Hi! This was my bike from when I was 6/7 years old and my mother saved the bike for me. I’m 44 now and my 8 year old daughter rides the bike now 🥰. I just don’t know what it is, might not even be BMX since stickers are just stickers! And the welds also look kinda sus. The sticker on frame under the saddle says “BMX WINNER”. All help will be greatly appreciated.
by OASLR
12 Comments
Can confirm. Is bike.
This reminds me a lot of the department store bikes from that era. From what I recall, these showed up under a variety of different names, almost like fast fashion.
I’m thinking Montgomery ward or sears.
Try bmx museum website
From what I found looks like 1985 American Flyer
Thanks! I’ll look in the museum. Should have mentioned that it’s from The Netherlands. We do not have Sears or anything like that. Those stores are bigger than our country.
The Netherlands in context of 44 years ago before the earth finally succumbed to the mandatory branding of Taiwan bikes to be sold in every market incorporating a harbor or a railroad or paved road way? This would be nearly the end of all possible genuine pre outsourced manufactured examples. ˋ
The Netherlands may be the original birthplace of BMX as a sport and considerably worth enlightenment for fair historical recognition of what bikes were driving the motivations to equally fuel the craze of the American bmx fad.
FYI the bmx racing technical history in the USA took forever to condense into a single collaboration from many small regional iterations with the California clubs representing the bulk of the glamour and flash while the truth of the market motivator was utilitarian in the success of selling an illusion to kids and a functional tool to keep the rest of American boys in a vehicle capable of towing lawn mowers hauling newspapers , fetching sisters and little cousins, typically made from steel tubes easily welded by common farm equipment and compatible with most other bike categories. 44 years ago in the USA is about when the popularity of bmx reached the tipping point into the industrial vacuum of global marketing and cultural adherence and no source of resistance remaining in competition, bmx bikes were an expectation of a child’s basic needs and the authentic brands would have no chance to sustain their success building progressive purpose driven products in consideration of any set of principles and standards to set a reasonable bar for respectable quality.
So the atmosphere of pride quickly led to the sale of most bmx brands by the mid 90’s and by the y2k no bike was crafted in usa
My point was to encourage the sharing of historical brands from the Netherlands and European original bmx brands and insight on how the Taiwan department store may have strangled the industry similar to the USA or if in certain places they could still make quality bmx
Redline
I’m not going to be able to help you with the brands, but what’s going on in the first picture? The tires look pit bike small and the bars look pro cruiser wide. Your shoulders look like a linebacker, but your feet look like a 4 year old. Is it a picture of a picture with the camera tilted way away from the bottom? Are you a mythical being? Is Belgium in another dimension? Also, what year was that picture? What parts did you add and what do you remember being factory?
I made a picture with my phone of the picture my mother had. This is about 38 years ago. I’m from the Netherlands but can confirm Belgium is from another dimension.
My mother told me this is how she bought the bike. It’s a 16”. I’m sure the picture is messing with dimensions although I am linebacker wide…
I’d say it a diamond back brand bmx, If it has a circle on the side plates near the head set.
It is an old BMX. As said elsewhere a lot of catalogue companies and smaller outfits used to buy stock bikes and sticker them. I do know from previously restoring old BMX bikes that there are places that will replicate the decals if you can scan them good enough should you desire to restore it.
While its full history might remain a mystery, it’s radness is still intact.