BMX Bikes


1985 Hotfoot 24" Cruiser

So by now I have a few Hotfoots - including some that I ride and some that are destined to hang on my garage wall for ever - but I find myself continually opting to ride my '95 Mongoose Menace over these other bikes. Why? The simple reason is that the geometry and size of the Hotfoots make them less comfortable to ride than most mid-school or new-school bikes. The Mongoose isn't large (with a top tube length of 19½ inches or thereabouts compared to a Team's 18" or so) but the geometry of the bike makes the seat post slightly more laid back / less upright making the frame feel much bigger.

Short of slapping Hotfoot stickers on my Mongoose, I needed a solution and building a 24" Hotfoot Cruiser was the obvious one. Peat had collected a number by this time and I managed to buy one from him. The bike was in reasonable condition with good chrome but badly rusted steel rims. The brakes, hubs and cranks were all original but the lower quality that Repco had started introducing by this time.

   
 

I quite like the look of the bike without decals and pads. For contrast, here is the bike shown again with the pads fitted. At this stage I am still deciding whether to put the decals I purchased from Lix on the bike or not.

   
   

The yellow paint was applied by BMX Madman (Pete) and like the perfect job he did on my freestyle Hotfoot it is fantastic and differentiates the bike from all of the chrome and black builds that are around.

This bike is built for cruising and is fitted with a 3 speed Sturmey Archer rear hub that comes complete with a coaster brake. Part of the clean look of the bike comes from the fact that the bike doesn't have calliper brakes front or rear. In an attempt to have no cables at all, I contemplated buying a two speed SRAM hub where the gears are activated by 'kicking' the pedals in reverse. After talking to a number of stores, the general consensus was that the 3 speed was far better ..

  • Hotfoot 24" Cruiser Frame / Forks
  • Hotfoot 24" Cruiser Bars
  • Hotfoot 170mm cranks
  • Hotfoot reproduction pads
  • Takagi Chain wheel
  • Kashimax Aero Seat
  • Sturmey Archer S-RC3 Hub
  • Sturmey Archer 3 Speed Twist Shifter
  • SRAM Fixie Chain
  • Weinmann 24" 7X rims
  • 24" Duro Tyres
  • Tange Seiki Bottom Bracket

The complete restoration of the bike can be seen here.

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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.

Blizzard Cyclone Hurricane Tornado 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.