1980's
1980 S.E. Racing P.K. Ripper Scott Breithaupt's S.E. racing has been one of the most influential BMX brands of all time, with the P.K. Ripper being their most legendary bike. The P.K. was endorsed by pro racer Perry Kramer and boasts an aluminum frame with innovative floval tubing and the famous landing gear chromoly forks. The example is built with Tuf Neck pro model stem, Dia Compe seat clamp and coaster arm bracket, Race Inc. bars, OGK Oakley 3 style grips, Zero Nine stadium number plate and California Lite Perry Kramer signature pad set.
1981 Mongoose Supergoose This 1981 Supergoose 1 is the first version of the Supergoose (Mongoose eventually released 2 and 3 versions). It’s a very sturdy set up with Motomag aluminum wheels, Comp 3 tires, Mongoose crank & chain wheel, Redline Brute stem, and Diamond Back bars. Mongoose BMX offered a large variety of products specifically designed for BMX. Started by Skip Hess in Simi Valley in 1974, BMX Product Inc. went on to become one of the largest producers of specialty BMX equipment.
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1980 MCS Magna Cruise MCS was a company based out of Pompano Beach, Florida, which made this 1980 twin tube 26 incher. The curator of this museum personally owned one of these when they were first released, however it curiously evaporated while he was on hiatus in Los Angeles. Twenty-five years later a dead stock frame and fork was acquired (complete with o.g. warranty card) and promptly built to the original specs of the first Magna Cruise. Thin wall tubing and bright chrome plating make this a beauty, also notable is the comparably high bottom bracket.
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1980 Mongoose KOS Kruiser Jeff Kosmala was a Mongoose pro rider who designed and endorsed this 26 inch mongoose KOS Kruiser (cruiser with a "K" like in Jeff's last name). Although still relatively underground, the KOS was more readily available then most other BMX cruisers at the time. This frame design is the more basic A-frame configuration and is long and roomy in the top tube. One of the more unusual features on this bike is the Mongoose Pro-class rims, which are made with several "lightening" holes and accompanying metallic rim strips.
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1980 GT Pro Cruiser GT BMX was based out of Santa Ana California, headed by Gary Turner. They built some of the cleaner race focused BMX bikes. This 26 inch GT pro cruiser is more like a scaled -up version of their 20 inch GT Pro frames than a beach cruiser. Low profile, long top tube, thin wall tubing, pristine TIG welding and bright plating typify the GT standards at the time. This bike is built in G.T. blue and gold colors with GT bars, Tuf Neck stem & seat clamp, Takagi crank, KKT lightning pedals, fluted post, Kashimax MX saddle, IRC XC-1 skinwall tires and yellow / blue Oakley F-1 grips.
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1981 Powerlite Cruiser The Powerlite brand started as Peddle Power and soon changed its name to Powerlite. In the tradition of the twin tube performance cruisers this bike is chock full of aluminum and chromoly components including Voris Dixon alloy cruiser bars, Tuf Neck stem & seat clamp, chromo laidback post, Brooks B66 saddle, Takagi chromo cranks, Suntour pedals, ACS canti adapter hoops and Mafac cantilever brakes. Built as new in '81 and well maintained, this bike has seen many miles around the Vancouver area.
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1981 CW Racing Cruiser CW Racing was most famous for it's Phaze One 20 inch frame with lightning bolt down tube and also thier unique handlebar designs. This bike was designed in the style of scaling up a 20 inch racing bike to cruiser size. It is equipped with CW cruiser bars, inverted Tuf Neck cruiser stem, Suntour headset lock, Suzue hubs, stainless D.T. spokes, polished Araya 7X rims, slick street tires, Ame Tri grips and Dia Compe levers. In comparison with most other cruisers of the era, the CW has a very relaxed head tube angle.
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1981 Cook Bros. Cruiser The Cook Brothers cruiser shown here has received one upgrade from the earlier Cook shown in this museum with the frame and fork feature now featuring cantilever blocks / pins allowing the use of canti brakes. This bike has a unusual tan colored frame paint and chrome plated fork, mounted with Tuf stem & seat clamp, Tuf Neck alloy cruiser bars, Brooks B66 saddle and billet aluminum Son-Lite Turbo hubs with titanium axles laced into 26 x 1.75 Ambrosio Cyclocross rims. The hubs make this bike fast and it stops on a dime thank to Mafac canti brakes and Matthauser shoes.
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1981 Schwinn King Sting Schwinn is best known for the Sting Ray as well as their classic 40's and 50's balloon tire bikes. They did however also gain notoriety in the BMX world with the 20 inch Sting and this bike the 26 inch King Sting. This is the single speed version was later replaced by the 5 speed and the 10 speed King Stings. The bronze filleted top tube and down tube joins are pure Schwinn; also unique are the tapered legs on the tubular forks. This set up has the Schwinn branded stem by Suntour along with Sugino 1 pcs. chromoly crank, Araya 7x rims, Shimano hub set, Kashimax suede saddle, Skull Skates cruiser bars and Oakley F-1 grips.
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1981 Maruishi Cruiser This Maruishi cruiser was a complete bike imported from Japan in 1981. The frame has a short top tube and relaxed head tube angle and as such does not have the same performance rating as the U.S.A. made cruisers. The fork is a leading axle tubular Tange TX-1200 and it's built with Araya 7x rims, IRC XC-1 skinwall tires, Shimano alloy caliper brakes, 3 piece alloy cranks with Rat Trap pedals and a 5-speed transmission. This particular example is all original and in excellent condition.
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1982 Mongoose Two/Four The cruiser class in BMX racing initially consisted of 26” wheeled bikes, but would eventually be replaced by 24” wheeled bikes such as the 1982 Mongoose Two/Four shown here. This beast is built with Skull Skates bars, Shimano SX stem, Araya 7X rims, Shimano hubs, Mongoose cranks & chain wheel and Mongoose saddle. The open frame shapes shows there were more developments to come in profiles and geometry of BMX cruisers.
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1982 Laguna Cruiser Laguna was another small BMX factory located in Southern California that produced 26 inch cruisers for a short time. This bike is a twin tube frame built as a hybrid style cross between a racing bike and a beach cruiser. The forks have cool drop outs each with an "L" cut into them, Components on this set up include Ukai rims, ACS hubs, alloy Laguna cruiser bars, Shimano Tourney front caliper brake, ACS adapter w/ Mafac canti rear brake, Tuf Neck stem & seat clamp, Takagi 1 pcs. crank & a sealed bearing bottom bracket.
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1982 Panda Pro-Am Cruiser Credited with creating some of the earlier BMX innovations, the Panda bike company produced a wide array of custom machines. This 26 inch pro-am frame is built with Tange TRX forks, Son-Lite Turbo hubs, D.T. stainless spokes, Alesa concave Cyclocross rims, twisted fluted seat post, suede Kashimax Aero saddle, polished mini GT stem and Skull Skates cruiser bars. This is a long, low profile frame and is a super fast street ripper on its 1.95 Hutchinson slick tires. The neutral front-end geometry makes this bike a fun ride. Also shown is the twin tube Panda Pro-Raider Cruiser.
1982 Champion Cruiser Champion made 20 inch, 24 inch and 26 inch MX bikes (shown here is a two-six). Their trademark frame design was the added tube between the top and down tubes, an updated style reminiscent of the pre-war twin tube balloon tire frames. The handlebars on this bike are actually motorcycle motocross bars purchased at a motorcycle shop. In 1982 there were only a couple of decent cruiser bars on the market and if you didn't have access to them you were stuck with too tall BMX bars or too wide / low profile beach cruiser bars.
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1983 Cook Bros Trials This is a rare trials bike likely made by Cook Brothers Racing early in 1983. Although now missing, this would have originally been equipped with a Cook 26” fork with uni-clamp stem. The unusual design features 26” front wheel and 24” rear wheel with extra high bottom bracket. It’s built with Campy cranks, MKS Foot Jaw pedals, Tuf Neck stem, nickel plated Cook single lever bars and Araya 7X rims … serial #011.
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1983 Skyway T/A This 1983 totally aerodynamic Skyway BMX frame & fork set was made in the USA (the first year -1982- they were made in Japan). It’s built with Tuff 2 freewheels, Skyway E.Z. bars, Suntour stem, Tuf seat clamp, fluted alloy post, Kashimax MX saddle, Takagi Tourney A.D. cranks, freestyle tires, and Suntour freewheel. It is a representation of the early crossover from race to freestyle bikes.
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1983 SE Racing OM Flyer We are unable to find a serial # on this bike and any info on production years of the SE Racing OM Flyer is foggy at best. Based on the parts group of: Tuf Neck square inverted stem, Bullseye through hubs, Araya 7X rims, Comp 3 tires, Redline Flights with single pinch bolt, Shimano DX pedals, and Whale Tail chain tensioners, it is estimated that this bike was built around 1982-1984 and designed by Scot Breithaupt. This bike was named from Scot’s nickname “The Old Man”.
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1983 Custom Mountain Bike Trike Scratch built lugged mountain bike tricycle frame. Built with 15 speed transmission, Ritchey bronze filleted forks, Shimano dual cantilever front brakes, Bullmoose handlebars, Kenda K-Rad tires. Super sketchy and fun, two wheel carves are a blast. Most people who try it look like it's their first time ever on a bicycle.
1984 Hutch Trickstar 1984 American made Hutch Trickstar frame with SE Racing standing gear forks, Tioga Airstep handlebars, Tioga Drainpipe seatpost, Redline Flight cranks, Shimano DX pedals & Tuff Wheel freewheels. Somebody built this up in 1984 and spared no expense on the parts build. Trickstars were coveted among freestyle fanatics in the mid-80's.
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1985 Haro FreestylerThe first Haro Freestyler hit the market in 1982 and was an indication of just how big freestyle BMX would become. This 1985 freestyler is built with Tuff freewheels, GT post, GT bars, DIA-compe seat clamp, ACS roto stem, Pete’s precision chain wheel, and MKS Grafight-X pedals. Bob Haro, legendary freestyle rider, is the man behind the Haro Freestyler, Sport, and Master models; in addition to other innovations such as custom number plates & numbers, the Haro Hare trigger lever, and the two-finger lever.
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1988 Redline RL RII-20 Freestyle During the late '80's, freestyle sort of took over from racing as the popular style of BMX riding. Many companies produced some very crazy looking freestyle frames, forks and components. The RL RII-20 is very unique in that the twin top tubes wrap around and meet in front of the top tube. This bike is a restoration, which is a 1988 (with 990 rear brakes). It's been redecaled with a 1986 decal set. Complete with gumwall freestyle tires and 48 spoke wheels, this bike shows the movement away from racing and into freestyle machines; thanks in part to touring freestyle trick demo teams at the time.
