I just found this site from a buddy. I raced back in the late 80's and early 90's in Gilroy, CA and finally Sanger, CA. My last bike was the single-legged fork Kastan. In retrospect, I bought the bike out of pure vanity. I thought it was the coolest thing, especially the red. I only raced it a handful of times before I busted my knee up good and called it quits. I heard a rumor a couple years later that a kid was killed when his Kastan fork snapped. Can anyone validate this story?

This isn't the best picture. I've started scanning a lot of my old BMX photos so I'll upload more of the Kastan soon.

No one was killed....The lawsuit was from a family in Chandler, their son jumped the bike and cased a double jump, the results were the he did a face plant breaking his jaw and put him in a coma for a few days. The boy was also not wearing a full face helmet, just a snap on chin guard. From what I heard the recall was already in place and the family opted to keep the Strut and not exchange it for the replacement at the time, which was a regular fork not the Strut. I was at the track the night it happened.

It is for this reason that I love message boards. Thanks a lot for the explanation. Even at a young age, I figured it was urban legend. I did some pretty big jumps on my Kastan. In fact, the first time I jumped the big scary 30' Lemoore BMX double was on my Kastan. It held up to some pretty good abuse in the short amount of time I rode it.

I see a couple of Kastan's on eBay. Are they hard to find nowadays? I'd love to find my old red frame. I loved that color.

The worst fork snapping story e is actually because of Bonzai. The clamp style (think Tange Switchblade and Brand X) which was on their smaller like the three bar bike had a problem with snapping. The family that ran Binghampton Nbl track in New York,their son snapped a set and caught the fork leg in his throat and he also ended up in a coma but permanant brain damage. I was at the track that day but did not see the crash.

Stephen

here's a couple of pics of the two I have.

Yeah, message boards are AWESOME...they are a great way to hit strangers up, and ask them for their treasures without as much as a "hello" or a warm-up reach-around....hey works for some.
How do you like this non-tax-deductable donation piece?

He said his bike was red 4130.

Uh-huh...but THAT^^^ is THE red bike.

But for the 20th anniversary of the 24" strut...there was THIS red bike....

Lotta funk bein' faked on the Kastan scene for whatever reason..
Any of y'all see this whooped-azz beater 20" the dude is claiming sports a "NOS hub and strut"?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Kastan-KEX-frame-Unibl...=item3caa353324 ...Yeah, dirty-a z z super scuffed hub on a obviously worn strut? Maybe he should have at least got the DIRT off the hub before he shot the fuzzy pics. How does this work?
What, he paints the frame, and now everything ELSE on the bike is NOS?
Really?
"Abracadabra! NOS!!"
Hey, the cranks are cool, and it's piece with potential overall...but, "NOS"?!!
That Canadian weed MUST be potent.

That's a hell of a lot like mine! Profile cranks and all. I had Powerlite bars and crazy sharp Crupi pedals. Those things ended my bmx racing - punched a whole right through my patella and into my knee cap. I was out play riding at a friends track with Randy Stumpfhauser. He had no problem clearing the double

Man, it's cool seeing that thing again. I'm digging up more of my photos this weekend.

Oh, OUCH!! Patella? yow!
Man, would LOVE to see more of your fine photos....the brothers who do Kastan RIGHT just warm the heart. There are a few reaaaaaally icy examples out there. Unfortunately, you don't see many. Kastanman's Kranks are what I am talkin' about...that makes that yellow bike SO legit. So many people just don't get it. Like the Kastan stem that came up recently. POLISHED? That's why it sunk like a rock on eBay.
Love the shot of you one-handing Justin, keep 'em comin'!

Here's another one for ya--1990 Proline (original owner even )

Hey,

Just a heads up. I am looking for a pair of Kastan bars if anyone has an extra set.

Thanks.
Stephen

My all time favorite handlebars. Good luck with your search

Cuda...
Icy chrome 20"...
Cool to see one in chrome. My wife has a chrome 24, and I don't think people realize they were rare, but they actually WERE made. Do people trip on yours?

Actually yeah a couple people have commented that they've never seen another chrome Kastan. I've only seen 2 others. Another Proline and recently a KEX cruiser on ebay. I didn't know there were any chrome KEX's. In fact, that's why I thought I ended up with a Proline. I ordered a chrome Kastan expecting a KEX and got this. It's cool though as it turns out Prolines seem to quite rare compared to the KEX. I ended up picking up a used KEX in 1992 and still have it too.

Yeah bro sounds like we have some similar things going on. Still have my pile of OG Kastans from those days. The wifey rolls her Chrome KEX still...and I just have such a thing for the teal frames.
Good stuff, bro...any more pics?

While I am not an expert on Kastans the chrome kex's seem to be interesting. Unless they were made after 92 or special items from Lynn, I have major doubts that they are original. It was not even an option in the Kastan National Team purchase pack I received from the factory.

Stephen

Kastan ... what's the big deal ?

Aren't they a spin off of Redline made by Lynn Kastan ?

Some of their forks are stamped "Mexico" !

Top buck for " Mexico " ? I did my fair share of drugs BITDbut not enough to buy a Mexican product !

I seen one ... I won't mention who .... a NON correct color painted or powdered one w/ chrome forks for $325 ? I'd like to put some of that in my pipe and smoke it !

Just my opinion.

Redline was getting outsourced back in '80 ... please correct me if wrong ... I'm NOT. Not all '80 Redlines were out sourced but that's when they started....you know taking away our jobs that allowed us to pay a good buck for an American product ... like it used to be.

Get your head out of the sand !

Rob

NBL...
Well, we have had OUR chromies since new, so......
I don't think anyone snuck in and chromed 'em when we weren't looking, and I think that's the point being made. They are pretty unheard of. So, they are pretty cool.
Mr Smith?
How about you pull your head out of your ass, and move along...

4130

Glad to hear you have had it since new. What year is your's approx? Is it after 92?

So now it looks like the kex colors were Red, Teal, Yellow, super rare Chrome and the ultra rare Blue.

Thanks Stephen

I apologize for being so opinionated.

Sorry.

Now I'm going to wash my head off as I pulled it out !

Was white also an option on the Kex?

And what was the Blue? Was it a marine blue like the SE (not boy blue) darker blue?

NBL & nic--I bought mine in the spring of 1990. Here's an add from the 1/90 BMX Plus! which offers chrome and white:



Thanks for chiming in Mr. Smith

Here is the blue one that was talked about.



I am still curious about the color thing myself. I too thought that the chrome Kastan KEX was not released until 1991, as the Proline. And for the white that was offered in the ad, I don't t think I have ever come across a stock white KEX. Not to say the ad or anyone else for that matter is making things up, but could the bike shops offer that color and do it themselves?

Hahahahaa...Mr. Smith!! Good on you for being light hearted...
I know what you mean, though sometimes it sounds harsh in printed form. I see certain marques and am like..."UH, WTF?" But, I have gotten better about letting it go, and being happy for the collectors of other brands I maybe don't enjoy.
For me, the Kastan was special....not so much at the time, but rather because of the bros I had that LOVED the brand. I rode Champion 24"s, and later had a sweet PL 24. So, the geometry of the Redline just had me captivated. When I broke my PL, I had to make a choice about a new frameset. Well, my buddy Tina at Trend (now Empire) had some '89 Kastans on the shelf. I was missing my bros, having left Austin and being in big California solo...I wanted to make an impression. I was the BMX kid in the SF messenger scene...I had to make a splash. So, strutted 24s it was.
I bought two, and offered my future wife her pick. My boys rolled the Teal in Texas...or red...so, I got one in Teal, and the only Chrome they had. My trick has always been buy chrome, and paint 'em. They don't rust that way, and you can always repaint. Don't dig full chrome...but, I do like chrome rear ends and details.
So, yeah, I bought mine new in '90.
Have all the wacky stuff...stems, cranks, even the ONLY NOS 24" strut in the OG box. All bought new direct from TIP distro in AZ.
The main man at TIP got fired for fronting Kastan the cash for doing his bikes...he was a brilliant designer who was beind the 8-ball financially. So, the brand never had a fighting chance...sucks so bad...or you'd probably be riding one now.
Smitty, the thing with the Kastans was that LINN Kastan did develop the Redline brand...and lost it in a divorce. He started like Champion did by making dirt track frames for motorcycles. You still see them at racetracks to this day. Nickle frames, and OG Redline stickers..same with Champion. Well, Linn has been involved in aviation for decades, and when he did his own company, Kastan...he took the inspiration of a piece used to tow aircraft to create the strut.
Bro...the strut is a MASTERPIECE. His cranks? MASTERPIECE...the bottom bracket he made for FLITES? MASTERPIECE.
You only lack love for the Kastan marque because you haven't handled one. Rear drop-outs? MASTERPIECE....no one's ever come close. Elegance/beauty.
Colors?
Teal, Red, Yellow, Blue (real low #s), Chrome (ultra rare), team riders had a couple of white bikes for individual hauls. Marty Wendt was a team rider and had a white bike...it looks SAUCY. Red and Teal were far and away the most common colors. I just love the Teal.
The funny Mexican detail was that run of bootleg PL-24s that came out of Mexico in '89. I bought like ten of them, and gave them to all my buddies. They were soooo cheap. They were good riders, but you had to have them acid dipped and chromed right away or they'd rust-up QUICK. Mexico was a good alternative for work. Look at everyone now...Redline included...CHINA, bro. I'd rather have Mexican labor than Chinese slave labor ANYTIME.
So, Champion does cranes now....(see Terminator 3) and Linn does aviation stuff again (Redline Aviation) Trippy how things shake-out sometimes...
Well, carry on...and Smitty....do eyeball a Kastan next time you get a chance...you may actually appreciate it. But, yeah, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But, when someone has had a LONG relationship with a brand, and has a lot of dough wrapped in their trip..rolling into a discussion among collectors of that brand, and poking the nest....well, hahahhaaa... it can get hairy.
Good to see you have a sense of humor...take care, and tell us what you have, and show us what's up with your collection sometime...all the best, buddy.

I had seen them listed in Nighthawk but always figured the chrome was a Proline since it was not specified.

By the time I was ready to replace my 531 Reynolds Quad that I ironically bought from Nighthawk I was bummed Red wasn't an option anymore. In addition the only colors listed when I got my info kit from Kastan was Teal and Yellow so I had always thought the Chrome was after that if not a special order. I stand corrected thanks for the heads up. Btw I wasn't doubting any members here only ebay stuff without a confirmed history.

Stephen

great info guys. I guess we're all getting schooled.

I always thought the proline came before the KEX. It's the one with the traditional redline dropouts, and was only around for about a year. then they changed the dropouts and called it the KEX.

Is there any true way to determine the year of a Kastan?

The last chrome one on evilbay, stated in the descrition, that the owner had it chromed shortly after he got it.

Yeah definitely some good info on this thread

Kman--Prolines were made the same time as the KEX and the dropouts are the same on both. I don't know how to determine the year of a Kastan although the yellow and blue ones were produced later.

So who has a Pro Cruiser strut for me??

We can ask Kastan Killector....he is the end-all of info on exacting dates, serial #s, and precise info.
I just remember what was what from being there..but, there are people like KK who take it DEEP. No doubters here, we are all bros with love for the Kastan....we can all stand to learn some stuff.
Wait til y'all see my newest Kastan build....pow!!
I am pretty stoked on it....it's kinda on the list...finishing my H&H 4130, 24"Champion, 29er Quad, and my new hand fabbed shorty 24" Bantam....and fitting Kastan 24" #5 in there...
Shoot your serial #, and a photo, KK will have an answer...probably tell you the relative humidity on the day it was made!
531 Quad?!!! Oh gaw-dam....wow!! Where's that puppy now?

I've never seen that blue before...Mr Kastan definitely had an eye for great colours too...

Great line up there by the way...

If thats the case, then how do you tell a KEX from a Proline, and which is the better frame?

Kastanbmx01, what kind of bars are on that blue one?

Prolines do not have an integrated seat clamp, use a normal size seat post, and if remember correctly they do not have cable stops. I am not sure if they used the same tubing at the front or not. I will let someone who has both chime in and answer that.

Stephen

Stephen is correct. Also, Prolines do not have an ovalized down tube like the KEX PS.

are all the top tubes ovalized?

Thanks.



If I remember right they are the 4 piece Kastan bars. I will have to go outside and check.



A lot of the early Kastan KEX had the ovalized tubes, as Linn used the same tubing from the PL series.

The top tubes weren't ovalized...it was only the down tubes on the KEXs...and as Jason stated, it was the same stock as the PLs used...and if you look at the struts, and see they are on alternating sides...you realize they are made from OG Redline fork stock as well.
Cool stuff.
Linn was an elegant, simple designer...and a practical guy when he needed to be.
Sucks the bucks weren't in his corner...I can only imagine what Kastans we'd be on today if he'd stayed in biz. Just look at the Techmatic BB....DAAAAAAYUM!

I'm pretty sure both my top and down tube are oval on my PS.

I'll check when I get home.

I have 4 frames sitting next to me and two of them have top tubes and down tube that are ovalized. One of them is a 20" and the other is a 24". I am thinking that the lower serial numbers used these ovalized tubes. And if I know Linn, if I asked him why some are this way while others are different, he would tell me,,,, That's just what we had on the line that day. It is like the Struts, I asked him why there were left and rights, he told me, and I quote,,,,,,

"The question you asked about the right and left hand struts has a simple, but I'm afraid not to exciting answer. When I sold REDLINE, I had left over, about a thousand sets of tapered fork blades that I had no use for. They were tapered and butted 4130 from Ishiwata in Japan.
They were already machined right and left and those ended up being struts. I don't think I've ever talked about that before. Sorry it wasn't something more technical."
Linn

So I think all the different styles of Kastan's were based on what they had that day and who was working the assembly line.......

My original pro stretch had and my current pro stretch has both top and down tubes ovalized. When I was mentioning in my earlier post about the front tubing I was saying about them being ovalized. Only the Kex's had the ovalized but now it looks like even all the Kex's didn't have both tubes always ovalized.

Stephen

Yeah, I would be interested to see the varieties of tubing/drop-outs on the PS...
I only ride steel, so I am pretty out of it on a lot of series of bikes due to my focus. Post 'em up...let's get edjumacated.

All this cool info, and only a couple pics. MORE PICS!!!

Her are all my Kastan at the Roseville bike show.....]

Can I assume these were originally made in Americn and then later got outsourced to Mexico ?

If so could someone tell me the cut off year, please ?

Rob

Now I know where all the kastans and parts are. Thats a freakin kastan monopoly.

......the truth is out there.

I had heard a rumor that it was very difficult to find someone to spray Imron paint. It was said Imron was a strong carcenagen and was not used much at all. Does anyone know how much truth there is to this? I did a little research on the net last night and Dupont makes Imron and it looks like it is still pretty available.

Stephen

Imron is still out there..It's a tough paint used for boats and even aircraft I think (there's a Linn Kastan connection!).
I did a bit of research on this a while back too trying to locate that Teal colour...I get the impression that you can mix any shade you like so I don't reckon the Kastan colours were regular 'off the shelf' selections...
It does also seem to be a highly toxic paint that requires more caution/safety measures than regular paint (which is pretty toxic too)...