Thank you all for the continued support for these history oriented videos. Keep the recommendations coming! I'm compiling a list of obscure brands that didn't last super long so if you have anything to add to the list, let me know!
Barracuda made some great bikes, and splashed out on a Norba team, then disappeared. Catamount made what were probably the best of the URT bikes during their heyday, but their best known invention was a water bottle cage you can still buy new. Mountain Cycles, Balfa, and Arrow Racing deserve some love as well. As to your query as to 'what comes next', it was video games. They took over everything, and that's why the batting cages, bmx tracks, and bowling alleys are all gone.
Working in the local bike shop back in the early 80’s, I remember how BMX blew up. At one point we were selling more than twice as many BMX style bikes than all others combined.
And they cost a pretty penny! Supply and demand was a motha! I remember getting clowned for my huffy from the rich kids but I understand where my parents were coming from $200? In 1986 money? That equates to about $800 in today's.
Now bmx shops are few and far between. I rode really hard in my teens every single day if I wasn’t riding my friends and I were watching videos. This was classic mid school era. I was so excited to get a job at. Bike shop when I was like 19 and they didn’t sell any bmx bikes they were all like talking about the freaking Tour de France in the back I was so heart broken lol I was like these guys are effin lame and didn’t last there long
I remember seeing Team Haro at several Nationals during the early to mid 80s. They had steel framed plexiglass ramps at all the demos. It was wild being able to see the tricks from any angle, even behind the ramps 🤘🏼
Bob Haro is the coolest dude in BMX! Taught me how to do coaster brake wheelies when I was 11 or 12! Literally the man changed my life. There's some other stuff but I'm not going to bring that up here, big shout out from Battle Creek Michigan.
I used to race BMX as a kid in Louisiana and actually won First Place (13 Expert) in the state championships. Regardless, at that time my friends and I were glued to BMX Action magazine and riding around everywhere to find cool jumps to practice some tricks/freestyle around the time Bob, R.L. and Mike Buff were taking off. Thanks for the flashback of memories!
Bob is an incredibly talented and creative person. I worked with him in the motorcycle industry and he was never given the credit he deserved for what he did in the motorcycle world. I miss seeing him as it was always a good time talking to him.
just gained another sub! I’m glad that you pointed out the significance of the BMX scenes in ET. at the time I was 14 years old, racing on the track, at novice level. JUST bought my first PK rippah and when i watched that scene in the movie, participating in cheering the kids on, i felt like my bike culture that i loved was put on the map. It was profound. Got to pro level and raced 4 more years, got into graphic design, and just wrapped working on TRON 3 as a member of the art department! it’s so awesome to hear about the similarities amongst the people involved within the community. Just got my 26.5 antifreeze green PK ripper and cruise the seawall in beautiful Vancouver BC. BMX will. never. die. Bash your shins and carry on mates. 🤘🏼
I worked for a bike shop and we sold Haro bicycles, some nice bikes and alot of pure junk! made in china! It was interesting learning about the history of Haro. I knew a little bit , but it was nice getting a fuller picture. what a difference between the Bob Haro company back then and the company today! Chinesium!
I remember as a kid walking into a bike store and seeing a lime green Haro with white pool tires hanging on the wall. That is still the coolest bike I've ever seen.
MY HARO GOT STOLEN FROM MIDDLE SCHOOL BICYCLE CAGE CIRCA 87. If you care to read, this is my story. It was Friday morning I felt good I up got sort of late so walking to school was a no go. I was going to take my beach cruiser but thought hold up its Friday I'll take my Haro and I had just installed white mag/star rims. It was an attention grabber and I loved it when I arrived I quickly chained it up and was shooting the breeze with my friends. I was being a lil douche and it didn't rub some of the guys right I'm guessing. As the school day came to an end some of my friends and I agreed to hit the park after school. As I approached the cage I couldn't see my Haro when I entered all I seen was the cut up lock. My jaw dropped and all I could think off was what am I going to tell my dad. I think I cried all the way home riding on my friends diamond back bikes pegs. In 89 my freshman year in high school one of my old buddies from middle school was transferred back to the same high school and brought up the "remember the time your Haro got stolen" well I know who done it. I asked who and he said my cousin Marco, I didn't ask any questions I punched him in the mouth and walked away. Yall got to understand I use to fix/paint bikes for the neighbor hood kids, saved up and barrowed some money from my pops (I wasn't going to pay back but it was the thought that counted) and purchased My Haro brand new from the local Schwin bicycle store. Huntington Park CA.
TBH I have been looking around for an old BMX I had a Mongoose or Burner……think I must get one now and most likely brake something trying to do an Ariel out of a bowl😂😂
My first BMX was a Haro in 1984/5 which after watching this makes me think it was not long after they came out. It got stolen from school and I was super devastated.
I met Bob the first time out in riverside area called the Ranch for a freestyle demo. Later I worked for Oakley as an industrial designer and Bob would come by in his red BMW and go to lunch with the owner. Later he had Haro industries in Carlsbad and the owner of Oakley would fly his private plane down to Palomar airport and meet up for lunch. Very fun times in the 80’s.
I had friends who rode. I didnt. I am/was a blader. But they were serious riders. Ocala was the area. They had haros. Early 2000s so they had Nyquist frame, Mirras, racing track in Troy Lee helmets riding the Haro Monocoque 97-99 complete with the velcro mini pad for the top. (If you seen one or raced you know you cant race in florida without) track results in BMX plus... I was there and lived it.
I loved my Haro bike as a kid. We all had them and rode them everywhere and took them off any jumps we could find. One time we rode our bikes 50 miles to Chico California and back. Took us around 12 hours
Grew up on the same street. Last time I saw him he was running a carpet cleaning business. He was married and had kids. He’d roll out a small ramp and teach his kids how to ride. A good place to grow up. Howie Long and his sons also lived on the block while he was playing football for the Raiders. The Castile family was also up the street: The older son shaped surfboards in a backyard shed and the father is/was a practicing veterinarian. So a really handy people lived on the street. Good times in Redondo B h.🤗🤗🤗😽
I miss my blue Webco… I had the oval number plate. Then, eventually graduated to a Haro plate. I also raced and rode the washes love them freestyle days. Thanks for tapping into our memory banks!!
1985 i got a haro master, sold it about 15 years ago, thought I was never gonna ride again, now i wish i had it cause at 50 years old i wanna get back on a freestyle bike, oh well i got good money for it and it made me happy while i had it and now its in some dudes bike collection somewhere so cool
In the 80's I had Haro was a good bike. I had Red Lines, Torkers, Cook Bros , JMC and out of all the BMX's growing up was SE racing, P.K . Ripper was my favorite out of all the bikes i had
This is an awesome video! I was in the 2nd grade when E.T. came out, and I wanted a Haro bike so bad, but my parents couldn't afford it. My parents ended up getting me a junk bike. Thanks for filling in the history gaps.
Thank you for this great video. I’m so happy seeing a young man like you giving props to the great man Bob. Well researched & presented. I wonder if anyone of my generation, there at the dawn of this new “freestyle” ever imagined what it would become.
In 84 Bob Haro and Mike Dominguez came to OT cycles in Dartford Uk and I had him sign my Haro arm pads and had my picture taken standing next to Bobs and Mikes bike and being 14 it was amazing I still have the pics now👍
The Haro freestyler was the top bike to have in the eighties. Still got a 1986 freestyler frame and forks in white with pegs never used, and an fst in chrome built up and used. Still think they look cool.
That’s so cool! Huge thanks to Bob! (My unknown hero) And thanks for this video. I had a 2002 Haro Backtrails x3 (Ryan Nyquist’s bike) it was sooo heavy compared to my next bike DK Legacy (Chris Doyle’s bike).
I'm 52 and i still have my haro team master i recently restored it back to factory specs black and chrome with the blue graphics and sometimes i still ride it .
Bob Haro = Legend. Never saw or met him but did see the Haro team incl Ron Wilkerson when they toured the UK in 1986. I did meet Eddie Fiola though when GT toured UK, another freestyle legend. Good times
They got weird for a few years with bashguards and what not. If your not aware Haro has come out with the "Lineage" models...to include the Master and Sport. New technology, old school looks.
I met Bob Haro at a bicycle trade show. He was nice and congenial. His number plates launched a valuable brand. Unfortunately video games is the major interest of young people now.
After the time period of the video, Haro was involved with the design of a backpack line, Axio hard packs. “You want to do things, your stuff wants to come along.” He came to a company where I worked to have some retail racks built. I recognized him and we chatted. Really nice guy. He didn’t buy our racks, but he gave me the pack we used for mock ups. I still have it.
Those height numbers are waaay over exaggerated! Bob was doing about 4 foot airs, which were common back then. Maybe 6 feet sometimes. Mike came along, and normally did 6 - 8 foot airs. Often there were photos of Mike above someone standing on top of the ramp with their hands up and he would be about where the hands were or slightly above. So that would be 8 feet or so, which is HUGE! 15 feet on the ramps back then wasn't really doable. That came later with Mat Hoffman came on the scene.
FYI- Haro also made mtn bikes from the late 80's -90's . Stopped producing mtn bikes then returned to them sometime in 20teens & are still going as far as I know. I still have my 1993 HARO Extreme that I bought in '93.
Yip spot on I didn't know that type of bicycle existed "BMX" didn't even know what to call it when I watch ET. I knew as a kid that is it, thats all I want I was totally blown away with BMX!! I still luv it today!!
Hey bro… incredibly well documented and you kept it interesting the whole way through. Well spoken and thorough. I saw them perform when I was a kid here in Houston. I raced BMX all over and even have Harry Larry’s jersey still from diamond back. Raced against the best in the 10-13 divisions and when football started in 7th grade, I pretty much took a break only to sadly never return to the great sport. Had some huge wins along the way at many nationals and even won Tx state champions 2 years back to back racing guys like Geoff Scofield(GT), Jason Allison(TITAN), Marty Christman(ELF), and forgot the first name “Curtis” from CW. I Rode a Patterson and wish I still had it 😢. Of course now it would be too small, but what a great bike. Hope your channel does great man and you have a new subscriber!!
Very cool, but I have to say, in upstate NY, myself and all my friends had BMX bikes and even raced before the motorX races at Paradise Speedway years before ET came out. We cut pieces of plastic from buckets and sometimes even paper plates to make race numbers. Sometimes attached by bread ties. Lol!
Cool. I always thought Haro's were cool looking bikes, but as a kid my local bike stores more catered to GT/DYNO/Robinson, Specialized, SE, DK, Diamondback, Mongoose, etc. As a kid one bike brand that I always thought had really cool looking bikes was ELF. Whatever happened to them? Back in the day ELF, Hutch, GT, Redline, Mongoose, etc were big in the BMX seen. I don't even think ELF and Hutch still exist.
Haro bikes were all i rode i had a few group ones and a master and a shredder but the group one C was so light i could get serious speed n massive air on it
I do believe Bob was involved in a extremely gnarly vert accident that prompted his retiring from riding. He landed on his head squarely from a great height and was in a coma for a bit.
I was born in 1980 and my first bike might have been around 4-5. It was a Blue Max at least that’s what I remember it being called. It had a number plate on the front and pedals that could impale into your shins! I used that bike until it was comically too small for me. I was given a bright red Huffy for my birthday and I got laughed at by a few of the kids that were there. I knew it was about as cheap of a bike as you could get new. I didn’t say anything to my parents about it. I just stopped riding it as much. The bike didn’t hold up at all. Like I went over a jump and the crossbar of my handlebars hit the wheel. I had a grip slide of on landing which ended up me impaled in the stomach and flat tires and bent wheels. All that was in the first year of having it. I worked a trade with a kid that had a GT Performer that had a dent in the frame. That thing was a tank in comparison. I lived in Okla city which had a big BMX racing and later freestyle presence. I always wanted a Haro but knew it would never happen. My son is 3 and has 4 bikes already, lol. His first was a small push bike(he still uses it sometimes but he has outgrown it), I put some training wheels on an old bike of his cousins so he could learn to pedal, I got him an electric dirt bike for Christmas and then his own real bicycle for his birthday. He rides them all… every riding toy he has ever been on starts with him crashing it repeatedly on purpose, like he’s perfecting how to crash without getting hurt before he starts flying around the house. He is our first and only child and I’m in my 40’s so yeah we spoil him as much as we can, it took a lot of time and money to finally have a child. I know there will be times we can’t afford stuff he may want but I hope we will always be able to afford whatever hobby/career he is passionate about…. And hopefully live long enough to see it!
My big brother was into bmx pretty hardcore. I don't know if he ever competed, but he could build a bmx byke like nobody's business. He was quick on the dang thing to. He could bunny hop like 5 people. He might have had a haro. I know he had a shwin, and a gt.
16:08 horror went downhill when they started making their bikes overseas I had the blamo Dave mirra version went through six frames and 9 months and after I blew out that last frame I hung it up and I went bought a solid King frame which was made in America but yeah the design and the cheap thin wall tubing the frame did not hold up to what you expected for a BMX freestyle frame.. That's the unfortunate part during the late '90s that BMX riders may frames in America they were a little more expensive than their oversea counterparts. The companies like s&m and GT for always were made in the US and were great bikes. I've been out of the BMX game some plus 20 years and it has quite evolved and went back underground too. X games don't seem to get the pole like they used to anymore with sponsors
