1993 SE Bikes Racing team.
1980- Perry Kramer doing Bunny hop using SE bike "P.K. Ripper" which stands for Perry Kramer Ripper bike.
Some sneak preview of my future frame
Sincerely, i never done any research about BMX but SE bikes (which known as SE Racing before merged with FUJI bikes in 2002, yes FUJI, the ones producing Tahoe and other models, FUJI origin is Japan, 1899), but after checking the background of the company and its history in BMX Racing, I think it will be a good buy, and what is more special is the X4 Flyer is the FIRST MTB produced by SE Bikes, before that, they only produces BMX frames.
Conclusion, owning an X4 Flyer can be considered as owning some sort of BMX and MTB piece of history. LOL. Even Brian Lopes have a background with SE Racing.
more info at www.sebikes.com
Complete assembled bike
There is nothing you cant get if you find with a help from a good friend, he told me that a store in USA are on sale for MTB frames, I asked for 4x/ dirt/urban/ jump frame with nice geometry and design.
So he recommended me SE racing X4 Flyer 2005 frame, the frame selling at steal price as it is on christmas clearance sale back in USA. The price tag? under usd 300 including shipment.
After checking SE Racing History, i decided the frame is good, it is lightweight than DaBomb C4, i wanted to get Dabomb Molotov2 or Trigger but the price tag is more than RM1k, so i have to forget it.
The C4 is a good frame but the weight distribution is heavier at the rear, i find a bit difficult to maximize my bunny hop.
The 2005 SE X4 Flyer seems to have similar design as 2008 Merida TFS350D Trail frame design which i used before, i love the Merida but the rear stay seems very flimsy so i sold it off as i dont want to abuse it for freeride use, now the X4 Flyer offers me the TFS350D geometry but with beefier and stronger rear design.
SE RACING HISTORY www.sebikes.com
SE Racing's history started over 35 years ago in 1970. That’s when teenage entrepreneur, Scot Breithaupt began promoting "Pedal-Cross" races in Long Beach, CA. This was considered the birth of organized BMX racing. Soon afterwards, he created a sanctioning body with a points system, governed rules, and regulations.
After capturing the first ever National BMX Title in 1976, Scot started his own BMX company named “SE Racing.” Seeing as it was his own company, he named it after himself. The “SE” stands for Scot Enterprise. The first biked he designed was the STR-1 (now known as the Quadangle) for Stu Thomsen. Next up was the GH Flyer mini designed for a young Greg Hill. Shortly after came the P.K. Ripper named after a local ripper, Perry Kramer. Over the years, the P.K. Ripper became the most sought after BMX bike of all time.
Scot Breithaupt 2006 (most left)pic at Eurobike fest
In 1977, the SE Racing team launched the first BMX promotional tour across the country with their "All Star Team." In 1981, the team traveled the country in the infamous camouflage painted school bus. They hosted BMX clinics, dominated BMX nationals, and made their presence known all across the US. Over the years, SE sponsored some of the best Pro and Amateur BMXers out there. Riders such as: Perry Kramer, Stu Thomsen, Greg Hill, Toby Henderson, Brian Lopes, Eric and Robbie Rupe, Jeff Utterback, Rod Beckering, Darryl Young, Chris Sanchez, and Bubba Hayes. All of these riders helped to create the most legendary BMX team in the history of the sport. There are more SE riders in the BMX Hall of Fame than any other team in history!
In the 1980's, SE created new bikes like the O.M. Flyer (a 26" BMX cruiser) and the 24" Floval Flyer cruiser. SE also revolutionized the industry with their oversized Landing Gear fork. This fork was designed to withstand the constant abuse from racers who spent their spare time dirt jumping out in the fields. There’s no doubt that the Landing Gear fork has been the most popular BMX fork over the last two decades.
When BMX racing started to boom, interest began to rise among the younger generation. So SE created the baddest little bike around; the Mini Ripper. Scot and his partner, Mike Devitt also developed a full line of Freestyle bikes and components. Eventually Mike became the sole owner of SE Racing.
Mike, a BMX pioneer himself, took SE Racing to a new level in the early 1990's. He perfected the P.K. Ripper and created the Ripper Jr, a bike to meet the needs of 8-12 year olds. He also created the aluminum Quadangle, the Chromoly and aluminum Assassin models and basically refined the whole line to reflect the market’s needs.
In August of 2002, SE Racing was bought by Advanced Sports Inc. Under this new ownership, SE bikes were distributed worldwide. In 2003, Todd Lyons came on board as SE’s sponsored pro rider. In his first year on the team, he rode his signature “Wildman” bike all over the world and even into an X-Games final. In 2004, Ryan Guettler joined the team as SE’s first high-profile BMX dirt/street rider. With an X-Games bronze medal and earning the title of “King of Dirt,” he’s brought SE into the eyes of millions of TV viewers.
2005 was a stellar year with Ryan Guettler winning almost every contest he entered aboard his custom SE. He captured the overall series win in both dirt and street in the “Dew Action Sports Tour.” This five month long contest series was broadcast on NBC sports, thus making SE a household name. On the race front, an SE Racing factory team was put together and hit up nationals all across the country. A grassroots sponsorship program also went into full effect. SE also introduced two new big wheeled bikes. The X4 Flyer mountain bike and the 29” single speed BM Flyer.
One of the most respected and pioneering BMX bicycle models is named after him: The P.K. Ripper manufactured by Scot Enterprises (SE) Racing. It was one of the first production BMX bicycles to be made from aluminum. It is a metal that was difficult to work with vis-à-vis bicycle frame construction and if not manufactured correctly, fragile. As a result it was also more expensive than typical steel bicycles. The P.K. Ripper was one of the first aluminum framed BMX bicycles that was reliable and durable for racing and competitively priced. It was in many ways ahead of its time. That it resembles a modern BMX bicycle is no accident. Most modern BMX race bicycles are usually made from aluminum. Like the P.K. modern aluminum bicycle frames have oversized flattened downtubes and toptubes which was called on the Ripper (and a pioneering S.E. Racing BMX Cruiser) "Floval" by the founder of S.E. Racing Scot Breithaupt. Also there is a pro cruiser by S.E. called the "floval flyer" A very unusual looking bicycle at the time as well as the "exotic" material it was fabricated from. When introduced most BMX bicycles were made from either hi-tensile steel or more expensive but stronger chromium-molybdenum steel. Chromium-molybdenum steel, commonly known as "Chromoly", while more expensive than high-tensile steel, it was cheaper than aluminum, in part it was much easier to fabricate and more reliable in terms of durability than most other aluminum framed race bicycles on the market at the time. Aluminum, while significantly lighter and much less subject to corrosion than chromoly steel, is more brittle and less resilient than chromoly. The frame must be absolutely stiff or it is subject to failing abruptly, i.e. snapping in two suddenly. It will succumb from metal fatigue at a much faster rate, especially if it is subjected to flexing. This is why the tubes of an aluminum frame are both of a larger diameter and are thicker walled than chromoly tubes, to maintain stiffness. Further, aluminum is harder to weld. The welds have to be extra strong and "double butted" and thorough which gives the aluminum frame with its very obvious beaded welds an "unfinished" look, as if someone forgot to sand them down at the factory to give it the clean almost one piece look of a chromoly frame. As a result the weight advantage of aluminum is reduced significantly, in addition to it higher fabrication cost.[8] For these reasons the Chromoly steel frame and fork was the standard of BMX racing and freestyle for twenty years. Only in the mid 1990's as manufacturing advances-many pioneered in the construction of mountain bike frames-made aluminum cheaper and easier to work with did aluminum framed race and freestyle bicycles begin to supplant chromoly. Today the aluminum BMX bicycle frame is the standard. The modern iteration of the P. K. Ripper is still manufactured by SE (now called Sports Engineering) Racing.
More info and interview about BMX, Scot Breithaupt and SE Racing history at:
http://www.bmxultra.com/prosection/inside/scotb.htm
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