Grasshopper Jay ... good to hear from you Miss the old shop and the great times hanging out. Yeah... ride fast, take chances and don't run into a car like Billy did! I thought about The Bike Beat when we did our Vintage Bike Ride earlier this year. Check it out for a fast trip down memory lane: http://www.socaltrailriders.org/for...riders-vintage-bike-event-more-than-ride.html What ever happened to "Wild" Bill??? I wonder if he still has the Manitou? I still have the Mantis that Richard build for me ... along with 4 or 5 other bikes. Gregg Howard AKA: Old Man Riding (OMR) Here's something else you might remember:
Gregg, I just had lunch with Bill a couple of months ago and yes he still has the Manitou. I'll send him this link and we'll see if he chimes in.
I really monitor the threads that I open these days and politics on here NFW am I reading anything... between that and the ignore feature the site is pretty good these days :lol::lol::lol:
Hola, Gregg! Greetings from Austin, Texas! I heard from Wild Bill just last night (I'm hearing from everybody right now - it's great!). Dunno if he has the Manitou but he does have a cool-ass Landshark that was modeled after his Mantis XCR. Send him a PM, his user name is 'Boxend'. Yeah, I remember that jersey, it's a Kenny Harbaugh Original. (Billy B just gave me the terrible news about Kenny. Damn, that just... sucks.) Thanks for the pics. Hope you are happy and well.
I too lurked at the Bike Beat. Your shop was an inspiration. It is the shop that we have emulated most often as we developed our shop. Thanks
And you have hit it spot on Tani! I remember when I first walked in there 10 years ago. The Path now carries the title of the best shop in So Cal! :beer:
Hi Jay & Sue Thanks to Pat, Every bike Ive owned was from the beat .Oh and also a drumset with a kool gt pedal :lol: Had some very fun times at the beat back then . :drunk: And the Doll Hut -
Yeah...well I always used to get in fights with Jay & Jeff, but that's because I was a lousy bass player with a stupid ego...No wonder Piggyback couldn't hold onto a guitarist! Now my wife on the otherhand (I'm pirating her STR account) is a rippin' bass player. Billy Broadfooot might need to explain who this is... ER
OK Eddie pirate Sue's account if you must but I just don't think you need to wear her clothing when you do :lol:
No need to explain who you are there "Big Ring"! I think I still have a demo tape of Piggyback! :bang:
What a walk down Memory Lane!! Love the old stories! Reminded me of another LBS that went by the wayside--OMR will remember Bob Savage and Wheel Precision--that was my LBS in the early 90's when I moved to SJC.
It was a time when the 26er as we knew it, would last forever...an exciting time when indie guys drew up plans and implemented the era of full suspension bikes, though most were on hard tails and loving it. Bars ends were a must. Mis matched tires, be it a black wall or gum ugly tan, stupid long 120mm stems, cantilever brakes were very efficient and was the thing, helmets looked like you belonged on the short bus. Lycra was the dress code, there were no baggy shorts. Bike Beat was right in the middle of it all. Your lycra stretchy bike shirt had the logo of your brand, a drink, tools or snack. Tech debates were not about carbon fiber or rear suspension design, but of alloy versus steel. The only enemy of the mountain biker was the rain ruts, not the hiker, horser, land owner, city or county ranger. It was a great time! Then...they came. In the late 1990's to the early 2000's, the ugly cliche from mybikesite.com ruined everybody's time as an enthusiast. These guys belittled anyone with a Schwinn or anyone who didn't ride a Santa Cruz or other boutique brand bike of that time. They ragged on your fork, stem, tires, saddle angle, saddle brand, bar ends, color of your frame...they belittle anything about you or your ride that they did not deem, "cool". These guys were the awful portrayal of Yuppie excess you see today with Gen Y's striving to out do each other with cars and other materialistic things....But thank God! Soon as they came, they left. Most or all of them probably don't ride anymore and good riddance. Now, the only So Cal enemy of the innocence of the ride is technology. 29er's came and blasted the poor 26er to the cornfield and the 27.5 just added the proverbial stake to its heart. But the memories of Bike Beat will never die---the time the 26er ruled and Mountain Bike Action introduced new products for the sport which got people excited. There were no cliches of Ellsworth/Intense or Santa Cruz brand conscious geeks...yet.
