Okay, someone please school me on this Ebay auction: http://cgi.ebay.com/Old-School-BMX-GT-Perf...1QQcmdZViewItem

How does one invest $1000 in this bike? The cranks are new $25 Doteks, the brakes are new Odysseys that are $20 each at Dan's (certainly not NOS), and the most of the rest of the components are late midschool, easily available. It's basically an old frame with new and mid school parts, totally mismatched. Yeah, it looks cool, but what the heck?

Exactly how does this bike reach its current bid price?

Easy there tough guy, a member on the board owns that bike. I would not have come out and posted the way you did "BS Alert", jumping the gun a bit, don't you think. There is alot of work there with powder coating by Chip and what not.




Because it's a friggin cool bike and people want it!!!!!




Let's see what "you" got there Mr. 40 posts!!!

lets see...i estimate around 400 for parts...50 for decals...150 for paint...i'd say he overspent by about 400...

I look at my Dyno and GT pit f/f's chillin in the garage and cringe at the money pit they represent...

Mmmmmmmm, frame, fork, 2 pair of bars and a seatpost, probably more than $150 powdered by Chip.

Actually the paint might have been a little more than 150...i see C4 did the work. Probably more like 200 after you factor in shipping and what not on the paint...

Ya check that....what was i thinking...lol. Thats why i collect nice original chrome.

Oh, sorry - since this person is a member here I suppose that grants him "internets safety" from any flaming. Didn't know that. I'm glad you would not have posted the way I did, but I suppose you're not me, so that makes sense. The double-standards here are confounding.





Umm, what? What does that have to do with anything?

I could see it. I just built my son one of those for Christmas and had it chromed. I wasn't going for an all-out restore and it ended up costing me close to $600 by the time all was said and done.

That's disgusting now that I think about it. $600 for a rider for a 5 yr old...I'm pretty stupid. Oh well. He likes it.

There's nothing wrong with spending a lot of BMX stuff - I do it, we all do it. I just don't see $1000 with that particular auction, that's all. I like the bike, but it doesn't add up to me, and we all know how many of these kinds of posts we see here, so mine is just another of the many.

Nothing against the seller personally at all, just voicing an opinion.

So might as well jump on the band wagon right?




Right, just as I am doing.

I dont care what he spent on that bike.
The results are outstanding.
That bike looks awesome.

I would LOVE to own that bike.

What all of you forgot is the fact that it may have been a conversion also from a 20, which on any given day, is a $300+ cost.

hhmph, adds up to me.

go figure.

Well then, one would think he would mention that in the auction description. After all, I would want to know if I'm bidding on a REAL Performer Jr. or a cut up frame, don't you think?

PEP is right on the money guys. You seem to over look the fact that Mr.SERACINGMAN is not cheap when he converts these 20" bikes into 16" pitbikes (every penny is worth it though). His work is phenominal, but then add the labor, powdercoating, stickers, parts, etc. Then after you do it yourself, ask yourself it if would have actually been easier to just spend the $1000 and have a killer pit at absolutely no aggrivation? I like it just as much as the RACE INC. pitbike he has, and if I had the cabbage to burn I would snake them both from Indy!!!

C4 powder...I think even $200 would be a lowball estimate there, LOL...I'm thinking more.

$1000, I dunno but everything on that bike looks new. It looks awesome. And apparently some bidders think so too...

I have been wondering a few times why people convert full size old school freestyle/BMX frames into these miniature frames anyway? Do their market value increase after they have been cut up or do they build these bikes for their kids or just to stand on top of the shelf? Was there a pit bike class in freestyle/bmx comps? What's the story there, i'm just curious to know where do these pit bikes originate from and did people REALLY use them bitd other than just toying around between motos etc.

Nonetheless, It would be cool to own one of these simply as a fun curiousity item though but i personally still prefer a bike that i can actually ride - if i choose to. For the money, i'd definitely go for something full size, 1000 dollars phew. But that's just me.

I am not the seller & frankly do not care. why don't you ask him & stop the meaningless rants about what "you" think something is worth?

read the FAQ's....

Don't ask what it's worth, don't gripe about what you think it's worth. It may not be to you, but it may be to someone else.

nuff said.

-300 if its a frankenbike. To each their own, but i personally think chopping up 20's to make a pit is a joke. These things end up getting passed around like cheap hoorjs to folks that already have everything...look at the master pit...it went to rockford, won an award, then got sold what..2 or 3 times? Most likely after the owners realized their money was better spent on something a little more in keeping with the hobby that has true collectibility or ridability

frankenbiking is a fringe activity at best...

I have a "frankenbike", yep sure do! I had Rod cut up a Race Inc. RA-8 frame, looks cool! I even had Tim cut down an actual Race Inc. leading edge fork, looks even cooler! I have way more than a grand in this pit, not to mention all the time I have invested in it! I don't care what anyone thinks it's worth, to me it's priceless! I will never part with it, so I'm not worried about getting my money out of it. I've gotten something more important out of it though, joy and satisfaction!


Bottom line..................... "To each, their own"! Now let's get back to enjoying this hobby instead of complaining about it!

I'd like to complain about the high price of pre-85 f/f sets and the apparent gold standard given to hutch cruiser bars these days.

Man...hard to break into those 2 clubs on my meager wages....

"I wouldn't want to belong to any club that would have somebody like me as a member." - Groucho Marx

im on the fence about the invested price of that bike too. although a cool little scoot i would have to say the money spent went into powder and whatever metal work had to be done. just adding up the parts price alone doesnt bring much so maybe mister SAF has a legitimate post.

the value of any part weather it be new school or old is based on what someone will pay for it.

Will those crank arms clear the ground?

No Free Passes

Sharp little scoot! SAF does have his opinion and can voice it? You guys have all done the same over the years. Since when do you guys Derek,Pep get on peoples cases about opinions? You mofo's have been here since damn near the beginning and we always spoke our opinion.


eeeeazy!

No Free Passes

It is a cool bike in my eyes. Now you have to think what is the $1000. A 20" frame & fork - maybe $50-$100 INITIAL INVESTMENT. Then cut up to make a pit (labor is not cheap) - est. $300, paint - $200, wheels, tires, cranks, pedals, grips, chain, grips, seat post, seat, seat post clamp, H-Bar clamp, tires, tubes and decals.

I can see over a grand. I spend the big bucks when I want something and I also try to do period correct builds on a budget (always goes over). I have spent $150 on grips, $250 on seats and over $400 on stems in the past. When you put it all into perspective $1000 spent might not be a great investmet to all memeber or restorers but sure is s slick bike (I would not sink a grand into it already done) and if I was into building unquie bikes I would easily spend it! Until you are in this hobby for a few years and buy the stuff that others will possibly kill for it is tough to judge the money factor. I say $1000 EASY! The most fun thing to me is to take a frame or I have even built a bike around a pad - and sink hours and dollars into it to get a rad complete build. Then I get boared and want to sell it. SICK!

i have to agree with saf on this its kinda high for the parts on it . race inc do i have enough posts on here to comment what a tool

same high bidder on all 3 of his pit bikes

I also like his other auction - another "$1000 invested" deal - with "NOS FMF cranks" Please. Those are new $24.99 Powerstroke cranks and he just removed the decal (you can see the indentation on the crank arms). Those "NOS FMF cranks" are current product.

I also take issue with people that cut down perfectly good collector frames, but hey, that's just my opinion and its his bike to do what he wants with.

If you're going to invest $1000 in a Jr. Performer, why would you put all those new- or mid-school parts on it? He did a good job on the CW and the Race Inc. (except maybe the cranks) but on the Jr. Performer...a Piston stem? A padded seat? Knobby tires? It may or may not have added up to a grand, but it still doesn't make sense to put those parts on that bike.

For what it's worth, in the auction description he specifically calls it a "1985 GT Jr. Performer". That should end speculation about it being a cut up 20 right there.

Yes, and then back to my original question - where does the $1000 come from since we can exclude cutting, modifying, etc.?

hey Kerry -

if you wouldn't have fell off the face of the earth & returned my calls once & a while, I could just bust your chops for a while

holla!

SAF quit trying to get your post count up

I gotta agree with Dave. Obvisouly I wouldn't think someone is getting this for their 5 year old to thrash on. That being said, what "collector" would really want a Jr. Performer with the newer parts on it? Not saying he didn't put a lot of time and effort into it, just curious what the buyer of something like this would have in mind.

Ouch!!...Frankenbike???....ok that hurt(LOL)....soooooooo, i guess i better get ready to hear: "FRANKENCOOK-24" ....seracingman-tim/chip c-4 did the surgery on this one too,(ITS ALIVE!!! ITS ALIVE!!!) .....

Shoot for the moon.. Would I pay that for a nice f/f set with mid school parts?.. naw, but someone might and it is after all... tax season!!!


Same high bidder on all of his auctions?

So whats the scoop...is there gonna be a frankenbike class at rockford this year or what? Seems like everybody has one now. Granted, you HAVE to chop the rear off another 20 to make a suitable rear wheel stand contraption or it really isn't going to measure up or look good in photos...better start looking for another Cooks and Race Inc. to put through the grinder...

Now fellas...i hope all know i'm at least partly jokin' with you guys. Personally i have a hard enough time getting the stuff i do own so it pains me to see some of these bikes ummm...whats the word i'm looking for here...belittled?...disrespected?...hmmm...don't quite fit...but you get what im saying? I don't want to come across as some vintage zealot, but its a trend i don't condone...not that anybody needs to ask me for permission...but i do have an opinion on the matter.

Does it ever become a problem? If some fabricator started buying up every cooks that hit ebay to he could put them through the pit bike vegimatic and added those 80cc motor kits to them for some sort of new underground pit bike, racing league, would it be something to be concerned about at all? I dunno...maybe i'm crazy....

Hudson, i see your point, no offense taken on this side, its all cool....i wanted a "bmx'y 24inch cook" that I could actually fit/ride and the frames i used,in my opinion, kinda sucked...(hammer marks, worst drop outs, peeling chrome,cracked seatube, etc,etc).... i have a good bit of NICE to NOS original stuff and it will stay in its preserved condition,...... just having fun with an off the wall project, claude

I know what you are trying to say. However. If you would have seen what my Race Inc. frame and fork looked like prior to the belittlement vs. what the look like now, I think I did them a favor. The frame was chewed up every where and the inside of the fork was rusted badly. These pieces were far from nice!




We are tired of everyone else having all the fun!




And we still do! Hey Kerry, BTW, do you have any NOS sticks or leaves for sale?

Pit bikes remind me of dwarf wrestlers, short and stocky with attitude

nothing to do with bikes-I think they're killer, but..
I love it when it's touted as 'no reserve', but the opening bid is 499.
I do see where you could be $1k on them, easy.