dragsterbikes

This page is to inform classic bicycle lovers of the website dragsterbikes.com Dragsterbikes.com is a website run for and by fans of classic bicycles, Dragsters, Choppers, Swingbikes, Lowriders, Custom cruisers and bmx... pretty much and old bike that you would have ridden around on if you were a 70's child. The site has forums where members can organize group rides, how to tutorials, and anything else one desires. The Raleigh Chopper was the brainchild of Alan Oakley and was first released in September 1968 in the USA and in September 1969 in the UK. Production run till 1980 with around one and half million bikes sold the last Chopper built was a black Prismatic in 1980. Mk1 Choppers came in single speed, coaster brake, 3 speed, 5 speed and 10 speed, the Mk 1 lasted in production till December 1972 where safety concerns saw the introduction of the Mk2. The Mk2 was mostly produced as a 3 speed but the where limited runs of 5 speeds. A few versions of the Mk2 where produced they where the Sprint,(drop handle bars and a smaller seat). A Special edition in 1976/77 to celebrate the 750 000 Chopper and Jubilee, this came with alloy wheels and painted silver with a rear drum brake, Australia had it's on version as well called the Domminator, a standard 3 speed. In 2004 saw the introduction of the Mk3 Chopper, there where limited edition's, this bike produced, but Australia only got the standard model which came with 3 speed twist grip and split seat. This model brings a good mix of old and new and still manages to retain the Chopper feel and looks. Lowrider Bicycle History. Lowrider bicycles were a result of the lowrider movement during the 1960's. The 'custom' king George Barris first began this movement by lowering automobiles. Because of the expense of lowrider cars, kids could not afford to be a part of the lowrider car movement. Instead they began fixing up their own bicycles. Then Schwinn came out with a revolutionary new cruiser, the 1963 Sting-Ray. It was built to resemble a dragster, one of the top motor trends of the era. It took cycling from transportation to being fun to ride. In 1964 George Barris caught a glimpse of the new Schwinn and was inspired to create a museum quality custom. These were created specifically for The Munsters, "Monster Koach" and "Dragula". Joining these was Eddie Munster's wildly modified '64 Sting-Ray.Every self-respecting kid in America wanted a Schwinn Sting-Ray like Eddie Munster's. For a group of young East Los Angeles Chicanos, however this was not enough The first modifications was filling in the frame, adding streamers and mirrors, and pretty soon started lowering them. Bending the fork was the most common way of lowering them. The Schwinn bikes seemed to fit the Latin spirit because they had a lot of chrome and so were similar to lowrider cars. It never really reached beyond East Los Angeles in this early phase. These groups were not considered very serious at the time. Soon BMX bikes came in and lowrider bicycles took a siesta. During the 1970's lowrider bicycles began making a come back. This was partly to do with the Mexican-American movement. In the 60's it was considered a bad thing to be Mexican. Then with the Chicano movement of the 70's, it became a good thing to have Mexican heritage, which was good for everyone. All of a sudden Mexican-Americans were making gains in this society. That's when lowrider bikes came back on the streets. Lowrider's as bikes are a different concept of bike riding. The options are endless in designing your own fashion statement style for the streets. The whole lowrider bike movement started from the 1960's. And the "custom" king George Barris, and in 1964 the Schwinn Sting-Ray was born. With the help of Eddie Munster ever kid in the USA wanted one. Now lowrides can be purchased in bike shops ready to go our people are still building and customizing them. There is a fine line between a lowrider and Dragster and a custom bike. Custom bike have been around for almost as long as bikes have been around. But the late 60s and 70s saw the crazy take off with kids trying to copy the Chopper craze. But the art of custom bike building has really come to life in the past few years with, the Custom Motor Bike building like West Coast Choppers and OCC. A true custom is a complete bike build from a custom made frame and handle bars thought to the wheels etc. Not to be confused with customising a bike, this is where you take a bike frame and bolt on custom parts, a easy way to get into a custom bike is to get a bike frame and do some Bondo work, reweld the frame to your own taste, then you can start to add a few custom parts and add that great paint job maybe with some air brushing to create that work of art. Custom bikes you are only limited by your imagination. Custom bike have been around for almost as long as bikes have been around. But the late 60s and 70s saw the crazy take off with kids trying to copy the Chopper craze. But the art of custom bike building has really come to life in the past few years with, the Custom Motor Bike building like West Coast Choppers and OCC. A true custom is a complete bike build from a custom made frame and handle bars thought to the wheels etc. Not to be confused with customising a bike, this is where you take a bike frame and bolt on custom parts, a easy way to get into a custom bike is to get a bike frame and do some Bondo work, reweld the frame to your own taste, then you can start to add a few custom parts and add that great paint job maybe with some air brushing to create that work of art. Custom bikes you are only limited by your imagination.