Motomags are the original, largest-selling, best-looking aluminum “mag” type wheels on the market during the earliest days of BMX. Skip Hess hand cast them to create a lighter and stronger wheel and even went on to make custom super-light magnesium versions: “I made a handful of magnesium Motomag Ones for Rick Twomey’s Mongoose BMX team to use in high profile races. They were extremely lightweight. I found a foundry to make a few sets and mag is very dangerous, so they made them at night to avoid a penalty for not having the proper license. The mags were really much lighter, but cost-prohibitive. We made a wooden form so as to sand cast the mag. The real concern was machining as mag chips and dust will catch fire. This was a team secret at the time. Twomey’s team carried the name of “Rick’s Bike Shop,” but he never had a bike shop. He did have the most experienced and fastest riders in this early era of BMX racing. He later was employed by me.”
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