Old School BMX: R.L. Osborn & Mike Buff going into the ABA Hall of fame in Sept.

[hikeeba]

I was just thinking about my old-school BMX days, and the countless issues of BMX Action that passed through my hands. Although I did not partake of the publication when R.L and Bob Haro were the two main testers for the magazine, I did get in when R.L and Buff were relatively unspoiled youngsters - before the cars, trucks, and fashion-plate days. Anyhoo, I was wondering what R.L and Buff were up to these days, and rather than asking OT, I decided to do some Googling.

Thu Jul 30 2009 10:30:00

Chandler, AZ - Seven legendary members of the BMX Racing and Freestyle community will be inducted into the National BMX Hall of Fame at the San Diego Hall of Champions on September 17, 2009. The Chula Vista Olympic Training Center will be the new home of the National BMX Hall of Fame and on Friday, September 18, 2009 at 10:00 am there will be a dedication ceremony to unveil the new facility at the training center.

The seven honorees represent BMX racing and Freestyle BMX from the 1970’s and 1980’s and one industry contributor. The inductees are Danny Oakley (1960’s and 1970’s pioneer); D.D. Leone (1980’s Professional Racer); Troy Lee (BMX Industry contributor, Troy Lee Designs); R.L. Osborn and Mike Buff (legendary BMX Action Trick Team); Eddie Fiola (freestyle Pioneer); Jeremy McGrath (past BMXer lifetime achievement award). There will also be special recognition given to Clayton John (retired ABA President) and Bernie Anderson (retired ABA Chairman of the Board), current BMX Hall of Fame members, for their recent induction into the U.S. Bicycling Hall Of Fame in Davis, CA.

R.L. Osborn & Mike Buff: Although they are best known as the "Godfathers of Freestyle", both R.L. and Buff got their start as BMX racers. At age 11, R.L. was part of the first ever "BMX test team" for Bicycle Motocross News (from late '75 to late '76). An entrepreneur at the early age of 14, R.L. started up his own company, Hot Stickies. As the son of BMX Hall of Famer, Bob Osborn, R.L. went on to become one of the main test riders for BMX ACTION magazine. In 1978, R.L. teamed up with fellow BMXA employee Bob Haro to form the very first freestyle team, which made its debut at ABA's Winternationals in Chandler, AZ. Local Torrance hot-shoe racer Mike Buff joined the BMX ACTION test team in 1979. Buff soon crossed over to freestyle and in the absence of Haro, the longtime teaming of R.L. & Buff began. As the "Nerd herd", R.L. & Buff were vital in setting BMX trends during the 80's, from jumping styles in bike tests to the 4x4 vehicle craze, to clothing fashions and hairdos. Each year from '82 until '88, the BMX ACTION trick team (as well as R.L.'s later sponsorship with Redline and General) spread the BMX gospel. In all, R.L. and Buff took their annual Summer Tours to 48 states in the U.S. and over 15 countries, taking BMX to places where racers and tracks couldn't, turning many kids on to BMX in one form or another.

Link to above: http://www.go211.com/events/news/aba..._class_of_2009

I tried to look up R.L. and Buff individually, too. Found nothing on Buff, but found a sad (IMO) interview with R.L. from 2005:

R.L. "El Cid" Osborn

Let me first start off by saying, Thank you R.L. for taking the time to do this
interview with us. Without you, I honestly don't think we would've known this
wonderful thing called BMX Freestyle.
What have you been up to since your freestyle days?

Let's see. I've been running my carpet cleaning business. And for awhile I ran Hammer and Bully.
And
then I sold that. You know, which that was a whole other thing. Actually the carpet cleaning
business was going really well. And Hammer and Bully were really going ok too. I chose to sell
Hammer and Bully because I knew so much about the inside of the industry. You know, big
company screwing the little company and stuff like that. I was basically in the industry for the money
at that point, which was totally not the reason I got into it. So I sold the companies and got out. At
that point I came back and I kept riding, just rode on my own though. I started building custom
Harleys from the ground up. And I'm also raising my kids.

Do you still ride?

As of right now, no. Too many injuries.

When did you stop riding?

Lets see. I stopped riding probably about 4 yrs. ago. No. I stopped riding about 5 yrs. ago. If there's
ever any kind of break-through surgery that can heal my injuries then I'll start riding again. I really
do want to get back to it. A big dream of mine was that, well, one of the reasons I sold my
companies, was to completely shed all the business side of the bicycle business, get all of that out.
Just come back into it as a regular person. Just riding totally for fun, nothing involved what-so-ever,
just riding clean. And for awhile I got to do that. And that was such a great feeling. Something I
hope to do someday.

When you look back on your riding days, what do you reflect on most?

Probably my touring with Mike Buff was the most fun. That was when we had the best times.
Because that was before a lot of money came into it. And that was when Buff was a total character.
Just a total nut. Very entertaining. And that was when Duke, David Duke was involved, and Winkle
was involved. And that was actually the best time in my career, my time with Buff.

What do you think was the reason for the decline in popularity of freestyle in the late 80's
early 90's?

It came in so fast, you know? And it's just typical for anything. Any sport coming in always has to go
through a cycle. And the bike industry runs in cycles. You know, it goes from freestyle to road
bikes, to mountain bikes, and then back around again. Not necessarily in that order. And since this
was it's first time around, that was part of it. It's just that some people thought it was a fad, it's
gonna die off, and it had been around for awhile, so everybody was just kind of looking for it to run
it's cycle, looking for it to go down. And then there was also the recession. A heavy recession came
in. So you know, I think everything hit it all at once, and that kind of drove it back down, which is
very typical. Skateboards did the same thing. But then when it starts back up again, if this sport
does start back up again, that's when it makes it's second strong stand and usually will be around
forever.

What are your thoughts on the old school vs. new school scenes?

I really have been totally out of it. I really don't know too much about what's going on except for,
you know, the stuff the riders are doing, like the double backflips. The tricks that the guys are
doing? We couldn't dream of them. You know, like before, when we were riding and we were
dreaming of it. Like when I was riding ramps. Stuff that I would dream about, in my wildest
dreams…they're doing stuff that is crazier than what I dreamed about. I mean the stuff they're
doing, when they do it I still can't believe they're doing it. I really can't. It happens and you go, "That
didn't happen". They truly are amazing. Guys like Hoffman, Mirra, and Jay Mirron. One thing I think
about history and...you know, I think Mat Hoffman is unbelievable, and so is Dave Mirra, but listen,
before those guys there was Mike Dominguez. Mike Dominguez set limits and standards back then
to show those guys what was possible. And those guys would not be doing any of that stuff without
Dominguez. And again, I truly admire them and think they are just unbelievable, but, I just think
when those guys are doing interviews, I don't know if they do, I haven't read any, but I really do
think they should really be thanking, and bringing up the name Dominguez, a lot. That was our
teacher, that was the guy that showed us what was possible.

(During the interview, R.L. and I would sometimes go off track on a question and just get
into a great discussion. During one of those moments, he thought of something to add
about this original question...)

You just reminded me of something Chris. You asked me the difference between now and then.
You know, I used to race BMX. I was riding BMX at the beginning of BMX with Stu Thomsen and
David Clinton. And the reason why I quit BMX, was we used to race at a place called Del Mar (Or
Somar? Hard to make out on the tape) and Soledad. Soledad Sands was first then Del Mar (Or
Somar?), but we raced on downhill tracks with big gnarly jumps. Huge, huge jumps. And that was
truly moto-cross. And then, BMX became a flat track with you know, bumps. And that was one of the
reasons I got out of BMX, because of the changing parts of the track. But when I was racing with
Stuart and David Clinton, I mean, I didn't race in their classes, they were just my heroes. David
Clinton rode a Kawasaki bike factory sponsored by Kawasaki, and Stuart was riding for Dirt
Master's I think. The tracks that we used to race on were insane. I mean, the jumps were 6ft. high
right in the middle of a downhill straight away. And that was another thing that I missed. I miss
seeing that. And I've got to be straight, I haven't been to a BMX race in a long time, maybe they do
have some really big jumps. But I really do miss those downhill jumps. You know, when I was 12,
and I was racing BMX, this is before freestyle, Greg Hill and I, in the 12 yr. old class, owned the 12
yr. old class. Me and Greg, it was really funny, that's my history with Greg Hill. We were the fastest
12 yr. olds. I think it was the 12 yr. old class. We would change for the lead. We just owned that 12
yr. old class. Anywhere we ran, either Greg won or I won. That was my history with Greg.

Do you still keep in touch with anyone from the old school? Bob Haro?

No, no one. When I got out, I got out. I knew too much about the inside of the industry, the ugly side
of the industry. And so, I just wanted to completely shed it from my life. I just wanted to go back to
riding, just on my own, you know, just be riding for myself. And that was the whole reason. But no, I
don't keep in touch with anyone. I kept in touch with Mike Buff for a long time after I got out. We
lived in the same area/neighborhood, so I did keep in touch with Mike, but I haven't talked to him in
probably 3 or 4 yrs.

What are your thoughts on old school bikes vs. the current ones?

I really don't know too much about the current bikes.

Of all the bikes you owned/ridden, What was your favorite? Why?

Redline. Lynn Kasten who owned Redline was all about quality. He was one of the first guys in the
sport to taper a tube. Everything he did just had to be the best. He taught me a lot about metal
working and stuff which brought me into building Harleys and stuff. I use a lot of stuff, today I still, I
mean right now, I'm standing in my garage and I've got a full mill, lathe, tig welder, polishing...you
know, it's a whole metal shop. And a lot of what I do in here is from what Lynn taught me. So
Redline was definitely my favorite bike.

What was the first trick you ever did? What was your favorite trick to do?

My first trick was probably...I thought Bob Haro...I think I saw him do a Curb-Endo, or a Rock-Walk.
That was when Bob came to live with us way back when. I don't remember when it was, but
probably a Curb-Endo and then a Rock-Walk came after that. It could've been vice versa, one of
those two. My favorite trick...the Rock-Walk way back then was like, you know, of course that was
my favorite trick but, out of all the tricks that have passed, as far as ground tricks go, the most
amazing...the trick that I saw in the early days that really blew my mind; I was in Las Vegas and I
saw a kid do the first part of a Rock-Walk, so you do the 180, but when he did that 180, instead of
landing the back wheel he rolled out of it on the front wheel, backwards. You know how you do the
180, It takes you out, the back wheel flips around instead of landing, it keeps on going around and
you roll out of it on a backwards nose wheelie? He couldn't pull it off, but he could roll backwards
about 10 feet. And that just blew me away...he was doing it in a parking lot... it blew everybody's
mind. And that was where rolling tricks started, right there. Because that was the first time
somebody started rolling in a different direction on the front wheel. (being the quick thinker I am, I
immediately thought of the "History of Freestyle" thread and asked R.L. if he might remember the
yr. he witnessed that. He said he's "really guessing" but he is thinking either 81' or 82'? He also
went on to say that the first person he ever saw "linking" tricks was Jason Parkes. He said he was
"lightening fast".

What was your most memorable contest?

Well, I always did well in California, the Dominguez Hills Velodrome contests. I always would win that
contest, except for the one time Dennis beat me in a run off. But I would always win that contest. So
I always liked that contest. No particular yr. Just that one, anytime it was there. The AFA contests
you know. My most memorable one was the first freestyle contest that I ever went to that Woody
went to. That was my very first contest with all the guys that were touring and doing shows like me,
Bob Haro, Buff, Ronnie Wilton, and all those guys. Nobody wanted to compete, but the contests
were starting and I went to one back east somewhere, I don't remember where I was, and I was so
scared because we were considered the best riders just because everybody knew us. We were out
touring all the time and everybody else was at home practicing all the time. And they wanted our
jobs (laughs) They wanted to be touring all the time. So they were practicing all the time and we
were working all the time. So, I had to go to this contest. And that scared the **** out of me you
know? We were laying everything on the line. I know what Woody and Martin were thinking is; "Hey,
if we can go to a contest and beat these guys, we could take them out with one clean punch, and
we would be the kings". So I went to that contest and I think Woody won and I got second, but it was
really close. And it was really good because I think a lot of people thought that Woody and Martin
well, Woody was going to smoke me, but I had a lot of new tricks. From then on I won every contest
that I was in for like a yr. or two straight. I just won everything. So I gained the respect from a lot of
people. A lot of people thought that we were just famous because we were in the magazines all the
time. And so it was a really hard time because I had to prove myself. It was really scary. That was
the most memorable. Not memorable in a good way, but an experience.

What did you think of the AFA, and the whole "organization" aspect?

Yeah, I liked what Bob Morales was doing. I thought it was cool. The AFA contests I thought were
really cool. I thought everything was good about it. Those were really good times. Back then it
wasn't so serious. Everybody was having a really good time. We'd all meet at the contest you know.
And you always had your entertainers like Craig Grasso, and Large Ray. It was great.

What do you think of the tricks being done today?

The ground tricks are just as mind boggling as the ramp stuff. You know, no brakes and all that
stuff, is just...I mean these guys are just...unbelievable.

What is your opinion on today's underground look, compared to the sponsored, uniform
look look of the 80's?

Well, the whole thing about the uniforms that I didn't like was...and to be honest, the only reason
why we wore uniforms was because we were trying to sell appearance. They served no purpose.
They were uncomfortable, slippery, and so again, it was about money. You know? So I think that
people should dress how they want to dress. I really don't think they should try to be anything
they're not. They should dress for what's comfortable for them.

How many times have you watched RAD? What was it like filming it, any good stories?

Umm, that's an interesting story. You know Eddie Fiola was kind of a BMX director on that right? He
was on the set. This is the way I remember it. He was there to tell the stars, to teach the stars to
talk like we talk. But they had called me originally and wanted me to do it, but I was burned out from
touring. I remember I was sitting in a tub in Maryland and I was so burned out, I was just dead. My
manager was calling me on the phone, and they kept calling me and offering me more and more
money, and it was very hard to turn it down but I just kept turning it down. And that's why I'm only in
the beginning and the end. I'm not in the movie. Eddie did all the stunt riding. You know, like when
the actor has to actually do some kind of a move, that's Eddie riding. Eddie doubles for the actors. I
was just too whipped. I couldn't do it. And so they went to Eddie, but Eddie was really good with that
stuff so he did a really good job. So I was just in the beginning and the end. I wasn't really involved
in any of the shooting. We did a little touring with Talia Shire to promote the movie, press
conferences, and that was about it. But you know, they just shot the beginning and the end at a
couple of sites and that was it. I really wasn't that involved in the movie. I think I watched the movie
one time. That's all I really saw it.

What souvenirs have you kept from your old riding days?

I have two helmets. And that's it. Let me see, I’ve got my General helmet with the #2 on it. And I've
got a JT helmet...So, I've got my General helmet and my JT helmet. Which if anything ever came up
and if it was worth anything, I don't even know if it's worth anything...I'd be more than happy to
donate that General helmet to Brian's foundation thing. (I mentioned about the Gold TS project that
was being sold to help with Brian's medical bills, and R.L. right away asked where he could send a
donation).

Are you amazed at what the old school stuff sells for on eBay? Did you ever think things
would be this collectable?

I don't know anything about it. (As I proceeded to give R.L. a few examples, I think it's safe to say
that he was shocked at the least, LOL)

What are your future plans?

Future plans are...Well, I keep thinking of building another Harley. I might be starting one, maybe in
the next 6 months. So I'm just starting to kind of get the bug to do another one. I just finished one
up about 6 months ago, a yr. ago. So, build another motorcycle. (I asked him how long it takes him
to build a motorcycle, and he said about a yr. Because he actually builds a lot of the parts on the
bike). Probably in the next yr. to 2 yrs. I'm going to probably slow down with work. You know, go to
like a half schedule, work a lot less, do more building motorcycles for fun, spend more time with the
kids. Maybe I'll figure out a way to start riding bikes again, who knows?

R.L., It's been over 25 yrs. since you and a guy named Bob Haro started doing tricks on
BMX bikes, trying to "outdo" one another. Little did we know what was to become of it.

Thank you,

Chris Ard and Jeff Slavik

Link: http://www.bmxfreestyler.com/rlosborn.html


Dang. Now I want to build up me GT Mach One frame set and bust out some endos and kick turns.

* Registered users of the site do not see these ads.

[hikeeba]

I thought I'd tack on the Eddie Fiola blurb, too. He was pretty spectacular back in the day.

Eddie Fiola: Eddie is a true legend in BMX and arguably the best rider to EVER ride a skatepark. Eddie is credited with being the first rider to do a 540 in a pipe. Eddy won four "BMX Action Nora Cup" awards and five "King Of The Skatepark" titles. At the time, the "King Of The Skatepark" competitions were as big in the freestyle world as the X-Games and Dew Tour are today. In the early days, Eddie was sponsored by Bottema Forks, SE Racing, Haro, and Premier Helmets. At the end of 1982, Eddie was hired by Kuwahara to design, ride, and promote the E.T. Freestyle bike. Eddie was also the man behind one of the most famous freestyle bike designs to this day, the GT PRO Performer. It had a very unique design for it's time and is a stand-out among collectors. He also brought the Potts mod to the table by working extensively with Steve Potts. Eddie is credited for taking his idea to Steve who designed the technical end of things. Eddie applied it in the skatepark and the Potts mod is still in use to this day! Eddie was known for running many "different" things than the norm in his day. He ran 1 3/8th wheels in the skatepark when no one else was. He would show up with either an all white, all black, or all yellow bike and uniform with his trademark, an upside down #1, on his back. Eddie toured all over the world and brought freestyle to the masses, performing at BMX tracks, BMX nationals, bike shops, arena's, and even performed at Anaheim Stadium at the Superbowl of Motocross. You name it, Eddie performed for the fans. But before all that, Eddie was a racer. He was an Orange Y and Ascot local and has a great history in the BMX racing scene. Even in his heyday, the "KING of skateparks" would show up unannounced and incognito to race at local races. He was known for getting out front and busting out some tricks, which were HUGE for that time, like a 360 over a double jump, to impress the fans. It is rumored that the character of Cru Jones in the movie "RAD" was loosely based on the life story of Eddie Fiola. Although Eddie did not play the main character, he was a stunt double in the movie. Today, Eddie works in the movie industry as a stunt man and is credited with working on such great movies as The Italian Job, Indian Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and The Dukes of Hazard, just to name a few.

[MikeCee]

bmx hof. this thread wasted too much of the internet's capacity with all those words.

[Asinine]

the National BMX Hall of Fame at the San Diego Hall of Champions

Every little boy's and girl's dream...

[jms]

This thread has taken me back. Holy five.

And thank you

[hotelprowrx]

Originally Posted by jms

This thread has taken me back. Holy five.

And thank you

This.

My mom still has my trophies from when I did it. God did I suck.

[migs76]

my sister would steal my mags for eddie fiola pics. ha. thanks for the time travel hikeeba.

[hikeeba]

I'm glad there are poeple around here that remember this stuff. Ah, the good 'ol days... To be a kid again. No cares in the world, and so nuts about BMX that we would ride through corn fields in pouring rain just to go to Torque Center (RIP) to look at the E.T. Kuwahara bikes, and to buy something small just so we could get free stickers for our number plates.

Here's a link to a neato Bob Haro timeline, and that'll be all for today's flashback:

http://www.23mag.com/com/haro/haro.htm

[hedwagon]

my first copy of BMX action had Mike Buff on the cover doing a 1 footed drop in on a 1/4 pipe and a how-to from RL on doing endos that had the handlebars toucing the ground. I don't remeber the name of that trick, to many injuries to the melon from trying it.

[mykrrrr]

Originally Posted by hedwagon

my first copy of BMX action had Mike Buff on the cover doing a 1 footed drop in on a 1/4 pipe and a how-to from RL on doing endos that had the handlebars toucing the ground. I don't remeber the name of that trick, to many injuries to the melon from trying it.

[Bottom Feeder]

I used to love that stuff back in the early-mid 80's. I read the magazines cover to cover, mainly Freestylin' (later Freestyle). I imagined what it would be like to live that kind of life with sponsors and everything, getting paid just to ride a bike. The photography in those magazines really sold the whole lifestyle, like what Transworld did for skateboarding way back in the late 70's-early 80's.

Then I got my hands on some bootlegged flatland contest videos on VHS and I was terribly disappointed at how lame it looked. It looked nothing, seemed nothing at all like what the magazines made the reader imagine it was like. Riders in racing suits and helmets, everything pink and green, silly music, silly tricks, silly tough attitude from a bunch of teenagers showing off. I couldn't believe these were the people who this kid from the East Coast idolized and looked forward to seeing every month in my favorite magazines. Most of them now looked like douchbags to me. Clips I saw of Fiola or Blyther or someone riding a concrete skatepark were moderately cool, but the quarter-pipe, flat ramp and flatland stuff the other guys were doing sucked hard.

I think it was Ron Wilkerson who finally killed BMX freestyle for me. I picked up an issue of Freestyle or BMX Action or something in the late 80's, and they had an article on him doing the latest 'sick' street tricks, trying SO hard to replicate the style of tricks that street skaters had been doing for years. This was at the height of the 80's skating scene when bike freestyle had blown it's load and was sliding down the popularity scale real quick. These colorful, dynamic pics show Wilkerson (now sans suit and helmet- not cool anymore!) trying his hardest to break is bike and look cool doing it, goofy mugging to the camera and all. Grinding every part of the bike he could to touch ground or curb or wall or anything to look 'hardcore' like a street skater. I clearly remember one shot of him intentinally landing hard on the front sprocket (I think the photo caption implied that) on a bench or something. Nice to be sponsored, huh? The 'look at me!' attention-whore expression on his face in every pic made me want to reach into the pic and choke him. It was f-ing lame. That was it, I was done with it.

Thanks for reading this extra-special glimpse into my youth. The end.

[Kaiser]

Mushroom grips and Haro wheels: 1983 Kai's obsession.

[Bottom Feeder]

Originally Posted by Kaiser

Mushroom grips and Haro wheels: 1983 Kai's obsession.

What were Haro wheels? You mean maybe Skyway or Perigrine?

[Kaiser]

Wasn't it Haro who made those composite/plastic wheels? The ones friends told me would "shatter in the cold"?

[jms]

Originally Posted by Kaiser

Wasn't it Haro who made those composite/plastic wheels? The ones friends told me would "shatter in the cold"?

Skyway were 5 spokes
6 spokes were Peregrine iirc

jms had a broken '4' spoke Skyway white mag on the front of his last Haro. 5th spoke was awol

[Bottom Feeder]

The 'good' Skyways were five-spoke Tuff-Wheels, made out of the then-new Zytel(?) nylon plastic. They also had a cheaper one later that were six-spoke, but they were a lot less desireable. They looked (and probably were) cheap with moulded-in reflector mounting tabs.

Peregrine wheels looked like a slightly twisted five-spoke Skyway. They were the shiz when they were introduced back then on the high-end Redlines, IIRC.

[Kaiser]

None of that rings a bell so I guess 1983 Kaiser didn't know what the **** he was babbling about. He did, however, loves him some "Haro wheels."

[hedwagon]

Originally Posted by mykrrrr

exactly...

now, WTF did he call that trick? It was goddammed hard. The concrete came up fast.


Now my old bike setup.

Skyway TA frame & fork. It was the racing one with all of the teardrop tubes.
Z rims for racing.
Tuff Wheel/Skyway mags for the ramp.
Beartrap pedals. Nasty mfers.
3 piece cranks. I forget who made em, but 3 piece were the bomb.

[hikeeba]

Dang Bottom Feeder, that sucks. I think I was into raod bikes by the time the 'flatland' no-riding-gear-skater-wannabe stuff started rolling around.


hikeeba rode on scabbed together bikes during his most active BMX years. I never really had a slick or cool bike during those days. Cash was limited to my meager allowance, and while my parents occasionally bought me a part here and there, a new $200+ bike was waaaay out of the question. The summer during 8th and 9th grade, I rattle canned the no-name frame and fork set, assembled the bike with a myriad of mystery parts (the wheels and tires matched, at least), slapped on a seet of Kuwahara stickers, and sold the bike at a flee market for $75. I'll never forget the kid who bought it examined it no less than three times, exclaiming to his buddy, "It's authentic alright!" No, it for sure wasn't a Kuwahara.

After a month or so sans BMx, I got the itch again. I had been saving $$, and the bike sale helped me get a Raleigh Racing USA R-something. It was black, and had black Skyway TuffWheel IIs. It was a nice bike, even if it was a Raleigh. I rode it into the fall fo that year, and then it hung in my parent's garage until my junior year of college. The year I took it to college, i lived off campus (outof town, actually), and my Mexican neighbor's son stole it when he ran away from home. Cool story, bro.

Later that year I got a job wrenching at a bike shop. At the time I was too stupid to load up on BMX stuff, as I was heavy into road cycling, and just starting the Mt. bike thing. I did manage to trade some leftover parts I had for the GT Mach 1 frame set that is now in my possession. Now that we have a little one (child) in the house, I have an excuse to build it up.

[Bottom Feeder]

Originally Posted by hedwagon

3 piece cranks. I forget who made em, but 3 piece were the bomb.

Probably Redline, but Profile and the ultra-bling Hutch cranks were also up there and meant you were serious... or had rich parents!

[Reflex-Arc]

Wirelessly posted (Ovaltine Decoder: BlackBerry9530/4.7.0.148 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

I broke down and bought myself a cruiser the other day. Hadn't been on a BMX bike in 12 years! I'll probably end up in the ER soon.