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.

Restorations



Filmote: Restoration of an '88 Freestyle Hotfoot

One of my favourite restorations was that of my '85 Hotfoot Freestyle. A lot of things excite me about that bike - its relative scarcity, the quality of the paint finish, and the nice NOS parts that provide a flawless finish - so much so that the bike sits upstairs in my house whereas the other bikes are relegated to the garage.

So when this '88 Freestyle came up I thought why not do it again? Sure the '88 is not as rare as the '85 but it still is relatively rare. Like the '85, this bike steals its design cues from a lot of bikes made at a similar time by more expensive manufacturers. The frame looks suspiciously like a GT Performer ..


Before we Start
The top two pictures show the frame, fork and bars as I got them from Mr.Hotfoot. Not in the picture are the brakes, fork pegs and pedals that complete the bike. My plans for this bike are to restore it to original however this presents some problems - where to get original pedals and artwork for the pads. The second pair of photos are Supra's clean and original version that I am basing my restoration on.

 

 
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Restoring the Hubs
The bike originally came with a pair of steel black, shiny-sided 48 hole rims laced to an equally shitty pair of steel hubs. I was originally going to restore these but a quick look at the rims showed they were beyond repair as they had some serious rust and some minor (but maybe repairable) hops.

A replacement set of wheels came from Mr.Hotfoot - these are 48H Araya 7X copies with Keysin hubs all in nice condition with minimal curb rash and hops in the rims. Not particularly high-end wheels but fitting with the original parts of the bike. The bonus with these is that they are alloy and can therefore be polished. And polish I did!

But before I could start I had to remove the old freewheel. My freewheel removing tool assumes that the freewheel itself has 4 rebates on the outer rim whereas the one fitted to this wheel had two. I tried at first to tap the freewheel free with a cold-chisel but to no avail. I then cut two more rebates to see if I could get my tool to fit however, this freewheel was on for good and no amount of torque with the tool would work. Finally in desperation, I cut the edges of the side of the freewheel allowing me to be able to grab the edges within a vice without crushing the alloy hub itself. Some WD-40, some swearing and some brute force and I heard a satisfying Crack! and it was free.

 

 
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Building the Wheels
As mentioned above, the bike originally came with a set of steel 48h rims in black with shiny-sides. I wanted to keep the look but the rims themselves were quite rusty and not worth saving. I bought a set of Weinmann allow rims that although new have an old school look about them. They were all black, so I shiny- sided them following the procedure I previously document when building my 5-Hole SuperMax.

Once completed, I laced the rims using the instructions on the SuperMax link. However to ensure the spokes covered the previous lace marks in the hubs, I reversed the lacing and made them a mirror image of previous ones I have done.

 

 
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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.