Donna on a Haro Sport

Here is something you don't see every day. NBL Elite Pro and Miss Sarasota USA 2009, Donna Snow, standing next to a 1985 Haro Sport. Bike belongs to Greg Terzian who has restored it back to factory specs. Greg is also a talented photographer and took this picture of Donna and his Haro.

Here is Donna tearing up the track. She currently races for the BMX Mania Factory Team.

Team Haro Reunion Show

Back at BMX Worlds 2009 in Cologne, Germany, the original Team Haro reunited for the first time in decades. The whole gang was there, including riders: Mike Dominguez, Brian Blyther, Ron Wilkerson, Dave Nourie, and announcer Kevin Martin. Vert ramp legend Mat Hoffman and the man himself, Bob Haro, were also there.

What an amazing site to see a bunch of 40 year old guys kicking it old school on some rad vintage Haro's. There were some nice crashes, which makes you cringe when you think how rare and valuable those bikes are. How often do you get a chance to see all these legends in one place doing what they love? I guess some scratches and dings are definitely worth it.

HD video shot and edited by Dominik Wrobel for Woozy BMX.

Illustration by Bob Haro, 1984.

Bride on a P.K. Ripper - NSFW!

Not really sure what it is about a P.K. Ripper, but somehow it makes your top fall off. Just like it did for Karen Leah. For that very reason, I think that all guys should have a P.K. Ripper in their stable. You never know when that special lady friend is going to stop by and want to go for a ride. Just be sure to keep your Mom away from it, some things we don't need to see. Oh, the humanity!

ABA Mid West Nationals - Rockford

It's time once again for the Granddaddy of all Vintage BMX Bike Shows, ROCKFORD!

ESSENTIAL INFORMATION
Overall event dates: June 17-19, 2010
Main Event day: June 19, 2010
Headquarters Hotel: Clocktower Resort - 7801 E State St, Rockford, IL 61108 (815) 315-4385
Room Info: Ask for VintageBMX rate $109/night

SPECIFIC EVENT SCHEDULES

FRIDAY MORNING
VintageBMX.com "Site Supporter Breakfast"*
Guest Speaker: Toby Henderson
Location: Clocktower Resort
Time: 9AM-11AM
Style: Breakfast buffet
Tickets: *Free to VintageBMX.com site supporters. You must create a free ticket for yourself via eventbrite, and be on the guestlist in order to attend!

FRIDAY NIGHT
VintageBMX.com "Chill Session"
Guest: "Hollywood" Mike Miranda
Location: Clocktower Resort
Time: 8:30-11:30PM
Food: Pizzas and munchies
Bar: Open bar for first hour, cash thereafter

SATURDAY MORNING/AFTERNOON
"VintageBMX Museum" Bike Show
Location: Rockford BMX Track
Time: 7AM-2PM
"Best In Class" Winners Announced: 3:30PM
- Classes will be announced soon (Same as last year, but we may add one or two)
- Voting will be by ballot, one to each ticket holder
-"Best in Show" will be chosen among the winners of all classes
- Registration is free, unless you wait til Saturday morning to do it, then $10 per bike
- Bike registration will be open online once classes are announced

SATURDAY NIGHT
VintageBMX.com Hall Of Fame Banquet Information
Guest Speaker: Windy Osborn
Location: Clocktower Resort
Time: Cocktails 6:30PM-7:00PM, Dinner served 7:30PM
Style: Plated (three entree choices), full table service
Bar: Comp beer and soft drinks, cash for other potables

TICKETS
Earlybird - February 25-March 15 - $40
Regular - March 16-May 15 - $50
Last Minute - May 16-June 9 - $60
ABSOLUTELY NO TICKET SALES AFTER JUNE 9!

Chainless BMX Concept

Here's a BMX concept designed by Russian Nikolay Boltachev. It features a chainless and hubless drive system. Looks cool, if they make an iRobot 2, it would fit in quite nicely. I could see this being used in Sci Fi films, but highly doubt that it would stand up to the rigors of BMX.

Redline PL-20 Proline Flight Carrera II

Ever had dreams of stompin' like Stu Thomsen? Well here is your chance. Up for sale is an original 1983 Redline PL-20 Carrera II.

Chrome Redline PL20 Frame, 5" headtube
Matching Redline fork , and fluted seatpost all stamped Redline
Redline Brute Stem
Chrome Redline 400 crankset 180mm Sealed bearings with redline dust caps Sweet Setup
Redline Carrera II Pad set
Kashimax Aero seat
Suntour Head lock
Suntour XC II Bear Trap pedals
Black Dia Compe MX1000 brake set with Black Dc lever
Chrome Dia compe DC MX seat clamp
Black Ukai speedlines with sealed bearing Suntour hubs
Real deal Comp III tires Blue/green/ yellow label
Handle bars are earlly Gt Pro bars

If you buy it, will you be able to ride like Stu? Probably not. But at least you will look cool.

As listed on eBay. Offered at $1,995.00 or best offer. Item #370386267102

Girl on a Hutch Trick Star

Okay, I have no idea what or who jem is, but here is a cool pic of a girl on a sweet Hutch Trickstar.

Hutch Trick Star Mini Trick Bike

...and now for something completely different, a Hutch Trick Star Mini Trick Bike. I can honestly say I have never seen one of these before, and probably never will again. Clown shoes not included.

Frame: 4130 Crome-Moly

Stem: Tuf-Neck
Handlebars: Hutch Chrome
Saddle: Viscount Aero with layback seat post
Pedals: Surefoot III
Wheels: 130x42 Inoue
Made in the USA

As listed on eBay. $500.00 starting price. Item #170489109085

BMX Society Old School Reunion & Show

BMX Society is having an Old School BMX Reunion & Show on Saturday, June 5th in Bellflower, California.

What: BMX Society's International Old School BMX Reunion & Show
When: June 5, 2010
Where: Bellflower BMX, Bellflower California
Time: 8 am to 4:00 pm

• BMX Society Bike Show & Awards Presentation

• Legends of Freestyle Ramp Jam expo.
• BMX track riding / racing
• Presentation of a Life time achievement award to Jim Melton
• Impakt Sidehack Invitational
• more to be announced...

Mike Buff P.K. Ripper Tribute

Steve Blackey, a former mechanic from the Bicycle Source Bike Shop, made a Mike Buff tribute P.K. Ripper, that he auctioned off on eBay for Parkinsons research. The idea came to him when he found out that his friend, John Crews of Bicycles Plus, has Parkinsons.

This bike was a combination of old school styling and modern components. Mike Buff himself even signed the number plate and posed for a few pics. This was a great idea for a great cause.

The winning bid was for $1,000.00 Item #110520843556

Check out Mike Buff doing a "front wheel freezer" back when he was on the BMX Action Trick Team.

Kuwahara KZ-1 Restoration Part 1

Recently I had a chance to pick up an unrestored Kuwahara KZ-1 from a very nice lady called Sara who lives in Florida. She had listed the bike on vintagebmx.com asking to know how much it was worth. Remarkably nobody took the time to give her an opinion on what they thought it should be valued at. I came across the post in April and contacted her to see if it was for sale. It was, and by May, the bike arrived at my place in Los Angeles.

I had a white frame and fork KZ-1 with blue components back in day, and loved that bike. I foolishly got rid of it once I got a Garelli as my main mode of transportation. I can't even remember who I sold it to. But I think I got about 40 bucks for it. So when the chance came to get another one, I had to jump on it.

Sara was a great person to deal with and made all the shipping arrangements to insure that the bike arrived to me in the best shape possible. It's true, there are still some really nice people out there, if you just know where to find them.

The KZ-1 appears to me mostly all original with the exception of the tires, brake clamp, seat post, seat, headset and chain. The frame and fork are very straight with no cracks, dents, or rewelds. All the original decals are still there, but they are completely shot. They now have an interesting marble finish to them. It still has the original Redline V-bars, which have some surface rust, but are otherwise in very good shape. The front Suntour hub is really faded and is now more silver in appearance. It's a pretty complete bike, and should clean up quite nicely. I am not going to restore it back to show quality, but rather just clean it up, replace some parts, and keep it as original as possible.

And the best news is that the serial number is still intact, unlike some of them that have been filed off by bike thieves a long time ago. This one is an authentic Kuwahara. Serial number KGA7 1176.

I will be posting more pictures of the restoration process as I dip the frame, fork and hadlebars in an Oxalic Acid bath to get rid of the surface rust. I will also be putting on new tires, seat, seat post, chain, grips, and decals. Stay tuned!

E.T. Kuwahara "Gold" Limited Edition

According to the seller this is the only factory built Gold Kuwahara E.T. KZ 2.5. Reportedly made for the grand opening of E.T. at Grauman's Chinese Theater. I can not confirm or deny these claims, but highly doubt that they made an all gold bike for the premier of the movie, since the model in the movie was red and white. Either way, this is a very unique bike, and would look great in a collection. Perhaps there is a Japanese collector out there that has a yen, pun intended, for this bike. Just as long as it doesn't turn out to be fools gold.

As listed on eBay. Offered at $12,000.00 or best offer. Item #110532466038

Karen Leah on a P.K. Ripper - NSFW!

Check out Karen Leah astride a P.K. Ripper! Great red and white color scheme on both Karen and the bike, in what appears to be a tone mapped photo. Karen is a Vancouver model hoping to make the move to Los Angeles to persue modeling full time. I am sure she wouldn't have a hard time finding a place to crash. You can see more, and I do mean more, of Karen at Model Mayhem.

Photo by Paul Venomous.

The Story of BMX Legend Stu Thomsen

Recently I had a chance to watch the DVD of Stompin Stu - The Story of BMX Legend Stu Thomsen. Stu was the man back in day, and still is, literally, since he is now a Deputy Sheriff in Orange County. This is a cool movie about one of BMX's greatest legends. It features some rad vintage race footage and also some very personal interviews with Stu, his family, and friends. This is a definite must see for anyone who remembers Stompin Stu.

Below is the filmmaker's description of the film.

From the makers of award winning film, Joe Kid on a Stingray. Stompin Stu is a true story about perhaps the most dominant BMX racer in history, Stu Thomsen. From his battles off the track to his battles on the track, Stompin Stu is most importantly a film about being inspired.

Staring: Stu Thomsen , Perry PK Kramer, Jesse James, Tommy Brackens, Eddy King, Scot Clark, Greg Hill, Skip Hess, Linn Kastan, Scot Breithaupt, Bob Hadley, Greg Grubbs, Brent Patterson, Brian Patterson, Lance Patterson, Ronnie Anderson, Bob Haro, Dennis Dain, Tanya Thomsen, Hans Thomsen, Madeline Thomsen, Jacob Thomsen, Steve Giberson, Bob Todesco, Dana The Duke of Oakley Duke.

Bonus Features: Stus attic, Stus signature bike (The SE STR-1), exclusive interviews with Linn Kastan (Founder of Redline Bicycles) on the history of the Redline flight crank and Redline, Skip Hess(founder of Mongoose Bicycles) on the history of Mongoose, The Duke of Oakley on the first Oakley goggles and more!

Remember The Good Old Days?

I remember, back in the day, riding my white Kuwahara KZ1 down to the local drug store to check out the latest issues of Creem or Circus magazine. I rarely had enough money to buy the mags, so I would usually just get some Fun Dip candy. How's that for a great idea, a little bag of colored sugar that you ate with a sugar stick? Genius! Yet for some strange reason, it always made me feel a little bit happier. The other great thing was that I could leave my bike outside the store without ever worrying if it was still going to be there when I got back. No locks, no chains...just blind faith.

Had I known that that old Kuwahara would become a valuable collector's item, I would have treated it with a little more respect. Instead of letting it fall down when I got off the bike, I could have gently laid it on the ground. But what kid in his right mind is going to do that? It was much more satisfying to just let it fall.

Fast forward 25 years or so, and I have once again been bitten by the BMX bug. I can't really ride anymore like I use to, but it sure is fun to look back and remember when.