KennBendajo
12-17-2007, 01:03 PM
Got a great story for all of you....
Some of you know EWR - Eastern Woods Research. This is a 1994 Original Woods frame, the one I competed on in the early 90's.
Well, in 1996, I was in a pinch for cash, and I sold my EWR. She was in pretty good shape for a trials bike back then and had an AMP fork on it. Selling it was one of those things that shortly after I did, I would regret for years.
For the last several years I have been trying to track down an EWR - hell, any EWR! - with no luck. My friend Don had been assisting me in this quest because he too has longed to own and ride one. Internet search after internet search brought no results. Only the same postings that had been up for years. The only EWR that we can say still exists is #167. #167 is a Titanium one-off made for Mr. Ed Hall, who currently runs Bikeworks in Harleysville. We have known Mr. Ed for many years, and he will never sell that bike. As a matter of fact it is his ONLY mountain bike.
In September, I was taking my dogs to the dog park down the street from my home, and an old school Dirt Research Kobuk (dubbed "Purple Nurple") was on top of my truck. You see, I was in the process of boxing and shipping it to Don in GA. A guy is in the car next to me and staring at it. He asks me if that is a real DR or did I find a sticker pack somewhere? So I go into the story of how Don found the NOS, we bought the frames, etc. etc.
This guy, Michael, is visibly in awe at retro ride, as we all are the first time we see it. Michael then tells me that he just sold an old steel bike to a guy in a bike shop in Harleysville. I ask what kind of frame it was. He then tells me it was an EWR. My jaw hits the ground. I ask how much he sold it for? $75. I almost throw up. We talk for a little bit and he tells me he thinks it was Ed he sold it to. I ask him what color it was, and he asks if I had sold him a purple EWR with an AMP fork back in 1996? What are the chances I run into the same guy I have been looking to find for 11 years at a dog park??????
I go home and immediately call Ed. I haven't spoken to Ed in months, maybe years, due to distance. Ed informs that it wasn't he who has bought the frame, but a guy he works with named Matt. After a long talk, Mr. Ed tells me he understands my longing because he just recently got back his Patterson BMX frame he raced on as a teenager. He understand what I am going through. Ed says he'll see what he can do. The next day I get a call from Ed and he tells me that Matt is willing to let the frame go back to its original owner! A wave of nostalgia comes over me (it's still over me!). Saturday September 15, 2007 I picked up my EWR. Not just any EWR - MY EWR.
Here's the build:
White Brothers Magic 80, specially built with 1" steerer tube
Carbon fiber headset spacers (cuz it's gotta be lightweight)
Chris King 1" NoThreadset
FSA Afterburner Megaexo Cranks
SRAM X.9 shifters, derailleurs, cassette, chain
Thompson Elite stem, seatpost
I also included a pic of the Dirt Research Kobuk built as a SS with era specific White Indutries hubs.
Check out www.EWRbikes.com
Some of you know EWR - Eastern Woods Research. This is a 1994 Original Woods frame, the one I competed on in the early 90's.
Well, in 1996, I was in a pinch for cash, and I sold my EWR. She was in pretty good shape for a trials bike back then and had an AMP fork on it. Selling it was one of those things that shortly after I did, I would regret for years.
For the last several years I have been trying to track down an EWR - hell, any EWR! - with no luck. My friend Don had been assisting me in this quest because he too has longed to own and ride one. Internet search after internet search brought no results. Only the same postings that had been up for years. The only EWR that we can say still exists is #167. #167 is a Titanium one-off made for Mr. Ed Hall, who currently runs Bikeworks in Harleysville. We have known Mr. Ed for many years, and he will never sell that bike. As a matter of fact it is his ONLY mountain bike.
In September, I was taking my dogs to the dog park down the street from my home, and an old school Dirt Research Kobuk (dubbed "Purple Nurple") was on top of my truck. You see, I was in the process of boxing and shipping it to Don in GA. A guy is in the car next to me and staring at it. He asks me if that is a real DR or did I find a sticker pack somewhere? So I go into the story of how Don found the NOS, we bought the frames, etc. etc.
This guy, Michael, is visibly in awe at retro ride, as we all are the first time we see it. Michael then tells me that he just sold an old steel bike to a guy in a bike shop in Harleysville. I ask what kind of frame it was. He then tells me it was an EWR. My jaw hits the ground. I ask how much he sold it for? $75. I almost throw up. We talk for a little bit and he tells me he thinks it was Ed he sold it to. I ask him what color it was, and he asks if I had sold him a purple EWR with an AMP fork back in 1996? What are the chances I run into the same guy I have been looking to find for 11 years at a dog park??????
I go home and immediately call Ed. I haven't spoken to Ed in months, maybe years, due to distance. Ed informs that it wasn't he who has bought the frame, but a guy he works with named Matt. After a long talk, Mr. Ed tells me he understands my longing because he just recently got back his Patterson BMX frame he raced on as a teenager. He understand what I am going through. Ed says he'll see what he can do. The next day I get a call from Ed and he tells me that Matt is willing to let the frame go back to its original owner! A wave of nostalgia comes over me (it's still over me!). Saturday September 15, 2007 I picked up my EWR. Not just any EWR - MY EWR.
Here's the build:
White Brothers Magic 80, specially built with 1" steerer tube
Carbon fiber headset spacers (cuz it's gotta be lightweight)
Chris King 1" NoThreadset
FSA Afterburner Megaexo Cranks
SRAM X.9 shifters, derailleurs, cassette, chain
Thompson Elite stem, seatpost
I also included a pic of the Dirt Research Kobuk built as a SS with era specific White Indutries hubs.
Check out www.EWRbikes.com