jipster43

Thanks for the good words fellas. It's been a long time since I built a bike that I felt worthy of this forum. JP

She's a '79. The best year in BMX history! JP

Hey Jamie! It's always sweet to see someone from the ol' days! I can't wait to see what you post up! I hope all is well in yer world. JP

I have walked my dog past the same thrift store every day for the past 9 years and this is the bike that I always dreamt of finding there but never have. Instead I slowly assembled this bugger as parts became available. I really wanted it to have a survivor feel to it, so the cranks are Dura Ace on the drive side and Campy on the left. Most of the parts are all well used. The Tuf Neck stem has hammer marks all over it and a mismatched stem bolt. The DeCoster forks' crown was so banged up I thought I'd never get the crown race to fit right, but everything went together relatively smoothly. I've had a lot of cool vintage bmx bikes in the past 15 years, but this is definitely my favorite of all time. Now if I could only score a Sentry and an Avalanche my collecting would be complete.... Right! Parts List: Patterson Pro Long Frame (nickel) DeCoster Forks (nickel) Tuf Neck Stem Tuf Neck Bars Team Products Lever (I think?) Grab On MX II grips Campy Hubs Araya 7B rims MX 900 brake OMAS Titanium Bottom Bracket Dura Ace Crank (drive side) Campy Strada Crank (left hand side) Reedy Pedals Freccia D'Oro Saddle Addicks Clamp Cheng Shin Tires JP

Here are a couple of shots of my treasure as found... including pads. JP

Sweet! I need a set for my '82 Patterson. JP

Incredible! Thanks Dennis! JP

I covet.

Thanks Matt! That's the ad. Your Patterson is a favorite of mine too. That stem could send my daughter to college! JP

Ridiculously nice. The neighborhood girls would call that filthy! JP

Well played sir. JP

I'm not against getting an education. I'm just a very slow learner. Heck. I've been on these bmx boards for over a decade and I still learn of new bmx parts and even frames that I was never aware of back in the day. I must be pretty dense, 'cause I'm very much in the "don't touch it" camp. I cringe when I see someone alter a well loved part. The only thing I disagree with is the offensive statements some make in an attempt to educate. I don't think it serves the cause. I also find myself repeating the blasphemous mantra, "It's his bike. Let him do what he wants with it." I know it's an unpopular phrase here, but I can't help it. So I guess I'm a bit of a peddling paradox. I'm not sure I understand how far or to what extent this "saving for posterity" needs to go. How many unmolested versions of each bike need to survive for the future to be served? And what future is served when 99% of these bikes reside in everyone's homes? Many of them are never even ridden. What does it matter if a fella' has an untouched survivor hiding in his basement or some monstrosity of a vintage bike hiding in his basement? At that level it seems to me that the most important thing is that it's appreciated, so who am I to say what another fella' ought to covet? It just seems somewhat presumptuous and elitist. As I've said before I don't mean to offend or ruffle anyone's feathers, and I know this attitude lands me squarely in the "Doesn't get it and never will" category. That's okay. My ego can use a good tromping on from time to time. Just understand this. I'm on board with nearly everything espoused here. I just don't get the need to trash other people in the effort to promote a purist agenda. JP

Awesome thread Aaron! Your Avalanche is one of my all-time favorite builds - if not top. Easily in the top five. I've been drooling over it for years now and it never gets old. I used to work in an office building next to AAA Fire Extenguishers on the ship canal in Seattle and always wondered if it had any connection to the Pattersons. I would poke my head around to see if I could recognize a Patterson mug/bike, but never did. I would have liked to have asked Vance about the real "drop" date of the Avalanche. The first ad I'm aware of for the Avalanche is on page 29 of the May '79 issue of BMXA. It lists the "Brent Patterson frame" and the "Anderson frame". The headline reads, "The Anderson Avalanche Frame is Here!". It also shows forks and two sizes of Thruster style bars being available. The picture of the AA is the same as shown earlier in this thread without the brake bridge and the Sentry style downtube decal. I apologize for not posting the pic, but I'm still wallowing in the pong generation. I have no scanner. As has been stated before, this ad would have been ready to go two months or so before the publication date of 5/79. Conceivably you could have gotten yer grubby mitts on an Avalanche as early as March of '79... if you knew the right people. I'm guessing very few people outside of the Northern California in crowd were able to get one until closer to 1980. But I'm just speculating. I'd love to know the exact date these really became available to a kid living in Seattle. On a side note I have a "Brent Patterson" that I've always referred to as a Patterson Long. I've also heard people call them a Patterson Pro. My serial number is L0193. I've always assumed that number would make it a '79, but now I'm beginning to believe it's probably a 1980. Does anyone have a good guess? JP

Three pages in and no one has mentioned DG?! Totally proto-ala-moto! Worst would be... Ross. JP

In the December '77 issue of BMXA (pg. 24,25) there's a Mongoose add with gold Motomags. But I agree that the motomags I saw as a young kid were usually painted. I did cringe when I saw that feller strip those 600's though. I've been casually looking for those cranks for quite a while now. The two toned spider/crank arm is what sets those jobbers apart. JP