Discussion
Obiwonkeyblokey said:
OK, Now I have a frame winging its way to me the internal debate about colour has started. as much as I want the graphite Tuffs, im thinking of either blue or white with some chrome ez bars and blue grips.
....I feel this could be a long road of umming and aaahing...
Get yourself onto the BMX Museum to see what colour combinations exist. I am a strictly BLACK man (well, not literally) but I found myself really enjoying the TAs with red or blue wheels - and although I'm not terribly keen on white Tuffs, some did look pretty.....I feel this could be a long road of umming and aaahing...
Nice response from Skyway.
Skyway said:
Thank you for your purchase of genuine Skyway Tuffwheels!
I appreciate your feedback regarding our current brake pads. Our goal
is to hit the right balance between braking performance (soft and
sticky) and durability over time. Your message is the first we have
received from a rider that would like the current brake pads softer.
In previous production runs, we had numerous reports of brake pads
wearing out too fast so we did stiffen up the formula a little bit.
We constantly monitor feedback from riders like yourself and make
changes and improvements based on what riders tell us. We will take
your helpful opinion into account as we consider formulations of
future production runs.
... although I am surprised they say mine is the first negative comment they've received because I've recently spoken with a number of people (must be 12-15 now) and not one has a good word to say about these pads.I appreciate your feedback regarding our current brake pads. Our goal
is to hit the right balance between braking performance (soft and
sticky) and durability over time. Your message is the first we have
received from a rider that would like the current brake pads softer.
In previous production runs, we had numerous reports of brake pads
wearing out too fast so we did stiffen up the formula a little bit.
We constantly monitor feedback from riders like yourself and make
changes and improvements based on what riders tell us. We will take
your helpful opinion into account as we consider formulations of
future production runs.
Now since I was a 13 year old kid I always wondered.....
The Skyway TA, its stands for 'Totally Aerodynamic' the tubes are tear drop shapped to make it slip through the air, the advertising back in the day was really pushing how aerodynamic it was.
Is there any proof what so ever that at riding speeds this frame is anymore aerodynamic than a Raleigh Grifter?
Can Skyway for the last 35 odd years be accused of 'mis-selling' the TA as there is no independent official wind tunnel tests to back it up?!
Its still a lovely bike though & def on my list to have one day. Great build
The Skyway TA, its stands for 'Totally Aerodynamic' the tubes are tear drop shapped to make it slip through the air, the advertising back in the day was really pushing how aerodynamic it was.
Is there any proof what so ever that at riding speeds this frame is anymore aerodynamic than a Raleigh Grifter?
Can Skyway for the last 35 odd years be accused of 'mis-selling' the TA as there is no independent official wind tunnel tests to back it up?! Its still a lovely bike though & def on my list to have one day. Great build
splodge s4 said:
Now since I was a 13 year old kid I always wondered.....
The Skyway TA, its stands for 'Totally Aerodynamic' the tubes are tear drop shapped to make it slip through the air, the advertising back in the day was really pushing how aerodynamic it was.
Is there any proof what so ever that at riding speeds this frame is anymore aerodynamic than a Raleigh Grifter? Can Skyway for the last 35 odd years be accused of 'mis-selling' the TA as there is no independent official wind tunnel tests to back it up?!
Its still a lovely bike though & def on my list to have one day. Great build
Naah, it was all hogwash. The real reason for creating the egg-shaped-tubing was to create a greater weld length per joint. The TA doesn't need a gusset as many others from the time employed, yet it still had fairly narrow profile tubing (when viewed from above) and this is the reason.The Skyway TA, its stands for 'Totally Aerodynamic' the tubes are tear drop shapped to make it slip through the air, the advertising back in the day was really pushing how aerodynamic it was.
Is there any proof what so ever that at riding speeds this frame is anymore aerodynamic than a Raleigh Grifter?
Can Skyway for the last 35 odd years be accused of 'mis-selling' the TA as there is no independent official wind tunnel tests to back it up?! Its still a lovely bike though & def on my list to have one day. Great build
If you could see the fat knacker that will sit on mine when it's finished, you wouldn't be talking about aerodynamics but you'd certainly wonder why the frame doesn't brake under the strain.
Fantastic thread.
Back in the day i travelled to Cambridge to buy a black ripper frame and landing gear forks which was £150 from memory. Arrived at the shop and was a tenner short and ended up buying an identical TA to yours - £140 .... one slight difference is that on the downtube sticker mine said TA after the Skyway.
Loved the bike and regret chucking it, it sstood me at around £500 which i had earnt illegally working night shifts in a bakery !!! I was only 14 and the minimum age was 16 - thanks dad for getting me that *lovely* job !!
Back in the day i travelled to Cambridge to buy a black ripper frame and landing gear forks which was £150 from memory. Arrived at the shop and was a tenner short and ended up buying an identical TA to yours - £140 .... one slight difference is that on the downtube sticker mine said TA after the Skyway.
Loved the bike and regret chucking it, it sstood me at around £500 which i had earnt illegally working night shifts in a bakery !!! I was only 14 and the minimum age was 16 - thanks dad for getting me that *lovely* job !!
I've just read this thread from start to finish and am now looking at bikes available on eBay
My only worry is, like the OP, that I'm too bloody big to ride one now - 5'11" and, err, a tad over 17 stone! EEK!
I was 11 when my Dad bought me a BMX for Christmas in 1981 (which had a Kashi Aero seat, BTW - seemingly now worth more than my then £100 bike was then!) - and I know my wife will think me mental for suddenly buying a bike no bigger than the 20" wheeled GT (BMX style bike) my 8 1/2 year old daughter now has....
My only worry is, like the OP, that I'm too bloody big to ride one now - 5'11" and, err, a tad over 17 stone! EEK!
I was 11 when my Dad bought me a BMX for Christmas in 1981 (which had a Kashi Aero seat, BTW - seemingly now worth more than my then £100 bike was then!) - and I know my wife will think me mental for suddenly buying a bike no bigger than the 20" wheeled GT (BMX style bike) my 8 1/2 year old daughter now has....
5potTurbo said:
I've just read this thread from start to finish and am now looking at bikes available on eBay
My only worry is, like the OP, that I'm too bloody big to ride one now - 5'11" and, err, a tad over 17 stone! EEK!
I was 11 when my Dad bought me a BMX for Christmas in 1981 (which had a Kashi Aero seat, BTW - seemingly now worth more than my then £100 bike was then!) - and I know my wife will think me mental for suddenly buying a bike no bigger than the 20" wheeled GT (BMX style bike) my 8 1/2 year old daughter now has....
Ah go for it. You only live once.My only worry is, like the OP, that I'm too bloody big to ride one now - 5'11" and, err, a tad over 17 stone! EEK!
I was 11 when my Dad bought me a BMX for Christmas in 1981 (which had a Kashi Aero seat, BTW - seemingly now worth more than my then £100 bike was then!) - and I know my wife will think me mental for suddenly buying a bike no bigger than the 20" wheeled GT (BMX style bike) my 8 1/2 year old daughter now has....
Complete Skyway bike just sold on Ebay for ~£670 with a much lower spec than mine. It might turn out to be an investment.
Absolutely go for it, another here who due to this thread (and Splodge's last year) has been scanning the ads. BMX passed me by at the time so this is a learning curve for me. OK so next to the Skyways it's "only a Burner Mk2" but the fun is in finding the bits and breathing life back into a discarded frame, paint is done now (team colours) so it's stickers next and then onto speccing/building - excellent fun!
Mars said:
If you ever see the EZ-1 (original style) in white powdercoat - ping me a message please. I would definitely consider buying those. I don't much like the over-designed look of the EZ-2. 
Like these?
I still have them but they are in sh#t state & I was thinking of keeping them in case I do a TA build sometime. Its not very often you see mk1 bars. The trouble with these is when you fall off the bike it often ends up with the front curved bar hitting the concrete scratching it, hence I sprayed these a few times back in the day.
Brilliant thread. Been following this (and getting inspiration) as I try and assemble my TA. Found a frame and forks in the States which looked like it was in pretty decent condition.
Guy I bought it from is the skateboarding legend John Cardiel, who has a bike shop in California now.
Spent several weeks buying up NOS parts and then when the frame turned up, decided it would be worth getting it re-chromed. Its an investment, I also keep telling myself!
FYI, someone mentioned TA written on their 'Skyway' sticker on the bottom tube - that means it was an XL frame so slightly longer chainstays.
Here's some quick pics to show the colour scheme I've gone for
Guy I bought it from is the skateboarding legend John Cardiel, who has a bike shop in California now.
Spent several weeks buying up NOS parts and then when the frame turned up, decided it would be worth getting it re-chromed. Its an investment, I also keep telling myself!
FYI, someone mentioned TA written on their 'Skyway' sticker on the bottom tube - that means it was an XL frame so slightly longer chainstays.
Here's some quick pics to show the colour scheme I've gone for
^^^ That looks great. I love blue - my Caterham was blue.
splodge s4 said:
Its a pity we dont all live a bit closer together, i'd love to see these builds, a quick beer with the bikes lined up in a beer garden somewhere would be great
Yeah, we're not that close are we? Where I live (Redditch) we do have a new BMX track which looks good. I've travelled fror car-meetings before - perhaps we should have the first PH BMX meeting? Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff