RADBMX.CO.UK
Old School BMX 1980 - 1988 => Old School Freestyle (frame stands and kickturns galore!) => Topic started by: Retrodan72 on February 02, 2014, 08:15 PM
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As many of you know, last July I lost the love for the hobby, for one reason or another. But the trip to MK, and deciding to build the bike I had as a kid helped me to get that love back - and I'm glad they did.
So, when getting back into the scene in 2008, one of the first things I put up in the wanted sections was a Piranha Freestyler, the bike my folks got me, July '85. I thought this would be easy - it wasn't.
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/03/y7e5ameh.jpg)
This was mine in 1985.
A few had slipped past me on eBay, and the members I'd messaged asking if they would be interested in selling, all tried to tell me they were really rare and wanted top dollar for them. They weren't wrong about them bring rare, but this was by default, badly made, so not many survived.
So as a final tribute build to my old bike, before I dipped out, I put one last wanted as up. I got no joy, so decided to put my green DP Freestyler up as bait. It worked, I got a message off Rob Veysey (midnight12) saying he had a Piranha, and would like to do a deal. Rob had bought the Piranha like this...
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/03/utymuhud.jpg)
...but transformed it to this...
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/03/tehapamu.jpg)
...but that was nothing like mine BITD. So with the deal done, I started to gather parts.
The frame forks and bars arrived off Rob...
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/03/rutupupy.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/03/saqedaje.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/03/gu9ejyse.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/03/mage9u4u.jpg)
...so 2 days after it landed with me, my mate who's a powder coater picked the frame and bars up, sadly the forks weren't original, so chucked them...
...2 days later, the frame and bars arrived back...
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/03/e3anana4.jpg)
So, I added them to the other parts I'd sourced
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/03/y5y7y7u3.jpg)
Then I got the decals off Mark @ Retrospect, these are the ones I had, so fitted them...
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/03/7e3eneve.jpg)
Then I got a message off Tony Lee with an eBay link, I opened it, and it was for some chrome aero forks, the forks I needed for this. So immediately, I paid the £15 inc posted for them, and married them up to the frame, along with some of the other bits.
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/03/papady4e.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/03/u6uqu3a6.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/03/7atamaga.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/03/e9yhy8a3.jpg)
Then a few weeks ago, the wheels turned up, courtesy of Magicat and Brett, I have tried them on and also with Tuffs, still undecided on which I'm gonna use.
So, today I fitted the Sugino 44t to the Tioga spider, I had to get a new spider as the one I'd initially bought was a 130 BCD. I also fitted the £8 crank, the £7 bottom bracket and then added the £11 pedals.
All the budget POS parts were intentional, I'm not being tight. You need to remember that this was £99 BITD for a complete bike in 1985, so all the parts needed to remain within the cheap them.
This is it up to now, it still needs brakes and a chain, then it's complete.
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/03/yse3usyt.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/03/9ame9eje.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/03/tyre2ena.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/03/ahyzu6ed.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/03/rebage5a.jpg)
Sent while strangling Kojak from my iPhone
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Love it Piranhas hold great memories for me from back in the day and thats definately the best one I've ever seen :smitten:
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Top work Danielle :daumenhoch:
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Spot on is that Dan, hope you enjoy it bud :daumenhoch:
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Cheers chaps. :daumenhoch:
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Another corker dan
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I love a build with a story!
Building personal replicas is the best for me.
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I love a build with a story!
Building personal replicas is the best for me.
It's brought back a lot of memories. The picture in 1985 was at the back of my mums house, the best part of it was I didn't even know this photo existed, I just by chance stumbled across it. :daumenhoch:
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a very lovely and nice story..top job on the bike Dan its a bazzer, watch that b.b though, I had 1 on my firebird...cranks kept falling off :-[
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a very lovely and nice story..top job on the bike Dan its a bazzer, watch that b.b though, I had 1 on my firebird...cranks kept falling off :-[
Cheers Gaz for the heads up, I suppose you get what you pay for, time will tell mate. :daumenhoch:
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Having seen this in the flesh this bike is a beauty :daumenhoch:
Great doing a BITD build - A pleasure seeing it :smitten: :smitten:
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proper cracking POS that Dan! :4_17_5:
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love it dan :4_17_5:
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Ok, so this is now 100% finished now. I'll get some daylight pics at the weekend.
A big thanks to Rob Veysey (middnight12) whom without, I couldn't have done this bike.
Parts list and thanks and cost of parts to complete this POS build:
1984/5 Piranha Freestyler frame
NOS chrome aero forks - £15
Original Piranha CW style bars
Chrome seat post from my green DP
Repop DC seat clamp - £12
Correct San Marco seat - £24
Race bike headset - eBay - £12
Suntour style stem - Leehunt - £16
ODI mushies from my green DP
Skyway Tuff II's from spares (original Aero Zytecs for show)
Whitewall snake bellies - Dave (Brummie)
Copy MX1000 calipers from my green DP
Copy Tech3 levers from my green DP
Generic cables
DC brake pads
NOS Tioga spider - Alan's - £10
Sugino 44t chain ring from my green DP
Generic chain ring bolts
KMC chain - Alan's - £10
Generic BB - £7
Shark bite pedals - £11
Repro padset - Esemdesign
White dice caps from spares
Lever grips - Rooski
Here's the finished pics:
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/24/qyjybedu.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/24/emavysah.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/24/6aha5y6y.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/02/24/8ujaty5e.jpg)
Sent while strangling Kojak from my iPhone
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Quality that. :daumenhoch:
Spoilt git, I only got a normal Piranha offa my folks. :yahoo_silent:
Same swanky looptail & dropouts as mine though, fabricated from old recycled umbongo cans mixed with lead!
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Great story Dan , made up you finally got hold of one and replicated your ride from bitd :daumenhoch:
Looks great 8)
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Top notch POS you got there Dan. love it :4_17_5:
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Outdoor shots
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/03/01/e9a3emyv.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/03/01/uju8emyg.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/03/01/6eva5usa.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/03/01/u7apa5a4.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/03/01/jevybe8y.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/03/01/sedemy2y.jpg)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/03/01/edugazyt.jpg)
Sent while strangling Kojak from my iPhone
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(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/hh135/Badbaldie/466834491_zpsf1daa67e.jpg) (http://s255.photobucket.com/user/Badbaldie/media/466834491_zpsf1daa67e.jpg.html)
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Very nice Dan :daumenhoch:
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Great story and build thread there Dan. I'd never heard of Piranha until you told me about them. Great bike, and now very rare as you say.
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Great story and build thread there Dan. I'd never heard of Piranha until you told me about them. Great bike, and now very rare as you say.
Cheers Andy, I never thought I'd land one due to the rarity, but now I consider the successor to this even rarer, a Fox 4 Styler, only ever seen one other than the one I had BITD.
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Great story and build thread there Dan. I'd never heard of Piranha until you told me about them. Great bike, and now very rare as you say.
Cheers Andy, I never thought I'd land one due to the rarity, but now I consider the successor to this even rarer, a Fox 4 Styler, only ever seen one other than the one I had BITD.
You must be a mind reader Dan, as reading your thread got me thinking of the Fox 4 Styler. I've just started a thread about it in this section http://www.radbmx.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,172183.new.html#new
Can you shed any light on the subject? Andy.
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We need a Piranha display at Radchester our Dan :daumenhoch:
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We need a Piranha display at Radchester our Dan :daumenhoch:
I'm sure that we can sort that Our Mat.
Mine, yours, Daz Hopkins', Jase Burns has one too. :4_17_5:
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Its a date R Dan
A red hot sexy fish based BMX date :daumenhoch:
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Its a date R Dan
A red hot sexy fish based BMX date :daumenhoch:
It may finish me off riding it from MK Central Stn, they're not light by any means. :LolLolLolLol:
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It looks glorious fella....top skills Dan :4_17_5:
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Looks fantastic Dan,nice one! :daumenhoch:
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I had the same bike BITD, realy enjoyed the thread - looks great. I remember putting a USA sticker over the Union Jack :-[, I also swaped the bars for some Skyway freestyle (not sure if they were real Skyway) but I paid £17.50 from Halords for them at the time. Wish I still had it. I can remember it being a bit of a heavy bike too.....ahhh them were the days!!!
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nice bike mate :daumenhoch:
remember having one of them myself ,super steep head angle on them-cool for doing boomerangs on :LolLolLolLol:
left mine in the garage ,then when my son was old enough he use to use it until the bigger kids in the street rode it + snapped the downtube :'( :knuppel2:
that was in 2000
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Really nice that Dan. You've done beltin job there pal. :daumenhoch:
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Thanks for the comments lads.