BMX Brand
Haro
Haro is an American BMX brand founded by Bob Haro in 1978 that grew from number plates into one of the first companies to build bikes made for freestyle.
Updated 3 min read741 words
Haro is an American BMX brand founded by Bob Haro in 1978. It started as a maker of number plates and became one of the first companies to build bikes designed for freestyle rather than racing. Its Freestyler, Master and Sport frames defined what a freestyle bike looked like in the 1980s, and its later team, led by Dave Mirra and Ryan Nyquist, kept the brand at the front of contest riding through the 1990s and 2000s.
History
Bob Haro was a racer and illustrator in Southern California. In 1978 he began making number plates under the name Haro Designs. Racers at the time used plates to display their numbers, and Haro's designs sold well enough to fund his riding. He was also one of the first riders to treat tricks as the point of riding, performing demos on flat ground and ramps at a time when the sport was built around the race track. That period is covered in Origins of BMX.
In 1982 Haro released the Freestyler, generally regarded as the first production frame built specifically for freestyle. It had standing platforms for flatland tricks and a stronger build than a race frame. The Master and Sport followed in the mid 1980s. The Master was the higher end model and the Sport was the more affordable version. Both became the standard shape for a freestyle bike during the 1980s boom, and their twin top tubes and platforms were copied by many rivals.
Bob Haro sold the company in the late 1980s and moved into design work outside the brand. Haro continued as a bike company through the slump of the early 1990s, when many freestyle brands closed. During the 1990s it signed Dave Mirra, who became the most decorated contest rider of the era while riding Haro frames. Ryan Nyquist joined later in the decade. Signature complete bikes built around the two riders sold in large numbers through bike shops.
In the 2010s Haro launched its Lineage range, which reissues classic frames and completes based on the Freestyler, Master and Sport for collectors and for riders who grew up with the originals.
Products
Haro's first products were number plates, then frames, then complete bikes. The brand is best known for these models:
| Model | Era | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Number plates | Late 1970s | The original Haro Designs product |
| Freestyler | Early 1980s | Regarded as the first production freestyle frame |
| Master | Mid 1980s | High end freestyle frame with standing platforms |
| Sport | Mid 1980s | Lower priced version of the Master |
| Mirra and Nyquist signature completes | 1990s and 2000s | Complete bikes built around the pro team |
| Lineage | 2010s onward | Reissues of classic frames and completes |
Today Haro sells complete freestyle bikes across a range of prices, race bikes, and the Lineage retro line. Its completes are a common first bike, which makes the brand a frequent entry in guides such as how to choose your first BMX.
Team and riders
The Haro team has been one of the most visible in freestyle since the 1980s. Riders associated with the brand over the years have included:
- Bob Haro, the founder, who rode demos under his own name
- Ron Wilkerson, Brian Blyther, Mike Dominguez and Dave Nourie in the 1980s show team era
- Mat Hoffman early in his career, before he started Hoffman Bikes
- Dave Mirra, who rode for Haro from the 1990s until 2005
- Ryan Nyquist, a long serving team rider across dirt and park
- Dennis Enarson, who rode for the brand for many years from the late 2000s
- Chad Kerley, who rode for Haro in the 2010s
Mirra and Nyquist's results at the X Games in the late 1990s and 2000s made Haro the brand most closely tied to televised BMX in that period.
Influence
Haro's influence comes in two parts. The first is the idea that freestyle deserved its own equipment. Before the Freestyler, riders did tricks on race bikes. Haro's frames gave freestyle its own look and geometry, and the standing platforms of the Master and Sport appear on almost every 1980s freestyle bike that followed.
The second is visibility. Haro's 1980s show tours brought freestyle to bike shops and car parks across the United States, and its 1990s team put BMX on television. Many riders who later started their own brands, including Mat Hoffman, passed through the Haro team.
Related
- Bob Haro
- Freestyle BMX boom of the 1980s
- GT Bicycles, a rival freestyle and race brand from the same era
- Mongoose
- Hoffman Bikes
- Vert
Frequently asked questions about Haro
Who founded Haro?
Bob Haro, a Southern California rider and artist, started the company in 1978 making number plates before moving into frames and complete bikes.
Was Haro the first freestyle BMX brand?
Haro is widely credited with releasing the first production frame built specifically for freestyle, the Freestyler, in the early 1980s.
Does Haro still make BMX bikes?
Yes. Haro sells complete freestyle and race bikes and reissues classic frames through its Lineage range.
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