Who here has had a Torker or currently owns one!? be sure to send me an instagram pic of your bikes and I will be showcasing them with an appreciation video once I hit 20k subs. Thank you all for the support!
What,no mention of Tommy Brackens? A NORA CUP winner,a trophy the likes of Eddie King and Clint Miller never won and Mike Miranda’s best pal,both of them teammates at Torker.
I had and raced a lot of different bikes back in the day, four of which were Torkers. A 1979 Big Bike, a 1982 L.P. Long (sometimes referred to as an LPX), a 1982 24" cruiser, and a 1984 Pro-X. I'm an old school racer that knows BMX history very well, and I really enjoyed watching this. Usually these kind of videos just annoy the shit out of me with inaccuracies, but you did a very thorough job with researching the history of Torker and it really shows. Torker always had a super strong team back in their heyday from 77 to 84, with so many outstanding racers there is no way you would have been able mention them all, so I'll do it here. Aside from the racers mentioned in the video there was also, Tommy Brackens, Mat Harris, Leo Green, Bryan Dworshak, Mike King, Cathy Hanna, Patti Gammill, Kelly McDougall, Craig Bark, Willie Huebner, Jason Foxe, Jennie Zuener, Jason Theodore, Jeff Osmus, Todd Corbitt, and Dave Marietti (who as a teenager while racing for Torker started two companies, Wizard Number Plates, and Hot Shoppe Designs which he still owns/operates making BMX jerseys/pants).
I had the very first Torker “L.P” prototype. SN0001 My older Brother was close friends with the Johnson’s. And owned a bicycle shop that sold Torkers. While I was in Steve Johnson’s office picking up bikes for my brothers shop. Mr Johnson reached from behind his desk and handed me the first LP frame made. I owned it from 1978 just until a couple years ago when I sold it to a Torker collector. His name is Ely.
They got into freestyle a little too late, then when they got sold, they weren't marketed properly. I'm so glad they were picked up by Bill Ryan at Supercross BMX.
Bill is such a good dude! I'm definitely going to do a supercross video in the future. I'm actually talking with Doug Johnson as well about getting some photographs from Torkers beginning and using them in an upcoming video
@MossieRidesBikes you should do a video on Voris Dixon, he taught Bill Ryan how to build bikes and build some of the most influential bikes and parts ever
Love the videos Cam, keep them coming especially the BMX ones. I am an old school racer and I still race today at 54. I got a good one for ya. How about doing one on Race Inc. I'm sure you can find a bit of info on them. I currently own a '79 Race Inc. and 2 RA 16's and 1 RA 24. These were built by Chris Hancock, the owner of Race Inc. before he sold it. One of the RA16's is the only anodized red one I know of. Toby Henderson helped with the company getting brought to where they are today.
I had a Torker MX frame I bought when I was in junior high school. I kept it to give to my son, but when he wanted a mountain bike, I sold it to a collector.
I still have my 1978 Torker, (frame purchased at Whees N’ Things in August of that year).Frame #TG. 616. It has the forward facing rear dropouts. I did a ground-up restoration on it as a retirement project earlier this year. It brought back good memories of riding with friends.
I had a sweet chrome racing-style Torker w/a Torker 3 fork (which was a freestyle type). Sold it to a feiend in great condition for what I had paid for it about 20yrs ago. Wish I still had it ofcourse. Great story of Torker here...thx!
Great vid!! Correct me if i'm wrong but didn't Torker start in Fullerton , CA ? Or were its true origins in Anaheim Hills CA ? Any input would be much appreciated as i've always been under the impression that Torker is a Fullerton OG just like GT...
BMX was a wildcat thing at that point. Later came the bikes we know such as the DBR Mongoose and GT. Robinson and CW came along a little later. Prior to that all we had was those Rebar Stingray's. Some damn good times and memories were made with all the BMX discipline brought to the table. Motomags were truck wheels stuffed into a BMX, making for a bicycle weighing in like the Titanic! The million dollar question is... Who are the players in the return of Torker? Frankly, the bicycle segment has had more acquisitions and disappearances of brands than imaginable. So much tradition and heritage had been unwittingly created in the 70's and 80's BMX segment. Mountain bike and especially trials has had this phenomenon happen even more prevalently.
Do Murry next! had a Murry Team that my folks brought over from U.S to U.k when we moved (air force brat) in X'mas of 79. Been looking for vids on Murry but haven't found much.
Experimental aircraft are almost ALL aircraft not used for commercial purposes. Basically every personal/private, educational, and recreational aircraft out there! I'd bet more than a few of yer subjects had a private pilot's license! Steve's mom sounds RAD! This is a great story! I had an MX given to me in about 1992, and I'm pretty sure my parents still have it in a room in their shop somewhere. It was there about 15 years ago anyway! Lol! I'll have to hunt down those old framesets, and bikes from when our old neighbor was getting out of BMX and into supercross. I've got a bunch of Powerlites, and Redlines. I need to pull em out, and line em up and shoot ya a pic!
Okay, well, my dad’s an electrical engineer who invented the Carbon Monoxide detector…he then became the only engineer in the world _(outside the active military)_ allowed to maintain or fix Inmarsat-M satellite telephone systems, he bought me whatever the hell I wanted, I bet my 1996 Dyno Air is heavier than a Schwinn Stingray…
The Agualara family and my father Mike Jenkins became good friends in the 70's. My dad had a bike store in Henderson NV Agualara gave my sister and i each a fram , mine was blueprinted and balanced for mike . I raced it one season it was stolen at Desert Surf BMX and Water park. My sister Brenda Jenkins was #1 in the nation 3 years in a row in podwerpuff until she was forced into mens class , crooked times. She still has the bike today in bonneylake .WA
talking about Matt Haden but missing out on Steve Veltman (showing him in the vid), You can do better my friend...besides loving your work and dedication...
Who here has had a Torker or currently owns one!? be sure to send me an instagram pic of your bikes and I will be showcasing them with an appreciation video once I hit 20k subs. Thank you all for the support!
I had one as a kid and I have a new one.
Hutch guy here. I would love to see the CW story.
What,no mention of Tommy Brackens? A NORA CUP winner,a trophy the likes of Eddie King and Clint Miller never won and Mike Miranda’s best pal,both of them teammates at Torker.
Thank you for the feature! It was great talking to you and I hope everyone enjoys where we take Torker in the future!!
I had and raced a lot of different bikes back in the day, four of which were Torkers. A 1979 Big Bike, a 1982 L.P. Long (sometimes referred to as an LPX), a 1982 24" cruiser, and a 1984 Pro-X. I'm an old school racer that knows BMX history very well, and I really enjoyed watching this. Usually these kind of videos just annoy the shit out of me with inaccuracies, but you did a very thorough job with researching the history of Torker and it really shows. Torker always had a super strong team back in their heyday from 77 to 84, with so many outstanding racers there is no way you would have been able mention them all, so I'll do it here. Aside from the racers mentioned in the video there was also, Tommy Brackens, Mat Harris, Leo Green, Bryan Dworshak, Mike King, Cathy Hanna, Patti Gammill, Kelly McDougall, Craig Bark, Willie Huebner, Jason Foxe, Jennie Zuener, Jason Theodore, Jeff Osmus, Todd Corbitt, and Dave Marietti (who as a teenager while racing for Torker started two companies, Wizard Number Plates, and Hot Shoppe Designs which he still owns/operates making BMX jerseys/pants).
My buddy still has his Torker from the 80’s
😎👍🏻👍🏻🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
I had the very first Torker “L.P” prototype. SN0001 My older Brother was close friends with the Johnson’s. And owned a bicycle shop that sold Torkers. While I was in Steve Johnson’s office picking up bikes for my brothers shop. Mr Johnson reached from behind his desk and handed me the first LP frame made. I owned it from 1978 just until a couple years ago when I sold it to a Torker collector. His name is Ely.
I can say I owned a torker and it was absolutely freaking great
They got into freestyle a little too late, then when they got sold, they weren't marketed properly. I'm so glad they were picked up by Bill Ryan at Supercross BMX.
That’s cool you featured Bill, I was going to suggest you reach out to him about Supercross and BMX history in general.
Bill is such a good dude! I'm definitely going to do a supercross video in the future.
I'm actually talking with Doug Johnson as well about getting some photographs from Torkers beginning and using them in an upcoming video
@MossieRidesBikes you should do a video on Voris Dixon, he taught Bill Ryan how to build bikes and build some of the most influential bikes and parts ever
Thanks for the video, great history resume. I've ordered a Torker MX26, hope to have it in a few weeks :)
Love the videos Cam, keep them coming especially the BMX ones. I am an old school racer and I still race today at 54. I got a good one for ya. How about doing one on Race Inc. I'm sure you can find a bit of info on them. I currently own a '79 Race Inc. and 2 RA 16's and 1 RA 24. These were built by Chris Hancock, the owner of Race Inc. before he sold it. One of the RA16's is the only anodized red one I know of. Toby Henderson helped with the company getting brought to where they are today.
Great video , very informative
I had a Torker MX frame I bought when I was in junior high school. I kept it to give to my son, but when he wanted a mountain bike, I sold it to a collector.
Thanks, Good Times. I still have my Haro Sport made by Torker 0027HS🚴
I still have my 1978 Torker, (frame purchased at Whees N’ Things in August of that year).Frame #TG. 616. It has the forward facing rear dropouts. I did a ground-up restoration on it as a retirement project earlier this year. It brought back good memories of riding with friends.
These history lessons have been so cool! Keep up the good work. I'd love to learn more about Dan's Comp and K2 bikes
Great video, lots I didn't know.
I still have my torker from 1982.. took me a year to build that bike.
I owned an 84 pro x when i was as kid and it was stolen in about 1997-98. And now I have a new pro x and I just ordered a new LP for my daughter.
I had a torker 2 360 as a kid in 1988. Would love to still have it
My question is what happened to Hutch BMX they took high end BMX to a new level in the 80s
Yeah, I was gonna say that same thing! I had a nice Hutch, ending up giving it to my Little cousin. Was a sweet bike.👌
I remember those torker bars that were bent. Never could afford them being a kid. But man I thought they were sick.
I had a sweet chrome racing-style Torker w/a Torker 3 fork (which was a freestyle type). Sold it to a feiend in great condition for what I had paid for it about 20yrs ago. Wish I still had it ofcourse. Great story of Torker here...thx!
Great vid!!
Correct me if i'm wrong but didn't Torker start in Fullerton , CA ? Or were its true origins in Anaheim Hills CA ?
Any input would be much appreciated as i've always been under the impression that Torker is a Fullerton OG just like GT...
Hay bro great videos!!
History of S&M bikes when?
i have quite a few 80s BMX's and my Torker 280 is my best riding bike of them all
BMX was a wildcat thing at that point. Later came the bikes we know such as the DBR Mongoose and GT. Robinson and CW came along a little later. Prior to that all we had was those Rebar Stingray's. Some damn good times and memories were made with all the BMX discipline brought to the table. Motomags were truck wheels stuffed into a BMX, making for a bicycle weighing in like the Titanic!
The million dollar question is... Who are the players in the return of Torker?
Frankly, the bicycle segment has had more acquisitions and disappearances of brands than imaginable. So much tradition and heritage had been unwittingly created in the 70's and 80's BMX segment. Mountain bike and especially trials has had this phenomenon happen even more prevalently.
I got a late 80's Seattle built one. I'd love to see the big BMX in Australia.
Awesome brand
Do Murry next! had a Murry Team that my folks brought over from U.S to U.k when we moved (air force brat) in X'mas of 79. Been looking for vids on Murry but haven't found much.
Mikey! Top left at 3:50
Experimental aircraft are almost ALL aircraft not used for commercial purposes. Basically every personal/private, educational, and recreational aircraft out there! I'd bet more than a few of yer subjects had a private pilot's license!
Steve's mom sounds RAD! This is a great story! I had an MX given to me in about 1992, and I'm pretty sure my parents still have it in a room in their shop somewhere. It was there about 15 years ago anyway! Lol! I'll have to hunt down those old framesets, and bikes from when our old neighbor was getting out of BMX and into supercross. I've got a bunch of Powerlites, and Redlines. I need to pull em out, and line em up and shoot ya a pic!
I used to stack em up in my mom's shed when I woke up 20 yrs later they were all rusted 😅 I hope you have better luck if you find them 😂
Okay, well, my dad’s an electrical engineer who invented the Carbon Monoxide detector…he then became the only engineer in the world _(outside the active military)_ allowed to maintain or fix Inmarsat-M satellite telephone systems, he bought me whatever the hell I wanted, I bet my 1996 Dyno Air is heavier than a Schwinn Stingray…
Nice
I got a torker, got here in japan
The Agualara family and my father Mike Jenkins became good friends in the 70's. My dad had a bike store in Henderson NV Agualara gave my sister and i each a fram , mine was blueprinted and balanced for mike . I raced it one season it was stolen at Desert Surf BMX and Water park. My sister Brenda Jenkins was #1 in the nation 3 years in a row in podwerpuff until she was forced into mens class , crooked times. She still has the bike today in bonneylake .WA
talking about Matt Haden but missing out on Steve Veltman (showing him in the vid), You can do better my friend...besides loving your work and dedication...
🇫🇴🔥🔥🇫🇴