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1979 SE Racing Quadangle

Original looptail version of the quad angle

I wish I owned a Looptail. I recall lusting after one when I lived in Kalispell Montana, must have been 79 or so! I thought $250 was alot for one..Candy Apple red...hahaha.

nsr-jamie · 2006-01-05 8:21am

That is a cool frame !! I always wanted one and in that color!! Awesome !! It will be even cooler to see this bike all built up someday. Cheers

quadangle fish · 2006-01-27 12:14pm

Alright, I want to know (and i know everyone can tell me) Which quad frame came first and how much is it worth. I have the original looptail with stamped LG forks. I restored it nos and it's powdercoated a porsche red. If i was to sell it on ebay, what should i ask. Of course i wouldn't sell it but i was just curious what i could get for it.

GAry · 2006-01-27 2:39pm

Hey Quad Fish.
WEEELLLLLLLLLL, I think the original quad had unstamped LG.
Yes, the looptail was the first and bestest QUAD.
The frame itself, could go for $1000 or more.
Recent auctions is one place to look on the evilbay.
A chrome looptail someone had welded a coaster brake tab on went for $710.
So besides suggesting you jusrt send it to me..I would suggest $750 starting bid. Cheers, Gary

quadangle fish · 2006-01-30 6:06am

Cool! I'm 35 and i've had this bike since i was 12. It's been changed over the years but it now looks like it did when i got it. It's been stolen and recovered at least 3 times the last being in 97. It just keeps comin back! Of course being it's completely restored i keep it inside always!

elfdoublecross · 2006-12-16 9:48am

i gotta say- when i saw a quad for the first time i hated the look of it, but over the years they have really grown on me- now i wish i had one. im still not sure what advantages this frame design would have over a more traditional double triangle....but it looks cool as hell.

BRIAN HAYS · 2006-12-16 10:24pm

The original looptail Quad's that were first offered in 1979 were mild steel and broke very easy. There were only 150 or so made. Then in late 79 or early 80 they switched to chromoly. At this point, the rear end loop got "tighter" in the loop bend. The original mild steel frames (if you could find one) would bring $1500 easily without forks. The mild steel and early (first run) chromoly frames had crossbraces between the down tubes and behind the BB shell between the chainstays. The later (81 and 82) looptail quads no longer had the cross braces. Quad frames didn't actually come with any forks. They were just frames BUT remember that Landing Gear weren't invented until the 81 model year, so all SE bikes and SE riders between 78-81 used either Skyway Tuff Forks or Cycle Pro forks. Both were offered with "BMX INNOVATIONS" decals. So all the Quads from 79, 80, and most of 81 would use Cycle pro forks in all the magazine pics and the unstamped Landing Gear would be correct for a late 81 or 82 frame. In 83 the design changed to the Reynolds Quad. Here's a pic of my 81 with Cycle Pro forks (no cross braces).
As far as price, a black frame with no forks sold for $900 this week and I sold my other baby blue one with unstamped LG last week for $1100.

bikeman26 · 2006-12-17 6:12am

hey brian, thanks so much for the info. i have been wondering if my quad was a fake for the past year (because it dosent have the braces) and was always thinking i wasted my $60. do you happen to know if the later looptails are worth the same as the 79s. thanks

pkredline · 2007-01-09 3:47pm

BRIAN HAYS wrote:
The original looptail Quad's that were first offered in 1979 were mild steel and broke very easy.

BRIAN: Any way to tell if it's chromoly or mild steel??? My Quad is VERY light, and has very thin tubing. Did the chromo models have thicker dropouts, etc., or were they the same exact design, only chomoly?

Thanks!

Joe

aka

PKRed

BRIAN HAYS · 2007-01-09 4:15pm

bikeman, yes all looptail chromoly Quads are worth the same money.

Joe, Yours that you hot from Pat is chromoly. The serial number is on the bb shell. ll the mild steel ones (very few known to still exist) all had serial numbers that were 00XXX (150 made). The chromoly ones all have a 4 digit serial starting with a 1.

maisylego10 · 2007-01-14 6:35pm

I love these types of bike.

MikeB420 · 2007-01-23 12:23am

hey brian,do you much about the early om flyer,looptail chromo,early with the brace behind the chainstay?what they worth,i know they are very rare,.Thanks

shivadread · 2007-01-23 12:42pm

Got to agree looks good a masterpiece of engineering and style.

MikeB420 · 2007-01-23 12:44pm

thanks for the info. brian,,,it helped

quadangle fish · 2007-03-05 7:18am

Hi brian,

I have a looptail quad as well and i have a question about these braces across the down tubes etc... So are you saying that the first edition had these supports and they later dropped them when they went to chromoly? I just checked my serial # on my frame and it's 8884. I was under the thought that i had a mild steel quad but reading what you posted it sounds like i have a chromoly version. I do not have these braces so i'm assuming that it is a chromoly frame. Can you shed some more light on this?

Thanks! QUADFISH

BRIAN HAYS · 2007-03-05 8:06am

Quadfish, Yes the original mild steel frames had the braces. All mild steel frames had serial numbers starting with 00. 150 were built. The early chromo Quads had the braces (late 79 & 80) and the late chromoly frames (81-82) did not have the cross braces (like mine above). The mild steel frames had a "wider" rear loop, if you will. The chromo frames had a tighter rear loop. All chromo looptail frames had four digit serial numbers starting with a 1. I'm a little confused about your 8884 serial, as it is not a loop Quad serial.

Last edited by BRIAN HAYS (2007-03-05 8:07am)

quadangle fish · 2007-03-05 10:49am

Hey brian,

Thanks for the response. I checked the # a few times and thats what i'm coming up with. It is indeed a looptail quad. I have it on vintage bmx.com in the 79 to 81 section. It is the black frame with the blue skyway mags. I have since restored it completely old school with a new paint job. It is now porsche red with matching forks and ukai rims. AWESOME BIKE! The pic i have on vbmx it looks sad. I can tell you that i bought the bike back in 83 or 84 from a guy that used to race it and he had it for at least a year or two prior. I was told by a fellow old school bmxer that mine was first edition. I purchased the (stamped) landing gear forks in 1997 at a bike shop. Let me know if you can tell me anymore because i keep kicking the idea around about selling it.

Thanks! quadfish

Gotcha929 · 2008-09-24 5:41pm

Hey quadfish, I have a quadangle as well and again like you I was told mine was one of the
first as well. My serial # is 8817 someone told me that it was made 8/78 17th bike. But
I do agree with Brian the older ones I have seen have the cross brace and ours don't.

Here's a pic of mine

http://i451.photobucket.com/albums/qq23 … 57/037.jpg

http://i451.photobucket.com/albums/qq23 … 57/012.jpg

CRUPIrĭv'ənSHINS · 2009-02-16 12:32pm

Info taken from an auction on ebay for an "Old REYNOLDS 531 sticker seat mast SE RACING Quadangle" being sold by Mike Devitt who started Dan Gurney Racing. From BMXUltra.com interview with Scot Breithaupt: After DG finally folded, Scot "SE Racing" made an offer to Mike to join SE full time. (1980) They created Scot Industries. NOW HERES Mike's auction info, "This is the seat mast sticker used on Quads made in late '79 and 1980, when SE used Reynolds 531 tubing to make the frames. A lot of people don't know the history of these frames, and the materials used in their manufacture. It ranged from Hi tensile steel tube to 4130 CM to Reynolds for that brief time." GO FIGURE