1991 Peregrine RX-1 Turbo
January 1991, BMX World Magazine, Credit: Michael Tuma
I acquired the RX-1 Turbo in a trade for a Redline RL-20B. Some might think I got the shorter end of that stick, however this is the only Peregrine RX-1 Turbo I have seen. There is a rumor that there is another one of these in the wild, but I have yet to verify. I received the frame, fork, headset, stem, handlebars, grips, seatpost, and set in the deal. Originally I thought I would recreate the decals and repaint the bike, but considering it's rarity I have left it alone.
Figure 2, Credit: Michael Tuma
Figure 3, Credit: Michael Tuma
Figure 4, Credit: Michael Tuma
An interesting note, this is the only Peregrine bike that is designated as a "Team" bike. Even the Class 1 is labeled as "Ultra Racing Components".
Figure 5, Credit: Michael Tuma
I managed to find the correct sprocket that would have come on the bike, and it is also appropriately aged for the condition of the bike. I added the Tioga cranks because they are a little nicer than the stock ones. Note: The sprockets that came on the RX-1's is steel, whereas the rest of them are aluminum.
Figure 6, Credit: Michael Tuma
The regular RX-1 would have come with cheap aluminum rims laced to low flange steel hubs. I found some NOS Super Racing Component wheels that had GT Mohawk front hubs. I also found some period to the bike ACS hubs, rebuilt them with NOS ACS axle kits and laced them to the Peregrine rims with Asahi chrome spokes. Something to note: Peregrine had two versions of the Super Racing Component 36h rims. The one version is double-walled chrome Ukai's just like the Super Pro 48's (SP-20). The other version is single wall (I am assuming Ukai) chrome, like pictured below (SD-20).
Figure 7, Credit: Michael Tuma
Figure 8, Credit: Michael Tuma
Figure 9, Credit: Michael Tuma
What you are looking at here is really rare. 1st off, Peregrine pads are almost non-existent; and 2nd, finding a matching pad
is like finding a unicorn in your back yard. To give you an idea, of the 56 Peregrine bicycles on www.bmxmuseum.com (at the time of this writing),
none of the bikes have Peregrine pads. The three bikes that have pads are not Peregrine. So after I purchased this bike, a
friend of mine said he knew someone with this pad and no matching bike. Of course I had to have it, it was a match made in
BMX lore! What I find oddly curious is that both of these items came out of Minnesota. Coincidence? Maybe not... I would like
to find the matching top tube and stem pads - that is a tall order!
Update: As you can see in the ad, there was only the handlebar pad, so the search is over. I feel lucky I was
able to bring these peices together where they belong.
Figure 10, Credit: Michael Tuma
Figure 11, Credit: Michael Tuma
This is the original seat post and possible the original seat that came with the bike. From looking at the rust, this is quite possible. The seat post was bent, which I have straightened. I may some day replace the seat post and recreate the decal. I will definitely replace the seat guts and cleanup the rust. The Peregrine seat clamp is not original, but it suits the bike.
Figure 12, Credit: Michael Tuma
Figure 13, Credit: Michael Tuma
Update: Since I originally posted this bike, I found an ad for this bike. Since it is indeed the original seat, I took the time to clean it up.
Figure 14, Credit: Michael Tuma
The original stem that came with the bike and was possibly original to bike was an MX 550 knock-off. It is plain aluminum and quite boring. I think this ACS stem adds a little more character. I need to find the stem bolt for it.
Figure 15, Credit: Michael Tuma
Update: I am not sure what stem came on this bike, but looking at the ad, the Anlun stem looks correct. Either way it looks better than the MX-550 or ACS.
Figure 16, Credit: Michael Tuma
Figure 17, Credit: Michael Tuma
These are the grips that came with the bike. I do not know if these are original to the bike or not. They are the first generation and do not have the word Peregrine molded into the grip. Even though one grip has the end punched out, it seemed correct to put them back on.
Figure 18, Credit: Michael Tuma
Update: I was able to find an NOS Anlun chain guard. It is not quite the same as the ad, but it will have to do.
Figure 19, Credit: Michael Tuma
Update: These are not the correct pedals. It is hard to tell from the ad what the pedals are, but these are really rare Peregrine plastic platform pedals, based on the UF-1 design. I do not know if any other examples exist. With that said, they fit the bike quite well.
Figure 20, Credit: Michael Tuma
Update: I do not know what brakes came on this bike originally. My guess is they were Lee Chi's,
but this is what I had laying around. Some used Dia-compe MX levers and some NOS Polygon calipers.
Update: I have since found and installed some NOS Lee Chi MX levers. Peregrine almost exclusively used Lee Chi brakes
on their bikes, so I do not see why this bike would be different.
Figure 21, Credit: Michael Tuma
Figure 22, Credit: Michael Tuma
Update: Here is the bike completed.
Figure 23, Credit: Michael Tuma
Parts List
- 1991 RX-1 Turbo Frame & Fork
- Peregrine Handlebars
- Peregrine Handlebar Pad
- Peregrine Wild Pair Grips
- Anlun Stem
- Lee Chi MX Brake Levers
- Ploygon MX Calipers
- Lin Fong Headset
- Peregrine Seatpost
- Hsin Chang Seat
- Peregrine Seat Clamp
- Generic Bottom Bracket
- Tioga OPC Cranks
- Peregrine CD Sprocket
- Peregrine UF-1 Plastic Pedals
- Peregrine SD-20 Super Racing Component Wheels
- ACS Hubs
- Asahi chrome spokes & nipples
- Anlun Chain Guard
- Redline MX Tires