1979 Survivor CYC Stormer

Posted in 1979, Bike Identifying on January 31, 2010 by Erick Weinstetter

Rick of Vintage Mongoose sent me a couple pictures of his all original 1979. Now we cant be certain if its a 79 or 80 but till someone can narrow the year we will call it a 79. It still has the 78 headtube decal which leads me to believe its a 79.

What a great great example of CYC. Thanks for sharing Rick.

Owen Dowdy – Factory CYC

Posted in 1980, CYC Team Riders on January 27, 2010 by Erick Weinstetter

I recently spotted this photo from a 1980 issue of “Bicycle Motocross Action”. It covered a race in Missouri and showed the Missouri hot shoes sitting in the pits. Owen Dowdy was on his bike in the picture. I read at the site Vintage BMX that Owen has passed away. Man i still feel 19 , its hard to believe so many great racers are no longer with us.

Tom Christopher – Factory Tioga

Posted in CYC Team Riders on January 6, 2010 by Erick Weinstetter

If you read the below post and comments on factory CYC racer Tom Christopher, you will understand why I posted this new thread. Tom had a long career on the track with great success. A family and sponsors that supported him. This advertisement (shown in part) is from September 1982 issue of BMX Plus!.

Today you can witness Toms continued accomplishments. Using the same values that lead to a career on the track have led him to one off the track. After BMX he went to college. Just like training for a BMX National, finishing school takes dedication and a goal. After College he went on to Law School. Today a practing lawyer Tom is raising a family and the cycle of success and family values continues.

Tom Christopher – Factory CYC

Posted in 1979, CYC Team Riders on December 16, 2009 by Erick Weinstetter

Wow I never knew CYC had sponsored Tom Christopher. My earliest memories of him were with Tioga. How could CYC miss the boat and not have the 4X rider featured in their advertisements in 1979? Maik Puschert sent me these two scans from the March 1980 issue of “Minicycle/BMX Action”. My guess is they are from a late 1979 race. It is a Malibu Grand Prix track. The NBA sanctioned races at this franchise all across America.

1977 Stormer Survivor

Posted in 1977 on December 16, 2009 by Erick Weinstetter

Got these pictures from Keith Villa showing off his  classic 1977 CYC Stormer. He pointed out that it still had the original Skyway Tuff Wheel 1’s. The forks are rare chromed and stamped Ashtubula. The stem is a black stamped Ashtubula. The decals are in pretty good shape for a 1977.  Kieth bought this bike in 1977. So it is the truest form of survivor. Parts list also includes KKT pedals, Oakley grips and Nankang MX tires.

CYC Pikes Peak Part 1

Posted in 1978, Pikes Peak on November 21, 2009 by Erick Weinstetter

These pictures are from the October 1978 issue of “Bicycle Motocross Action”. They appear courtesy of Bob Osborn. Do not reprint or publish without his expressed written permission.

Seeing the bash guard on the Stormer Jr. made me wonder if it wasn’t the Pikes Peak bike. So I had to find the article. Clearly the bash guards are different. And the bike in the test is a regular Stormer. I have not reprinted the article do to its very long length. I may later on till then try to get your hands on the magazine and enjoy these pictures in the meantime.

1978 or 79 Pikes Peak Stormer Jr.

Posted in 1978, 1979 on November 21, 2009 by Erick Weinstetter

Ok this bike was recently spotted and I had to add it to the site. Thanks to Steve for sending me the pictures. Two very unsual things about this bike. First was immeadiately obvious. The bike has a CYC Bashgaurd just like the one in the article in “Bicycle Motocross Action” on Pikes Peak.

Was this that bike, or merely a local attempt to duplicate the Pikes Peak bike?  **Editors Note- See the article above (Pikes Peak). Clearly the bash guards are different, and the bike used in the test was stickered as a regular Stormer. **

Second was the decal says Stormer Jr. Never heard of this model before. The bike shows tall and looks like a a regular Stormer. This bike has a 18.5″ top tube just like a regular Stormer.  So what is the difference? Could it be that CYC had intended to do a CYC Stormer Jr. Model and just never did? This clearly looks like a regular Stormer to me. Could it be the factory simply mislabeled it? This is a very interesting find.

***This just in*** Barry (last name unknown) just commented that he was on the CYC mailing list for years.  CYC it turns out made a production run of special edition Pikes Peak Stormers and Stormer Jr.’s. maybe 500 of the Stormers and 250 of the Stormer Jr.s were planned for production. It is unclear how many they actually produced. Thanks for the info Barry!***

 

1980 NBmxA Winter Nationals

Posted in 1980, CYC Team Riders on October 28, 2009 by Erick Weinstetter

The 1980 NBmxA Winter Nationals were covered by BMX Plus!

The picture of is of a local rider, Charles Davis from Las Vegas doing it for CYC.

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At the same race it shows 1979 NBA #1 X (SoCal) rider Tom Christopher aboard a CYC Ames Stormer.

It looks to me like he is wearing a CYC Jersey as the rider above him is.

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The “Lost” CYC Stormers

Posted in 1981 on September 23, 2009 by Erick Weinstetter

I just came across these pictures from the one time magazine “BMX Racer” from Jan. 1981. It shows 2 Stormer models I didn’t remember. I owned that magazine back in those days just don’t remember these pictures. First we have the “Stormer Comp 2″ It is basically a new name for the Ames Stormer.

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This second bike looks amazing. They list it only as the new Stormer so it is unclear if it had a fuller name like Pro Stormer etc.  Note all the changes. New huge top tube, new down tube bends at the headtube like the GT Performer but years before the Performer. Nice cool lil gusset tube like the National Pro or Webco Professional. The rear dropouts look like works of art. The seat stays meld into the top tube like I remember Astron’s or was it BXC or Traker did?

Not sure if this bike ever went into production or if you are looking at a picture of the only one known to exist. Had CYC came out with a sweet graphics package and ran ads for this bike, I’m sure it woulda been popular.

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Mike Muniz with Ernie Alexander 1978

Posted in 1978, CYC Team Riders on September 7, 2009 by Erick Weinstetter

I recieved some great photos from Mike Muniz. One is of him with his second place trophy at the 1978 NBA Grand Nationals indoor LA Sports Arena race.  Standing with him is NBA President and Founder Ernie Alexander. At the time the NBA was the undisputed king of BMX.  I have more pictures from Mike I will upload from time to time. Thanks Mike for digging them up!

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