Skiroule69
Look Ma, No Hands!
Mine was a brand new Schwinn Predator in '84 or '85. I can't remember the model for sure but I think it might have been a freeform. Blue anodized frame and wheels, pads, blue knobby tires, and a blue plastic seat. Every kid in the neighborhood wanted a ride on that bike! I rode the daylights out of it through the end of the decade. In the early '90s I got a new Schwinn mountain bike and my dad, who hated clutter, suggested I sell my BMX. A neighborhood kid bought it when we had a garage sale. He painted it maroon (yech!), exchanged the blue tires for normal black ones, changed the handlebars and got rid of the blue seat.
Years later, his dad and I bonded over car stuff. One weekend I came home from college and stopped at his house. He had a big pile of rusty bikes out front that his kids had dragged home over the years. I asked what he was going to do with them and he said they were going to the local scrap man. I looked through them and found my old bike! It was in terrible shape, rusty mess with bad tires, only one anodized wheel remained, etc. I positively ID'd it by my name etched into the seat post tube by my dad 20 years earlier. I asked what he wanted for it and he told me to get it out of there!
I took it with me to college, blew the whole thing apart and rebuilt it. Sadly all the decals, pads, the correct seat and tires, and the rear rim were gone. I knew I wasn't in a position to be able to restore it to the way it was, so I turned it into kind of a rat rod. Did the frame in gray primer, red wheels (as a coaster brake model) and black tires. I rode it between my girlfriend's apartment where I was living and college for years. I still have it in my basement now. I'd love to fully restore it to the way it was new, but it'd be a nightmare finding parts I'm sure. Either way it's still fun to ride!
Years later, his dad and I bonded over car stuff. One weekend I came home from college and stopped at his house. He had a big pile of rusty bikes out front that his kids had dragged home over the years. I asked what he was going to do with them and he said they were going to the local scrap man. I looked through them and found my old bike! It was in terrible shape, rusty mess with bad tires, only one anodized wheel remained, etc. I positively ID'd it by my name etched into the seat post tube by my dad 20 years earlier. I asked what he wanted for it and he told me to get it out of there!
I took it with me to college, blew the whole thing apart and rebuilt it. Sadly all the decals, pads, the correct seat and tires, and the rear rim were gone. I knew I wasn't in a position to be able to restore it to the way it was, so I turned it into kind of a rat rod. Did the frame in gray primer, red wheels (as a coaster brake model) and black tires. I rode it between my girlfriend's apartment where I was living and college for years. I still have it in my basement now. I'd love to fully restore it to the way it was new, but it'd be a nightmare finding parts I'm sure. Either way it's still fun to ride!
