I hit up the Long Beach swap meet this past weekend. It happens every other month or so and is mostly a motorcycle swap meet, but there are tons of bicycles and bike parts there too. McGoo and Bill Bryant from Snafu were there selling their Biltwell motorcycle/chopper helmets and parts and I ran into Timmy Ball from S&M, Greyboy and Truly Odd, Jeff Holt, and a few guys I know from the motorcyle/chopper scene. All in all, a good time.

I went with a pocket of cash and the intention of buying something as a project bike?not a vintage BMX bike, but maybe something fun to ride like an old Schwinn beach cruiser or maybe something outlandish and more on the circus side of things. I’m not really sure what I’m wanting to build up, really. Anyway, I didn’t pull the trigger on anything, but I did have a good time hanging out with Greyboy and Truly Odd, and walking around with McGoo, learning all sorts of BMX industry and parts history.

After spending about five hours walking around and looking at tons of junk, I’d have to say that if you’re looking to buy some vintage BMX stuff, eBay is definitely the best place to do it. Swap meets have some variety, but not much on the new or great condition side of things.

Here are some digi pics I took of BMX radness I saw…

Looking down one of the rows.

Some collectors bring some of their stockpiles of stuff that they don’t want in their own collection. This guy had a lot of pad sets and plastic pedals, sprockets and crap. Sweet pink mouthguard in there, too.

When will colored tires make a comeback in BMX?

Nice old Robinson, Red Line, and Sling Shot bikes. Check out the “Enjoy Tab” handlebar pad and the Vector bars. Selling for well over $3,000, I wonder if you get the stuffed animal monkey with the purchase of the Sling Shot.

Some classic pad sets. I was always a fan of the California Lite checkerboard pads. My first BMX racing bike (a Torker) had snap-on pads, and I even had a V crossbar on that bike, too.

I’m digging that yellow mag wheel. Always liked anodized rims as well.

McGoo is a walking encyclopedia of BMX information. He told me he once threw away an entire container of Motomags when he worked for Mongoose years ago, and he dropped some science on these Bendix mags for me. The container of Motomags would have made him a millionaire today, a container of these would bag him a few burritos and maybe some chips.

What does a seasoned vet of swap meets buy when he finds a bargain? A cheap welding mask, of course. McGoo looking hot under all of those flames.

Very nice Webco, complete with Motomags.

Look at this crazy thing. It’s kinda rad and completely disgusting at the same time. The lady selling it had no idea what it was. Check out that wild bottom bracket.

Your grandfather’s BMX frames.

One thing’s for sure, there’s no shortage of Schwinns floating around at the swap meet. This one was pimped out with a rearview mirror and sissy bar that went to the moon.

I don’t claim to know a whole lot about vintage BMX stuff, and I definitely wish I knew more. I’m sure there are some good stories and interesting info to be taught about these two bikes.

Another Schwinn amidst seat posts and rims. 

It’s hard not to just buy a bunch of stuff and build up a bunch of bikes for the hell of it. Maybe we should have a swap meet bike build-off. Cap the amount of money you can spend, and see who can come out with the wildest/coolest/wackiest/raddest bike. Fudger, you in?

Greyboy and Truly Odd had some space and had a good assortment of stuff for sale?some cool like the Hustler frame, and some not so cool…

Greyboy and Truly Odd’s sidehack wasn’t for sale, but it sure did get a lot of attention.

Greyboy’s neighbor was chillin’ with this rad bike he build up. It’s decked out with Odyssey parts and has inspired me to build a street machine of my own. 

I remember a kid at my local track in the early 80’s who raced with a Sling Shot. We used to joke that with one snip of some cable cutters it would all be over. This 24″ was dialed with an Elina seat and a healthy portion or red parts. 

Plastic Addicks sprockets, a nice Mongoose vinyl pad, and a new set of Zap Pads. Racers used to rip the teeth off of those sprockets. I raced with one once when I was 7 years old. After I was leading the main at the local race and it fell off over the first jump I never used it again.