DC Shoes x SE Bikes

The Most Important Collab in the History of SE Bikes!

The DC Shoes x SE Bikes collaboration was the most important collab in SE’s history, because it was the spark that launched our entire Retro line. Thanks to the DC x SE connection, we also created the very first for Big Ripper for "Rob and Big" on MTV! More on that later.

The Collab Begins
In 2006, Damon Way, co-founder of DC Shoes, contacted SE's Todd Lyons with an idea to re-create the coolest bike from the early era of BMX: the PK Ripper. Only 150 of the DC x SE PK Ripper Looptail 20" bikes were made and it was a huge hit. Here are quotes from both Damon and Todd at the launch party.

“About a year ago I got an email from Damon Way at DC saying that they wanted to bring back the PK Ripper Looptail. I thought, ‘We probably should’… We scoured the old school guys asking them specifically what this bike needed to be an exact re-creation of the PK Ripper Looptail from back in the day. Everyone’s psyched on it. It is a re-creation of the legend.” – Todd Lyons, SE Bikes Director and BMX Legend

“I have a big respect and I admire that period of BMX... When I think back to the time and what stood out to me then, I always think back to the PK Ripper. I think that was the most iconic bike of that period—probably in the history of BMX. So, this project was a way to go back, pay homage to the bike and that period. Fortunately, I was able to connect with Todd Lyons from SE and we were able to put this whole deal together.” – Damon Way, Co-Founder of DC Shoes

DC's co-founder Damon Way with SE Director Todd Lyons at the launch party for the DC x SE PK Ripper Looptail in 2007. These two guys are responsible for the Retro BMX craze!

This was an awesome photo that DC created. This print was on display at the 2007 launch party.

The design file for the 2007 DC x SE PK Ripper Looptail.

This drawing shows where the limited-edition number went on the frame's dropout.

"001/150". Talk about priceless!

A look at the badges with the limited-edition numbers.

You know that "001" is way cooler than James Bond, aka "007"!

A close-up of the padset.

This sign was on display at the first DC x SE launch party. The same design/text was used on multiple different marketing items.

This is the drawing of the PK Ripper Looptail frame signed by SE's founder Scot Breithaupt.

Todd Lyons with the 2007 DC x SE PK Ripper Looptail display.

This was the original bike box for the DC x SE collab bikes.

The bike looks so tough! This was a DC x SE advertisement that ran in multiple places.

DC x SE shoes? Of course! We did a couple different shoes with DC as part of this collab.

This incredible display for the collab was in Colette in Paris. Talk about hyped!

The DC x SE Collabs Keep Coming!

The next bike in the DC x SE collab came a year later in 2008 with the 24” DC Quadangle Looptail. If you don’t know where the name Quadangle comes from, Todd explained, “If you look at the frame from the side view, there are four triangles. A typical BMX frame has two triangles. It’s a unique, legendary design. The Quadangle started back in 1979 as the STR-1, the Stu Thomsen Replica. So, with DC’s input we thought, ‘Let’s bring back the Quadangle, but in a new size.’”

Enter the Fixed Gear—and the Big Ripper!
The SE x DC collab that followed in 2009 was a 700c fixed gear, which was perfect timing as the fixie scene was in full swing. This bike was available in white and matte black, and only 1,000 total bikes were made. Another DC-related bike in 2009 was the first 29" Big Ripper, the first big BMX bike ever. That story is so important that we're giving it its own page!

In 2010, the DC x SE collab rocked the cycling world with the 26" DC x SE Quadangle and and a new PK Ripper Fixed Gear in one of the coolest colorways ever.

A two-page ad in Complex magazine—this collab was big time!

Check out the frame dropouts with the DC logo.

The Quadangle is the most recognizable frame in BMX. And that SE Racing x DC head tube badge is the icing on the cake!

The padset for the Quadangle frame is always a unique item. The repeat of the DC x SE logo really set this one apart.

A view of the finished DC logo in the frame's dropout.

BMX Legends on the PK Ripper Looptail

When the DC x SE collab launched in 2007, Todd Lyons collected quotes from BMX legends about the original PK Ripper Looptail. And these quotes are pure gold!

“The PK Ripper was a dark and mysterious machine much like its namesake, the Ripper himself (Perry Kramer). It was never fun lining up on the gate next to the Ripper.” - Toby Henderson, BMX Racing and MTB Legend

“Having a PK Ripper back in the day was like having the hottest chick in school. Everybody just knew you were a badass. Nuf said!” - Rod Beckering, BMX Racing Legend

“The PK Ripper, the staple of SE Racing. I remember going to, I think, Bill Bastian’s shop, to pick up the fresh frames. I would cram as many would fit in the SE van, take them back to the warehouse where PK (Perry Kramer) and I would sticker them up, then ship them out. I could hear Scot (Breithaupt) in the office selling more and more PK's and every other SE product we had... We were always backordered. Frames and product in the back door, out the front.” - Stu Thomsen, BMX Racing Legend

"I'll never forget getting my first factory ride by SE Racing back in 1982. My father and I walked through the factory with Scott ‘OM’ (Breithaupt) and it was like X-mas. I got a new Mini PK Ripper and all the new gear to go with it. You couldn't be on a cooler team or ride a cooler bike than a PK Ripper back then, and I'm happy to have been part of such a piece of history." - Brian Lopes, BMX Racing and MTB Legend

“The PK Ripper, both the bike and its namesake (Perry Kramer) were larger than life! I was doomed from the start with it originally being called the JU-6. I think the guys who rode a bike called the JU-6 wear pocket protecters to work now.”—Jeff Utterback, BMX Racing Legend and the namesake of the “JU” in SE’s JU-6 BMX racing bike, which evolved into the PK Ripper

"The P.K. Ripper was one badass, cool ride. It was the best aluminum frame out there with the coolest colors available. It had such a cool image; it was hard not win on it. How could it not be a cool ride with a name like ‘Ripper’? It was designed by and named after PK himself (Perry Kramer). Perry was edgy, gnarly, fast, good looking, strong, and popular... All the same great characteristics as the PK Ripper itself.” - Eric Rupe, BMX Racing and MTB Legend

“We made the first PK Ripper frame in February of 1979, just in time to race the NBA Winternationals. That race was the official kickoff of the National race series for the year. I won the Pro class and then the overall trophy dash of that race, and all of the magazines covered it. The next National was the NBA Springnationals, and Stu Thomsen won riding a PK. Then at the NBA Western States Championship, Rod Beckering won on a PK. Our team held the top three places in NBA National point standings and all three of us were racing on PK Rippers. That bike went straight to the top after that.

“The PK Ripper frame was ahead of its time. It was the strongest aluminum frame out there. It looked heavy because of the Floval tubing, but when you picked it up it was super light. We had so many color combinations there could be five kids on the block with a PK, and they would all be different. I’ve heard many times that if you owned a PK Ripper back in the day, you were either super-fast or your family had lots of money.

“The night we were trying to figure out what to name the bike we were throwing around a bunch of names like, ‘PK Pro Ripper model’ or ‘Perry Kramer Ripper’. But when someone just said, ‘How about PK Ripper?’, we all just looked at each other and said, ‘Yeah!’

“I won my fair share of races between 1974 and 1983, but it was having the PK Ripper bike named after me that made me real popular.” – Perry Kramer, BMX Legend and the “PK” in PK Ripper

The Fixie Ripper! This was a sample photo the factory sent for us to check things out before the release in 2009.

You don't often see tires that skinny on a bike that says "PK Ripper" on the down tube!

That top tube pad is so subtle and yet so cool at the same time.

This is the very first Big Ripper ever! This bike was made for the MTV show "Rob & Big", and it completely changed the game! Check out our "Rob Dyrdek x SE Bikes" collab page for the full story!