Growing up, Aguilar admits, he didn't have the best home life. 'I can't afford a Harley, so, this is what I call my poor man's Harley,' Aguilar said. Jose Aguilar and his sons created this 13-foot-long lowrider cruiser. Generations of Latinos take old Stingrays and Schwinns, and add hydraulics, engraved bumpers, and airbrushed art.Įvery bit of this 13-foot-long cruiser – from hand-tooled saddle to side piece – was created by Jose Aguilar and his sons in their garage. A Wonder Woman-inspired bike is among the specimens on display at a lowrider bike competition in Riverside, Ca.if.

Lowrider bikes have become so popular there are now competitions like one held in a parking lot in Riverside, California. 'And I think these are all wonderful sort of qualities to begin to teach youth, right? To begin to find your voice through art.' Bringing in your bike for twice-yearly tune-ups to our experienced mechanics ensures that complex, hard-to-evaluate components such as spokes, bearing surfaces, derailleurs and cables are inspected and serviced regularly. 'Well, I mean, you're creating your fantasy or your vision of how you see the world, creating your mark and being distinct and unique,' Sandoval said. Villarreal asked, 'It's more than just airbrushing, isn't it?' She said lowrider cars and bikes are the Mexican expression of the American dream. The exhibition 'The High Art of Riding Low: Ranflas, Corazón e Inspiración' at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. 'Lowriding represents, to me, pride, respect, family, brotherhood, corazón, passion,' said Denise Sandoval, curator for 'The High Art of Riding Low,' an exhibit at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. Latinos added their own artistic flare, turning the American muscle car into rolling works of art. 'Cruising' was a rite of passage going back to the '50s. From there, his art became a reflection of what he saw on the streets from lowrider cars. Instead, Silva fell in love with the City of Angels, and his community of lowriders. 'My American dream was to come to the United States and make money to go back to Mexico,' he said. By 16 he was married and looking for ways to build a better life. His obsession started when he was 10, fixing bikes in Mexico for money to support his family. Lowrider bikes at Manny's Bike Shop.Īt 71 years old, Silva sees each bike as a blank canvas. Some of the most elaborate creations cost upwards of $15,000. *The banana seat and sissy bar made these bikes easy to get up on one wheel and caused the term 'poppin' a wheelie' to enter the American vernacular.Each lowrider bike is a two-wheeled feast for the eyes – carefully twisted metal coated in candy-colored paint and embellished with chrome. Recently Schwinn has reintroduced their Sting-Ray and Krates to another generation of lowrider bike aficionados. Fading from their mass popularity during the 1980s, these small frame bikes soon morphed into the BMX style that is still going strong today. Copying the fashion, many custom builders made larger frame choppers with standard 24' or 26' wheels. The original models usually used 20' rear wheels and either 20' or 16' front wheels. With their groovy banana seats and tall monkey bars (or even taller ape hanger handlebars), the wheelie bike represented the contemporary acme of American bicycle design.

Seldom in the history of bicycling has there ever been a bike style as distinctive as the classic lowrider or chopper bike from the 1960s and '70s. We proudly offer sissy bars and banana seats high-rise monkey bars and springer forks, and more. If you are lucky enough to own an original, a modern retro reproduction, or if you are lovingly restoring or rebuilding a one-of-a-kind garage-build, we are here with the classic lowrider and chopper bike parts. To others, this vintage style will forever be known as the wheelie* bike. Some call it a lowrider bike or a chopper bike.

Low rider bike