2014 HARO 24" FREESTYLER BMX CRUISER - UPGRADES

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Rat Rod

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From time to time I stray a little bit from the Rat Rod style of bikes on display here and show off something that I think a lot of folks will appreciate. This time one of those bikes is the 2014 Haro 24" Freestyler BMX Cruiser.

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Haro Master Freestyler designed by the Master of Freestyle himself, Bob Haro, Haro decided to produce a vintage line of bikes to honor the occasion. They came up with a 20" Haro Freestyler Dominguez Sport to pay homage to Mike Dominguez, a 24" Master Freestyler (spoked & mags) and a 26" Master Freestyler. John Buultjens, BMX Brand Manager at Haro was kind enough to allow me to order one of these limited edition 24" versions so that I could do a review and show off the bling.

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John and his team went out of their way to make sure these bikes were top quality and true to the vintage Haro spirit. Although Haro never made a 24" or 26" Freestyler, the frame and fork design is an exact replica of the 80s model bike only larger for us big kids.

I received my bike yesterday and couldn't wait to get home and tear into the box and build it up. Everything arrived safely without any damage. The assembly went very smoothly with the exception of the chain. The factory white chain that came on the bike was roughly 2-3 links too short so I had to use another chain temporarily until a chrome chain I ordered from Porkchop BMX arrives.

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The first thing that you notice about this bike is the chrome and anodized parts. It's like a jewel parked in your garage and it's really hard to beat the look of anodized blue components. As I said before, the quality is really nice on this bike, from the DiaCompe MX1000 style front brake to the ODI Mushroom II grips and the Haro Lineage 3 piece crank set....it's hard to keep from drooling on the thing while you're putting it together.

I got mine assembled and wasn't able to take it for a real test ride until this evening. As you'd expect it was a really smooth, solid ride that felt very nimble. I'm 5'9" tall and 175lbs so the 24" is a decent fit for me. You prefer a roomier beach cruiser feel then you probably want to go for the 26" version. The 24" bike is definitely fun to bomb around on and the size is great for jumps and tricks.

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It's a seriously sweet cruiser that is fun to ride and you find yourself staring at it a lot. I've got plans to make a few minor upgrades...mainly pedals, drop out savers, etc. to make the bike my own.

Haro produced a fairly small number of each of these bikes so if you're interested in getting one, you better contact your local Haro dealer STAT before they are gone for good.

Always love companies like this that are down for helping us old geezers relive the glory days.

Visit the Haro site here for more details.
 
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Wow! I'd love to ride that thing... Awesome bike... That blue really pops... I like that back brake set-up...


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Wow, those are cool!

I have to give props to Mr. HARO. Bob was a strong driving force behind my riding. Taught me how to ride backwards, wheelies, and roll backs. He would take time to stop and talk, never rude or unseemly. The coolest thing he did, autographs with his dude drawn underneath.
 
Would it be possible to give us the crank tooth/cog tooth numbers, along with the tire size figures to determine the Gear Inch number?

That's a nice quality build based upon the weld bead on the seat post/top tube plate in pic 11 from the top.
 
wow I could totally see myself riding that. Thanks for posting this Steve. What a sweet bike.
 
On occasion we get to answer our own questions!

The Haro 24 Master Skyway specifications:
44T crank
16T drive cog
24X2.1 Tires

44 X 16 / 24 = 66 Gear Inches
 
Its great that old School BMX is making a comeback. I absoluetely love the styling of 80s bikes, and mag wheels in particular.

These are totally awesome.

Until you see the pricetag.

Hate to be a negative nancy, but I mean come on, they are upcharging you $230 for Skyways instead of spokes, when skyways are $140 delivered.
 
Bike looks cool, but I'd prefer a retro-bmx cruiser where the frame, at least, is made in the USA--- but that's just me. Old-school bmx was the era where the US manufacturers were still vying with the imports for the lion's share of the market, and we all know how that turned out... Still, I think I'd like a Fireman's Texas Cruzer more than this...

Hate to be a negative nancy, but I mean come on, they are upcharging you $230 for Skyways instead of spokes, when skyways are $140 delivered.

They're the Tuffs with the alloy flanges, which start at $330/set if you buy direct from planetbmx/Skyway.

The budget-minded thing to do, if you don't care about the flanges, is buy the spokie version, then upgrade to the standard Tuffs (in whatever color you want), which'd save $100 and you'd have a spare wheelset, just in case.
 
I like many here are of the built not bought mindset.
We don't want to price anything out for a complete ;)

Yep, and then there are folks who enjoy completes and mainly just want to ride. I guess if you didn't like any of the components on the completes then it would probably make more sense to build one up from a F/F set. I'm not sure how much money you'd actually save buying comparable parts on your own. Pretty cool though that Haro has given folks the option to buy a F/F set if you do like to build it up yourself. ;)
 
Definitely hott that Haro is offering frameset options. I think that, at $1350 for an American-made frame/fork with name brand parts and Profile cranks (as-standard!), the Fireman's bikes are nicely-priced. I'd probably build it differently, so if/when I get a FTC, i'll get a f/f/bars set.... but really, $1350 is what a lot of US builders get for a "production"-spec frameset. So, I don't find that sticker shocking. (I like to be thrifty at times, but bikes are a hobby for me. You get what you pay for; I like nice stuff. If it were all about $aving a buck, I'd only own one bike, and it'd be a beater'd out used bike....)
 
Yep totally understand.

While I know Fireman's build some nice stuff...their bikes have never really done it for me. If I'm gonna drop that much money on a cruiser it better be vintage or really make me say WOW. :eek:

I'm never going to ride a bike hard enough to tear anything up so going overboard with super high end components would be a waste on me. I have a feeling that a majority of the folks buying retro cruisers these days are like me in that they love the styling and memories that the bikes invoke and they're comfortable enough to tool around on for fun. Being 43 with a wife, 3 kids, a mortgage and one income doesn't allow me to risk breaking something and missing work as a result.

My SE 26" PK Ripper is probably the nicest riding retro 26" bike I've had and when you see one in person you just can't help having a big smile on your face. :D

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I like those PK Rippers. My local bike shop sells SE Bikes, and it's 2 blocks away. Ride by it all the time, and I'm tempted to grab an SE almost every year... just haven't done it (yet).... almost got a 26" quad, a few of the OM Flyers got a hold of me, too....

And I guess I can see what you mean about the FTC, b/c as much as I like/respect them, I haven't pulled the trigger yet, either.... I think that Tall Texan is the bee's knees, though...

I usually don't get top-of-the-line stuff, but I do appreciate good stuff, and I tend to not think about a budget too much. I ain't rich, but I don't have any kids, which is the next best thing, as far as spending money goes....
 
Yep totally understand.

While I know Fireman's build some nice stuff...their bikes have never really done it for me. If I'm gonna drop that much money on a cruiser it better be vintage or really make me say WOW. :eek:

I'm never going to ride a bike hard enough to tear anything up so going overboard with super high end components would be a waste on me. I have a feeling that a majority of the folks buying retro cruisers these days are like me in that they love the styling and memories that the bikes invoke and they're comfortable enough to tool around on for fun. Being 43 with a wife, 3 kids, a mortgage and one income doesn't allow me to risk breaking something and missing work as a result.

My SE 26" PK Ripper is probably the nicest riding retro 26" bike I've had and when you see one in person you just can't help having a big smile on your face. :D

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I'm looking to buy one (26") how do you like it for cruising?


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I'm looking to buy one (26") how do you like it for cruising?

I'm assuming you're referring to the Haro.

If so, the 24" rides very nice. I've since thrown a layback seat post on it and will probably find some taller bars. Once I do that it should be a pretty comfortable riding bike for someone my size.

I'm assuming that the 26" is even nicer for cruising.
 

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