What brand BMX bike did you have as a kid ?
- Thread starter DdBob
- Start date
Andrew Sak
Even Andy Deserves Good BEans
I believe Sears sold Murray bikes. That was their version of Huffy. Kmart sold the AllPro. My friend Danny who lived across the street went through a few of the AllPros. He would crack the frames.
mongooz
Sic Semper Tyrannis
i got one of the first Schwinn StingRay Fastbacks in town, for my 10th (?) birthday. 1967-ish. this was before the "Crate" series began.....WAY before BMX was a thing.
Lerxst
spaghetti and blankets
Murray & Huffy bikes until I was older and could earn money to buy my own...but then MTB was a thing.
IDK how many of those department store BMX bikes I went through as a kid. Whatever short term savings my folks sought were quickly erased by the swiss cheese quality of those bikes.
IDK how many of those department store BMX bikes I went through as a kid. Whatever short term savings my folks sought were quickly erased by the swiss cheese quality of those bikes.
DdBob
Dogue in teh desert
I googled up 'who made Sears bikes in the 70's" and sure enough it says most were made by Murray
I found a pic of it at least i thin this was it, same colors and everything else...it's the middle on top row $79.00 in 78 says it's equivilent to 365 dollars today. I don't recall how much the Mongoose Freemag was but I think it was around 300 in 81/82.
We didn't ride hard when I had the Sears but that Mongoose, holy shit that thing was indestructible. We had a wash nearby pretty high and all the neighborhood kids would ghostride their bikes off the side to the point the impact would knock the handlebars out of alignment.
baimun
Funkasaurus Rex
I googled up 'who made Sears bikes in the 70's" and sure enough it says most were made by Murray
I found a pic of it at least i thin this was it, same colors and everything else...it's the middle on top row $79.00 in 78 says it's equivilent to 365 dollars today. I don't recall how much the Mongoose Freemag was but I think it was around 300 in 81/82.
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We didn't ride hard when I had the Sears but that Mongoose, holy shit that thing was indestructible. We had a wash nearby pretty high and all the neighborhood kids would ghostride their bikes off the side to the point the impact would knock the handlebars out of alignment.
The fact that the first one is actually branded as Evel Kinevel is hillarious... considering the stupid ramps and shit that we would make trying to replicate his stunts (and broken bones).
DdBob
Dogue in teh desert
I had a friend that had one and it felt so unstable compared to a 1980s proper bmx bike but I remember wanting a shifter like he hadi got one of the first Schwinn StingRay Fastbacks in town, for my 10th (?) birthday. 1967-ish. this was before the "Crate" series began.....WAY before BMX was a thing.
DdBob
Dogue in teh desert
It’s even funnier that it wasn’t the most expensive model…nowadays it would probably cost 40 dollars more than the others just for the EK brandingThe fact that the first one is actually branded as Evel Kinevel is hillarious... considering the stupid ramps and shit that we would make trying to replicate his stunts (and broken bones).
mongooz
Sic Semper Tyrannis
yea, but the early stingrays weren't meant to jump shit.
they were meant to ride and look cool.
and besides, with that shifter location and slippery banana seat, would you REALLY want to try jumping stuff ??
335clone
Living the dream
Schwinn.... with a banana seat.... and then a Schwinn 10 speed.
We jumped our bikes off ramps and jumps before BMX was part of the vocabulary.
yup
Machinegunner
fancy sound-measuring doodad
Haha, that hadn’t occurred to me! Maybe it was the same thugsFirst the Huffy stolen then the Jeep
Monson
Sonic Automatist
I didn't have a BMX. My first bike was something like this:
When I was about 13 I bought one like this from our neighbor for a pack of cigarettes:
Spent a whole winter fixing it and then rode it in the woods for like 15 minutes before the engine blew. Probably for the better as it would not run with the exhaust on so it was a bit noisy.
When I was about 13 I bought one like this from our neighbor for a pack of cigarettes:
Spent a whole winter fixing it and then rode it in the woods for like 15 minutes before the engine blew. Probably for the better as it would not run with the exhaust on so it was a bit noisy.
DinoMikeSr
I have the box
Everything we had bmx came with a gas engine. Did you grow up learning the correct gas and 2-cycle oil ratios as well?1970-ish (BMX did not exist back then)
mongooz
Sic Semper Tyrannis
no, not until long after that^^.
the hondas were 4 cycle engines, no need to mix.
later when i got into actual dirt bikes, then i got into some 2 strokers that needed mixing.
DinoMikeSr
I have the box
DinoMikeSr
I have the box
Honda Elsinore
Andrew Sak
Even Andy Deserves Good BEans
My brother had a 1975 Honda Elsinore. 125. Those were the first really good dirt bikes ever made.
irishstu
really experienced
I had a Raleigh Grifter! Couldn't even get the front wheel off the ground it was so heavy. Oh and it suffered from the old in-between gears neutral gear, which if you ever hit it by accident had a habit of sending you flying crotch first onto the top tube as your feet span uncontrollably.
Motorik
Kick Henry Jackassowski
I had a Raleigh Grifter! Couldn't even get the front wheel off the ground it was so heavy. Oh and it suffered from the old in-between gears neutral gear, which if you ever hit it by accident had a habit of sending you flying crotch first onto the top tube as your feet span uncontrollably.
The Grifter weighted a ton. I rode one for my cycling proficiency test (remember them)?
My younger brother had a Raleigh Burner.
There's nothing quite beats the danger of going down a steep hill on a Chopper, trying to shift gears while steering one-handed, and then going into a deady speed wobble.