 range when they raced these bikes.
They're pretty cool though, haven't been touched in years, just been sitting in the rafters of his garage.

When i take pics I'll post them here so maybe you or anyone else can help me figure out whats what.

Thank you though.

Scott

Check the rims. Minis/Jrs often have 1 1/8th",
1 3/8", or 1.50" wheels.

John
NICE BIKES!!!! I was hoping to see them in person, but i didn't make it to Rockford this year. Hopefully next year. The bar pad on your CW, is that another frame pad, or are the bars that narrow that the "gay" looking undersized CW bar pad looks at home on there???

Break us off with a parts break down of each bike!!!

SWEET BUILDS!


Jon

As Tom mentioned, they are NOS Flite pit bike pads on the CW. I believe the frame pad is the same length as a standard bar pad, and the bar pad is smaller than a typical bar pad. It also sports a Torker mini stem, MX900's, Araya 1-3/8" hoops and double-butted spokes. The cranks are 165's.

The Hutch starts with a pre-serial-number frameset, NOS Italian-made NISI sewup rims, matched set of NOS Snakebelly sewup tires, diamond-polished titanium spokes, titanium-spindled Hutch mini pedals with my repro mini cages, a Crupi-modified aluminum-body freewheel, black/chrome Izumi "lightweight" chain with slotted links, and of course the personalized Brit Adude red grips and dice caps.

The cranks are my interpretation of what the originals may have been. Since the originals have never surfaced, we may never know. I believe they may have been simply modified Maxy Crosses, not hollow at all, and meant to take advantage of the publicity of an upcoming test article marketing opportunity. Therefore, I started with the set of Maxy Cross 170's, removed the spyder, Rod welded the bolt boss in place, I shaved the top, cored the back, then polished them up. From the photo vantage point in the article, they are identical...and they are super light.

The stem was made with the same attention to detail with exotic materials as the original would have been. It starts with AZ31B magnesium upper and lower bodies, and has 7075-T6 aircraft aluminum press-fit washers, stem post, and wedge bolt. Magnesium developes a patina with age, and in a few months my stem will achieve the gray finish that the original had in the photo. As a machinist we always make X + 1 incase we make a mistake, so I actually ended up with 2 stems. I always prefer to buy the originals at any price, but since that was not an option, this is what I did. When making parts, I always try to maintain a level of craftsmanship that could have been expected from Hutch at the time.





I do have my original Hutch stadium plate from BITD, but decided not to restore it for this purpose, or include it on the build in unrestored condition. I would like to find one that I can restore and use on this build though *hint, hint*

I voted for the hutch,but that cw is just plain sick.

Rob

John - awesome work there mate.

With your custom parts - that has paralells with mini stuff from BITD.

If there was one BMX niche that had people making and customising their own stuff it was minis - from drilling holes in everything to cutting down anmd refinishing cranks etc.

So, I consider your work legit, not some repro garbage - nice work!!!!

Gotta get my mini built some time

[ June 20, 2007, 06:37 PM: Message edited by: AndyDiamond ]

PS: are you taking orders on the stems?

lol

Holy smokes that Hutch is awesome nice job, really dig the attention to detail you did on it. I really like the mini's and I hope we do start seeing more of them.

Awesome looking bikes John! Man, do those bring back memories! Since you asked for others, here's my NP mini/junior, I would call it a junior, since it has 1.5 rims, and I'd always considered minis to have 1 3/8 or sew ups. Anyway, mine certainly doesn't top yours, but I'll add to the thread...

That was a point I'd like to bring up - I don't consider 1.5 rims 'mini'.

I'd go like this (in order of age of the rider):

1) Sew-ups
2) 20 x 1 1/8
3) 20 x 1 3/8
4) 20 x 1.5
5) 20 x 1.75

1.5s are fine for pros or expert riders too.
And remember, Bubba Hayes ran 1 3/8 as a 16X.

Andy, I won't be making anymore of the stems, or the cranks for that matter. I just did it for this build.

Steve, you know how much I like that thing. Those bars....so cool.

My DY that Marc built has 1-3/8 rims and tires, but you gotta steer clear of the hard bumps or you'll feel the rim hit.

Here's mine an 84 MRD, (March Racing Developments - Tim March company)











[ June 21, 2007, 12:19 PM: Message edited by: Frostie ]

John,

I have been thinking more and more about that "hollow" comment in the description from the magazine article and I think what you did might actually be a more accurate description of what might have been done to the cranks on the test bike. Afterall, the cranks on the test bike are not tubular or square like a chromoly crank arm that is hollow in the true sense. It just seems more reasonable that they would have machined or cored (your description) the back side of the arms to make them lighter. I would say you nailed the look perfectly which further supports the theory that the cranks in the article are nothing more than a re-worked Sugino Maxy Cross.

Alan

I totally agree. They look awesome!

Hey Alan, post your JMC!
Tom, you have a great Hole Shot too...

I love the color combo on that March.

I appreciate the comments. Thanks

Yes, more mini pics please!

For some reason I can't post the pics. So here are some links.
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y274/saput/DREWSBIKE002.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y274/saput/DREWSBIKE007.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y274/saput/DREWSBIKE010.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y274/saput/DREWSBIKE008.jpg
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y274/saput/DREWSBIKE017.jpg

I like the March colour combo too.

Out of control John. Awesome!

1983 VDC Chimp Long. Was a NOS f&f when I found it back in 2002. Built it with all NOS parts except for the dk mini stem.






This bike has been used by my youngest son for occasional bike path rides and once or twice on a track. He has outgrown it and I wish to sell it to a collector. Make a reasonable offer and this very rare bird can be yours. Would come with the following extras: a complete VDC repro decal set (works with any VDC model: Chimp, Changa or Gorila), a VDC repro pad set (stem pad is a NOS Cal Lite, it has no VDC graphics but the one already on the bike does) and a pair of NOS blue label 1 1/8 COMP III's.

John, regarding the use of 1 3/8 wheels on the DY you got from me: I raced the 18+ Expert class on such wheels for years and years, being that I have always been, and still am, fairly light (145 lb). Never had a flat or taco'ed rim.

I just picked up a "Ripper" Frame. Pretty excited to start that new build.

These two mini's had my full attention. I took many pics as I was very impressed with them. Hopefully I can steal a few good ideas.........

I just picked up a "Ripper" Frame. Pretty excited to start that new build.

These two mini's had my full attention. I took many pics as I was very impressed with them. Hopefully I can steal a few good ideas.........

Marc, I hear ya. I hit some bad railroad tracks here in town once and heard the rear rim hit. I had to pull over, let a few effinheimers fly and inspect. But thank goodness, no damage. I totally avoid the hard bumps now.

Look at the size of that down tube on that VDC!

It's like a seat post.

I love Mini Rippers. I almost bought one last year to build.

I was suprised there weren't any mini Rippers at Rockford. I know of one that will be there next year.

I agree - that tube is like a straw!

lol


Here's my mini Ripper before I stripped the junk parts off it.
This thing is in awesome shape.