Tumbleweed Posted May 24, 2016 Posted May 24, 2016 That beauty deserves to be exported for pounds... Just do it! An old schoolmate of mine had two Choppers. He's not even into bikes. He's knows how much he could get for them, but will never part with them. I don't think I would either.
Belgarath Posted May 24, 2016 Posted May 24, 2016 Forgive my ignoramousnous, but what is the red castration lever for? Don't see an extra gear? I grew up on BMX... Paul Ruinaard 1
Tumbleweed Posted May 24, 2016 Posted May 24, 2016 Forgive my ignoramousnous, but what is the red castration lever for? Don't see an extra gear? I grew up on BMX... Sturmey Archer geared hub . Belgarath 1
CAAD4 Posted May 24, 2016 Posted May 24, 2016 Genuine 3 speed gearbox. Made a cool ticking sound when you rode along. Underachiever 1
Paul Ruinaard Posted May 24, 2016 Posted May 24, 2016 Same here! Going down a steep gravel hill on a top heavy thing like that with a front wheel the size of a frisbee.....leads to scars!And those ape hanger bars- I mean wtf? They were like remote control. Designed to act as the bows of a catapult as you went OTB as it pivoted around that tiny front wheel. First time i experienced true understeer on a bicycle. Arrived at a corner way too fast, turned in, the front ploughed and tucked and i was mostly passenger at that stage. The neighbourhood kid whose bike it was was none to plussed as i had just binned his fancy chopper in to my mates garden wall. They were trying to do something like a Harley chopper look or Cruiser look. Anyway it caught on - but man was it a handling disaster. Anyway - it inspired me at all of 10 years old- but we had no money and the old man wasn't springing Sixty Ronts for a pushie for his laaitie.So I made my own - Banana seat was an an upholstered plank and got some ape hanger bars from the bike shop up the road (Deale and Huth in Beyers) and had a back pedal hub on my 16 inch wheels. No gears - Sturmey Archer three speed was moer advance.... Worked a treat and it was my pride and joy for many years... Vaalhaai, Mongoose!, Tumbleweed and 3 others 6
Mongoose! Posted May 24, 2016 Posted May 24, 2016 (edited) So I made my own - Banana seat was an an upholstered plank and got some ape hanger bars from the bike shop up the road (Deale and Huth in Beyers) and had a back pedal hub on my 16 inch wheels. No gears - Sturmey Archer three speed was moer advance.... Worked a treat and it was my pride and joy for many years... any old picture of this? would love to see it! Edited May 24, 2016 by Mongoose! Paul Ruinaard and DJR 2
Paul Ruinaard Posted May 24, 2016 Posted May 24, 2016 any old picture of this? would love to see it!THis was in the 70's mate - prior to digital. I was just thinking about it now - man I wish I had a picture of it. The seat was basically a plank that was covered in some foam and upholstered and supported at the back with two pieces of metal that went down to the hub on the rear chainstay. Some lekker glitter type fabric on the back and a white stripe across the rear - cause you always had GT stripes in the 70's. One of the kids old bullet helped us - he was pretty handy. It was one of those little 16 inch bikes. You could buy the banana seat with the sissy bar at the back as well as the ape hangers. I didn't have the cash for the banana seat. We converted a mates 24 inch bike as well but its didn't work as well because it was too long and high. THen there was the time we were lifting home from Risidale primary school and the banana seat gave way and both of us collided nuts first with the back wheel. But we don't talk about that incident, at least not in anything but high pitched voices.... Tumbleweed, johannrissik, Mongoose! and 2 others 5
Underachiever Posted May 24, 2016 Posted May 24, 2016 what would a good offer be?If you want to sell, add another R2k. Tumbleweed 1
Mongoose! Posted May 24, 2016 Posted May 24, 2016 THis was in the 70's mate - prior to digital. I was just thinking about it now - man I wish I had a picture of it. hahahawas hoping you had an old photo (photo album) and could take a photo of the photo man
Paul Ruinaard Posted May 24, 2016 Posted May 24, 2016 Forgive my ignoramousnous, but what is the red castration lever for? Don't see an extra gear? I grew up on BMX...Isnt it amazing how there is a clear delineation of kids who rode BMX's and who were prior to BMX and made scramblers out of old bikes. I pretzeled many wheels riding around Darrenwood dam and trying to do the jumps that my older brother was riding on his motorbike. THis was like 1976 - just prior to MTB starting and there was no such thing as BMX. They were "scramblers" BMX started to go big in the 80's and at that stage I had parked my bicycles until many years later. Bicycles were uncool and we were on motorbikes. Man I wish I had learned to BMX and get the skills that those kids learned - manuals and jumps etc - that is the real stuff that forms the basis of it all... Warthog, Mousea, Mongoose! and 2 others 5
Tumbleweed Posted May 24, 2016 Posted May 24, 2016 Were Grifters big here in SA? They were starting to be popular when I was little in Northern Ireland, but can't remember seeing them here when I moved here as a kid in the 1970s.
Ed-Zulu Posted May 24, 2016 Posted May 24, 2016 Were Grifters big here in SA? They were starting to be popular when I was little in Northern Ireland, but can't remember seeing them here when I moved here as a kid in the 1970s.Not at all...it was Choppers or Bombers and the Western Flyers which were very popular. Actually the Bomber was a 80's bike Tumbleweed 1
BigDL Posted May 24, 2016 Posted May 24, 2016 Were Grifters big here in SA? They were starting to be popular when I was little in Northern Ireland, but can't remember seeing them here when I moved here as a kid in the 1970s.I remember getting a 5 speed western flyer road bike for Christmas and Taking it up the street where all the kids were showing off their xmas gifts. My mate Barry had got a Grifter for xmas and that was the start of endless debate about which bike was better Mongoose!, Gen and Tumbleweed 3
Belgarath Posted May 24, 2016 Posted May 24, 2016 (edited) Isnt it amazing how there is a clear delineation of kids who rode BMX's and who were prior to BMX and made scramblers out of old bikes. I pretzeled many wheels riding around Darrenwood dam and trying to do the jumps that my older brother was riding on his motorbike. THis was like 1976 - just prior to MTB starting and there was no such thing as BMX. They were "scramblers" BMX started to go big in the 80's and at that stage I had parked my bicycles until many years later. Bicycles were uncool and we were on motorbikes. Man I wish I had learned to BMX and get the skills that those kids learned - manuals and jumps etc - that is the real stuff that forms the basis of it all... The amount of scars I picked up while crashing my red BMX... Grew up on a plot, red sand all over, lots of ramps and ditches. Also lots of veld/other peoples' plots with trails. My brother had a blue one, and we would be cruising the neighborhood (aged 5 and 7, late '80s) We knew pretty much all the streets and kids within a 5km radius. My friend got a blue Bomber for his birthday, I was jealous as hell. Today I won't let my son out without an escort (me), even though there's a nice piece of veld behind the house, and trails running along the river.... oh well, gives me an excuse to go ride as well, and the wife HAS to approve... Anyway, off-topic Reminiscence over. Great find, King! Edited May 24, 2016 by Belgarath Paul Ruinaard 1
Mongoose! Posted May 24, 2016 Posted May 24, 2016 This thread makes me feel old Halfdoesyn and Paul Ruinaard 2
Paul Ruinaard Posted May 24, 2016 Posted May 24, 2016 This thread makes me feel old Ja me as well. I was talking about 1976. That is 40 years ago. Mongoose! and Underachiever 2
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