Anyone Else Into Old School BMX

He has the tires from the 80's but he said he won't ride on them. The tires on the bike are re-issues

 

Wise idea, both tire integrity and the value of the originals. Keep the originals for showing the bike only.

 

Neighbor sent me this. Same frame as his but his serial number is lower.

 

You got me looking up 24" cruisers on ebay. Much tighter market than I expected for the old ones in good shape.

Even those flat black Ashtabula heavy as hell forks nobody wanted are expensive now lol.

 

I had forgotten Ashtabula even made forks. I just remember them for their cranks.

 

And their single stems that were pretty common on a lot of bikes, until you could upgrade to a double stem.

 

Mongoose kept using exactly that Ashtabula stem for a few more years but in the early 80's upgraded to CroMo forks

 

Yup, pretty sure my Univega has an Ash stem

 

This frame caught my eye as I used to race the original 20" GT but given its proximity to y2k it isn't the GT we used to know. I'd imagine this 'mid school' GT stuff doesnt have near the value of the real old school stuff. What is a frame like this reasonably worth?

 

My father, sadly no longer with us, was a professional machinist. He loved taking on oddball projects to support mine and my sisters hobbies. One of my favorites was when I was building my first 20" BMX bike - I was saving up money for a double stem and after looking at the pictures of what I was looking at, he took a crack at making one. End result was a one-of-a-kind piece, milled out of an aluminum billet. It only lasted about a year and a half (developed a crack in the stem, just above the headset hardware) but for a one-off prototype built without any kind of plans or R&D, it was pretty cool. I need to do some scrounging through old photos to see if I have any pics of it.

 

That would be awesome to see.

So many of those old BMX companies were born from a kid needing something better, and a Dad that could/would fabricate it.

 

Tube forks are a big one of those yes. Or as time wore on (and freestyle came to be), fixes for things that bugged a rider.

 

Not sure if this is the right place.
Is 500 a good deal for this old litespeed titanium mnt bike?

 

There is a mountain bike thread. But that is a classic bike. Titanium frame, looks like Shimano XTR components, and even a RS Sid fork. Bike oughta be pretty light, and a great ride feel.

It's probably close to 20 years old, but all Top shelf stuff in its day.

Check ebay or one of the other MTB sites for pricing on Litespeed Hardtails

But yes, I'd pay $500 for it.

 

I have the same King headset, XTR m950, monkey lite bars, and Oury grips on the mtb I built in 98. That bike was essentially 'the (subjectively) best parts at any cost' when it was built, and that Litespeed frame turned heads back in the day. $500 seems on the low side to me.

I don't think Thompson made that X4 style stem back when the bike was built, so I don't think it is original on the bike. Actually those bars ar the CNT that are a generation newer than the bike is too. The 2000 era Monkey Lite bars had carbon fiber weave, not CNT.

 

A neighbor of mine had a white Pro Performer, loved that bike. He never really rode it much and never did tricks..was almost more bike than he'd ever use.

 

I don't recognize those mags, were they made by GT?

 

Better means nothing, more expensive maybe but depends how you use and how the bike fits you.

Yup AKA the Tomahawks (think that was more a nickname). Had a concave side which would enhance braking of the calipers

 

Inquiry: Would anyone be interested in raffle for this bike. Im wanting to sell 200 $50 entries. Bike would either be shipped or arrangements made for drop off/pick up.(lower 48 only)ALL MONEY RAISED WILL BE DONATED TO A CHARITY IN MY MOTHER-IN-LAW’s whom recently passed away.

 

Eh, we didn't quite have the muscle to tighten the bars up at that age. Plus if you had painted bars, that made it worse.

Much like cars back then they were more unique, absolutely. I could tell you at a distance what brand a bike was in those days