Just wondering whatever became of the famous Rockville BMX?

I believe the original location is now a public school parking lot. Rob Q. tried to organize a reunion event jam there years ago and the school said no. The reunion jams were held in Frederick, MD instead.

There was an update, just recently, within the last few months. With a link to the original owner of Rockville BMX's Blog on some other non-bmx site. If you search around it should be here.

What is it with these bmx mecca's turning into parking lots?! Isn't the old Pipeline skatepark now a parking lot as well? There are still bike shops around me that have been around for over 20yrs. Some even alot longer! U would think that shop could've survived somehow, as popular as it was. And the Pipeline was a work of art! All the time, effort, and creativity that went into building that place, gone! I know it's been years since they've been gone, but it still sucks! lol...Anyone know when Rockville closed? Pipeline closed in 89' right?

Sad, ain't it. I was only there once, back in the summer of 87. I grew up in western PA, and my dad and I made the drive out there (about 4 hours) to pick up my new day-glo Pro Performer, in his CRX. It was an amazing day. Rockville was.. I felt like I was in a dream.

Here's a great tribute to the place with some insight as to what happened to the place.

http://www.mauricemeyer.com/BMX/RobQ/rockville.htm

The old Pipeline is gone but a new one took it's place.

http://home.earthlink.net/~laaccess/sunlandskatepark.html

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=htt...SpuzB5W8NoHOxCw

Great read!!! Thanks for posting that link! Still sad to see these places gone though. Crazy, almost 20yrs. since 1990! I would love to be able to go back in time and just spend one summer riding, having fun. Just enjoying the moment.

So is the new Pipeline skatepark on the same site as the original? Do they allow bikes? It's an awesome looking park for sure!

Then make it your goal, for next year. Life is short, and time flies.. 1990-now sometimes seems like the blink of an eye, sometimes it doesn't. Just ride. I dorked around out in the street for the first time in a while (I had a really busy summer, with moving and a new job starting up a couple weeks ago) and although I sucked, landing 3 tailwhips in a row, and a bunch of smooth infinity rolls into rolling boomerangs made everything else from my day just disappear. I thought about riding all day today, but of course.. pouring rain, LOL.

Sometimes we forget about.. just riding, like when we were kids, and that's all we did.. we had nothing else really to do! But you can have that feeling again, then come on the board here and report back.

I actually do ride with my son. And although I love riding with him and seeing him having the same enthusiasm as I did when I was his age, I still wish I would've just taken my time back in 89' and not be in such a hurry to grow up. All my friends were already driving and out of bikes so I followed suit. Not because I didn't want to ride anymore, but because I felt that's what I was supposed to do. I just wish I would've stayed in the moment a little while longer. Definately some great memories.

There is a post on Jared Souney's site from a while back that has a bunch of comments, including one from Jay Metzler who ran the place. Also some pictures of an old Rockville catalog on there. http://www.jaredsouney.com/2008/10/rockville-1984/

Rockville stickers and tees....somebody bring the love and make it happen, OK?

Bought my Dyno Compe II from Rockville back in '86.....

The store location is still there..., that is to say, the shop strip mall is still there. I used to pass it everyday on the morning
Metro commute. The parking lot across the street was repaved and covers most of what used to be a large grass area up to
the road. It's true I got denied permission to do an event there several years ago by the Board of Ed. that owns the lot.
But, we could still all meet up there and ride some sunday..., when it's empty.

I knew the second owners as they lived by me and would sometimes drop stuff I had ordered off at my house in the evenings
when they were going home. I once remember inviting Chuck in for "a drink" one time because he had hand delivered my
order and I didn't know what else to say...HAHA!, I must've been 14!!! hehe.

I've got a couple of sheets of Rockville BMX stickers in PSD format ready to go, just got find the extra $$$ and time
to make it happen.

That shop was a temple to me..., it was a magnet that drew riders in for miles...., and the summer shows were legend.

RobQ

Hey Rob,

I sent Jay that interview that you helped me come up with questions for. He was all into it, so I'm not sure what happened. As a matter of fact, I resent it to him a couple other times without getting any response. Who knows... maybe I'll get a surprise and get it back one day! We'll see. Thanks for helping me out with that regardless!

Jeff

I remember BITD seeing the ads in BMX Plus or Action and drooling over the thought of owning Sugino Flight 400's at a lot less in paper boy scratch than 401's. I must have bought 3 pair from Rockville.

I was wondering what ever became of that! Hope he finishes it and returns it to you. Perhaps some of the questions required him to really put some time into answering. I tried to ask him stuff that would allow him to talk about his vision for the shop and the early days of where it was heading as well as the impact the place had by having so many great summer tour shows.
Anyway, thank you for allowing me to be a part of the interview!
RobQ

i remember rockville back in about 1985 ,with eddie martin beatle dave and myself ,and about 5,000 screaming kids.they bussed in the guys from local schools.there was like 50 yellow buss's parked around rockville shop.it was a joint effort on GT bike tours ,eddie fiola europian tour n martins n myselfs usa coast to coast tour. all i can say is it was the best bike shop,best crowd,best show with all of us GT guys there. eddie stole the show and i think was malled by kids after the show. i mean really ,cloths torn up n crazy fun loving kids pulling n tugging at him. was a hoot.
i had no idea it was gone. thats a total shame.i also loved pipeline ,i remember cause of some guy sueing the skate park from his own accident to himself while there,they soon after closed down n covered up the park. yet another dark day in days gone bad.
well just thougt id throw my spin on things in here. its cool to hear so many stories of bikes bought n cool childhood memories from you guys about a place were the owners were more then just bike shop owners. they helped fuel the fire that made freestyle such a fun growing sport in the day.my hats off to rockville. cheers.
rick allison

Growing up I lived in Bethesda, MD, about 10 minutes down the road from Rockville BMX and used to go in and day dream constantly. I can still remember the time I saved up enough cash to buy my 401 Flights and the reaction on my dad's face when I brought them home and started installing them and he asked how much they cost. haha!!!!

Long live Rockville BMX!

I remember that show well Rick.
I believe you were running a drum brake front blue Skyway Tuff during that tour weren't you?
That GT line up was one of the best!
Good times.
RobQ

ya i was running drum brake at that show. you guys just amaze me.
buddy and i tryed to market that concept n very wheel. we sold some
but i left it up to him to take off with concept after touring n contests got
to be enough for me.think chrome rims took over soon after.

Look what I dug up! Fresh as the day it was printed.

Look what the cat dragged in! Got anything else from the old days laying around Roger?

Just a HARO Sport Retro. WIsh I could have kept everything.

Here is what remains of Rockville BMX. RL-20's in tow.

I'm compiling some info, stories and photos for an article for a local publication (Spokes Magazine).

Basically a "Remembering Rockville BMX" type of thing. I'm looking for any original photos of the shop or the shows since I really can't publish photos from Freestylin' or other publications. I'll include any interesting tidbits, stories, and first hand accounts about the heyday of Freestyle and how Rockville BMX brought the sport to the East Coast for a lot of teenagers. Back in those days cameras were expensive so I don't have many pictures of the shop or any good photos from the shows.

I was only into Freestyle so I don't really know exactly when the store actually opened and closed. I was a regular from about 1984/5-1989.

Get in touch if you're willing/able to contribute in any way.

Thanks

Brian Caron
Hagerstown MD

Hello! I'm Vicki Moletteire. My family purchased Rockville BMX from Jay Metzler in 1985. Jay founded the company and is completely responsible for branding the store. He hired Lynn, our graphic designer, to create all the great catalogs and "hot sheets." I can't forget the stickers either. If you visited the store in the mid to late 1980's we probably met. I was the blonde working behind the counter selling custom bikes, putting grip tape on decks and installing bearings. I also took care of all the custom Van orders. We worked endless hours and learned so much. The shows were amazing. I remember Eddie Fiola sleeping on our couch, the incredible shows at the Dept of Education, the line at the door after the shows, a half pipe in our yard that was later taken to American University for a show, driving all night with Hadji after working Saturday to Flushing, NY for a show that we refused to miss and of course, flying to California each year for the convention. Lots of good memories. Maurice's description below is accurate. He describes how the industry changed and things began to slow down. The Gulf War didn't help. I had gone off to college. Bryant ran a few business for a friend while transitioning out of the bike shop. We did relocate to Arnold and closed that store sometime in the early 1990s. Our family did well after the bike shop. Chuck went back to building houses and retired in Florida near me. I started in the mortgage business in 1989 and own and operate my own company outside of Orlando still where I relocated to in 1994. Bryant has worked in the auto industry since the early 90's and is a GM for Carmax in Maryland. Bryant and I both have kids of our own now. I love that Rockville BMX has so many fond memories for you guys. It makes all those years of hard work so worth it. It also makes the closure of the store a little easier. Still tough to think about the rise and fall and all the great friends we made. - Vicki

Hi Vicki, Thanks for coming on here and sharing a little of the history. If u ever get a chance it would be great if u could post some old photos from your time at Rockville. There are a few places that are considered landmarks in the glory days of freestyle. And Rockville BMX is definately in the top 2. The other of course would be Pipeline skatepark. IMO.

I only went to Rockville once. It was right after I bought my Pro Performer. My buddy at the time checked the bike out and took me down to get parts for it. I was blown away as soon as I walked on the door. It was Mecca for anyone who was into BMX or Freestyle. One thing I remember was the row of brand new bikes. I think I still have a green and pink sticker. The blue and pink one matched my Pro Performer perfectly.

I remember ordering from Rockville for the first time. I got a set of Hutch Woody bars. I never used another mail order place ever again. They had the most competitive prices, and most of the time, I got my order in the Chicago area in three days. That place was the best.

I spent a lot of time at shows at Rockville. Bought my 88 Master from there. Saw a lot of shows there. That was where I first met Mat Hoffman. I lived an hour away and we drove down often to hang out, buy stuff and ride around the area. I still remember some of those conversations with Spike Jonze. I also remember Vicki.

That move to Arnold was good for me (closer to me) but it was kind of sad. The day I went there and it was gone... just broke my heart.

I had so many of those stickers that I covered, and I mean COVERED a Schwinn predator with them. Frame, fork, bars. Got a lot of comments about that.

This is the only pic I have digitally of Rockville. I am in the Haro Jersey and Jams. This is the Skyway show from 85. My team (Wheel Power) came down and we got in a lot of trouble for sitting on top and slightly caving in the roof of the team van. But I think I got in more for refusing to wear the Wheel Power uniform. Shop owner was a real stickler about that.


One of those guys to the left could very well be Spike. I know he hung out with us for a while, but I can't remember if he was up there for this shot.

I know Im kind of late to the thread, so I doubt anyone is still subscribed to this thread.
I remember Rockville very well. It was THE BMX shop on the East Coast in the 80's.
I was wondering if anyone knows what happened to Tinker? He used to sit with his walkman on and lace wheels fast and tight. Scooby,Spike, Bryant, Vicki,and Chuck and so many others, always made you feel like family.

I was there the day before the '86 GT world tour and I was riding outside and next thing I know I was joined by Dino Deluca, he was really cool and offered a few pointers. The day of the show I managed to Rent a video camera and got some great footage. Before the show I did some sweeps inside the shop, catchin Chuck, spike and bryant on a few passes. One of the GT riders grabbed me to the back and I got some great footage of Eddie,Martin,Josh, and Dino prepping their rides before the show. When they left the shop to cross the street over to the parking lot I joined the entourage as we approached at least 1,000 screaming fans. It was so crowded Eddie told me to just get on top the ramp to film the show. I'm thinking, no way, it's not my birthday. These guys were so great and the Rockville Vibe was huge, you could feel it. So, if anyone was there for the 86 world tour, I was the kid on top of the quarterpipe and I've found that film and I'm cleaning it up so I can have it ready for the BMXSociety reunion in Bellflower, CA June 4th, 2011. If anyone wants to talk about Rockville or get a copy of the video hit me up. If anyone has a set of '81 GT 26" cruiser forks hit me up. My frame needs some forks.
Long live the Rockville vibe. They sold me my first GT, an '84 World Tour, and I've been hooked ever since.
Thanks Eddie, that was the coolest day ever.
Steve..aka Free5tyler

Growing up in Connecticut, it was not exactly the mecca that the west coat was (although there were some pockets). PA seemed to be the place for the action, and it was close enough to get to, but back in the 80's, life was a bubble. All we did was ride, and try to figure tricks out from the pics in the magazines. We didn't even have any videos to work from!

Anyway, if I had known how great it was at Rockville, I would have been there. I certainly drove further for less in the 80's, so that wasn't an issue.

We did have a great shop that we frequented in South Windsor, CT. They had a proper BMX track and a huge half pipe. A great selection of bikes and parts (plus hockey equipment- it was/is an ice rink). The bike shop closed down about the same time as Rockville I'd guess. It was cool to go up that narrow staircase in the back corner and see PILES of bright colored tires... Behind that the 'closet' with new frame and fork sets piled high... I saw the Haro team there in late 86 I think it was... maybe 85... Not sure. The sticker I had was on the seat of my master which is gone.

Like everyone else, the 401's were always receiving copious amounts of drool every time I went in.. Never got 'em then; but I have 'em now.

As to that video you have Steve, I'd LOVE a copy. I'll shoot you PayPal to cover shipping and a DVD too- what ever you need just let me know. I was unable to be there back in the day, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy it now right?