Charlie's race bike arrived today, and I picked it up from Bicycle Authority after work. It's a "Mini Ripper" from SE Racing. Anyone remember the "PK Ripper" from the 70's and 80's BMX days? The Mini Ripper is the mini version of the legendary bike. After dinner we took it out for a test ride, followed by a parade around the neighborhood to show it off. He was telling people we didn't even know about his new race bike.
Then of course he wanted to race mom and dad. I was a little alarmed at how fast he could get that 16 lb bike with 40x16 gearing going! The track is full of ups and downs that will rob some speed though. He should be ok! We may even have to play with the gearing for more acceleration out of turns. Tomorrow's race will be a good test.I have his freestyle bike next to the race bike for comparison. The little bike on the left is 7-8 lbs heavier! The wheels are 16" vs. the 20" wheels on the new bike. The 20 inch wheels are narrow and fast with 65 psi tires.
Stay tuned for tomorrow's race!
5 comments:
Nice bike Charley. I wish I had a ride like that when I was younger.
i remember the pk ripper. and O.M. Breihaupt; had pics of him from BMX Action on my wall. that's a sweet looking bike.
My bmx bike was from Kmart. $110 if I remember correctly. Not a cheap bike in '78 or so, but not a very good one either.
He's gonna be rippin' it in a few years.
Jeff - you should get one of those for yourself. I was thinking about getting a BMX bike a while back just to screw around on.
My first real BMX bike was a Schwinn Predator. I moved up to a Skyway after that. Wish I still had it...got stolen.
Chris, are you kidding? We already have a couple BMX bikes in the garage! We have a 20 inch freestyle bike for the skate park, and a 24 inch Redline Proline that will be seeing the track soon. Kristy and I plan to give it a try. There are lots of parents racing out there. And although probably too heavy, I have a Kona dirt jump bike that would be fun to ride out there, and legal in the cruiser class!
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