Blogging a Dead Horse

Repco Hotfoot

While researching information for my '85 Team Hotfoot and up-coming '82 Team Hotfoot build, I got so sick of finding information then losing it again that I started copying images of bikes, parts and advertising material into a single place. To assist others, I have reproduced this information over the following pages .. most of the information can be found on OzBMX and BMXMuseum and I am not pretending that this informtion will replace either of these valuable resources.

Please browse through all of the material I have collected:

If you have any Hotfoot information or photos, please forward them to me and I will add them to the site. I am especially interested in brochures and advertisements as these are most valuable when restoring bikes back to their original glory.

1985 Repco Cycle Company Spare Parts Price List

I bought this price list off eBay. It was clearly used in a store and exhibits a few pen ticks and lots of other marks. It appeared to have been photocopied and a number of the pages are not quite straight but unlike the catalogues I have scanned, I have made no attempt to rotate or straighten them.

Back in 1985, Repco was a distributor for a number of well known brands including Mongoose and Haro. This price list includes some great parts with prices that are hard to believe - a full CrMo Mongoose Californian frame for $76.50, Pro Class rims for $15.50 and pad sets for $5.65. Other parts of interest include Dia Compe MX1000 callipers for $7.50 and Shimano DX Pedals for $8.71!

To help put the prices in this catalogue into perspective, the average wage in 1985 was approximately $19,900 per year - today it is around $65,000. A Big Mac cost $1.75 in 1985 and today it costs just over $5.00. In those twenty years, everything has tripled in value - therefore if you multiply everything by 3 or even four to arrive at today's price .. so somewhere between $230 and $290 for a Californian frame? Cheap but not outrageous .. Twenty-five or so dollars for a set of Shimano DX Pedals? I'll take 50 sets please!

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Extra Info / Links

OldSchoolMags.com Have you ever wished that you could go back in time to the late 70's and early 80's when you could walk into a newsagency and see the latest issues of BMX Action, BMX Plus, Super BMX and Freestylin' in the racks as crisp and clean as the day they were printed? If you said yes to any of these questions, this is the site for you ..

BMX Works This site has everything you will ever need to restore an old school bmx from loose parts - nuts, bolts and bearings - through to complete brake sets, cranks sets and finishing parts, such as pad sets and decals.

Madman's BMX Painting Services Pete's work is second to none. I have two frames painted by him - a Hotfoot Freestyle in white and a Hotfoot 24" Cruiser in Hazard Yellow - and both have come out beautifully. Pete can also handle the stripping of paint and chrome and other prep work.

Re-Rides Sydney Australia based BMX restoration and photography. Rebuilding retro BMX bikes from 80's old-school, 90's mid-school and 00's new-school era's.

SDBMX SDBMX sells a distinctive range of cast alloy BMX rims that will finish of any old-school, mid-school or even new-school build. Styles include the Blizzard, Cyclone, Hurricane, Tornado and Typhoon.

Vintage Mongoose Anyone who is interested in Mongooses (Mongeese?) has probably already found this site. When I was restoring my Motomag, I found this site invaluable for information and reproductions decals and grips. Warren, who is behind this site, is a local who is passionate - no obsessive - about the Mongoose brand and it shows.

Recent Updates

Mar 2018, Hall of Fame John's '88 Freestyle shouts at you. The bold colours pay homage to the GT freestyle bikes of the same era more than the deate black and blue colour scheme that Repcoo chose.

May 2017, Hall of Fame Kris has delivered two great builds - both are '86 HiTen and both are immaculate. Compare the pink and green builds and choose your favourite!

Apr 2017, Hall of Fame The final piece to Adrian's collection is finally finished after a painstaking search for the original parts - right down to the CatEye reflectors.

Mar 2017, Hall of Fame David's cool little scooter might be an '87 or an '88 model (both with part codes 12SC). Either way, he can't wait to try it out at his local bowl. If I get any more pics of these I might create a section in the Hall of Fame.

Mar 2017, Hall of Fame Mick's '81 Hotfoot X-Gusset in 'Red Hot Red' features a host of original and period correct parts including the yellow OGK slant tuffs, the original bar pad and even the Repco part number sticker - 2018W.

Mar 2017, Hall of Fame Jose's '84 Team Hotfoot reminds me of my own green and gold GMX-250. It features Shimano 600 Cranks, Shimano Tourney calliper and lever, Nitto MX-2 stem, 7x rims with Suzue HF hubs, Suntour pedals and brown suede pads.

Mar 2017, Hall of Fame Gave the cranks for my new 12" an OA bath and a quick polish. Didn't want to take the chrome off with a deep polish so the scratches remain - the rust has gone! The cotter pins are beyond repair.

Mar 2017, Hall of Fame Picked this fantastic 12" Hottie up from Haydn Purves at today's swap meet. I am planning to restore it for my great-nephew as his first bike!

Feb 2017, Hall of Fame Found this listing on eBay. Owner says it needs some work to restore it to its former glory but I'm thinking a simple spit and polish should do the trick.

Jan 2017, Hall of Fame Luke's X-Gusset Hotfoot looks great in yellow with red and black accents. The build features a host of new parts including Dia Compe front and read brakes and callipers, Dia Compe seat clamp, a Kashimax seat and much more!

Jan 2017, Hall of Fame I bought this frame from Brett Ryan as a project for my son and I to build together over the school holidays. It was also an excuse to get some blue checked pads from Steve Dobson.

Dec 2016, Hall of Fame Adrian scored this '84 Team from a seller who though it was a Haro. The original chrome was shot so a new colour scheme was required and the choice was made for him by the purchase of the correct forks - already painted silver.

Dec 2016, Hall of Fame Not shy about using bold colour schemes, Adrian has done it again with this black and pink build. The risk when building a pink bike is matching the shades and Adrian has done a great job with the original parts and has painted the rest to ensure consistency.

Dec 2016, Hall of Fame I simply love the colour of Beast's HiTen Hotfoot - its a really bold colour and fitted with the modern bars and tyres makes this build look new or at least mid school.

Dec 2016, Hall of Fame Dave's '82 X-Gusset Hotfoot restoration combines new and old parts. The chrome frame and bars gleam after a good polish and are complemented by the yellow tuffs / grips and the blue accessories.

Dec 2016, Radelaide 2016 Flying the flag for the Hotfeet at Radelaide 2017 are these two beauties! The bikes are a matching pair - one finished in chrome and blue (Mario's), the other in chrome and black (Rocco's). These bikes sure look the part amongst the ordinary Mongeese and Haros ..

Dec 2016, Collection Photo Shoot Dave's collection of bikes features a red '82 Team and an '85 HiTen (or is it a Team model as well ?) along with some other bikes (Mongoose, TBC Cobra). These are all proudly displayed on some of the best looking grass I have seen for a long time ..

Nov 2016, Hall of Fame I have waited a long time for pictures of this bike and they have not disappointed. Scott's build in red and chrome is superb and features a host of quality parts from Shimano Dura Ace cranks, to an SR stem / seat post through to the beautiful Ukai rims!

Nov 2016, Hall of Fame Rocco's '85 Team is a true international build with parts coming from the UK, USA, Greece, New Zealand, Japan and, of course, Australia. The end result is a near catalogue spec build of all NOS parts.

Oct 2016, Hall of Fame Mick's '84 Team Hotfoot is a simple yet inspired restoration. Currently the bike is running no brakes which contributes to its clean look but it will shortly be getting a rear Dia Compe fitted.

Oct 2016, Restorations Jeremy shopped around the world to make the NOS chainring on the left - the chain ring itself came from New Zealand, the spider from Greece and the bolts from the ol' US of A. The right hand spider is an original he cleaned up.

Oct 2016, Hall of Fame Troy owns the 'Repco Hotfoot Appreciation Society' on Facebook and this is his first submission to this site - a remarkable 85 Team powder coated in white by Robertos and fitted with a range of restored, reproduction and new blue parts.

Oct 2016, Hotfoot Madness A month or two ago, Adrain sent me a picture of his 9 Hotfeet which I had forgotten to put up until now. I thought I better do it quickly because #10 is on the way!

Sep 2016, Hall of Fame Kris' '86 HiTen looks great in white and green. What makes it special is that Kris stripped, primed and painted the bike and all of the accessories himself. The bike is finished with matching green cables, seat clamp, tyres and a Dominator seat.

Aug 2016, New Purchase Picked this set of NOS pads from Peter Healy who found them at a swap meet in Sydney. The packaging is not original but is 'period correct' ..

Aug 2016, Hall of Fame Another bike from Mark (see below), this one for his daughter started with a bike that someone was throwing out. The original blue and yellow made way for a colour scheme dictated by his daughter. The bike also features original pads created using a stencil, some spray paint and some plain Flite pads. The decals were created in Powerpoint and printed by a local printer.

Jun 2016, Hall of Fame Mark restored his childhood bike to back to factory specifications whilst retaining most of the original parts including the Araya 7X rims, Sunshine hubs, Dia Compe MX900 / 100 brake callipers, Sugino cranks and chain ring stem and even the Viscount Aero seat ..

May 2016, Hall of Fame Adrian's latest build started out to be a basic blue / black 'off the shelf' 88 freestyle but it needed a freshen up and new lease of life .. not content to stick to the factory colour, Adrian chose a nice colour combo of pink and blue to make it stand out from the crowd.

May 2016, Hall of Fame Found this listing on eBay. The orange bike is a Repco Hotfoot Macro fitted with a little petrol engine. That's pretty cool but what isn't cool is the flimsy little rear calliper brake - it doesn't look like it would stop this at any speed.

Apr 2016, Hall of Fame Matt's take on the classic black '85 Team has come out well. Whilst generally sticking to the style of the original bike, he has swapped some of the parts - including the spoked wheels for tuffs - to suits his tastes.

Apr 2016, Hall of Fame White with blue accessories is a timeless combination as Luke's restoration shows. This bike was found in a very sorry state on a council cleanup - but look at it now!

Apr 2016, Hall of Fame Another Hotfoot for Adrian's flock. This one has a distinctive silver and green colour combination that I guarantee you haven't seen before!

Haven't had your fix of Hotfoot news? See the archive of Repco and Hotfoot news items here ..

Other Bikes

Below are some of my other completed bikes. I am currently working on a couple of local Australian bikes and I will publish pictures of these when they are complete.

If you have a bike that you don't want and you are in Australia, contact me as I may be interested in restoring it!