BMXmuseum.com Bikes / General Bicycles / 1988 General Osborn Pro

It has taken me roughly two years (this was in spring 2007) to get my trusty old '88 General Osborn Pro and make it look like it finally does. During those years it has been "completed" a few times but i haven't been happy with the final results until now. The only major issue was the absense of the original General forks, the bike simply didn't look right with any other fork than it does with the original. There was ups and downs during the process of searching the forks but in the end i finally found them, thank you so much mr. "Bronx Styler"!

So, what happened to the original forks anyway? I sold mine in the early 90's to a friend who rode street and was notorious for trashing everything he touched. Stupid me. At the time i bought the frame & fork it was more less of a substitute for an Ozone for me, it does look kinda similiar but ofcourse it wasn't "the same". I remember well when it arrived and how i went to the local postal customs office to pick it up. It was magic. This isn't a catalog specific build (by the way there isn't even an '88 General catalog that i know of) so i built it the way it looks best to me. It is also built so that i can ride it occasionally if i like. I used both NOS and used parts, but tried to keep the overall quality level of components as high as possible, nonetheless.

The 180mm Redline cranks were purchased around 1990 or 1991 i can't remember anymore, they are late 80's single pinch wrap around editions and they came with sealed bottom bracket. I sold them to a friend in late 90's who used them for a while (and trashed the bottom bracket bearings) but ultimately i managed to buy them back couple years ago at the time of this rebuild. I still can't see why i even ended up selling them anyway back then. It makes no sense. However, the cranks themselves had remained in perfect shape and i had kept the decals to myself, a little scuffed, but kept them anyway. The original aluminum tech-whatever bottom bracket was ruined while away from home, so i had to replace it with a Tioga 28T looseball bb which looks better actually in nice shiny chrome. HUGE thanks to Pauly for the ACS Pro Rotor, you know i was expecting just the cup that i was missing for the other build at the time but little did i know i was going to get the complete Rotor set! Can't thank you enough!

The silver Nippon with the original and pretty rare allen bolt axle was found from a German guy, it cleaned and polished up nicley and is now looking almost like new. On the rear there's a Shimano u-brake that was missing the other dust cap, so i made one myself. You can't really notice the difference unless you look really close. The GT layback post (or any layback) looks best in this bike. The seatguts are modified and turned around so that you can slide the seat down on the layback section for optimal distance with the bars without affecting the "looks balance".

With a straight post the seat would've have been jammed as far back as it would go and that would've looked goofy. On the other hand without modifying the guts there would'vew been "too much" layback and i didn't want to start cutting the layback section either. So modifying the guts was a compromise that works and looks great. And for the record, the guts are "hidden" on top of the rails. It's rocket science setting up the seat for the "perfect balance of looks and functionality" you know... As for the seat itself, i was slightly disappointed with it when i got it. I was expecting a genuine VISCOUNT DOMINATOR, not a cheap taiwanese clone without "Viscount" stamped anywhere on it. Oh well, as for its shape and color it looks OK though and i can't see myself paying for another one just to get the "Viscount" or "Dominator" logos alone. It's a seat and it's red and the black rails look good, fair enough, end of story.

The chrome Super Pros seem to be the best choice for this bike, there was silver rims earlier but somehow they didn't look as good. There's also the red aluminum nipples for that "custom" looks. In 1990-1991 i used to have a set of black Bully bars with Odyssey RX-5 levers on this bike. Thanks to Raul and Yasser, i was able to combine a one near perfect set of one of the most tech looking levers there was and they feel great! Like in so many Generals, the rear framestands were cut off back then for better performace. I kinda regret it still but only because now they would be cool bonus but come on, they were useless and what's done is done, there's no point crying about it anymore. Atleast it adds to the "custom" looks if anything and now you can actually USE the rear pegs for tricks if you want without the silly framestand getting in the way.

The General Osborn Pro has seen a few local competitions and bikes expos in its time so there is lot of personal memories in it. It didn't look like this back then though. There used to be black Peregrine Q-bars, Bully stem, white Skway Grabber seat, 1-pc Sugino cranks etc. Some of the modifications then were quick release brake levers, a homemade cable clamp under the downtube and there's a hole drilled on the twin top tube brace which i can't really remember why. I am assuming it was made to mount a cable adjuster on it for Pitbull because i didn't have a u-brake on it at one point.

Parts and specifics:

• Frame: 1988 General R.L. Osborn Pro w/original paint and decals
  
• Serial Number: T9032465
  
• Fork: General chromoly, threaded w/thread-in upper and lower peg bosses
  
• Headset: Tioga MX-2
• Detangler: ACS Pro Rotor (the one with the bearing shaft)
• Detangler Cables Upper/Lower: Odyssey Slik Cable housing w/Shimano teflon coated cable
  
• Stem: ACS 55 Rotor stem, slanted 21.1mm quill
  
• Handlebar: Peregrine Q-Bar 28"
• Brake levers: Odyssey RX-5
  
• Grips: A'me Round (newer production)
  
• Seat: generic taiwanese Dominator copy w/black rails & inverted and modified guts
  
• Seatpost: modified snakepost 22.2mm chromoly
  
• Seatpost clamp: Odyssey RX-2
  
• Cranks: Redline single pinch, wrap around 3-piece Flight cranks 180mm chromoly, late 80's w/original crank decals
  
• Bottom bracket: Tioga BB-220DX 28T chrome plated
  
• Pedals: MKS Grafight-X
  
• Sprocket: Peregrine Compact Disc 44T
• Freewheel: Suntour 16T
  
• Chain: KMC 410 single speed chain (new)
  
• Wheels: Peregrine Super Pro 48s w/Peregrine sealed hubs (made by Suzue, Japan)
• Spokes: 184mm chrome plated w/red anodized nipples
  
• Tires: Odyssey Barefeet 20x1.75 gumwall (NOS)
  
• Front Brake/Pads: Dia-Compe 883 Nippon w/ACS Z-Pads and Weinmann Semi-Automatic adjuster
• Front Brake Cable: Odyssey Slik Cable
  
• Rear Brake/Pads: Shimano BR-M453 u-brake w/ACS Z-Pads, Shimano straddle cable and Shimano pulley
  
• Pegs: Tioga Roll-On Axle Extenders as it says on the box, 26T
  
• Tubes: Kenda 20x1.75-2.125 w/schrader valve

Previous Updates:
Took out the GT layback post and installed a modified (chopped) snakepost, they look the same though but the new one has less layback which makes for better seat positioning and overall appearance.