1988 Haro Master - BMXmuseum.com

Ahh.. the '88 Master! 
My first real freestyle speicific bike after pedaling around for about year on a chrome plated Italian made 20" Carraro BMX, a-racing-bike-transformed-into-a-freestyler. I still remember the feeling when i got the Master frame & fork.. beyond words.

In my original setting there used to be a day-glo pink Dyno Drainpipe seatpost that once got stuck in the frame because of the crazy layer of paint on it. A silvery-blue padded Kashimax Aero road bike seat i found from local bike shop. There also used to be late 80's black/silver GT freestyle stem with Pearl-white/chrome haro 2pc FS bars with gray A'me Tri's and Tech-7's ("Aerial 2" levers). I had a white Pitbull on the back because i had no idea how to set up an u-brake. There was 36-spoke alloy rims, i think they were sold as Tioga wheels and GT Epoch headset.

You know i was so clueless on what parts i should get for this bike back then. However the bike and how i had it set up felt so professional that it was beyond words. I remember feeling like i could do anything with this bike and so i did. Some of the first tricks i learned were Front wheel hops on the flip-up fork stands, a Peg wheelie and a Bunnyhop. I was so proud riding my Haro Master. The 43T Haro sprocket is all orignal from those days aswell as the 180mm Sugino cranks. I can't rememebr why exactly i wanted such lengthy cranks but they worked allright. Possibly because my Carraro had such short cranks and i am a tall guy. I still have the white/chrome Haro bars but for the looks there is now the black/black ones.

Believe it or not, i used to ride vert ramp on this bike too and even catching some 2-3 feet of air. Ofcourse it's not much by any standards but to me it was huge. Also learned how to get on top of the ramp and how to do a Lookbacks etc. But my vert "career" never really took off and before i knew, i was completely hooked on flatland as it was so much more interesting. I learned my very first whiplashes on this bike around '89 or 90 at local indoor skate park during winter. That felt like magic and i can still remember how stoked i was! At that time i just had upgraded the bike with white Tioga Roll-on pegs and they felt so professional compared to stumpy two-inch GT Steel Tube Rides.

During the early 90's the Master went trhu a bunch of parts and flatland modifications. I used to search BMX Plus for pics of any flatland riders who had a Master, Chad Johnston, Andy Mulcahy etc. come to mind first, and mimic their set ups and mods they had on their bikes. Some worked, some didn't. One thing i specificly disliked was the on-frame rear standers that were obviously on the way on rear wheel tricks. I extended the Tioga Roll-On pegs to get around the annoyance but in the end it wasn't much help either. Finally the frame & fork was retired and replaced with a '90 GT Pro Freestyle Tour. It was kinda sad because i totally loved the looks of the Master absolutely but hated on how unpractical it was on flatland. And as a reminder, i am talking about late 80's to early 90's flatland tricks, not mid 80's hopping and balancing tricks. So anyone who had a Master will know exactly what the problem was with the rear standers.

What more can i possibly say, classic bike with lots of personal history behind it. The bike's gone thru many parts changes recently on my way searching for the looks i like. I am still not completely happy with the wheels though and hoping to replace them one day with either chrome or black rims.

Parts & specs:

• Frame: 1988 Haro Master Freestyler
  
• Construction: 100% Chromoly
  
• Serial#: H88050233
• Fork: Haro 1" threaded w/original Haro flip-up forkstanders & reproduction fork decals
• Headset: YST beartrap caged bearings
• Stem: Haro/Fusion, off a 1990 Haro Sport, i refuse to pay ridiculous price for a stem that says "Haro"
  
• Gyro: 1" Odyssey original
  
• Gyro cables: Odyssey top & bottom, i soooo need to shorten the upper cable...
  
• Handlebars: Haro 2pc Freestyle off a 88½ Haro Sport
  
• Grips: Jive Handles w/GT-A'me bar ends
• Levers: Dia Compe Tech-77 w/locking buttons
• Brakes/pads, front: Dia Compe 883 Bulldog caliper brake w/Skyway FS Tuff pads and Dia Compe cable
• Brakes/pads, rear: Dia Compe 994 U-brake w/ Suntour straddle cable & Dia Compe pulley, KoolStop pads
• Bottom Bracket: Tioga BB220SB Sealed Bearing 24T
  
• Cranks: Sugino 1pc. 180mm cro-mo
• Pedals: MKS Grafight-X 1/2"
• Sprocket: Haro "Compact Disc" 43T
• Chain: KMC black/chrome "two-tone"
• Freewheel: Dicta 16T
• Seat: Velo
• Seatpost: Haro fluted, straight 22.2mm
• Seatpost clamp: Suntour
• Wheels: Peregrine HP 48s silver rims w/Sovos sealed bearing hubs
  
• Tires: Tioga Comp St black/skinwall 20x1.75 the original ones i had on this bike over 20 years ago!
  
• Pegs: Tioga Roll-On 26T
  
• Tubes: Kenda

Previous updates and changes:

• Put on my original set of Tioga Comp St tires from when i purchased the frame & fork
• Switched from A'me Tri's to NOS Jive handles.
• Replaced the black ACS Z-mags to Peregrine/Ukai HP48-spoked rims with black nipples.
• Added new set of handlebar & fork decals cause the old ones were long gone.
• Swithced from the two-tone (chrome/blue) kneesavers to regular 2pc Haro Freestyle bars for cleaner looks and right color.
• Changed the white Haro tires to black ones (later changed to semi-slick Kendas). 
• Repaired the welds on the original chrome Haro forks and got rid of black Sport forks.