dp:start
Table of Contents
DP Racing
DP Racing was started by Dave Park of Warrington, England in 1981 after a trip to The Netherlands, where BMX had been popular since the 1950s.1)
From 1981 → 1987, DP Racing manufactured high quality BMX bikes in England and Wales.2)
From 1984 → 1986 DP Racing produced a limited amount of MTBs distributed by Wim van Dam of Damka Trading BV, in Venray, The Netherlands. These MTBs for only for sale within The Netherlands, the flattest country in Europe3) Where most of DP Racing's BMX bikes have “Made in Great Britain” decals, DP Racing MTBs have no country decals nor serial numbers. The fact that many have “Columbus OR” tubing decals make it likely they were made in Europe. All mid-80s British made MTBs have thus far been made with Reynolds tubing.4)5), so later DP Racing MTBs were likely to have been made on the continent.
After DP Racing folded in 1987, Damka Trading took on distributing Klein and MTB Cycletech bikes through northern Europe.
Resources:
Dave Park
dpfirebird.co.uk
1984 Escaper
SunTour AG Tech derailleurs (1984 date codes), TIG welded CroMo tubing, bullmoose bars, Tange BMX 1“ headset. Shares the same name as a 1981 DP Racing BMX model. Looks just like a 1984 Repco Sierra, made by Giant and sold in Australia and also shares the same name as the 1984 Giant Escaper, which has a slightly different frame. Yet it has much BMX DNA in it's construction…
Does this imply that Giant may have made DP Racing's BMX bikes starting in 1981?? Not likely, as DP Racing had a full welding factory floor.
1984 Escaper
mountainbikemuseum.nl
1985 Escaper
A mis-mash of newer components with only a few original, such as the seatpost (SR MTB-100 1982-84), SunTour BC-6100 brakes (1985-6). Columbus OR lugged frame.
1985 Escaper
mountainbikemuseum.nl
1986
Dual rear brakes: seat stay cantilever and chain stay roller cams operated by a single cable and lever. Front roller-cams, lugged Columbus OR frame, Shimano XT M700 v2 (1985-86) derailleurs, Ukai rims.
Dual rear brakes.
bikeboosting.nl
1986 MTB
bikeboosting.nl
1)
See: https://universityofbmx.com/history-of-bmx/history-of-dutch-fx-1950s, which documents the early 1950s Dutch BX movement, which may have led to the 1970s American sport. See also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMX.
2)
DP Racing may have the first BMX manufacturer in Britain.
3)
Over half of The Netherlands is less than 1 meter above sea level. worldatlas.
4)
All older DP Racing BMX bikes ere made with Reynolds tubing.
5)
Overbury's used Columbus in some 1990s frames. That's the only non-Reynolds British bike found thus far.
dp/start.txt · Last modified: 2025/04/30 17:27 by mtbtimeline