RADBMX.CO.UK
Old School BMX 1980 - 1988 => Old School Race (riders ready, pedals ready... GO!!) => Topic started by: paulgray on March 20, 2009, 02:53 PM
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I just found some more old photos from my Pro racing days so I'm gonna put them here along with some you might have seen before.
Pontins 87
(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/s349/paulb1257/BMX%20racing/Proclassrace.jpg)
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I've posted these before but it might have been on a different forum.
(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/s349/paulb1257/BMX%20racing/Prorace.jpg)
(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/s349/paulb1257/BMX%20racing/proclas2.jpg)
(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/s349/paulb1257/BMX%20racing/proclass1.jpg)
(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/s349/paulb1257/BMX%20racing/proclass10.jpg)
(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/s349/paulb1257/BMX%20racing/proclass11.jpg)
(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/s349/paulb1257/BMX%20racing/proclass4.jpg)
(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/s349/paulb1257/BMX%20racing/proclass6.jpg)
(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/s349/paulb1257/BMX%20racing/proclass7.jpg)
(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/s349/paulb1257/BMX%20racing/proclass8.jpg)
(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/s349/paulb1257/BMX%20racing/proclass9.jpg)
(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/s349/paulb1257/BMX%20racing/proclass3.jpg)
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More to follow ...
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:daumenhoch: Cheers Paul, keep 'em commin, Great stuff!
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Is that tim march behind you in the 5th pic down :-\ :shocked:
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Here's me in a semi getting knocked out of the Brit Champs Derby in 87 :'(.
Darren Stock, Andy Ruffell, Jamie Vince, Rich Thorner, myself.
(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/s349/paulb1257/BMX%20racing/ProclassDerby.jpg)
Forgotten how slow my old scanner is, takes forever.
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Is that tim march behind you in the 5th pic down :-\ :shocked:
Yes that's Tim with the red lid and the 1 plate. what you mean :shocked:, hmph :yahoo_silent:
:laugh:
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Nice one m8, shame to think that bmx was dying at this point :'(
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Nice one m8, shame to think that bmx was dying at this point :'(
Yea it was all down hill from there in terms of numbers, though the racing itself was still as competitive as ever. I wanted to race Pro like in America with Tim & Andy etc since I was 15, at least I got to do that, didn't mean as much to me once the Pro class ended :(
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The first corner's not a good place to have a party lads :uglystupid2:, Flemdog and schoffy, who said Pro's can't dance :laugh:
(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/s349/paulb1257/BMX%20racing/Prodancers.jpg)
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Ahh great stuff :)
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More!
I'm sure i have a few around, may have seen them elsewhere but will stick some in this thread.
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Quality Pics Paul ! Jason
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Derby National 88...
(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/b2/beanokurtz/scan0019.jpg)
L to R Jamie Vince, Geth Shooter, Me, Paul Gray, Rich Thorner, Sid Salisbury
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(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/b2/beanokurtz/scan0008-1.jpg)
Chesterfield National 88
LtoR - Flash Gordon Stanley, Allan Pointing, Jay Parker, Tony Flemdog Fleming, Me, Ian Dixon behind, Simon Carter super-starter holeshot!
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Pros on tour to Scottish National at Fort William 88...
(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/b2/beanokurtz/scan0007-1.jpg)
Back rows L to R - Whoppas dad - Me - Rich Ball - Flemdog - Denise Sladen (PRA lady) - Jay Parker - ? - Doug Sladen (Pro Starter man) - Lee Alexander - ? - Lisa Wright - Whoppa Watkins - Tony Holland - Damon Parkinson - ?
Front row - Andy Richardson - Trev Stamford - Ian Dixon - 'Flash' Gordon - Dylan Clayton
It was a mad weekend that one.
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Stiff sequence...Hudu, Sid Salisbury and Andy Richardson missing out in the semis - Tamworth National 88.
:LolLolLolLol:
(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/b2/beanokurtz/scan0005-1.jpg)
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More anon...bedtime for old pros. Preston track in the morning innit. .... :daumenhoch:
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I met Sid at Kellogs...couldn't meet a nicer lad,gave me his zoom plate had to get it signed by Haro and leary while I was there and he used to send me decals and donuts and stuff,think he was based slough if I remember...Top Man was Sid :4_17_5:
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Derby National 88...
(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/b2/beanokurtz/scan0019.jpg)
L to R Jamie Vince, Geth Shooter, Me, Paul Gray, Rich Thorner, Sid Salisbury
Looking at these pics makes me sad :'( :'( How could BMX die so fast, great days and such good times where had. Look at the track it looks mint, probs now overgrown and never used :'( :'( :) :)
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Quality Pics Paul ! Jason
Cheers Jason, here's another one.
I loved the first straight at Alvaston, getting over this big lump nice and smooth was really important, you hit it flat out and then there was a table into a bombhole, great fun.
(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/s349/paulb1257/BMX%20racing/Alvaston.jpg)
A bit blurry but I can identify ... from right to left <-
Mark 'Whoppa' Watkins
Paul Gray (me)
Geth Shooter
'Flash' Gordon Stanley
Damon Parkinson
Alan Ponting ?
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Keep em coming paul !
:daumenhoch:
Top Drawer :4_17_5:
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Stiff sequence...Hudu, Sid Salisbury and Andy Richardson missing out in the semis - Tamworth National 88.
:LolLolLolLol:
(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/b2/beanokurtz/scan0005-1.jpg)
I hated that jump, it was in totally the wrong place :( Good photos though Phil :4_17_5:
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I think this is also taken at Alvaston :-\, Damon leading from myself and Tony.
(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/s349/paulb1257/BMX%20racing/DamonPaulTony.jpg)
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Who can identify the location of this Pro race held in 1987?
(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/s349/paulb1257/BMX%20racing/Blastoff.jpg)
Damon Parkinson, Phil Charnley, Tony Flemming, Paul Gray, Andy Ruffel, Travis Chipres (USA), Mark Whatkins, Geth Shooter
Dougy Sladen on the starting handle :daumenhoch:
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I met Sid at Kellogs...couldn't meet a nicer lad,gave me his zoom plate had to get it signed by Haro and leary while I was there and he used to send me decals and donuts and stuff,think he was based slough if I remember...Top Man was Sid :4_17_5:
Sid was an essex boy through and through, lived out of Benfleet then moved to woodham ferrers (i nearly bought a house off him in the early 90's) where i grew up, the vinces already lived there, ruffell moved there as well and schofield lived up in the next village - was a surreal place to live with all those people you grew up worshipping being locals....
Sid is still local - think he owns a pizza delivery company and various other bits. Jamie and Craig (still live local) were last seen training at Braintree late last year on new school bikes.... be great to see em back.
note from those pics that most of the pro's were riding semi factory rides as all the money was drying up - cant tell what sid is riding but doesnt look like his usual quad?? most of the kids ended up with his cast offs, he would break em, give em away to us and we would get em welded and eventually break them again....
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Nobody ever mentions Ruffell's Robinson days much do they.
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note from those pics that most of the pro's were riding semi factory rides as all the money was drying up
Hi Crooch,
I think you could probably count the number of UK Pro's who actually made any money from BMX on the fingers of one hand. BITD the prize money (at least when I raced) was generally £1000 which was split (from memory) £500 for a win, £250, £100, £50, £40, £30, £20, £10 so you had to be a regular winner (e.g. Geth) or top three finisher to make any money at racing. Also contrary to some rumours of the time the Pro's where not paid gate money just to turn up so if you didn't make the main you where no different from an amateur rider in terms of the cost of your days racing.
To make money you needed to be good enough to win occasionally but more importantly you needed to be savvy enough to realise that larger bike companies where interested in making a killing, so the thing to do was jump on board and promote their products. Andy Ruffell in particular is a good example of a rider that made money (compared to the rest of us), he was able to ride the BMX wave as he was a natural show man and always presented a clean image and was always in the magazines, he knew how to play the game and get the cash. He was also fortunate to be in the right place at the right time and know the right people, but that's not to take anything away from him, as a rider as he was multi-talented and always a hard man to beat on the track and we all owe him some thanks for the role he played promoting the sport :daumenhoch:. Another route taken by Tim March was to set up your own bike company, a big thanks to Tim also for all he did :daumenhoch: Anyhow Andy and Tim aside, most of us got by on a shoe string and if we where lucky we got a little help from a bike shop or distributor, and we thought that was great. Just racing against the top guys was reward enough for a lot of us, and there was something special about racing in the "Pro class".
Paul
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Nobody ever mentions Ruffell's Robinson days much do they.
He can't have rode for them for long as he was with mongoose in 86 and retired in 87 :-\
Anyone got some pics of him in robinson gear :)
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he must have been on Raleigh longer than a year surely??
and as he says in the interview on this site he got out when he couldnt get paid to ride a bike.... mortgages have got to be paid!!! some people were lucky Craig Schofields Dad ran a successful building firm in Danbury and basically wasa kept lad, i remember sitting in Jeremy Vince's lounge one night when Craig and Jamie came in - i had never seen a pair of thighs the size of Craig's but basically he didnt got to school (think he would have been about 15 at the time) just sat in front of the TV on an exercise bike.... I remember Craig getting a 2.8i capri when he was 17 for winning the worlds. His dad had promised him a porsche if he won but the insurance was a little on the steep size!!!
I agree Paul it was a great place to be at the time and us kids looked up to you pro's as gods but the reality was a lot different....
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he must have been on Raleigh longer than a year surely??
No, he left coz Raleigh wanted to drasticly cut his pay so he went back to Mongoose. This is when raleigh threw in the towel on BMX but i don't know why as they had the two of the best riders and talent in the country with ruff and schofield. If all of the companys stuck with BMX and made new products it would not have died so quickly, :knuppel2:
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nice to see geth on a proper bmx
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he must have been on Raleigh longer than a year surely??
No, he left coz Raleigh wanted to drasticly cut his pay so he went back to Mongoose. This is when raleigh threw in the towel on BMX but i don't know why as they had the two of the best riders and talent in the country with ruff and schofield. If all of the companys stuck with BMX and made new products it would not have died so quickly, :knuppel2:
Hmmm... I think Raleigh milked BMX for all they could get out of it. I don't remember them giving any support to the sport itself, just made a lot of money out of mass production bikes. I don't consider them to have ever been a real BMX bike company like Redline or GT, didn't they go bust in the end, what a shame.
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he must have been on Raleigh longer than a year surely??
No, he left coz Raleigh wanted to drasticly cut his pay so he went back to Mongoose. This is when raleigh threw in the towel on BMX but i don't know why as they had the two of the best riders and talent in the country with ruff and schofield. If all of the companys stuck with BMX and made new products it would not have died so quickly, :knuppel2:
Hmmm... I think Raleigh milked BMX for all they could get out of it. I don't remember them giving any support to the sport itself, just made a lot of money out of mass production bikes. I don't consider them to have ever been a real BMX bike company like Redline or GT, didn't they go bust in the end, what a shame.
Raleigh started to move heavely into mountain bikes and really put BMX to the back of there prioratys and this was apparent with the way they let Ruffell go. Craig was also offered alot less and things that had been promised where taken away so they had made there position clear. I think GT got into a bit of trouble like most BMX firms back then but they where one of the lucky ones and got bought out by a bigger company. The thing was non of these companys that took the BMX firms over never really had any idea how to take BMX forward so it was a long slow death.
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Who can identify the location of this Pro race held in 1987?
(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/s349/paulb1257/BMX%20racing/Blastoff.jpg)
Damon Parkinson, Phil Charnley, Tony Flemming, Paul Gray, Andy Ruffel, Travis Chipres (USA), Mark Whatkins, Geth Shooter
Dougy Sladen on the startung handle :daumenhoch:
Thats one of the Pro mains from the Barlow Classic, Sponsored by British Coal as it was back then.
Think Geth won that day, I seem to remember Travis Chipres getting his Factory Mongoose kit a bit dirty that day, got sent over a few berms :angel:
Keep 'em coming Paul! I have very few pics of Pro Racing.
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Who can identify the location of this Pro race held in 1987?
(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/s349/paulb1257/BMX%20racing/Blastoff.jpg)
Damon Parkinson, Phil Charnley, Tony Flemming, Paul Gray, Andy Ruffel, Travis Chipres (USA), Mark Whatkins, Geth Shooter
Dougy Sladen on the startung handle :daumenhoch:
Thats one of the Pro mains from the Barlow Classic, Sponsored by British Coal as it was back then.
Think Geth won that day, I seem to remember Travis Chipres getting his Factory Mongoose kit a bit dirty that day, got sent over a few berms :angel:
Keep 'em coming Paul! I have very few pics of Pro Racing.
Only got a couple more to come :(
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he must have been on Raleigh longer than a year surely??
No, he left coz Raleigh wanted to drasticly cut his pay so he went back to Mongoose. This is when raleigh threw in the towel on BMX but i don't know why as they had the two of the best riders and talent in the country with ruff and schofield. If all of the companys stuck with BMX and made new products it would not have died so quickly, :knuppel2:
Hmmm... I think Raleigh milked BMX for all they could get out of it. I don't remember them giving any support to the sport itself, just made a lot of money out of mass production bikes. I don't consider them to have ever been a real BMX bike company like Redline or GT, didn't they go bust in the end, what a shame.
Raleigh started to move heavely into mountain bikes and really put BMX to the back of there prioratys and this was apparent with the way they let Ruffell go. Craig was also offered alot less and things that had been promised where taken away so they had made there position clear. I think GT got into a bit of trouble like most BMX firms back then but they where one of the lucky ones and got bought out by a bigger company. The thing was non of these companys that took the BMX firms over never really had any idea how to take BMX forward so it was a long slow death.
I don't even like to mention GT and Raleigh in the same sentence to be honest but enough of that. Why did BMX die in the UK? well apart from all of the politics that tore it apart I think that there were other reasons. Firstly mountain bikes came along and they were the new 'in thing' and BMX always had the 'kids bike' image from people who knew little and understood less. MTB was a 26" so it was a "real bike" with gears and the manufacturers forgot BMX and moved on like you said. A much worse problem was that the first generation of BMX riders were growing up and moving away from the sport and their parents went with them. These parents were the people who started the clubs and ran the races for us :4_17_5:, when they left there were to few people to pass the batton to and the clubs and tracks folded in large numbers :10_2_12:.
Recently I went to a regional at Hartlepool, there where something like 20 motos and this was considered a good turn out. It was a fun day and well run by the NE BMX club (round of applause) but BITD you would have had more motos at a club meeting. Still it's good to see that the sport is still alive all be it in a slightly different way and lets hope it goes from strength to strength.
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A very interesting thread, nice one :daumenhoch:
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loving it, nice to fill in some of the unknowns, as i gave up on my 16th birthday in '86 when i bought my first motorbike, and decided pedalling wasn't nearly as much fun. Really makes me wish we hadn't all dropped out so quick.
But keep 'em coming ... tis great :4_17_5:
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loving it, nice to fill in some of the unknowns, as i gave up on my 16th birthday in '86 when i bought my first motorbike, and decided pedalling wasn't nearly as much fun. Really makes me wish we hadn't all dropped out so quick.
But keep 'em coming ... tis great :4_17_5:
I love motorbikes too, but back on subject here's me trying to steal a place off Travis at the finish line.
(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/s349/paulb1257/BMX%20racing/Finishline.jpg)
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Pontins again, Damon winning from Darren and myself, with Craig and Tony bringing up the rear.
(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/s349/paulb1257/BMX%20racing/Pontinslaststraight.jpg)
That's all Folks! I got no more new photos for you :'(
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OK this is from 89 and no more Pro class :'( so it was called SilverClass racing or something silly like that.
This was my final year of racing :( Me 6 and Jamie 54 out front in a moto.
(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/s349/paulb1257/BMX%20racing/Musselbrough89.jpg)
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Thanks for sharing those with us Paul. Helps fill in little blanks in memory of some and gives others who had left the sport a couple years earlier an insight into how things went after... Awesome. :daumenhoch:
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really cool pics dude :daumenhoch:
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OK this is from 89 and no more Pro class :'( so it was called SilverClass racing or something silly like that.
This was my final year of racing :( Me 6 and Jamie 54 out front in a moto.
(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/s349/paulb1257/BMX%20racing/Musselbrough89.jpg)
Its funny how the end of the 80s saw the end of BMX as we know it :'( :)
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Did any of the old clubs or tracks survive the dark ages (90's). As far as I know up here in the North East BMX racing went extinct (or am I wrong?). How about MK, I know that's still running, was it a survivor or was the track rescued from the weeds and resurected? My knowledge of the 90's is nill.
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MK as a club survived but I think the track is at a different location.
Woodham has been ressurected but we are suffering at the hands of small people with no brians at the council.
I think Ipswich might still be in the same location???
Most of them suffered, Hounslow was torn down a few years back. Theres a thread somewhere of a lot of the sites where weve google earthed them. its sad.
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Great pics Paul. I never raced myself, but I really looked up to alot the riders in your pics. I used to to go down our local track to jump the jumps. Someone dug a lift into the side of the start gate, that was my favorite jump BITD. Thats my roots and I still love the dirt to this day :daumenhoch:
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Great pics Paul. I never raced myself, but I really looked up to alot the riders in your pics. I used to to go down our local track to jump the jumps. Someone dug a lift into the side of the start gate, that was my favorite jump BITD. Thats my roots and I still love the dirt to this day :daumenhoch:
It's never to late to give it a go, the OS racing is a right laugh and there's always a good bit of crack with the lads once they've got their wind back ;D
Have you had a look up at the new SummerHill track in Hartlepool? it's got more jumps than Ayton Quarry :laugh: don't know how they find time to pedal.
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Great pics and history.
I always thought Ruffell and Schofield were on Raleigh for much longer than a year.
I knew that Ruffell rode for Robinson briefly just before he retired, but didn't know Schofield did too.
It's ironic that Raleigh was responsible for helping BMX to grow by sponsoring 2 of the top riders and offering a mass produced affordable bike to the masses. Burners were everywhere! However, I think this contributed to the demise of BMX as well, as Raleigh diverted money away from real BMX companies, and Burners were so crap that people eventually moved on to mountain bikes or gave up riding altogether after they had outgrown or broken their Burner.
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Great pics and history.
I always thought Ruffell and Schofield were on Raleigh for much longer than a year.
I knew that Ruffell rode for Robinson briefly just before he retired, but didn't know Schofield did too.
It's ironic that Raleigh was responsible for helping BMX to grow by sponsoring 2 of the top riders and offering a mass produced affordable bike to the masses. Burners were everywhere! However, I think this contributed to the demise of BMX as well, as Raleigh diverted money away from real BMX companies, and Burners were so crap that people eventually moved on to mountain bikes or gave up riding altogether after they had outgrown or broken their Burner.
Alright Mike,
I remember that Chuck Robinson (the founder of the company) was over in the UK with Travis Chipres round about 88/89. I only met him the once at Chertsey and what a smashing bloke, it was obvious that he loved the sport and he gave us the low down on the latest starting techniques from the US. I don't know if he had anything to do with Andy and Craig getting their rides, maybe they can fill in the details?
:rant:
I mostly agree with your last paragraph but I'm not so sure that Raleigh helped BMX grow. The masses were already well catered for, my mates bought Puch Murray, Huffy, Pro star, Piranha etc and then moved on to real BMX bikes like GT, Redline, Mongoose when we got the chance. Andy Ruffell was a mega star on team mongoose and that partnership was great for the sport. Mongoose made serious bikes and were a real BMX company with an interest in building the sport up. As I remember it BMX was already booming here by the time Raleigh got around to launching the burner. Ruffell went to Raleigh for the money and who can blame him, Raleigh wanted Ruffell to give them credibility which they lacked. Before BMX most parents bought their kid a Raleigh bike like a Chopper or a Grifter so Raleigh had an existing customer base. They knew that parents would go with a familiar brand rather than BMX companies they'd never heard of and having Ruffel on board reinforced their position. Raleigh knew they could sell a mass produced peice of shit (the Burner an insult to BMX) and make a killing for themselves and as far as I can see they did sod all to help the sport. What did they give back? Did they put anything into the sport a grass roots level? How many races were sponsored by Raleigh? Did they promote racing etc. Not to my knowledge, Kellogg's did far more for BMX than Raleigh which says heaps.
In my opinion Raleigh WAS NOT A BMX COMPANY, they were a parasite on the sport and did it no favours. I for one swore never to by a Raleigh bike again and I stand by that to this day.
:rant:
I enjoyed myself there, been wanting to say that for ages ;D
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Paul, I love the passion of your rant :daumenhoch:
Burners definitely did the sport no favours.
Have you started racing again? When you coming to join us in 40+ cruiser?
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Paul, I love the passion of your rant :daumenhoch:
Burners definitely did the sport no favours.
Have you started racing again? When you coming to join us in 40+ cruiser?
Well Mike, it's coming up 20 years since I last raced, I've got an OS bike and now I've found my body armour and I think I've got a few races left in me but I've also got a long running medical condition which prevents me from riding at the moment :10_2_12:. I'm not incapacitated in general but I have to be careful to avoid injuries and that rules out activities like racing, my condition varies in severity over time and it's severe now but if/when things improve then we will see about a come back. My first target will be the OS boys cause I know MADD DOGGY wants my scalp, don't ya Russ :P so I'll give him his chance if I can :2gunsfiring_v1:. I've never raced cruiser so that would be a new challenge. So for now I'll be diggin jumps for the young'uns and building my strength up at the same time.
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Good rant Paul....lol. I agree raleigh were crap and it was so sad to see kids riding em up the quarry and couldnt jump them 6" of the floor because they were so heavy. What really put BMX down was the introduction of mountain bikes and we both went down that route ourselves (though you carried on racing longer). Raleigh tried to do the same thing with mountain bikes and its companys like that that do cycling no good at all.
To add to the rant one thing that p*sses me off is the Halfords advert where they sell crap bikes but get around it by saying all the bikes and put together expertly by experts to cover how crap and faulty the bikes they sell are.
They new then and still know now that its the parents (who dont have a clue) they sell to because come xmas morning the kids dont have a say in what santa brings them and Raleigh and now people like Halfords know who they advertise to.... not the kids but the parents.
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Good rant Paul....lol. I agree raleigh were crap and it was so sad to see kids riding em up the quarry and couldnt jump them 6" of the floor because they were so heavy. What really put BMX down was the introduction of mountain bikes and we both went down that route ourselves (though you carried on racing longer). Raleigh tried to do the same thing with mountain bikes and its companys like that that do cycling no good at all.
To add to the rant one thing that p*sses me off is the Halfords advert where they sell crap bikes but get around it by saying all the bikes and put together expertly by experts to cover how crap and faulty the bikes they sell are.
They new then and still know now that its the parents (who dont have a clue) they sell to because come xmas morning the kids dont have a say in what santa brings them and Raleigh and now people like Halfords know who they advertise to.... not the kids but the parents.
Yes, I'd like to see some decent morals and honest at play here, "Our bikes are crap, but their cheap" is along the lines I'm thinking. If I'd got a Raleigh Bummer for XMas :'( I think I'd have become an alcoholic hic :buck2:
This discussion has digressed and needs to get back onto PRO CLASS RACING dudes. :)
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Great pics and history.
I always thought Ruffell and Schofield were on Raleigh for much longer than a year.
I knew that Ruffell rode for Robinson briefly just before he retired, but didn't know Schofield did too.
It's ironic that Raleigh was responsible for helping BMX to grow by sponsoring 2 of the top riders and offering a mass produced affordable bike to the masses. Burners were everywhere! However, I think this contributed to the demise of BMX as well, as Raleigh diverted money away from real BMX companies, and Burners were so crap that people eventually moved on to mountain bikes or gave up riding altogether after they had outgrown or broken their Burner.
Alright Mike,
I remember that Chuck Robinson (the founder of the company) was over in the UK with Travis Chipres round about 88/89. I only met him the once at Chertsey and what a smashing bloke, it was obvious that he loved the sport and he gave us the low down on the latest starting techniques from the US. I don't know if he had anything to do with Andy and Craig getting their rides, maybe they can fill in the details?
:rant:
I mostly agree with your last paragraph but I'm not so sure that Raleigh helped BMX grow. The masses were already well catered for, my mates bought Puch Murray, Huffy, Pro star, Piranha etc and then moved on to real BMX bikes like GT, Redline, Mongoose when we got the chance. Andy Ruffell was a mega star on team mongoose and that partnership was great for the sport. Mongoose made serious bikes and were a real BMX company with an interest in building the sport up. As I remember it BMX was already booming here by the time Raleigh got around to launching the burner. Ruffell went to Raleigh for the money and who can blame him, Raleigh wanted Ruffell to give them credibility which they lacked. Before BMX most parents bought their kid a Raleigh bike like a Chopper or a Grifter so Raleigh had an existing customer base. They knew that parents would go with a familiar brand rather than BMX companies they'd never heard of and having Ruffel on board reinforced their position. Raleigh knew they could sell a mass produced peice of shit (the Burner an insult to BMX) and make a killing for themselves and as far as I can see they did sod all to help the sport. What did they give back? Did they put anything into the sport a grass roots level? How many races were sponsored by Raleigh? Did they promote racing etc. Not to my knowledge, Kellogg's did far more for BMX than Raleigh which says heaps.
In my opinion Raleigh WAS NOT A BMX COMPANY, they were a parasite on the sport and did it no favours. I for one swore never to by a Raleigh bike again and I stand by that to this day.
:rant:
I enjoyed myself there, been wanting to say that for ages ;D
It is ironic that both GT & Mongoose are now seen as just as bad as Raleigh for selling out and making naff products ;D
Same with Haro too.
OS GTs were nice, but don't forget Hutch and Skyways etc were nice bikes too.
The rebirth of BMX from S&M and Standard in the early 90s was born out of all the naff products being made and just a get up and build jumps and ride for the hell of it type of attitude, I guess you could add hoffman too. Racing is in the Olympics now too, so some money must be going back into it?. America has always had BMX racing too I think?
Think Dan used to ride a Burner up the quary & loved it ;D or so he told me, but you never can tell if Dans actually just saying stuff for a laugh, haha. Dan could ride the quary smooth like - Mike and Ste used to look up to his style alot in the early 90s.
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Great pics and history.
I always thought Ruffell and Schofield were on Raleigh for much longer than a year.
I knew that Ruffell rode for Robinson briefly just before he retired, but didn't know Schofield did too.
It's ironic that Raleigh was responsible for helping BMX to grow by sponsoring 2 of the top riders and offering a mass produced affordable bike to the masses. Burners were everywhere! However, I think this contributed to the demise of BMX as well, as Raleigh diverted money away from real BMX companies, and Burners were so crap that people eventually moved on to mountain bikes or gave up riding altogether after they had outgrown or broken their Burner.
Alright Mike,
I remember that Chuck Robinson (the founder of the company) was over in the UK with Travis Chipres round about 88/89. I only met him the once at Chertsey and what a smashing bloke, it was obvious that he loved the sport and he gave us the low down on the latest starting techniques from the US. I don't know if he had anything to do with Andy and Craig getting their rides, maybe they can fill in the details?
:rant:
I mostly agree with your last paragraph but I'm not so sure that Raleigh helped BMX grow. The masses were already well catered for, my mates bought Puch Murray, Huffy, Pro star, Piranha etc and then moved on to real BMX bikes like GT, Redline, Mongoose when we got the chance. Andy Ruffell was a mega star on team mongoose and that partnership was great for the sport. Mongoose made serious bikes and were a real BMX company with an interest in building the sport up. As I remember it BMX was already booming here by the time Raleigh got around to launching the burner. Ruffell went to Raleigh for the money and who can blame him, Raleigh wanted Ruffell to give them credibility which they lacked. Before BMX most parents bought their kid a Raleigh bike like a Chopper or a Grifter so Raleigh had an existing customer base. They knew that parents would go with a familiar brand rather than BMX companies they'd never heard of and having Ruffel on board reinforced their position. Raleigh knew they could sell a mass produced peice of shit (the Burner an insult to BMX) and make a killing for themselves and as far as I can see they did sod all to help the sport. What did they give back? Did they put anything into the sport a grass roots level? How many races were sponsored by Raleigh? Did they promote racing etc. Not to my knowledge, Kellogg's did far more for BMX than Raleigh which says heaps.
In my opinion Raleigh WAS NOT A BMX COMPANY, they were a parasite on the sport and did it no favours. I for one swore never to by a Raleigh bike again and I stand by that to this day.
:rant:
I enjoyed myself there, been wanting to say that for ages ;D
It is ironic that both GT & Mongoose are now seen as just as bad as Raleigh for selling out and making naff products ;D
Same with Haro too.
OS GTs were nice, but don't forget Hutch and Skyways etc were nice bikes too.
The rebirth of BMX from S&M and Standard in the early 90s was born out of all the naff products being made and just a get up and build jumps and ride for the hell of it type of attitude, I guess you could add hoffman too. Racing is in the Olympics now too, so some money must be going back into it?. America has always had BMX racing too I think?
Think Dan used to ride a Burner up the quary & loved it ;D or so he told me, but you never can tell if Dans actually just saying stuff for a laugh, haha. Dan could ride the quary smooth like - Mike and Ste used to look up to his style alot in the early 90s.
Hell my bike knowledge is in a time warp! I aint got a clue what happened in th 90s. GT were always a quality bike BITD, are they really seen as rubbish now :shocked: I remember Kenda tires used to be rubbish (e.g. Kenda Karate) but I think they are well respected now and used by top riders, how things have changed.
Hutch riders were nearly always fanatical about the brand as I remember, I always thought skyway was more freestyle than race.
Dan on a Raleigh bummer, he's gotta be pullin yor leg :2funny:
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I agree with comments about Raleigh for the most part guys, but I believe Raleigh DID do BMX a great favour.. BMX certainly was NOT "Booming" when Raleigh got involved early 1982... they had already a successful US team with Jeff Bottema and Toby Henderson
/>at the turn of the decade, so they were by no means jumping on the bandwagon.... they were/are a massive corporate so any decisions were obviously financial (not for the love of it)....
Yes,BMX was chugging along nicely in the UK thanks to the likes of Halfords and Ammaco but it wasnt until Raleigh (and their brightly coloured) Factory Team and National Ad campaign came along that BMX really exploded....thousands upon thousands of kids had burners of every description on the streets and at the tracks.... when they realised for the most part the bikes were not up to it, they upgraded to their Mongoose', Diamond Back, Kuwaharas etc then the more "in crowd" grabbed the exotica like JMC, GT etc....
Guys I saw all this unfold first hand throughout the years 81-86 when i "retired" from working in a Raleigh Main Dealer bike shop weekends and holidays as their resident BMX "Specialist"... it wasnt a local thing either, this was happening Nationally.
Raleigh (as a business) of course were in it for the money....but no-one can say they didnt do the sport any favours along the way. They gave BMX massive exposure through their national advertising.... since when did you see JMC, HUTCH, GT...advertising BMX products in the SUN or MIRROR newspapers back then? Raleigh BMX's were in there every week dragging people into the sport...who eventually would trade up to those "proper" BMX's they would otherwise probably never heard about....and with the average Burner lasting around 50 Bunny Hops before it cracked ..wasn't long! ;D ...and I know from all the irate parents and warranty claims!
Anyway, just thought I'd chip in...loved the original topic here guys.Awesome read. :daumenhoch:
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I agree with comments about Raleigh for the most part guys, but I believe Raleigh DID do BMX a great favour.. BMX certainly was NOT "Booming" when Raleigh got involved early 1982... they had already a successful US team with Jeff Bottema and Toby Henderson
/>at the turn of the decade, so they were by no means jumping on the bandwagon.... they were/are a massive corporate so any decisions were obviously financial (not for the love of it)....
Yes,BMX was chugging along nicely in the UK thanks to the likes of Halfords and Ammaco but it wasnt until Raleigh (and their brightly coloured) Factory Team and National Ad campaign came along that BMX really exploded....thousands upon thousands of kids had burners of every description on the streets and at the tracks.... when they realised for the most part the bikes were not up to it, they upgraded to their Mongoose', Diamond Back, Kuwaharas etc then the more "in crowd" grabbed the exotica like JMC, GT etc....
Guys I saw all this unfold first hand throughout the years 81-86 when i "retired" from working in a Raleigh Main Dealer bike shop weekends and holidays as their resident BMX "Specialist"... it wasnt a local thing either, this was happening Nationally.
Raleigh (as a business) of course were in it for the money....but no-one can say they didnt do the sport any favours along the way. They gave BMX massive exposure through their national advertising.... since when did you see JMC, HUTCH, GT...advertising BMX products in the SUN or MIRROR newspapers back then? Raleigh BMX's were in there every week dragging people into the sport...who eventually would trade up to those "proper" BMX's they would otherwise probably never heard about....and with the average Burner lasting around 50 Bunny Hops before it cracked ..wasn't long! ;D ...and I know from all the irate parents and warranty claims!
Anyway, just thought I'd chip in...loved the original topic here guys.Awesome read. :daumenhoch:
Oh oh! I think this topic has derailed but lets go with the flow ...
Hi Brandy,
As it must be apparent to all that I am a Burnerphobe :P, I'm gonna come out fighting, try and duck underneath you and stuff your argument over the top of the next berm :2gunsfiring_v1: with an elbow in the guts for good measure >:D nothing personal old chap, just like the good old days :smitten:.
My involvement with BMX covered the period 82 through 93, with me racing from 82 to 89, so I also remember the period well. I was riding offroad from around 79 and saw BMX arrive here, I got my first BMX in 82 at age 14, a Huffy (cheap but decent geometry for BITD) and there were already loads of BMXs about at that time before the Burner was bodged together. None of the guys at the start had Raleighs because they were still selling Grifters, if a Raleigh BMX had been available then I dare say me and most of my friends would have had one. I started racing at Guisborough in 82 and numbers were climbing each week so my recollection is that BMX was already mushrooming when I got involved. Maybe your idea of booming is based on bike sales (Raleigh bike sales?) where as mine is based on the racing side of things. Having millions of kids owning BMXalike bikes is a sales triumph and if thats how you are measuring it then I understand your argument. To me BMX was dirt riding, jumping and racing, not riding a Burner up and down the street outside your house. BMX companies like Redline were pushing the limits with inovative new products like 'flight cranks'. I don't remember Raleigh doing anything innovative, if fact I can't think of a single good thing to say about the burner on the design front. If the Burner had been even loosely based on the bikes that the Raleigh team riders raced that would have been OK in my eyes, but what did a burner have in common with the bike Ruffell rode other than the name? Absolutely nothing is the answer, and to try and associate the Burner with the race teams success was just down right dishonest marketing bullshit. I find it repugnant that a large company makes a huge profit by selling a poor product as a race winner to a trusting but ignorant public and by exploiting the dreams of kids. Raleigh as a company could have should have done so much better. If I'd been a resident BMX specialist in a Raleigh main dealers would have been sacked on day one coz I'd have cut my tongue out before I'd have advised people to buy Burners when they could have got a much better bike for their money. Oh! did I mention my pathological hatred of sales men and large corporations :tickedoff:, well there you go ::)
Finally fellow BMXers, just remember, when you say you rode/ride a BMX most people will picture YOU on an E.T. Burner, surely that alone is reason enough to hate Raleigh with a passion >:(
Next berm approaching, elbows out ... :laugh:
P.S.
My knowledge of Raleighs activities in the USA is very limited but I would imagine that it is an independent entity. Was the burner as sold in the UK sold in the states?
Anyone want to talk about Pro Class Racing? ???
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(sorry for stringing out the off topic..just contributing..)
Back on track....
Regards Travis Chipres, i saw him in 84 in the U.S. tearing everyone up.... how long did he race over here for/how did that come about/did any other U.S. notables visit after most of us left after the "Glory Years" 82-86...??
So many Questions..... ;D
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(sorry for stringing out the off topic..just contributing..)
Back on track....
Regards Travis Chipres, i saw him in 84 in the U.S. tearing everyone up.... how long did he race over here for/how did that come about/did any other U.S. notables visit after most of us left after the "Glory Years" 82-86...??
So many Questions..... ;D
(and I'll try not to have anymore Burnerphobic outbursts, promise)
I turned Pro partway through the 87 season as I wanted my first Pro race to be at my home track Redcar. I couldn't use my Superclass ranking number so I chose to run #19 for that year as I was 19 years old and it was a free number. The photos therefore show that Travis was here in 87, and as I said before, I think he came over with Chuck Robinson and might have lodged with Andy or Craig for a while (not 100% on that by any means). I guess all the UK riders wanted to test themselves against a US Pro as they set the bench mark that we all aspired to. I only remember racing him a few times so I don't think he was here for long and I don't remember racing against any other oversees Pros.
Looking back I should have turned Pro a year earlier. Staying Superclass for a second year was a mistake. Up to that point I'd always been aiming at beating guys who where older or more established than me and I think that's what really drove me, being the underdog. When I stayed Superclass for a second year the tables turned, I lost my big targets, and wasn't the underdog, I found myself fighting a rearguard action against the blazing fast youngsters like Tom Lynch and Darren Stock. If I'd have gone Pro a year earlier I would have got to race against some of the biggest UK and US names, and I missed out on that, damn :(. I gotta say that fighting to get towards the top is difficult but staying up there is even harder. You've really got to admire people who can stay on the top rung for any length of time, when everyone is gunning for them.
Just to help date the other photos I was riding #7 in 88 and then #6 in 89, though the Pro Class was dead.
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Paul, i can remember something i read BITD that if you turned Pro in BMX, that it meant that you would also have to be a professional in any other sport that you may wish to take up later in life. Can't remember which mag it was in? Say if you now took up veterans track & field, how the hell would anyone in that organisation know that you were once a Pro BMX rider? Can you shed any light on this please?
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Paul, i can remember something i read BITD that if you turned Pro in BMX, that it meant that you would also have to be a professional in any other sport that you may wish to take up later in life. Can't remember which mag it was in? Say if you now took up veterans track & field, how the hell would anyone in that organisation know that you were once a Pro BMX rider? Can you shed any light on this please?
XP, I'm not sure how much truth there was in the rumour but I heard that some people who I would have liked to have seen turn Pro didn't because of that reason. Back then it seems a lot of sports were run on a strictly amateur basis like Rugby Union and would ban athletes who played for money. Maybe this was the case with some of the non-BMX cycling organisations, and it could be that some BMX racers had ambitions outside of BMX so didn't want to be associated with the word professional. Speaking for myself, from 15 it was my ambition to race in the Pro class and to see how well I could do against Andy Ruffell and Tim March. I has no desire to play Tennis or Football or Rugby Union so it didn't bother me in the slightest if I was banned from those sports. BITD there was a lot of bad blood between UKBMX and NBMXA or so it seemed to me. In order for the Pros to be impartial and have control of their own affairs they needed there own association the PRA. What always made me laugh was that Superclass raced for money but just didn't call themselves Pro. What was the difference? they still raced for money! I just considered Superclass as a junior Pro class but without it's own independence.
I did a few amateur mountain bike races after I quit BMX without any problems at all.
What's the score now, don't the top riders call themselves Elite or something? Do they race for money? Is Elite just another word for Pro? To me the best should race Pro Class.
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OK this is from 89 and no more Pro class :'( so it was called SilverClass racing or something silly like that.
This was my final year of racing :( Me 6 and Jamie 54 out front in a moto.
(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/s349/paulb1257/BMX%20racing/Musselbrough89.jpg)
small snippet of info, no.1S is noel cowan, who i believe was the first rider to be a number one racer and number one in the bfa freestyle rankings for his age, now works for mtv.
no.55 is david wright, who is a member on here also.
another item in the pro/superclass debate was the fact that superclass couldn't win anymore than £125 (i think) and it still kept your amateur status.
i won some money once at pontins in a freestyle contest and had to hand it back in exchange for vouchers.
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OK this is from 89 and no more Pro class :'( so it was called SilverClass racing or something silly like that.
This was my final year of racing :( Me 6 and Jamie 54 out front in a moto.
(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/s349/paulb1257/BMX%20racing/Musselbrough89.jpg)
small snippet of info, no.1S is noel cowan, who i believe was the first rider to be a number one racer and number one in the bfa freestyle rankings for his age, now works for mtv.
no.55 is david wright, who is a member on here also.
another item in the pro/superclass debate was the fact that superclass couldn't win anymore than £125 (i think) and it still kept your amateur status.
i won some money once at pontins in a freestyle contest and had to hand it back in exchange for vouchers.
To be #1 in two different disciplines is a real achievement, well done Mr Cowan.
I remember Ian Jonson putting on a couple of money races with something like a £300 purse with £100 for first. The first one was held at Teeside Airport, come the main I tangled with John Tucker in the first corner and John Knotman got underneath us both and took a good victory in front of Me and Tuck.
(http://www.radbmx.co.uk/archive/albums/s349/paulb1257/BMX%20racing/Teeside.jpg)
I'm sure that none of the riders involved where even Superclass at the time but so what? In my opinion if you want to race and someone wants to offer a prize fund then that's up to the individuals concerned and its no body else's business. I don't know how things are now but BITD it would have been better if the PRO class had been open to anyone that wanted to enter, if you wanted to race 16 and Pro, then fine, or 17+ and Pro then fine, simply put, if you wanted a shot at the money and the glory then fine, whats he problem? Who are these people that make up stupid rules like you can only win up to £125 or be blacklisted as if you're some kind of criminal. I'd like to say to those people "go SHOVE IT" and stop interfering with peoples freedoms.