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You are here: MacNN Forums > Community > MacNN Lounge > *sigh* 19 y/o Freestyle Bike

*sigh* 19 y/o Freestyle Bike
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MallyMal
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Apr 2, 2007, 08:24 PM
 
I took this pic today and it suddenly dawned on me that I have owned this bike for 19 years. I still remember when I first got it and literally dreamed about riding it. I remember the many times that its pedals smacked me in the shins. How I used to ride every day. How I used to clean and oil it every night. Ahhh, the memories. Any of you have/had a freestyle bike?
     
design219
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Apr 2, 2007, 08:29 PM
 
Never Sell It.
__________________________________________________

My stupid iPhone game: Nesen Probe, it's rather old, annoying and pointless, but it's free.
Was free. Now it's gone. Never to be seen again.
Off to join its brother and sister apps that could not
keep up with the ever updating iOS. RIP Nesen Probe.
     
::maroma::
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Apr 2, 2007, 08:43 PM
 
I went through a freestyle bike phase when I was younger. Man, that was fun. I only had one bike, and surprisingly enough it looked a lot like yours. Same blue color, but mine had no decals or any other paint on it. Just straight blue with a white seat and white handlegrips. Brings back great memories. I think I should go get another one of these bikes for messin around downtown.
     
Captain Obvious
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Apr 2, 2007, 08:59 PM
 
Yup.

I had a Mongoose Decade. This is the closest pic i could find online of one. Mine had white mags, fold down front pegs, and a gyro neck.


Then when I was about 12 I also bought an old GT frame from my friend's older brother and built a second bike as a summer project. It was all chrome with neon green crank wheel. I was pretty pround of it. Some SOB stole that one when I left it in front of a sporting goods store for all of 3 minutes.

By 14 skateboards replaced this little hobby and by 15 girls replaced that.

Barack Obama: Four more years of the Carter Presidency
     
MM-o4
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Apr 2, 2007, 09:17 PM
 
werd

I know the exact same feeling, but my BMX just got replaced. I had a Diamondback Viper. That bike got me through my childhood
I recentl replaced it with a new BMX which was stollen and have just brought another and a massive lock. The guy at the bike shop didn't understand why a 27 guy would still want a BMX when all the latest cool things are on mountain bikes. I said that BMX just suit me. I feel like a dick on a mountain bike.

Keep it in good repair. Long live the 80's!

-MM-
     
jebjeb
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Apr 3, 2007, 02:53 AM
 
Originally Posted by Captain Obvious View Post
Yup.

I had a Mongoose Decade. This is the closest pic i could find online of one. Mine had white mags, fold down front pegs, and a gyro neck.


Then when I was about 12 I also bought an old GT frame from my friend's older brother and built a second bike as a summer project. It was all chrome with neon green crank wheel. I was pretty pround of it. Some SOB stole that one when I left it in front of a sporting goods store for all of 3 minutes.

By 14 skateboards replaced this little hobby and by 15 girls replaced that.
I pretty much had the same bike. It wasn't a decade but it was something similar by Mongoose. Had Gyro, fixed pegs front and back and was chrome as well.

As per the OP, I lost a lot of shin meat to those pedals.

Edit: Just remembered what model it was. It was a 1996 Mongoose Hooligan. Very nice it was. Obviously I was working too hard then to afford that.
( Last edited by jebjeb; Apr 3, 2007 at 03:00 AM. )
     
Kevin
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Apr 3, 2007, 07:01 AM
 
My FIRST nice "BMX" bike was a Diamond Back Formula 1. I raced BMX for about 4 years.
I then bought a CW freestyle bike. It was a gumby green, but I later stripped it all and painted it black. After fixing it up it was stolen out of my garage. I left it in there for a sec getting a drink. The lady next door had a brother that was a thief. (I later seen a "hack" of my bike months later on the other side of the their house.)

With the insurance money I got I bought a Haro master. It looked SOMETHING like this below. Same color/year. But I didn't have a layed back seat post. And my seat was black, and the post chrome.



I LOVED that bike. I'd still like to have another just like it.

I sold it when I was 15 to buy a guitar I wanted.
     
OB1
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Apr 3, 2007, 07:07 AM
 
Originally Posted by MallyMal View Post
I took this pic today and it suddenly dawned on me that I have owned this bike for 19 years. I still remember when I first got it and literally dreamed about riding it. I remember the many times that its pedals smacked me in the shins. How I used to ride every day. How I used to clean and oil it every night. Ahhh, the memories. Any of you have/had a freestyle bike?
That's a GT Performer . I owned that exact same frame myself, in black with chrome forks. Various models existed, mine was the "Pro-Freestyle World Tour" model, but all the frames were exactly the same under the stickers.... I saved up for, what seemed like, years to get it. I rode it, competed on it, travelled all over the country with it and hit many famous BMX spots on it, stared at it while my bones healed and generally loved it for five years. It remains my favourite of all the BMX's I've owned, to this day. The day it snapped was a sad, sad, day indeed. Are they the original stickers I can see there? - Awesome. You're making me teary eyed.
( Last edited by OB1; Apr 3, 2007 at 08:15 AM. Reason: typo)
tin pot, garden shed
     
OB1
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Apr 3, 2007, 07:11 AM
 
Originally Posted by Kevin View Post
With the insurance money I got I bought a Haro master. It looked SOMETHING like this below. Same color/year. But I didn't have a layed back seat post. And my seat was black, and the post chrome.



I LOVED that bike. I'd still like to have another just like it.

I sold it when I was 15 to buy a guitar I wanted.
Bolt-on is better.
tin pot, garden shed
     
Kevin
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Apr 3, 2007, 07:14 AM
 
Bolt on what?
     
OB1
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Apr 3, 2007, 07:21 AM
 
Originally Posted by Kevin View Post
Bolt on what?
It was a classic school yard argument. Haro's of a particular era (yours) came with built in platforms around the rear dropouts and forks. GT's were a little more basic, you had to bolt on pegs, platforms etc as you required.
tin pot, garden shed
     
MallyMal  (op)
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Apr 3, 2007, 08:32 AM
 
Here's another pic of mine without me in the pic.

OB1, nope, it's a GT Pro Freestyle Tour but yeah you are right that they had the same frame.

I noticed that a few have mentioned that their bike got stolen. Mine was stolen too but I got lucky because the person who stole mine knew me from school but he didn't know that he was stealing my bike so I got it back in 2-3 days.
     
IceEnclosure
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Apr 3, 2007, 10:10 AM
 
dude, that's sick. that last pic, the fonts on the bike bring it back for me. All my friends had GT Performers or whatnot. I had a chrome DiamondBack, it was sooo light-way back in the day, late 80's.

I was a skater, but had to ride the bike to get to the spot ya know!

Dopeness.
ice
     
EmmEff
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Apr 3, 2007, 12:42 PM
 
I remember the golden days of BMX in the early 80's... in Ontario (Canada), we had brands like PK Ripper, Diamond Back, GT, Challenger (owned by a local guy), Big Toob (sp?), Haro, etc.

It's hard to believe we used to have a town maintained BMX track where racing happened every Sunday. The track was complete with a drop-down moto X style starting gate, water jump, whoops, table tops, etc.

Brings back memories... oh to be 10 or 11 again.
     
Steve Bosell
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Apr 3, 2007, 01:29 PM
 
I have had quite a few Freestyle bikes in my day, Haro Master, General, Hutch Trick Star, never was a big fan of GT. I remember learning backyards, steamrollers, decades, and our bikes always cracked where the seat-post and the top tube connected. I recently moved into a new house, I suggested that we build a half pipe in the back yard as opposed to getting it landscaped, the wife shot the idea down.
     
EmmEff
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Apr 3, 2007, 02:18 PM
 
Ahh, Hutch... another brand from back in the day.

I also remember when the GTs with those trick, skinny wheels came out. I remember they were light as hell (while I rode around on a department store steel frame).
     
stevesnj
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Apr 3, 2007, 04:34 PM
 
Ahhhh my Huffy pro racer 1983 ahhh those were the days!!

find your BMX here Welcome to BMXMUSEUM.com
MacBook Pro 15" i7 ~ Snow Leopard ~ iPhone 4 - 16Gb
     
d4nth3m4n
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Apr 3, 2007, 05:32 PM
 
i have a hyper metro. got it for a song a while back. i have a new job at a monster nursery with skid-steer loaders and a lot of extra land.

it's so tempting to go in there one saturday and have at it.
     
Kevin
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Apr 4, 2007, 07:33 AM
 
Originally Posted by OB1 View Post
It was a classic school yard argument. Haro's of a particular era (yours) came with built in platforms around the rear dropouts and forks. GT's were a little more basic, you had to bolt on pegs, platforms etc as you required.
Oh, I had pegs both on the back and front as well. The fold down "claws" that came with the bike where basically useless. IMHO.

I also thought the Haro Master could have had a steeper head angle.

The funny thing is, the version of that bike that came out the next year DID have a steeper angle. (easier to do the spin tricks that was popular at the time)
     
Todd Madson
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Apr 5, 2007, 05:25 PM
 
No BMX but mtb yes:

     
Captain Obvious
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Apr 5, 2007, 06:33 PM
 
Originally Posted by Todd Madson View Post
No BMX but mtb yes:
That is like posting a pic of Compaq in a thread about Powerbooks.

Barack Obama: Four more years of the Carter Presidency
     
Kevin
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Apr 6, 2007, 06:25 AM
 
Yeah I remember paying well over $500 for that Haro. I bought it piece by piece all at once.

The DiamondBack was about $390, and the CW I bought used (I was still racing at the time, but doing to trick thing on the side) for I am not sure how much. Less than $300

I even had a pair of black and silver Haro racing pants, and a Diamondback jersey. I have a bunch of trophies from that time in my parents attack. Some of them were really cool.
     
OB1
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Apr 6, 2007, 08:19 AM
 
Originally Posted by Captain Obvious View Post
That is like posting a pic of Compaq in a thread about Powerbooks.
Not anymore. MTBikes have changed quite a bit over the last few years. The geometry of mtb frames has evolved from the big, hunched over racing position, garden-gate-frames of old, into a more 'fun' upright, bmx style riding position. It's not, at all, unusual to see people riding skateparks on bigger bikes now. The traditional lines between 20/24/26" riding are blurring more everyday...
tin pot, garden shed
     
Kevin
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Apr 6, 2007, 08:39 PM
 
     
IceEnclosure
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Apr 7, 2007, 03:42 AM
 
Originally Posted by OB1 View Post
Not anymore. MTBikes have changed quite a bit over the last few years. The geometry of mtb frames has evolved from the big, hunched over racing position, garden-gate-frames of old, into a more 'fun' upright, bmx style riding position. It's not, at all, unusual to see people riding skateparks on bigger bikes now. The traditional lines between 20/24/26" riding are blurring more everyday...
yea, but we're not talkin' bout current. we're talkin' bout 1988.
ice
     
OB1
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Apr 7, 2007, 08:01 AM
 
Oh dear, it seems you think I've committed a forum faux pas. However, I've re-read the op and I've been unable to find any section that stipulates we must only post about bikes manufactured in 1988. Thank you for the selfless and valuable service you've performed for the good of Macnn.
tin pot, garden shed
     
MallyMal  (op)
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Apr 7, 2007, 10:31 AM
 
Hey, do any of you remember Dyno shoes? For a little while back then Dyno had their own shoe line. I remember having a pair of purple ones with bats printed on them. Maybe, I can find a pic somewhere.
     
OB1
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Apr 8, 2007, 06:10 AM
 
Yeah, I do. If I remember correctly, they were very similar to Vans? I think they also did them with the Dyno symbol printed all over... Slip on's, I think... I'm having no joy finding any pics.

I was a fan of Dyno bikes too, made by GT, but with more reasonable prices. I still had to have my GT though.
( Last edited by OB1; Apr 8, 2007 at 06:13 AM. Reason: typo)
tin pot, garden shed
     
Kevin
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Apr 9, 2007, 07:31 AM
 
Originally Posted by MallyMal View Post
Hey, do any of you remember Dyno shoes? For a little while back then Dyno had their own shoe line. I remember having a pair of purple ones with bats printed on them. Maybe, I can find a pic somewhere.
I had a few pairs of original vans. Not the ones they made in the 90s, or recently.

Black and grey colored.
     
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Apr 11, 2007, 01:05 AM
 
Reminds me of my Swinger low rider bike. I saved up an entire summer just to buy it. Banana seat with ape hanger handle bars a slick in the back and a springer front end. It was a pain in the ass to ride but damn I felt cool on it. Its currently on top of a 68 vette in the garage just collecting dust.
     
Kevin
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Apr 11, 2007, 08:20 AM
 
Yeah but these bikes were HIGHLY functional.

My Diamond Back Formula one weighed all of 19-21 lbs.

This was in 84-85. 3 piece cranks, chrome body, neck, well everything. And not just plated either.

I just hated those plastic seats that would smack your scrotum and it's contents on some jumps.

We used to jump the BURMS on the BMX track when it wasn't a race day.

We had a cool half pipe in the park too.
     
Nivag
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Apr 12, 2007, 04:08 PM
 
I had a Raleigh Night Burner with skyways, like this one but a dark film over a chrome frame. - stolen Grrrr


Then i got another Raleigh Burner, kinda like this but a blue frame and yellow mags - not sure what happened to that one... it was the mid 80's


I had this GT but in crisp white two summers ago that was borrowed off a mate while he went traveling, nice to bomb around on - gave it back to him and it was stolen within three weeks.


Might have a look for another BMX for this summer
     
Kevin
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Apr 13, 2007, 11:19 AM
 
That GT looks fun.
     
d4nth3m4n
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Apr 13, 2007, 06:26 PM
 
Originally Posted by Nivag View Post
I had this GT but in crisp white two summers ago that was borrowed off a mate while he went traveling, nice to bomb around on - gave it back to him and it was stolen within three weeks.
that bike is retarded. isn't the whole idea behind a left hand drive system so that goofy footers can grind rails and not tear up their drivetrain?

the pegs are on the same side as the gears. i thought the picture was flipped for a second there, but the gt is legible.
     
Kevin
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Apr 13, 2007, 06:34 PM
 
Those cranks look expensive. I don't get the "Seat down to the ground and pointed up" trend though.
     
d4nth3m4n
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Apr 13, 2007, 08:20 PM
 
something to grab. that's a jumping/street bike.

     
Kevin
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Apr 14, 2007, 07:52 AM
 
Aaaah... I've seen flatland freestylers have them like that too.
     
ebuddy
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Apr 14, 2007, 08:57 AM
 
Originally Posted by Captain Obvious View Post
I had a Mongoose Decade.
WOW that brings back memories. I had a Mongoose with two, yellow TUFFII rims, double gooseneck, man I was hard like the streets back then.
ebuddy
     
Kevin
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Apr 14, 2007, 09:03 AM
 
ebuddy those were the 80s gooses. The best gooses made actually. Before Mongoose sold out their company.



I remember the old circle gussets too.

When I first was into BMX, the mongoose bikes looked like...

     
Kevin
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Apr 14, 2007, 09:09 AM
 
Now HERE is a GT.

     
Nivag
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Apr 14, 2007, 10:35 AM
 
Originally Posted by Kevin View Post
Now HERE is a GT.

[img]pink GT[/img]
I don't think you would be run over riding that!!
I think a couple of my mates would go out on that, but they've got the tricks to look good on anything.


Originally Posted by d4nth3m4n View Post
that bike is retarded. isn't the whole idea behind a left hand drive system so that goofy footers can grind rails and not tear up their drivetrain?

the pegs are on the same side as the gears. i thought the picture was flipped for a second there, but the gt is legible.
It's not a picture of the bike i had, i didn't even notice the pegs on the left hand side.
Being a goofy snowboarder i did like the chain on the left, though i think i can count the number of times i've actually tried to grind on one hand.


Originally Posted by Kevin View Post
Those cranks look expensive. I don't get the "Seat down to the ground and pointed up" trend though.
having the seat point up is a sure way to busting balls in my book *gulp
     
Kevin
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Apr 14, 2007, 10:42 AM
 
Yeah I was thinking the same thing... I like how the new BMX/Freestyle bikes are coming with small padded seats though. I was wanting that back in the 80s. Steeper head angles too. (Something I wish my Haro Master had at the time, that the CW freestyle bike I owned had)
     
ebuddy
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Apr 14, 2007, 11:13 AM
 
"Freestyle" for me at that time was having your buddy stack up ply-board ramps on bricks and simply trying to plant the bike without completely throwing it off in mid-air. We'd hide behind the corner of the adjacent street and come wheeling around to see what "surprise" jump was engineered for us.

My older brother decided to construct one that was practically a 90 degree pitch. Needless to say, it was more a ramp demolition attempt than actually leaving the ground.

I remember my first bike... a Sears & Roebuck, rainbow-colored "FreeSpirit" with banana seat. The day after I got the bike, I took it to the park with a friend of mine and we were trying to get into a locked bathroom by using my bike as a battering ram. Damn thing broke the weld right where the frame met the fork-post. Imagine carrying this silly thing back home to my dad in two pieces and trying to explain exactly how that one happened. Aww, the good ol' days.
ebuddy
     
Kevin
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Apr 14, 2007, 02:45 PM
 
OOoh I want one of these...

The Equilibrium.
     
Nivag
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Apr 16, 2007, 08:42 AM
 
not sure about the wood coloured version!
     
   
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