Free Agent Bmx Serial Numbers
Are you going to try to build it with era correct parts? You can get it together with a mix. Easier to find. I built up a Free Agent Limo 20' with a mix of old and new parts. As far as older parts, Redline flights or Profiles will work. Tioga Bear Trap 2 headset. DK stem, Odyssey Pitbull brakes.
Araya or Sun rims. These are some of the parts I used back then. Any of the parts from that time would work. We had alot of co-sponsors so we were hooked up with just about everything.The only pics I have are of me. I got some cover shots and other shots from inside the mags.
I didn't want to make this an all out pictorial of me. These bikes were well sought after back then. There were alot of good riders on them. We were pretty dominant there as a team and that helped sell them as well. Plus, the bikes had great geometry and handled reaally well.If you need anymore info, let me know and I'll help you as best as I can.Galen Starlin. I started racing in sept.
82 on a '79 Mongoose. Heavy as all get out.
I was 9 years old when I started. I got a Jag frame with CW forks when I moved up from Beginner to Novice. I ended up being expert by dec. I got on a jr. I grew up with those older bikes everyone is talking about here. I remember seeing those as I first started racing.I'll post some more pics here.
I'll try to find some more ads for 'ya. Like I said, I have mostly of me scanned, so I'll post these. Hopefully you can see some parts on my bikes or at least see what they used to look like then.
Hope you like??!!88 ABA Grands88 NBL Waterford OaksMe on bottom- Mike Miranda jumpimg over me88 NBL Christmas nat'l. Galen those pictures will help a bunch.
If the serial number on my Free Agent Limo is 0987041 does that mean it is the 41st frame built in september of 1987? Do you have any decal sets lying around. I need some of those old school decals to finish off my bike.
I got my frame and fork from a guy here in Arizona who was an ex ABA pro. I want to build a Galen Starlin replica now. I have some of the stuff already now I just need to find another set of flite cranks. It is great to hear and see a name I am familiar with as I was racing during our racing days in the 80's. Whats the diff between the pro and the limois it just the limo's longer TT?what does each ones TT measureso i can check mine when it arrives?The Limo's were 2 inches longer in the top tube.
Free Agent Bmx Serial Numbers Download
I forget what the actual lengths were. I know I have the info around somewhere.Kev, you have a pro size cruiser. On the limo, they had a machined bottom bracket that was smaller in the middle with the edges thicker and they also had a bracket between the rear chainstays right behind the bottom bracket.
All this for extra stiffness and strength. Since larger and more powerful riders would be on these. Hope this helps you out. Lovin the history lesson here man. I thought you were a fan using the name as an ID.
I remember those issues too. Honored that your here and posting Galen.No, this is the real me:D Glad you liked the posts. I didn't want that to look like an all out pictorial of me. I was hoping it would provide a feel for what the bikes looked like then. I just have all this after '86 stuff and just want to share it.
I just wish that little era got just a little more love. I'm sure it will- it may just take a little more time. It wasn't that bad- at least I didn't think so. That is so cool!
Thanks Galen!Thanks alot!!! I'm glad I could help out the fellow bmx'ers.You have a great site here:smthup:I saw a post on here about getting rid of the 'AT THE TRACK TODAY' section. I love having at least somewhere to share what I have to anyone who needs it.
I know we after '86'ers' are treated like the redheaded stepchild but If it wasn't for the core group of us keeping it respectable who knows where the sport would have gone. I started racing in late '82-so all of this oldschool stuff is great because I see all the stuff that was out there before and after I got involved in organised racing. I love reading about all the history before my time in the sport. It's all good to me:DKeep up the good work here!!! I have a NOS 90' limo cruiser, pic below, a Pro that is built, 2 standerd f&f and I am building a 24' jr.-exp.
Cruiser right now. I love my Limo cruiser.:smthup:That's a great stash you have there:smthup:Wish mine was like that!!! Are you the reason why I can't find these bikes around-you've got a radar lock on them before anyone else gets the chance! I have a Limo 20' that I built up using old and new parts. I'm actually going to race it at the ABA Winter Nat's out here in Phx.
I haven't raced in 12 years. I thought it would be cool to get that bike out there and show them what it could still do!! Galen those pictures will help a bunch.
If the serial number on my Free Agent Limo is 0987041 does that mean it is the 41st frame built in september of 1987? Do you have any decal sets lying around. I need some of those old school decals to finish off my bike. I got my frame and fork from a guy here in Arizona who was an ex ABA pro.
I want to build a Galen Starlin replica now. I have some of the stuff already now I just need to find another set of flite cranks. It is great to hear and see a name I am familiar with as I was racing during our racing days in the 80's.Dude, I'm flattered that you would build a bike like I used to have and even call it by my name!!! You are correct on the date of manufacture of your Free Agent.
Who did you get it from? I don't have any decals I wish I had stocked up on those but who knew I would need them. I did get in touch with Brent Shoup last week-his parents were owners of Free Agent-I last talked to him in '98 and before that it was '91. It was great catching up with him. He's looking around for me for anything Free Agent related.
What do you have so far? I have some stickers that they made for me- It was when Vision Street Wear co-sponsored us-It has the Vison/Free Agent logo on it along with my signature.
I have a ton of those. You can put one of those on it to finish it off if you like??!!Did we ever cross paths back then? It's great to hear from people that I raced against or at least talked to even if it was a brief encounter.
I see that you emailed me-I'll return it here as soon as I get done right here. Great to talk to 'ya!!!!Galen.
Are all bikes manufactured in the eighties?2. How many welders are there? Is the welder always identified by a single letter?1. We think all bikes are manufactured in the eighties - you would not believe how hard it was to crack this code - the bikes made in the seventies have totally different serials - which still haven't been deciphered yet2.
From what we can tell there were 3 welders all identified by a single letter - their first initial(there are also prefixes for special edition bikes but they are quite rare and can be dealt with on a case to case basis ie T for team rider bike). What I'm not clear about is what they did in October, November or December, as there appears to be only a single digit for the month.HTHBrianThat is what confused us for some time!Following the sequence, purely for illustrations sake, the last December 1981 frame, build sequence 256 welded by Mark Bradshaw bike would be stamped121256Mthen a January 1982 welded by Darrell would be12257DWhen we only had a few frames as reference you could understand our difficulty in establishing their heritageCheersBen.
I am afraid I don't follow this fully. If there are two 'versions' of the frame number and each needs to be interpreted differently, then the version should be entered into another field (assuming it's not apparent from the frame number alone).Now I would suggest you sit down with a piece of paper and write down the steps you would take to identify the month and the year without a computer (think of this as writing directions for a stupid but reliable person). Then the actual calculation will become easy to construct - assuming the task is possible in the first place. Hi Ben, and Welcome to the Forum,I've been toying with your sample data in TextWrangler, and I think it might be possible to do the lion's share of this parsing out using grep patterns in TextWrangler or BBEdit.The real challenge is the Oct - Jan productions, however, I was able to parse out the Dec and Jan example you gave, using a couple of greps.
However, the real test would be with real data.Are you trying to breakout this data on bikes you own, bikes you want to purchase, or are you doing this for all of the bikes manufactured by these two?Do you have a complete list of those you want to parse out?If so, why not post it as an attachment to a Reply, so that I can get a better feel for the complete picture?HTHLee Edited September 20, 2010 by Guest. Hi Lee and thanks others for your repliesWhat we are trying to create is a couple of things in one for the enthusiasts of this particular Australian made brand.Firstly a decoder of the number stamped on the framesSecondly an historical archive of the frames themselves including some other aspects such as paint finishes and the likeHere's the breakdown as we established it, in a little greater detailFor the frame stamped 501161D as an example5= May some serials began with 10, 11, or 12 for October, November or December. Eg 110xxxx X0= 1980 they used the last digit of the year & will always be 9,0,1,2,or 3.1161= the serial number of the frame. This can be as short as one digit, ie, 911 for Sept, 1981, frame number 1.D= Darrell Kendell, the man who actually built the frame in the factory.Other code letters used as a suffix areM= Mark Bradley who was a frame welder, a designer, test rider & Factory Team rider.R= Ray Williams. He is currently the state Liberal member for Hawksbury.X= Not currently known but thought to have been used on Factory Team race bikes.Prefix codes were sometimes included and can also be used as qualifiersTF= Team Frame. This was used on the 'Team' models, which was their production race model from December 1979 to August 1981TH= Team Helium. This was the replacement race frame for the Team & was manufactured from September 1981.
It was available until the end of manufacture in 1983. (these also had their own serial numbers starting from 1 - it is thought only 150 of these were made)24. This was seen on the earliest of the 24' Cruiser models & was followed by a one or two digit serial but no date code.C. This was used on later 24' Cruiser models. Very low production numbers but part of the general serial sequence we thinkCR. This was used on 26' Cruiser models. Same as 24' modelsM.
This would indicate the Mountain Bike model that was largely based on the 26' Cruiser frame. I am sorry, but you are only confusing me even more. If I understand correctly, after removing the prefix and the welder's code you are left with a sequence of digits. I think you have now also narrowed the years to 1979 - 1983. And I believe the serial number cannot start with a zero.Therefore, if the sequence begins with one of these:122123we need something more to tell us what these mean. Everything else should be very easy (unless I am missing something again). I am sorry, but you are only confusing me even more.
If I understand correctly, after removing the prefix and the welder's code you are left with a sequence of digits. I think you have now also narrowed the years to 1979 - 1983. I don't care if you write it out as text - as long as it becomes an algorithm (i.e. Something that a stupid machine like a computer can follow blindly, without any judgment calls of its own).-P.S. You can skip the prefix and welder extraction part - these are pretty clear, I think. Start with the following input as being known:FrameNumber - a variable number of digits;Prefix - as per the list of possible prefixes you have provided (incl. '24')Location - a Boolean value, I think?
Edited September 21, 2010 by Guest. I don't care if you write it out as text - as long as it becomes an algorithm (i.e. Something that a stupid machine like a computer can follow blindly, without any judgment calls of its own).-P.S. You can skip the prefix and welder extraction part - these are pretty clear, I think.
Start with the following input as being known:FrameNumber - a variable number of digits;Prefix - as per the list of possible prefixes you have provided (incl. '24')Location - a Boolean value, I think?OK how is this then - I have made a flow chart of sorts to help(all the symbol boxes made it spread too far over the page so I coded the text in colour instead - the legend for the colours is at the bottom of the page)Thank you ever so much for your patience and effort so far!