RADBMX.CO.UK
Technical & Reference Section => Tech and Restoration => Topic started by: Old School on August 31, 2015, 11:23 AM
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Happy wet bank holiday everybody!
Newbie to the site, but not BMX, I used to own a Silver Streak 30 years ago which was pimped to the max! Have attached a photo of me on it before the pimpage commenced!
The spec that I can remember was something like this:
Silver Streak frame, forks & crankset - chrome
VDC Monkey bars - chrome
MX1000 Dia Compe calipers - white
Dia Compe brake levers - white
Green and silver reflective brake cables
White Skyway Tuff II's
White Skyway brake pads
Whitewall tyres
Skyway freestyle platform
Trick pegs front and rear
White Aero seat
Fluted seat post
Bear trap pedals
White Mushroom grips - Oakley?
I sold this to someone in Maidenhead, Berks, circa 1990, DOES ANYONE OWN OR RECOGNISE THIS BIKE AND SPEC?
Sorry, I digress! Anyways, have just bought a barn find DB Venom off eBay and I plan on recreating a very similar version of that old bike...
...obviously without the Skyway freestyle platform! See photo in its' current form.
So, where or who's the best place/member to get all this stuff??
Also, as I'm a total newbie to builds, what other basics do I need other than a bike repair stand and bike toolkit?
I mean, nuts, bolts, cleaning fluids and lubricants?
I realise I'm probably asking for a serious amount of info here so I'll understand if you don't want to reply with an essay!!
Just a helpful pointer to useful links or members would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks :-)
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Cool pic :daumenhoch:
Gotta love an Austin princess :)
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Welcome aboard mate. If you give us the year you pimped the bike we could probably help more I'd guess :daumenhoch:
If your grips were Mushrooms then they were made by Odi but white will be tricky to find as they fell apart after about 6 months of abuse.
Your brake cables will be Haro Thunderbolts but you have more chance of being blown by Kylie than finding a rear one - buy three fronts and join 2 together.
Bear trap pedals eh? Do you still have the scars on your shins? I'd go for a period platform pedal like Shimano DX or SX.
Your chrome crank was probably a one piece from Takagi or Sugino which means you need 1/2" threaded pedals not 9/16" for a three piece cranks et.
Saddle was either a Kasimax Aero (they have recently been re - popped so don't get ripped off) or a Viscount Aero.
Skyways are still being made - if you plan on riding it, buy modern ones with sealed bearings and put Kool Kaps on the plastic hubs to make them look old school - the originals are all fooked now from years of abuse and over- tightening.
Oh, and take out a new mortgage if you want all this stuff mint as you're in for well over a grand all in easy if you want the vdc bars as well
Cheers
Spen
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They don't make 'em like they used to! The Capri and Escort Mk I were pretty sweet too!
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Welcome aboard mate. If you give us the year you pimped the bike we could probably help more I'd guess :daumenhoch:
If your grips were Mushrooms then they were made by Odi but white will be tricky to find as they fell apart after about 6 months of abuse.
Your brake cables will be Haro Thunderbolts but you have more chance of being blown by Kylie than finding a rear one - buy three fronts and join 2 together.
Bear trap pedals eh? Do you still have the scars on your shins? I'd go for a period platform pedal like Shimano DX or SX.
Your chrome crank was probably a one piece from Takagi or Sugino which means you need 1/2" threaded pedals not 9/16" for a three piece cranks et.
Saddle was either a Kasimax Aero (they have recently been re - popped so don't get ripped off) or a Viscount Aero.
Skyways are still being made - if you plan on riding it, buy modern ones with sealed bearings and put Kool Kaps on the plastic hubs to make them look old school - the originals are all fooked now from years of abuse and over- tightening.
Oh, and take out a new mortgage if you want all this stuff mint as you're in for well over a grand all in easy if you want the vdc bars as well
Cheers
Spen
Wow! That is a quick and precise essay, thanks!
To answer your q's:
I reckon this was a 12th birthday present from my dad, so 1983 or 1984? The album the photo was from is labelled 83/84 and my dad is more organised than the National Library so I reckon that's pretty accurate!
Yes, I still have visible scars from the Bear Traps - ouch! Will deffo get the DX or SX!
Re the seat, what does re-popped mean? The Viscount Aero sounds very familiar though so will check it out!
Will get new Skyways too!
Points taken on the other bits.
Thanks for your help Spen!
What about, nuts, bolts, lubricants etc?
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Welcome to Rad buddy :daumenhoch:
Re-popped means re-issue. What Spen is trying to say is, a mint/NOS (new old stock) Kashimax Aero will set you back around £120 depending on colour. A re-issue Kashimax Aero will cost you about £50. They can be made to look like originals to the untrained eye, so research is key.
You can still pick up old school Tuff's fairly reasonably and worth it. They use cheap bearings in the new ones so their longevity isn't great. By the time you have shelled out for new Tuff's and Kool caps, it works out about £20 less than originals, although saying that, finding white old school Tuff's that haven't been bleached to an inch of existence and the nylon around the hub area not all cracked and ready to break up, is going to be nigh on impossible. White Tuff's are also the most desirable and sought after for everybody's Haro build. They also re-issued the alloy Tuff's back in 2011 when they found 120 sets of old hubs in the warehouse. They have a little date clock moulded onto one of the spokes, retro hand written on the inside of the rim, and graphite stamped on the rear hub instead of Skyway. While the clock can be sanded down and the retro removed, the graphite stamp will be a lot lot harder, so you will know if someone offers you a set as NOS white Skyways ;)
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Welcome to Rad buddy :daumenhoch:
Re-popped means re-issue. What Spen is trying to say is, a mint/NOS (new old stock) Kashimax Aero will set you back around £120 depending on colour. A re-issue Kashimax Aero will cost you about £50. They can be made to look like originals to the untrained eye, so research is key.
You can still pick up old school Tuff's fairly reasonably and worth it. They use cheap bearings in the new ones so their longevity isn't great. By the time you have shelled out for new Tuff's and Kool caps, it works out about £20 less than originals, although saying that, finding white old school Tuff's that haven't been bleached to an inch of existence and the nylon around the hub area not all cracked and ready to break up, is going to be nigh on impossible. White Tuff's are also the most desirable and sought after for everybody's Haro build. They also re-issued the alloy Tuff's back in 2011 when they found 120 sets of old hubs in the warehouse. They have a little date clock moulded onto one of the spokes, retro hand written on the inside of the rim, and graphite stamped on the rear hub instead of Skyway. While the clock can be sanded down and the retro removed, the graphite stamp will be a lot lot harder, so you will know if someone offers you a set as NOS white Skyways ;)
Very interesting!
So were the Tuffs from the 80's just called Tuffs, and the 2011 ones were called Tuff 2's?
Also, my memory of the seat and seat post was that it was all one moulded unit - I've checked out the Kashimax and Viscount Aeros but they're just seats.... anyone got any ideas?
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Someone's just posted a little history on tuffs from Maurice's site, hang on will find the thread
If you have a dig around the site you'll find most of the info you need, best advice anyone can get at this stage is to take your time, do your research and try your hardest to be patient for stuff to come up - is easy to get excited and end up with the wrong bits or pay over the odds
The seat combo you mentioned could be...
Uni? Did it have a coloured or chrome post? http://www.bmxsociety.com/topic/49945-uni-seat-time-line/
Elina Ultralight ( don't get the snake post version though whatever you do lol)
Troxel, unlikely but you never know
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Here's some info on tuffs
http://www.radbmx.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,183947.0.html
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Hi Griff,
To my memory it had a white seat post and seat - deffo not the UNI, that is minging!!
Nor the Elina either, yet to check out the last...
Thanks for the info on the Tuffs, will check out out ;)
Thanks again for the advice, slowly slowly catch your monkey :daumenhoch:
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Pretty sure there was another shape of uni seat...
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The name Uni does ring a bell, will do some digging ;)
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You're right! It was a Uni!!
(http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/31/890a363e78a117b51de5578bc97bddb4.jpg)
V impressive!!
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Hi there, and welcome to rad. I usually get nuts/bolts for brakes by buying a cheap set of copy brakes from ebay and using the nut/bolts as donor parts. I have a bag full of various nuts/bolts etc, so let me know what you're after and i might be able to help you out. Great story and idea to do a replica of your old bike. Like others have said, to gather all those parts together won't be cheap. The cost will depend on condition of course, but you're looking at about £800 plus - easily. If you're still up for the challenge, then go for it. It's your bike and you should do it how you like, but personally i would try to get hold of a silverstreak frame/forks, or at least something era correct like an 80's viper or pacer. Am not slagging off the venom frame as such (i own one myself)- my avatar photo is actually a '96 venom, but the frame you have is 10 years out and is a completely different style.. If you're prepared to spend close on £1000 on parts, then what's an extra £250-£300 (maybe less), to get an authentic frame very similar to your original? Just something to think about, but like i said it's your bike to do who you want. Either way, it's going to be an interesting bike build for us all to follow. I use teflon grease from Halfords for headset, bottom bracket and wheel bearings. I also use dry chain lube on my chain. Don't use wd40 :daumenhoch:
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There was a Silver Streak up for grabs at MK.
I don't know if this is still available….
http://www.radbmx.co.uk/forum/index.php'topic=183796.new#new
As dancetothedrummersbeat suggested, this might be a starting point and then perhaps sell off the original bits as you find your 'replica' parts.
**Warning** I'm a year and a half ahead of you getting back into BMX. I was only going to do one. Now I have a couple of Curtis's, a JMC and Torker and a wife growing slightly intolerant to bike parts being hidden all over the house. It becomes a habit. Enjoy the ride... :daumenhoch:
Good luck with the build. :)
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What those two said ^^^^^ . I would get hold of an 80's DB frame first and then re create the original....Skyway platform n all! :daumenhoch:
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Thanks for all the help guys!
Obviously I'd like a DB SS but funds are tight so I thought I'd just do a bit at a time as and when the funds allow.... But you're right, starting with the right base would be a better idea so will keep looking :daumenhoch:
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I think it's better to start with the right frame, then build around it. The parts are going to add up moneywise, so maybe look for a frame & forks first and get that chunk of money spent, then add bits each month or whenever funds allow..
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A silverstreak frame & forks has just sold via facebook with an asking price of £170. Looked like a nice one too. Gives you an idea of what you're looking at paying... :daumenhoch:
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Balls.....I don't do Facebook!
However, have been in touch with Mr Voris Dixon, and he is personally making me a new set of Monkey Bars for circa £219 shipped, dependant on exchange rates of course!
Also, I've been mulling it over and I've decided to find a Silver Streak and do it properly!
So far have purchased the VDC's and the Skyway Freestyle Platform.....next is the actual bike!
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Oh, and I managed to find an original Uni seat too :daumenhoch:
(http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09/03/379e668d362c478a93f1d0e0f1f33d38.jpg)
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Great work so far :4_17_5:. Are the monkey bars chromed or is that the price for a raw metal set? Great price if that includes chroming too :daumenhoch:
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Yea that includes chroming! Sweeet ;)
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Good work! you won't regret it! I ordered a pair of VDC freestyle bars off Voris a year or two ago, was surprised how reasonable they were too...keep us updated, will be interesting to see this take shape as it will be something a bit different to the norm :daumenhoch:
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Thanks deeman, will do. Hopefully the Venom arrives today so I'll start learning how to disassemble and reassemble on that first! :daumenhoch:
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What do we think of the Diamond Back Medium Pro as a suitable alternative to the Silver Streak?
Was it as good/worse/better?
Are they pretty hard to get hold of too?
Cheers :daumenhoch:
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not a bad price :-)
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Diamond-back-viper-old-school-bmx-/161818894297?hash=item25ad285fd9
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Love a Pro, not sure if they're nicer than the SS but i love my Pro long :smitten:
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not a bad price :-)
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Diamond-back-viper-old-school-bmx-/161818894297?hash=item25ad285fd9
That was my first bmx. The Viper was Mild Steel though not 4130. Silver Streak was 4130 front end and Mild Steel rear triangle and came with better quality parts (you could feel the weight difference when you lifted them) I believe the Pro was full 4130 (although I never saw one back then). Not sure on sizes but the Viper may have had a shorter top tube too.
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What do we think of the Diamond Back Medium Pro as a suitable alternative to the Silver Streak?
Was it as good/worse/better?
Are they pretty hard to get hold of too?
Cheers :daumenhoch:
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Depends if you're planning on riding it or just looking at it and how much you've grown since you were a kid I suppose.
I'm not much taller than when I first had a BMX, so when I managed to find a bike like my original one I didn't suffer the crushing disappointment of not being able to enjoy pedalling the thing properly.
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I have a Viper as well and it is sooooooooooo much smaller than the Pro or a SS.
You'll be hard pushed to ride a Viper
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Was there a Pro Long, Medium and short? Can only find specs on a Pro?? I'm probably a touch taller than I was BITD. The Venom I've just got is small but rideable, so would prefer larger rather than smaller?
Cheers for all the replies so far guys :)
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Ok, I've established that there WAS a large, medium and small!
Does anyone know the dimensions of the medium please?
Top tube, wheelbase, etc?
As this was ALL chro-mo and the SS was chro-mo and steel, surely the Pro was better right?
Does anyone have a pro medium and a SS they could compare for me please?
Thanks :daumenhoch:
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Not sure if this site is still up and running but might be worth a look. :daumenhoch:
http://www.os-db.net/content.php
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Thanks mate, still waiting to be authenticated on that site, have messaged Sparky but no luck yet :'(
Is he on here?
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Think he was... dunno if he still is. :-\
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Ok guys, after a few days furiously shopping, here's my full shopping list with purchased stuff, and kit still to purchase.
Please let me know if there:
A) is anything I've missed off the list??
B) is any parts you guys can help me out with!!
Am waiting for oldscool to get back to me on selling some Silver Streak F&F's....
Silver Streak or Pro frame & forks
Skyway mags white PURCHASED
Kool Kaps PURCHASED
Skyway white brake pads PURCHASED
White walls and tubes PURCHASED
Skyway freestyle platform PURCHASED
Uni Seat white PURCHASED
VDC Monkey Bars PURCHASED
Haro Thunderbolt front brake cables
Find green cables instead and add reflective tape PURCHASED REFLECTIVE TAPE
Green front cable Clarks Powerglide PURCHASED
Green rear cable
Freewheel PURCHASED ON MAGS
Sugino chainring bolts PURCHASED
Dia compe MX890 calipers and levers, front and rear
Shimano flat DX or SX pedals or DB SR
Or Suntour Bear Traps?
Crank Sugino Chro Mo 3 piece alloy 170mm
Sprocket and Spider Sugino 44T
Diamond back SR stem
SR alloy seat post clamp
Chain Izumi 1/2x1/8" black and chrome
Thanks guys, look forward to hearing from you....
:daumenhoch:
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Thanks mate, still waiting to be authenticated on that site, have messaged Sparky but no luck yet :'(
Is he on here?
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I don't own that site anymore but here goes.
The Medium Pro and Silver Streak share the same geometry as each other (as does the large gusset Viper).
The Medium is part of the Pro range (Mini, Medium and Senior) released early 1981 and all were full Cr-Mo - it was developed for race
The Silver Streak was released later on in 1981 and is a mixture of Mild Steel (rear triangle) and Cr-Mo (front triangle) - it was developed as a street/race cheaper alternative to the Medium Pro and aimed towards the non pro/general consumer marketplace.
In Medium was a kit, so you bought it and chose the parts and is far rarer than the Silver Streak but they are a great frame (I've had a few)
As an alternative, why not :daumenhoch:
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Hi Sparky,
Thanks for that, very interesting and exactly what I needed to know!! Tempted to go pro!
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