The Union tapes Episode 24 with ex S&M UK rider James Cox, we go back to the start of his BMX journey coming out of Portsmouth in the mid 90s and the routes he took a long the way.
Name: Sean Stiddard
Hometown: Bristol, England
Started riding BMX in: 1980
Number of bikes in the collection: Now 14, I had 37 at one point. But I scaled back as to leave the bikes that either meant a lot to me (i.e. my original bikes) or ones I just plain loved too much to let go. I remember once a long time ago my wife (who was my girlfriend at the time) asked the dreaded
question “Exactly how many bikes and frames do you have?”, my reply was “You know about the 20 bikes in the loft, well I have 6 frames at work, 2 frames in the back of my car, 4 being chromed, 2 at my parents and 1 in the mail that I purchased yesterday”, I think that is when she realised she had a love rival in the relationship.
Name: Christopher Wesley
Hometown: Ewing, New Jersey, USA
Started riding BMX in: 1978
Number of bikes in the collection: 24
Do you remember the moment that you decided to start collecting BMX memorabilia?
Christopher Wesley: I do remember. In 2015, I was searching the internet and I came across a website for photos of restored BMX bikes. I had no idea that was a thing.
Is the focus on ''Odd' Bikes for you?
Christopher Wesley: Collecting odd bikes has been a focus lately. My focus has been on coaster brake builds from the '70s. I enjoy them because anything goes. I can take a set of cranks from a Schwinn Varsity, a seat and sissy bar from a 1966 Huffy muscle bike, and install them on a 1976 CYC Stormer MX frame. It all fits perfectly. The odd parts that I find happen to be part of the era and I discover them from my searches. I enjoy collecting rare records as well as old stereo equipment and speakers so the oddness factor has carried over to bikes.
Let's show the CPX you have. Maybe someone can identify it?
Name: Mohamad Al-amin Abdullah
Hometown: Perlis, Malaysia
Started riding BMX in: BITD mid 90s, and came back to BMX in about 2016.
Number of bikes in the collection: Since 2016 until 2021 I have owned 150 complete old school BMX bikes ('70s-'90s) and more than 250 frame & fork sets. Last year I started to sell a few things from my collection (already sold around 60-70 BMX). I sold some to other local collectors and just tried to move a few items in order to cover the costs of the container. With the help of some friends in the UK and USA, I have stockpiled some parts and bikes, which I then ship in a container back to Malaysia. It is very common in the old school scene for sellers to refuse international shipping. So, we try to have an
Born in Chatsworth, California, Redline BMX got its start when Linn Kastan created the first tubular Chromoly Redline fork in 1974, with the first production of Squareback frames soon after. Fifty years later the Redline brand continues to be a staple of the BMX world, with a rich legacy of accomplishments from the world’s best riders.
Name: Brad Nash
Hometown: Winchester, England
Started riding BMX in: 1983
Number of bikes in the collection: Currently 6
What was the first collectable bike that started it all for you?
Brad Nash: In early 2000’s I got my hands on an '83 Mongoose Californian and that was it...
Do you have a closer feeling to bikes you did own back in the day or badly wanted when you were racing BMX?
Brad Nash: Badly wanted is more like it. I had a rubbish BMX as a kid. Mum swears it was an American import but I think she meant from Halfords. I never raced BMX. We did have a mud track locally that kids
Skyway TA episode
Name: Donnie Platt
Hometown: Borelando, Florida
Started riding BMX in: 1982
Number of bikes in the collection: 10 completes
Do you remember the moment that you decided to start collecting BMX memorabilia?
Donnie Platt: I’ve always been into old school bikes. I always kept them around even as I got new bikes. I decided I wanted to start racing again in 2005 and decided to fund it by selling off a bunch of my old school parts. That was when I realized that there was a real scene there. I wasn’t the only one that liked that stuff. I sold off a bunch of stuff (including the Boss cruiser I’d had since 1992 which I tried to buy
Name: Byron TGI Friday
Started riding in: 1969
Teams represented: Kawasaki Motor Co, Shimano America, ***Redline Development Linn Kastan (it was not a team - Linn and I work together to develop The ProLine series: V bars, stem, frame, and fork. Flight cranks. While riding the Redline product Mr. Jim Emerson of EFF /Peddlers West provided me with parts, support, and transportation.
What was the first bike you used to ride Bicycle Motocross before you got picked up by Kawasaki?
Pete Augustin vs Craig Grasso / Wallride Contest / 1988 by Snakebite BMX
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.