Re-Up; Preserving BMX History #18: Mike Janssen, owner BMX Museum NL

Dec 27, 2023

Written by Bart de Jong

Read 5179 times

Name: Mike Janssen, owner BMX Museum NL
Hometown: Shanghai, China
Started riding BMX in: 1982
Number of bikes in the collection: 100+, all part of the BMX Museum NL collection which opened the doors on February 8 th 2009.

Do you remember the moment that you decided to start collecting BMX memorabilia?
Mike Janssen: Definitely! I started to look in 2000 for my own 1984 GT Pro Series because I regretted it

was sold in 1986. When I was looking for my GT on Marktplaats (Dutch website for second hand stuff) I found a lot of “left-over” BMX bikes and parts from the eighties which I started to collect. This because I always wanted those bike and parts in the past but couldn’t afford it at that time. And in 2000 old school bikes and parts were not that expensive as nowadays. Bought many bikes for 25-50 euro’s equipped with high end parts. Nowadays almost impossible. Unfortunately I have never found my own GT however I have built exactly the same bike as I had that time. Only frame number is different.

At this moment, do you wish you had started collecting earlier?
Mike Janssen: Of course! I think that any collector would have wished he/she started earlier to collect. Because nowadays it is impossible to collect old school bikes and parts without investing a lot, lot of money. Prices on Ebay etc. are ridiculous. All common sense has gone looks like.

Do you feel there is a need for BMX products to survive for history's sake?
Mike Janssen: Definitely! Not only for history sakes but BMX is also the foundation for a lot of other sports like MTB, motocross, keirin etc.

What's one of your oldest BMX products in your collection?
Mike Janssen: 1979 Batavus with very heavy wheels and drum brakes.

When you started riding what bike was the dream bike for you?
Mike Janssen: GT Pro Series! This because I was a big fan of Greg Hill in that time.

Do you have that bike in your collection today?
Mike Janssen: Yes!

Name three BMX collectors that you respect?
Mike Janssen: So when I name collectors, I mean real collectors. People who collect due of their passion for the old school BMX times;
1) Christophe Detandt “Church” (BEL)
2) Dieter Schadowski RIP (GER)
3) Johan Janssens (BEL)
They all have a very interesting and well maintained collection and you can see and feel how proud they are of it.

Do you have decent mechanical skills?
Mike Janssen: Uhmmmm…. At least enough to maintain my collection in my museum. Luckily I receive a lot of support from friends and from my father who have serious mechanical skills, if I have really challenging projects.

What products are a great help when you find an old rusty historical piece of shit bike that needs to shine again?
Mike Janssen: Can’t answer. Because it was a long time ago that I tried to clean the rust from bikes. Furthermore I prefer to keep the bikes as much as possible in the original condition, as real survivors.

How often do you look on eBay/Craigslist/BMX Museum to shop for old BMX stuff?
Mike Janssen: Almost never! Too expensive, too many “collectors” selling bikes and parts for too sky high prices.

What's the most ridiculous amount you have paid for a bike part that you needed to own?
Mike Janssen: That’s my little secret…. Just kidding, because I started early with collecting bikes, in 2000, the prices for bikes and parts were still reasonable as mentioned before. I think the most expensive bike in my collection is the Skyway Patterson replica which I bought in the USA. Including shipping and taxes it was quiet an expensive bike. But I have never regret it.

Do you have a man-cave where your bikes are displayed?
Mike Janssen: Yes! My collections of bikes, parts, clothes, videos and whatever you can imagine when it comes to Old School BMX is stored in my BMX Museum NL located in the south parts of The Netherlands.

Do you always have room for "one more bike"?
Mike Janssen: Always! We have plenty of space, that’s no problem. Of course I try to maintain and extend my collection on regular base however not for any cost. Or in other words, right now the collection is mainly growing due of gifts from visitors and friends.

What's a bike (part) you have been looking for but haven't been able to locate?
Mike Janssen: CW Racing Phaze 1. The frame with the “Z”. Or a Zeronine 20” in white. I have the Zeronine cruiser however the 20” variant is still missing.

Where can people reach you when they have that part available?
Mike Janssen: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Thanks to?
Mike Janssen: First of all to Mr. BMX, Mr. Gerrit Does. Not only because he brought BMX to Europe but also because he is taking care of the BMX Museum NL now I work and live in China. He is taking care of the guests so that we can keep the museum, in normal pre-Covid times, open for public.
My webmaster Wim Kuiper. For a long time my collection was not visible for others. The bikes and parts were stocked everywhere. So when Wim noticed that I had a collection of bikes he offered me to build the www.bmxmuseum.nl website for me, free of charge. After launching this website my collection grew very fast because a lot of people started to offer their old bikes, parts, trophies, clothes and pictures/videos to me. Now it is definitely time to re-launch/update the website again, that’s for sure.
My father Jan and father in law Piet who supported me building the interior of the BMX Museum NL. They spend a lot of time in the museum building the storage modules, cabinets etc.
My Old School BMX friends from “the first hour” who always supported me during the set-up of BMX Museum NL; Wim Kuiper, Danny Hartwig, Mike Hogerheijde and Ryan Ledebur.
Last but definitely not least, my wife Ivonne who gave me the space and time to follow my dream; to build my own BMX Museum NL!