Gym Ed's Bike Shop builds a 1984 Diamond Back Formula One bicycle... Watch the video and get tips on retro bicycle builds and inspiration for your next rad project.

There’s a great story behind this bike. I stopped by a local thrift store one day and cruised by the bike rack out front before going inside. The rack had its usual pile of cheap kid’s bikes and outdated, rusty 10-speeds, but towards the end of the row was this 80s chromoly BMX bike!! When I saw the Diamond Back stickers I was completely stoked!! Long story short… I took home the ’84 Formula One that day and, if I told you how much I paid for it, you wouldn’t believe it. ...But watch the video and find out.

I knew I had found something of value in just finding a Diamond Back from the eighties, but it wasn’t until after I started researching the Formula One that I realized how special this bike was. At box stock the Formula One weighed only 21 pounds, 7 ounces making it one of the lightest BMX bikes available... it was a highly coveted racing bike. In an exclusive BMX Action first test the May 1984 issue of their magazine reviewed the bike and hailed it as “Diamond Back’s missing link.” The report card graded the handling as “very responsive,” the components as “top notch,” and the durability strong. The mag also featured sponsored Diamond Back racers Brent Romero and Doug Davis.