RADBMX.CO.UK
Mid School BMX (>87) 1989 to 2003 (<05) => Mid School ( Keep the faith ) => Topic started by: Chilli Rinse on July 16, 2021, 01:02 AM
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So chaps, I don't know what I've bought but it's a gamble. It's coming from Switzerland, unless the seller cancels on me. I bought it for the wheels mainly but it looks interesting. Apparently early Sjappi frames were welded in the Netherlands and later ones in the States. It's been sold to me as a 96 but that's all I know. The chainring guard looks kinda cool. The wheels are Peregrine HP48s on Suzue hubs dated 0K, I think that's Nov 1990 ??? Probably wrong though. The logos are screen printed, I think they might be an Anlun rim, not a Ukai. All info found on the museum, and only one bike, so not much to go on. Do any of you mid schoolers know anything else about the Sjappi frame or the wheels ?
Sjappi apparently means juicy in Dutch.
Cheers :daumenhoch:
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The listing stated Hoffman forks, do they look like Condor forks to you guys ? Pretty close to my uneducated eye.
Cheers
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I've managed to find 2 pics on Instagram in addition to the other pics and info on the museum. There's a thread on the museum about obscure mid school bikes and brands, the Sjappi was mentioned and somebody said the later US built frames were done by Fabweld. That's all I have.
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I have just had a reply from the seller. He is shipping from Switzerland. He told me all he knows is that the bloke he got it from won it in a BMX magazine competition, it was a test bike, and it is a Dutch frame.
Also, the Fatjam 95 pic, is that Stuart King?
Here's a few more pics from the listing.
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A few more pics
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I've managed to find 2 pics on Instagram in addition to the other pics and info on the museum. There's a thread on the museum about obscure mid school bikes and brands, the Sjappi was mentioned and somebody said the later US built frames were done by Fabweld. That's all I have.
I now think the first pic was taken at Sjappi Trails venue where Fatjam took place. So the bike probably isn't a Sjappi.
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So I read the thread on the museum again and I had missed something quite important. Bart de Jong was mentioned and was reported to have been riding a Sjappi at an event or competition in Europe. This could well have been a Sjappi/Fatjam at MAARSSENBROEK. So I searched Bart de Jong and found his FATBMX.COM which contains his earlier Fat zine publications. On reading, this guy has done a load of great stuff through his career. Pro competition rider, working for GT and judging at the Xgames to name just a few.
I got brave and emailed his FATBMX contact address and got a reply about 20 minutes later. I wasn't banking on that, what a gent. He confirmed that he was sponsored by Sjappi Bikes for a while, and the company was created by Sander Nieuwenhuis and Jeroen Hoogaerts (RIP). The company was short lived, it lasted a few years. Sjappi was a cult Dutch BMX brand. Bart also still owns his bike from Bitd, cool. I might ask him for the spec list on it. That would be a cool build to recreate.
That's probably as much as I'm going to find out. Bart said there are some adverts in the Fat zines so I'll go through them when I get a chance and see what I find.
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I went on FATBMX.COM and had a quick flick through some of the mid 90s zines. There were a few adverts but no pics of the frame. I found an advert for Rabbit BMX, this is the shop that supplied the bike, I noticed the sticker on the frame. I also found a pic of a bike with the same grind disc, it is a KHE.
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Like Midschoolfool, I am very close to receiving my goodies. Hopefully tax free ! I think we now have a fully ratified continuity agreement with Switzerland with regards to imports. Hopefully that means pre brexit trading rules.
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How wrong was I !
I have just paid 70 quid vat and duty. Held to ransom springs to mind. It was like pulling hairs out of my arse :LolLolLolLol:
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Yeah, I don't think customs will be "missing" anything now we are not part of the EU.
Sorry man I will be honest and say I come here, post my logs and then usually get back to what I am doing. I don't read much of the rest of the forum. I should, I just get ants in my pants at the PC and usually get up and go do something.
I'm not sure about the rims. I had the Super Pro, which were chromed. Which tbh? I am glad I don't have any more, as they all went scabby and are nasty now. That said it's irrelevant as mine got stolen in 99.
The fork indeed looks like a 1" Hoffman Superfork. Never heard of the frame, looks very generic. That said with the absolutely ludicrous prices those wheels fetch now it could still have been a bargain.
BTW that bash guard has me intrigued. The writing looks like Haro's font from the 90s, but I don't recall them making one? it has to be Haro surely?!?!?
https://bmxmuseum.com/forsale/208303
Just read back. It's not a KHE fella. It's on a Haro Master. It's 100% fusion :daumenhoch: This is the KHE.
(https://i.imgur.com/NoCF8Or.jpg)
Yeah, it is.
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BTW, your frame is exactly what it says it is. I thought it may have been a TNT, but it's quite different. Drops look like TNT/GT from the 90s but nah, it's a Sjappi !
https://bmxmuseum.com/bikes/sjappi/97740
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Thanks for your reply, I was getting lonely on this thread :LolLolLolLol: You have been busy on your own builds :daumenhoch: I reckon you are right about the eagle eyes at customs :tickedoff:
The wheels? only just seeing the JAPAN in print on the rim makes me think they must be Ukai. Whether they are stamped, time will tell. Anlun have always been Taiwanese, right ?
The grind disc? still not sure on that to be honest. All the ones I have checked out on Haro Ultra's, Blammo's and Super Blanmo's have the extra five holes in them. Then I found a pic of a KHE which also has the extra five holes. It's exactly the same as the Haro, I wonder if either company made one without the extra holes ?
The forks? thanks for the I?d on the forks, if they are Hoffman, does that make them the early SE made forks with the smaller peg bosses ?
The frame? not being up on mid school at all it was a gamble, it looks different enough and the listing details stated it was crmo. Whether it is or not, who knows ? If it does turn out to be a USA made frame welded at Fabweld, I would be chuffed to be honest. I had never heard of the brand and being a small and short lived, why would I have I guess.
Cost? for the nearly complete bike I paid 170 quid. The shipping from Switzerland was 30 quid, which I thought was cheap. Then the dreaded charges were 70 quid, so all in at 270 quid. I am OK with that, like you said, the wheels are fetching good money and forks could possibly set me back a fair whack at today's prices. We all love a bargain, yes but this was a calculated risk for popping my mid school cherry 🍒. The wheels swung the deal for me to be honest.
:LolLolLolLol: The 5 quid Velo seat is not going to work with the post I bought for this build. I did not pay attention to the oversized rails. School boy error, luckily a cheap one.
How do you think your Dragonfly bars would sit on this build if they came my way ? Honest answer please :chin:
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Just found this on 23mag.com
It looks like Haro nicked KHE's 1990 grind disc design.
http://www.23mag.com/com/khe/khe.htm
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BTW that bash guard has me intrigued. The writing looks like Haro's font from the 90s, but I don't recall them making one? it has to be Haro surely?!?!?
https://bmxmuseum.com/forsale/208303
Just read back. It's not a KHE fella. It's on a Haro Master. It's 100% fusion
Yeah, it is.
Well spotted, I concur fistblump
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Be happy about that dude. Haro parts are worth a bomb these days. KHE? nowhere near as much.
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Yup, I am happy about that. It is nice it has the og decals in place too. Thanks for nailing the ID fistblump
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Just found this on 23mag.com
It looks like Haro nicked KHE's 1990 grind disc design.
http://www.23mag.com/com/khe/khe.htm
Yeah I think that's why the print says "Almost" in brackets :LolLolLolLol: looks like top class thievery from Haro there :LolLolLolLol:
That shouldn't be a decal BTW. That is most probably screen printed like their 8 ball sprockets and golf ball ones etc.
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I think you're right about the ?almost?
Thanks for the info, good to know it's screen printed and not decals :daumenhoch:
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The Sjappi landed today but it sustained serious damage during shipping. You know what happened, yes, a wheel double dented and gouged the paint on the down tube because the frame was unprotected. The wheel was well protected but those spindles always pop through and cause damage, why don't people take them out ? Not sure if I am even going to build this now. Quite a shame as the frame is nice and has thick drop outs. Luckily the wheels are in great shape and spin true. A bit of a silver lining I guess.
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Oh yeah, the grind disc has decals on, that was a surprise.
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That is a surprise ! Sucks about the dents :( I had the same crap with the Huffy I bought. Didn't secure the wheels and they destroyed what was otherwise a pristine frame. That said I did get a partial refund, and TBH I doubt I would have ever rebuilt that Huffy.
BTW going back to dents. Guess what I found on my Morales? :LolLolLolLol: body filler. thankfully it's a tiny tiny bit and there is one tiny dent on the entire frame. Easily repaired with JB. Had he sanded said body filler I would have had no idea it was even there. Good thing is he did a crap job of it and thus I scraped it all out. He didn't even sand the frame before spray bombing it. I think it's some sort of enamel because it reeks of crayons :LolLolLolLol:
TBH finding a mid school frame is usually pretty easy, unless it's something super rare or exotic.
I watched an alu Fatboy sell on Ebay for 44 quid last night.
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Yeah it sucks but the deal wasn't a total loss. There is a tiny ding on the top tube too, I could have lived with it because there is no paint damage. I've messaged the seller asking about shipping insurance or the possibility of a partial refund, sent him a few pics too. No reply yet. If a frame turns up, you never know. I will just break it down for now and get back to my other builds. The thing that bugs me is the spindles were both hand tight, it would have taken 5 minutes to take them out and bag them up with the bearings. Oh well it isn't the first time it's happened to me !
:LolLolLolLol:
Shame about your Morales, sounds like it isn't that bad and you can sort it though fistblump
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I never remove them personally. I just use those plastic discs (I have loads) or some very strong card zip tied on both ends and then pad foam (like BMX pad foam, insulation). That stops them breaking through the box.
My Mongoose Villain arrived with the drops poking out of the box and one of them bent 90'.
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Just agreed on a partial refund with the seller. I asked for 20% and he agreed. That's a 40 Euro refund, I'm happy with that. I didn't want to be too greedy as the rest of the bundle was a great deal. He was easy to deal with and we we're both happy with the result.
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All parts have now been removed, cleaned and stored for future builds.
Along with the wheels and forks I got the following
Tioga Bear Trap Headset - Stamped
Tioga Bear Trap Bottom Bracket- Stamped but missing the lock washer
Odyssey Gyro + Upper Cables
Dia-Compe AD 990 - Early Japan Stamped
Unbranded Lever
Takagi 175 opc
Haro Grinddisc & Power Disc
Izumi Chain - Dated 3C, 83 93 2003 who knows, I'll look into that
Unbranded Bars with Hoffman Grips - Not checked the bars for markings yet
Unbranded Stem with crmo shaft - Dated 94 Taiwan
Kenda K Rad Tyres and some decent Tubes
Some older parts than I first thought on this bike.
Build now abandoned :whistle:
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Yeah it was very common to find old school parts on mid school bikes. People were giving it away. "Are you that guy who still rides a BMX? I got a couple in my garden you can have".
LOL in 1999 I bought a NOS Street Beat in white with the fork for 35 quid. Then gave it away to my mate's kid. Used to be a bike shop in New Malden. I would pass it on the bus when going to the bike shop in Raynes Park. When I went down to pre order my 97 Quad frame on the bus I saw it in the window, so I phoned when I got home and picked it up on the same day as the Quad. "Wow" he said "I never thought I would get rid of that" :LolLolLolLol:
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:LolLolLolLol: Madness, that doesn't happen anymore.
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Yeah, every one went mental over it lol. You couldn't give it away when mountain bikes came out. Such a fickle bunch us humans.