Most bike brands lose track of what they built. We kept the receipts. This is every Torker, in order — the frame that started it, the frame that defined it, the frames that got big, and the one that gave freestyle a place to be born.
The Fullerton Era — 1976–1984
It started because Doug Johnson was racing BMX and wanted a better bike. His father John built the first prototype in his Texon fabrication shop; Doug's older brother Steve renamed the company Torker in 1976, and their mother Doris kept the books. Eight years of production in one Fullerton factory — and some of the most important frames in BMX history. Here they are, in the order they arrived.
1976MX — later, the Big Bike
The First Torker
The frame that started the company. Pro-size, 20" top tube, forward-facing dropouts — switched to rear-facing in May 1978, when it took the name it kept: the Big Bike. Kevin McNeal, California State Champion and NBA/Mongoose Grandnationals winner, was its rider — a big racer with a brutal style, and the MX was the only frame that fit him.
"The Husqvarna of Motocross Bicycles."
BMX Action — October 1977 MX test
Serial: B (chromoly) · BM (mild steel) | Factory colors: blue, maroon red | Rider: Kevin McNeal
Ride it today — MX26 · MX29 · 50-Year Anniversary Big Bike
1978LP — Low Profile
The Frame That Defined Torker
18.5" top tube, lighter, tighter geometry — built for smaller, faster, more aggressive racers. By June 1979 BMX Action reported the chromoly LP was the best-selling item Factory Torker made. It became the platform for nearly everything that followed — and in 1980, Clint "The Barbarian" Miller rode an LP to the first IBMXF World Pro Championship ever held. The world's first BMX Pro World Champion raced a Torker.
Serial: L, later no letter · LM/M (mild steel) | Family: LPGT (Euro BB, 1978) · LP Long (19.5" TT, serial O, 1979–82) · LPT (1982–83) | Riders: Eddy King, Clint Miller, the 1979 National #1 team | Collector note: in late 1979 serial numbers moved from the bottom bracket to the right rear inner dropout
Ride it today — LP-F · LP Race Frame · Barbarian-2 · LP Balance Bike
1979Eddy King Replica
The 1$ Gets His Frame
The LP with a European bottom bracket, carrying the name of Eddy "The 1$" King — the OG of the Torker team through the late-'70s LP era. Torker sold E.K. posters in the back of BMX Action. When Eddy left for Diamond Back in 1982, the frame carried on as the LPT.
Serial: E | Rider: Eddy King | Period record: BMX Action ads, March 1979 & June 1980
Ride it today — EK 20 GEN II
1979TorkFlyte & MaxFlyte
The Complete Bikes
Torker's factory-built completes: TorkFlyte for the Expert, MaxFlyte for the Pro — joined in 1980 by the all-mild-steel TrashFlyte at the budget end. BMX Action tested the MaxFlyte in December 1980; by September 1981 BMX Plus! called the TorkFlyte "the most popular racing bike in the TORKER line due to its light weight, strength and reasonable price." The MAXFLYTE crank we sell today carries the name.
Period record: BMX Action Dec 1980 test · BMX Plus! Sept 1981
The name lives on — MAXFLYTE Cranks
1980Mini
Juicy Jaws' Weapon
Lightweight, no gussets, built for the smallest racers on the gate. Nine-year-old Jason "Juicy Jaws" Jensen got a factory profile in BMX Action in April 1981 riding his. In production through 1983.
Serial: R | Rider: Jason Jensen | Period record: BMX Action April 1981 · Oct 1983 equipment guide
198126" Cruiser
The First Big Wheel
Chromoly frame and forks, full-size wheels — a big bike for grown racers, decades before "Big BMX" was a category. BMX Action tested it in September 1981; the same issue covered Clint Miller winning the NBA Supernationals in San Diego on one, in his first-ever cruiser race.
Serial: C | Rider: Clint Miller | Period record: BMX Action Sept 1981 test
The idea lives on — the Big BMX Collection
198224" Cruiser
The Short Cruiser
The 26's little brother — 4130 fork legs drilled for a front caliper. BMX Plus! ran the test in November 1982 as "The Torker Twenty Four, with pilot Clint Miller." Sold as a complete in 1982 as the 340.
Serial: SC | Rider: Clint Miller | Period record: BMX Plus! Nov 1982 test
1982280 · 280X · 340
The LP, Renamed for a New Era
September 1982: Torker streamlined everything. Mild steel was eliminated, the serial system flipped (TZZ counting down to TAA), and the LP became the 280 — with the 280X adding length and an oval-hole gusset. BMX Action tested the 280X in November 1982 with the Trick Team along for the antics, and by June 1983 the ads called the all-chromoly 280 "the hottest production bike."
Serial: no letter (280) · O (280 Long) · OX (oval gusset, 1983) | Period record: BMX Action Nov 1982 test · June 1983 ad
1982–83Pro-X
The Torker Twins' Main Machine
Previewed on the cover of BMX Action in November 1982 — "an exclusive look at Torker's new main machine" — and in full production for 1983. Machined head tube, machined bottom bracket, butted tubing. This was the frame of the Torker Twins: Mike "Hollywood" Miranda and Tommy "The Human Dragster" Brackens, who took the 1983 European Championship and the #3 NBL Pro plate on it.
"I got my first AA Pro back-to-back wins on a Torker."
Tommy "The Human Dragster" Brackens — Torker Factory Pro, USA BMX Hall of Fame 1991
Serial: P | Riders: Mike Miranda · Tommy Brackens | Period record: BMX Action Nov 1982 cover
Ride it today — PRO-X Reissue
1982The Haro Freestyler — Built by Torker
Where Freestyle Was Born
Bob Haro commissioned it. Torker built it. The world's first purpose-built freestyle BMX frame came off the Fullerton line between July and November 1982 — roughly 500 made, serial numbers ending in "F." Production moved overseas in late 1983, which makes the Fullerton originals the prize: only a handful of first-run frames are known in collectors' hands.
"Built by Torker to Haro's specifications."
BMX Plus! — April 1983 Freestyler test
1984Micro Mini · TorkLite · Mini Pro · Magnum
The Most Ambitious Year
The final Fullerton year was the busiest: the Micro Mini (parallel double top tubes, integrated seat post clamp), the TorkLite complete, the Magnum entry-level complete — and the Mini Pro, built for factory rider Craig Bark and never mass-produced. One is known to exist.
Serial: RP (Mini Pro) | Rider: Craig Bark
1984Freestylist
The Rarest Torker
Martin Aparijo designed Torker's own purpose-built freestyle frame — the first to wear the Torker name. Then November 1984 came, and the bankruptcy cut production short almost immediately. Fewer than 75 were built. An original Freestylist is among the rarest old-school BMX frames in existence.
Designer: Martin Aparijo | Built: fewer than 75 | Source: BMXmuseum records + collector forum documentation
Ride it today — Freestylist 2
1984Targa
The Race Frame That Never Got Its Chance
The frame that was going to carry Torker racing into its next era. Developed in 1984 as the new BMX race frame, the Targa never got off the ground — the November bankruptcy ended it before production began. Only five are known to exist, which makes the Targa one of the rarest Torkers of them all.
Built: 1984, bankruptcy era | Known to exist: 5 | Source: Torker Racing brand records
Fifty Years, One Timeline
1976
Steve Johnson names the company Torker, building on father John Johnson's Texon fabrication shop. The MX is the first frame.
1978
The LP arrives — the frame that defines Torker. The MX becomes the Big Bike.
1979
The factory team wins National #1 Team. Eddy King Replica and the TorkFlyte/MaxFlyte completes launch.
1980
Clint "The Barbarian" Miller wins the first IBMXF World Pro Championship ever held — on a Torker LP. MAX Racing launches as the sister apparel brand.
1981
The 26" Cruiser — Torker's first big wheel. Miller wins the NBA Supernationals on it.
1982
The biggest year: 24" Cruiser, the LP becomes the 280, the Pro-X is previewed — and Torker builds the world's first purpose-built freestyle frame, the Haro Freestyler.
1984
Micro Mini, TorkLite, Mini Pro, Magnum, the Aparijo Freestylist — and the Targa, the next-generation race frame that never got off the ground. The November bankruptcy ends the family era; the Freestylist stops at fewer than 75 frames, the Targa at five known.
1986–2002
The wilderness years. Tioga buys the name in 1986 and launches the Torker 2 freestyle line (360 Air, 540 Air). Seattle Bike Supply takes it through the 1990s — alloy frames, then completes again from 1997 to 2002. None of it was Fullerton. After that the name drifted onto unicycles, three-wheelers, and Townie bikes until even that stopped in 2013.
2015
Bill Ryan begins acquiring the Torker name — to bring it back to people who actually race BMX.
2022
The modern relaunch. Heritage reissues begin, faithful to the originals, built for today.
2026
The 50th anniversary. Eight years of production in Fullerton. Forty-two years of waiting. We're back.
Back in Production — What Honors What
Every modern Torker traces to a specific Fullerton frame. That's the whole point.
MX26 · MX29
Honor the 1976 MX — Kevin McNeal's Big Bike, at today's wheel sizes.
50-Year Big Bike
50 numbered frames for 50 years — chrome, Dark Blue, or Dark Maroon Red, each with a certificate.
EK 20 GEN II
Honors the 1979 Eddy King Replica. The 1$ rides again.
Barbarian-2
Honors Clint Miller's 1980 LP — the world's first BMX Pro World Championship frame.
PRO-X
The Torker Twins' machine, reissued faithful to the 1983 original.
Freestylist 2
The Aparijo design finally gets the production run the bankruptcy stole.
LP Family
LP-F, LP Race Frame, and the LP Balance Bike — the defining platform, from first pedal strokes up.
Archive FAQ
What was the first Torker BMX bike?
The Torker MX, introduced in 1976 — a pro-size frame with a 20" top tube, ridden by California State Champion Kevin McNeal. In May 1978 it was renamed the Big Bike. The modern MX26 and MX29 carry its name.
How do I identify my old Torker?
By serial number. Fullerton-era serials encode the production month and a model letter — B for Big Bike, E for Eddy King Replica, C for the 26" Cruiser, SC for the 24", P for Pro-X, F for the Torker-built Haro Freestyler. Full breakdown in our
Old-School Serial Number Guide.
What is the rarest Torker?
Three frames fight for the title, all victims of the November 1984 bankruptcy: the Freestylist (fewer than 75 built), the Targa — the next-generation race frame that never got off the ground, with only five known to exist — and the one-off Mini Pro built for Craig Bark.
Did Torker really build the first freestyle BMX frame?
Yes — the 1982 Haro Freestyler was manufactured by Torker in Fullerton to Bob Haro's specifications, with serial numbers ending in "F." It's documented in BMX Plus! (April 1983) and BMXmuseum.com records. Freestyle was born on a Torker production line.
Are the modern reissues the same as the originals?
Faithful where it counts. Every modern frame is built to honor a specific 1976–1984 model — same character, same lines, modern materials and standards. Each product page tells you exactly which original it honors.
