Save yourself the second part of "The Rise of BMX Freestyle" book now!
The late 1980’s would prove to be a complex and challenging era for the sport of BMX and its new industry. Haro Designs had scaled up through a decade of almost unbelievable growth, and the trappings of that success had brought the inevitable interest of the broader bicycle industry.
Haro Bikes - The Rise of BMX Freestyle - Volume 2, rejoins the Haro story in early 1987, shortly after Bob Haro had negotiated the sale of the company to the mighty West Coast Cycle distribution empire. During that negotiation, a stipulation agreed on by all parties, would be Bob Haro and Jim Ford’s commitment to lead the company into an exciting new era. Both Haro and Ford would agree, and the future looked brighter than ever.
The new arrangement would bring a wealth of new resources, and as the plan unfolded, Haro set its sights on new, and previously untapped, avenues of the action sports market. New expertise fast-tracked the company into the formative mountain bike scene, and a frenzied period of research and development would deliver genuine innovation. An ambitious attempt to enter the lifestyle driven, and highly lucrative skate scene, would connect the brand to some of the best athletes of the era. And the gloves were off in the vibrant BMX Racing scene too. In response to the presence of almost every BMX Racing brand in the freestyle arena, in the spring of 1986, Haro would unleash their all new Racing Division, and a debut year of almost total domination would follow.
In the more familiar BMX freestyle world, Haro continued to recruit the most exciting “breakthrough” vert and flatland riders in the world. With a dedicated presence in Europe, and a larger, more evolved team in the United States, Haro would continue to dominate both the freestyle market, and the International contest scene.
As the dust settled at the conclusion of 1992, the Haro brand had changed hands for the third time in six years. The once thriving freestyle scene had become a neon wilderness, and the realities of life in the corporate bicycle industry had taken a toll on the small, enterprising management team at Haro Designs. But the double chevron would endure, and rise to become a leader once again. And the rest is history.
