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Test : Hutch Lil Hole Shot

In today's world of high technology things just keep getting better. The bicycle moto-cross industry has not just been sitting by the wayside and watching technology pass them by.
One company in particular has kept up with today's demand for high tech, high quality equipment. That company is Hutch Hi-Performance.
For the past two years Hutch has been the driving force in exotic BMX machinery, utilizing metals such as magnesium, titanium, and high quality aluminums. Hutch has shown that there is a place in BMX for exotica. Since acquiring Titron early this year, Hutch has been on the move even more, and especially with products for smaller riders in the nine and under age bracket.
Rich Hutchins is not a person who putts all of his eggs in one basket. Rich has one of the best and most consistant racing teams in BMX. With riders like Steve Veltman, Toby Henderson, Monty Gray, Tim Judge, Jason Griggs, Charlie Williams, Missy Fred, Brad Moore and Brit Adude, how could you go wrong?

In the midst of all this new technology, Hutch Hi-Performance has moved into a new facility to accommodate their needs. The new facility has over one quarter of a million dollars worth of machinery in order to build these precision pieces for your BMX machine.


Hutch Lil Hole Shot

When the bike arrived in my office from Hutch factory in Maryland, I could not wait to get my hands on it. This little racer was the nicest looking bike I'd ever seen; everything was either plated or polished and the bike reeked of speed.
As with anything, quality does not come cheap, but as the saying goes, "You get what you pay for."

Handlebars: Oh, these are just your average ultra lightweight mini bars. Made from 2024 aluminum, the Hutch mini bars feature a slight backward bend for good pull. The aluminium is polished to a high luster and has the familiar Hutch sticker on them.



Stem: Why didn't someone think of it before? The Hutch mini stem incorporates a unique clamping design. Instead of having four bolts to hold the bars stationary, the rear portion is held in place by he stem bolt itself. Not only is the design unparalleled, but so are the materials.
The magnesium mini stem has titanium bolts and weighs in at only 5 ounces.




Headset: Small riders do not give their bikes the abuse that a 14 or 15 year old would so, not only can they be made to be ultra light, but in this case, they contain no bearings. That's right, in place of bearings there are nylon o-rings that are self lubricating when used in conjuction with the magnesium headset, although a little bit of Vaseline will not hurt the lubricating at all.




Seatpost clamp: The seatpost clamp is round and made from magnesium. It is not only trick looking, but it holds good and is lightweight.




Pedals: These pedals are similar to their full size brothers. They incorporate titanium axles and are polished to a high luster. The new minipedals have the Hutch name and grip pegs molded into them.
The pedals have sealed bearings for longer life and less maintenance.





Cranks: The Hutch 170 mm hollow aluminium cranks on our test bike were beautiful. The arms are made from aluminium, have a titanium spindle and sealed bearings. The disc that the chainwheel bolts to is made from 7075 aluminum and accept two kinds of chainwheels. These cranks are polished to a high luster and look beautiful.



Hubs: the new Hutch hubs are truly precision instruments, made from magnesium and plated for a bright shine. The hubs also feature a titanium axle and have sealed bearings. Both hubs, weighed together, weigh only 11 ½ ozs.

Spokes: It is not often that you find someone talking about the spokes of a bike, but the spokes on the "Lil Hole Shot" test bike were no ordinary ones. These spokes are made from titanium, like many things on the bike, and are also plated.

Frame: Made from 4130 chromoly and chrome-plated, the Hutch "Lil Hole Shot" is great for the younger rider. The frame is lightweight, weighing in at only 2 lbs. 14 ozs., but is as sturdy as a tank. The frame's styling is just like Hutch's larger frames but downsized and features a one-piece bottom-bracket. The mini forks for the frame will accept either sew-up tires or 1.75's.




Testing the "Lil Hole Shot"

It was at the Bakersfield Gold Cup that I met up with her. Her name was the "Lil Hole Shot", and her father's name was Rich Hutchins.
She was bright and had a gleaming personality. She was so well mannered and cooperative, doing anything to accommodate her boyfriend, Brit Adude. She has been with Brit for a little over a year now and together they make quite a pair, travelling all across country from National to national and winning quite a few.
If you have not guessed by now, "Lil" is Brit's bike and Rich is it's creator. The Hutch mini is a piece of advanced technology ultilizing chromoly tubing, magnesium and titanium components, and many aluminium pieces. The track that we tested the bike at was "The Plunge" in Bakersfield, California. It is a long and smooth track with lots of jumps and turns. Now usually when you take an eight-year old and his bike out for a photo session, you cannot expect too much in the way of high flying action. Boy, was I ever surprised when Brit took his 14 lb. mini over the woops crossed up and about 4 ½ feet in the air. First I thought his bike would be totally destroyed on landing. Then I wondered how an eight-year old could get so much air. Well, on landing the bike was perfectly alright and so was brit, who landed like a feather. After that I did not worry about Brit or the bike. I realized that both were very capable of anything I could ask them to do.
Testing the bike that I cannot ride myself tends to be somewhat more difficult than I had anticipated, but after watching and checking the bike out very carefully, I have come to some conclusions.
The Hutch frame is a proven product that will withstand quite a bit of abuse and still maintain its fantastic handling characteristics.
The bike is responsive and fast out of the gate. When the Hutch bars, headset and stem are added to the bike, you have a bike that the smallest of riders feel comfortable on. The bars are the perfect size and the stem will surely hold them in place. The headset is one of the most interesting pieces on the bike. It spins well and stays tight because of its allen head locking nut. In addition, the headset includes what I would consider its own flex fighter.


What is 7075 ?

As I explained elsewhere in the article, the disc that supports the chainwheel is made from 7075 aluminum. What exactly is 7075 aluminum and how will you benefit from it? Well, aluminium is graded so you can determine its quality. What exactly the numbers mean is very hard to describe, but let me try.
Off the aluminums available, 1-7 thousand series, only 2000, 4000, 6000 and 7000 are heat treatable and will be hard enough for use on a BMX bike that takes lots of abuse.
In other words, the aluminium that Hutch uses on its sprockets is top quality and one of the strongest available. If Brit Adude's record of wins is any indication of the bike's potential, then it speaks for itself. But for you sceptics, the "Lil Hole Shot" is one of the nicest looking and well put together minis on the market. With all of the Hutch components, it makes a complete package that, at this time, is unsurpassed by any bike on the market. All in all, the bike is a lightweight racer built for speed and durability, and it will give even the "Littlest" rider chance at the holeshot.


SPECIAL FEATURES

One of the most unique features on the bike is the headset. The reason this headset is so unique is because it has no bearings. Instead it incorporates a polymeir plastic o-ring that is self lubricating.
The cranks are holow aluminum and have a titanium spindle. The disc that supports the chainwheel is made from 7076 aluminumn which is one of the strongest aluminums available.
Yet another feature that is unique to the Hutch bike is the stem that only has tho bolts to tighten the bar. The presure is evened out by the large stem bolt that tightens the stem in the forks.

Hutch Lil Hole Shot : The Real Superlite

Hutch Lil Hole Shot 1983

The Real Superlite

Frame : Hutch Lil Hole Shot
Fork : Hutch mini
Handlebar : Powerlite powerbend mini
Lever : Odyssey
Brake : Dia Compe MX 900
Brake pads : Scott Mathauser
Stem : DK Mini silver
Headset : Tange Seiki
Wheels : Araya rims 1/3/8° with Bullseye hubs silver
Tyres : Type Compe III skinwall 20*1/3/8°
Crank : TA mini 150mm
Pedals : Shimano SX black
Chainring : TA 43 teeth
Chain : Izumi
Freewheel : Suntour 16 teeth
Clamp : integrated
Seatpost : Uni Mini
Seat : Uni Mini
Seat cover : Uni Mini black checkered
Pads : Hutch reproduction with black letter

Quelques clichés :

Pédalier TA (150mm) : la référence pour les minis à l'époque

L'étrier de frein Dia Compe MX 900 (pas facile à dénicher)

Pédales Shimano SX black

Potence DK Mini silver

Polissage moyeux Bullseye

Publicité moyeux Bullseye "BMX Action" fev 83

Une opportunité, il y a 6 mois de cela, pour enfin obtenir des cerclages Sun Rims chromés d'époque pour le cruiser et me voilà avec un set de moyeux Bullseye silver pour une future restauration... l'idée d'un Hutch Lil Hole Shot fait son chemin.

A l'achat, le vendeur m'avait bien spécifié que la flasque du moyeu avant avait subi quelques dommages. Le déballage confirme les dires du vendeur : arrachage d'une partie de la flasque sans doute causé par une tension excessive des rayons... Du boulot en perspective. Sinon, la visserie est complète et en bon état, les roulements également, certains ont d'ailleurs été changés.

Une vue du moyeu arrière avant qu'il ne soit dérayonné : l'alu s'est terni avec le temps ce qui lui donne cet aspect mat.
En attente du miracle Belgom








Petit aperçu des dégats, la photo parle d'elle même... j'en viens à me renseigner sur l'assemblage du moyeu ; un changement de flasque peut être envisageable puisque l'ensemble est embouti.






Après avoir récupéré les cercles chromés Sun Mistral destinés au cruiser, je mets à nu les moyeux, travail qui facilitera leur polissage.
La conception est d'une simplicité déconcertante : un axe creux lisse enserré par deux colliers pourvus de vis BTR, eux mêmes en appui sur les roulements. Le serrage de roue se faisant par deux grosses vis BTR... Fiable et fonctionnel.

Les moyeux sont maintenant prêt à être polis.

Qu'avons nous besoin ?
- Ouate à lustrer
- Belgom alu
- Chiffon doux et propre mais là on s'en serait douter
- Et, et une bonne dose de patience

NB : J'ai hésité à me servir de la DREMEL en y ajoutant des mèches imprégnées de Belgom. Mais un essai sur un vieux guidon en alu m'en a vite dissuadé : apparition de vaguelettes.

Comment procéder :
- Appliquer du Belgom sur la ouate à lustrer
- Frotter de façon circulaire
- Essuyer l'excédent de produit ( obtention d'une pate noirâtre)
- Raviver la partie passée au Belgom avec le chiffon doux et propre

Le travail de polissage est toujours fastidieux, là encore tout dépend du type d'alu rencontré et de son état d'encrassement. J'ai donc passer une bonne heure et demi par moyeu ; le résultat est déjà bien agréable à l'oeil.


Et voilà le résultat :

Publicité Hutch Lil Hole Shot & Junior Racer

Nouveau Projet : Hutch Lil Hole Shot 1983

Voilà donc un nouveau post (enfin me diront certains !!!) qui détaillera la restauration de ce Mini de la gamme Hutch trop souvent délaissé par les passionnés.

Pour la petite histoire, j'ai ainsi obtenu le kit cadre et fourche qui comporte d'ailleurs le serrage de tige de selle intégré propre au modèle de l'année 1983 en mai dernier en provenance d'Australie. A ce sujet pour les curieux, compter 80 AUD pour l'expédition d'un set cadre et fourche depuis l'Australie. Passée l'excitation du débalage, j'inspecte l'état général de l'ensemble qui est très correct, le vendeur m'ayant prévenu d'une félure au niveau de serrage de tige de selle et de quelques piqûres de rouille mais rien de décourageant. Voici quelques clichés qui attestant du bon état de l'ensemble :

Le chrome est toujours impeccable chez Hutch et ce malgré les années... un passage au Belgom chrome lui redonnera tout son éclat.

Seules les pattes recevant les écrous de roues sont légèrement jaunies.


Le projet est là !!! Il s'agit maintenant de lui donner vie en accordant au mieux les différentes pièces en sachant que le Lil Hole Shot était destiné à des gamins agés de 6 à 9 ans. Je dévore les revues afin de me faire une idée des configurations proposées à l'époque... Il faut donc un matériel adapté à des petits bras, à des petites jambes et à un grand talent.

Les vieilleries de mon ancien spad (Sunn alu expert) donneront une ébauche : Et hop, une selle Uni Mini Usa , un set de jantes Araya chromées et un guidon Sunn alu Mini avec son levier de frein Odyssey.

Selle Uni Mini Usa (diam 12)

Guidon Sunn Alu Mini


Levier Odyssey silver


Cerclage Araya chromé en 1/3/8ième

Nouveautés de printemps

Mon rêve d'obtenir la fourche d'origine du Hutch cruiser s'est envolé comme le prix d'ailleurs de celle mise aux enchères par Stéphane de Nice... Faute de, je me suis rabattu sur une SE Landing Gear chrome tout juste sortie de son emballage !!! Exit donc la S&M Pitchfork qui dénotait un peu l'ensemble de la restauration. Montée et ça c'est une autre histoire, la Landing Gear est du plus bel effet :

La petite histoire : Une fois le jeu de direction monté, il ne me restait plus qu'à placer la roue avant ; l'enfance de l'art quoi !!! Et là, passe pô la roue : l'axe est trop large ou plutôt ils ont fait les choses bien chez SE en usinant les pattes de fourche de manière à ce que si la roue se desserre, elle ne sort pas de la fourche. Me voilà bien avec mon moyeu Hutch avec son axe pour roulements scellés, creux et en pas US... Je me rencarde mais personne n'a la longueur adéquate pour supporter les roulements du moyeux et c'est finalement Rockinglumberjack qui me dépannera en bidouillant légèrement tout de même. Washers en place, je pouvais enfin finaliser le montage.

Encore merci à toi Romain et Stéphane pour la fourche.