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Recently in the PIF section there was quite the debate about eras. Some feel...
74 to 86 = old school
86 to 94 = mid school
94 to 04 = modern
04 to present = new school

while others feel:
I think New school started along with the Non threaded forks!
97-98+ new School
90-96 Mid School
89 and under Old School

and then there's:
Pre-80= History
'80-'89 = Oldschool
'89-'01 = Midschool
'02+ = Newschool

when there's similarly:
Pre-'89 = Oldschool
'89-'01 = Midschool
'02+ = Newschool

Now I agree with the last 2... Where do you fall?

RedFox · 2009-11-03 8:48am

Pre-80= History
'80-'89 = Oldschool
'89-'01 = Midschool
'02+ = Newschool

this is the one i go by

jayoldmanbmx · 2009-11-03 8:55am

i go by this 74-89 old school....90 to 99 mid ......00-07 modern 07 present new school but that is just me and one mans opinion

AreaMZ · 2009-11-03 9:00am

I think the second to last one is good too.
Could I suggest calling Pre-80 History Roots instead.
That sounds more like a beginning to me.

jay brand · 2009-11-03 9:03am

I dont determine schools by dates but more by events that happened. In 15 years new school bikes wont be new, are we still going to call them new school? On alot of the "new school" bmx sites, everything thats 10 years old is considered old school.

Last edited by jay brand (2009-11-03 9:06am)

AreaMZ · 2009-11-03 9:05am

I don't know though. If you go by the changes in the bikes then jayoldmanbmx has a good breakdown.
So many ways to look at that question. Everyone has there own perspective!

The problem is in ten years what do you call newschool? I never stops evolving. So the answer can be right and
wrong so many ways to so many people. Ha!

Who knows.

sipbone · 2009-11-03 9:08am

70s - Roots
80s - Old School
90s - Mid School
00s - New School
10s - Just New

adamdawson · 2009-11-03 9:23am

RedFox wrote:
Pre-80= History
'80-'89 = Oldschool
'89-'01 = Midschool
'02+ = Newschool
this is the one i go by

thats about what id go by. i go by events and eras to break it down but thats pretty good for a quick reference

chromey · 2009-11-03 9:29am

jayoldmanbmx wrote:
i go by this 74-89 old school....90 to 99 mid ......00-07 modern 07 present new school but that is just me and one mans opinion

I'd agree with Jay.

Pre-80= History
'80-'89 = Oldschool
'89-'01 = Midschool
'02+ = Newschool

And this.

Though in my mind - I really divide up Mid school into two different factions.
The technology switch-over was pretty major during that transitional time... and I find myself unintentionally referring to any mid school bikes that use 1-1/8 threadless - as newschool. (even though I know they're not).

Last edited by chromey (2009-11-03 9:29am)

maximum85 · 2009-11-03 9:32am

chromey wrote:
jayoldmanbmx wrote:
i go by this 74-89 old school....90 to 99 mid ......00-07 modern 07 present new school but that is just me and one mans opinion
I'd agree with Jay.

Pre-80= History
'80-'89 = Oldschool
'89-'01 = Midschool
'02+ = Newschool
And this.

Though in my mind - I really divide up Mid school into two different factions.
The technology switch-over was pretty major during that transitional time... and I find myself unintentionally referring to any mid school bikes that use 1-1/8 threadless - as newschool. (even though I know they're not).

finally we all agree on something here...
and i also agree with the above

Green Griffin 420 · 2009-11-03 11:06am

I feel that the eras should go hand in hand with the changes in tech. Old school bikes had short top tubes, gussets, mags, and coaster brakes. To me this defines a 70's to mid 80's bike.

Then around 85/86 Mid School bikes the top tubes get longer (Free Agent Pro Long 21" tt), and aluminum is almost non existent. Dropouts got thicker. If you had a coaster brake you were on a free style bike, bars were huge and neon color was everywhere.

Then around 94/95 modern day changes started. Canti brakes, thread-less stems and forks. Aluminum starts to come back in a big way. Bars get smaller, triple clamp, and crown forks show up. Tubes get bigger, and euro bb becomes the standard.

About 01/02 you start seeing some more new trends. Chromo is almost non-existant at the track. New crank designs like Saint's and DXR's, Carbon Fiber frames like the GT and FMF, and extruded forks like the stelth and risen, and many other things that are on the drawing boards right now.

There are exceptions to each one of these, for sure, and it is ever evolving.

The only true way you can define it is by years. why don't we drop the alias all together, and go with this.

70's bikes
80's bikes
90's bikes
00's bikes

and soon to be 10's bikes

stillinthegame · 2009-11-03 11:15am

jayoldmanbmx wrote:
i go by this 74-89 old school....90 to 99 mid ......00-07 modern 07 present new school but that is just me and one mans opinion

this works for me

adamdawson · 2009-11-03 11:56am

Green Griffin 420 wrote:
Then around 85/86 Mid School bikes

i would never refer to a 85/86 era bike to be mid school

crujones_01 · 2009-11-03 5:15pm

my 2cents

oldschool :upto 86 , about the time the TT lengths changed dramatically and most of the major brands started to be built offshore.

midschool : 86 - 98 , big geometery changes, threadless headsets, cantiliever and V brakes start to show up on the scene.

newschool : 98 - today, aluminium makes a big comeback, monocoque designs in the late 90's and more so today hydroform frames and tubing are becoming the norm..

i spose it comes down to different strokes for different folks

having a look back at how far this BMX thing has come in the space of 30 odd years.. i cant wait to see what we'll be riding and racing on in the next 10-15 yrs

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