Toby Henderson’s American BMX Company (ABC) teamed up with old school BMX legend Jeff Bottema to create a modern version of the iconic 80’s Bottema fork. In the 80’s it was a fork that racers and freestylers alike held in high regard and, decades later, still are among collectors. It was unique looking, strong and lightweight.

The modern classic is available in 20, 24, 26 and 29″. Updated with a 1 1/8″ steerer, oversized 20mm dropouts (but come with a 20-10mm adapter), and built by Tange, they have all the potential to be a great fork for a new era.

I’m a big fan of cromo so, despite the lack of information, the temptation was too high to ignore the modernised Bottema Forks. I had to get my hands on a set.

When they arrived they came in an amazing presentation box. It was padded with cut out that the forks sit in perfectly. Also a nice finish is the Jeff Bottema certificate of authentication. While they looked great in the box my intention was to race with them. They look great, made from Tange cromo, they would be quite strong, but in today’s market they aren’t so lightweight.

The 20″ fork weighed in at 1.3kg which is around 0.4kg heavier than most high end cromo race forks. So you could race on them, and I’m sure some people will do just that, but they are designed more for the collectors and #ridelife/ride out crowd. Two common features that are missing from these are a built in lock nut and a built in crown race, but that’s easy enough to fix. It just means you are open to customise them right down to the smallest details.

While fitting the forks I tried a Profile stem lock but the steerer on the fork was too long, the best option would be an expander plug, but I didn’t have one handy so I resorted to a star nut. Not my proudest moment, but hey, it works.

The dropout adapter kit that comes with the forks is simple and quite innovative, I’m surprised they don’t sell them separately as there aren’t a lot of options for adapting 20mm cromo forks to smaller axle sizes. The Bottema adapters allow you to set up a 15 or a 10mm axle in the 20mm drop outs. To step down to 15 mm all you need to do is put the 15mm adapters on. To step down to 10mm the 10mm adapters press into the 15mm adapters. At first I wondered if there would be any movement but once the wheel is done up they sit perfectly and look nice and flush. I wonder if black was the best option, if the adapters were polished they might look almost invisible, but the black works for me.

On the bike the forks look great, and over all don’t add that much extra weight to the bike. It’s not like we use cromo for it’s weight savings.

Manufacturer’s Description

Be part of the Legend!

Bottema 1 1/8″ Threadless Fork

When Jeff Bottema designed the original Bottema forks in 1978, he chose thicker tubing and longer leg tubes to eliminate unwanted flex. Then, he and Raleigh teammate Toby Henderson tested them to make sure they suited the needs of professional racers. The forks were an instant success and over the decades achieved legend status.

Working with Jeff and Toby, American BMX Company updated the forks with modern dimensions like 1 1/8″ threadless steerer tubes, oversize 1 1/8″ legs and 4mm thick, laser-cut dropouts to fit 20″ through 29″ wheels, while retaining the original design language.

Bottema forks are built by Tange from 100% 4130-chromoly tubing and feature an innovative dropout and dropout-saver design that works equally well with 10 and 20mm hub axles.

Final Words

The Tange made Bottema forks are still a great looking fork in my book. Although because they are little on the heavy side I might not use them for any serious racing, as I’d originally planned, I will keep them on my bike I use to train on and cruise around on, and maybe pull it out for the odd local race. They look way too good to keep in a box or on display in a cabinet.

Gallery

Rating 18/20

Comments

• When it comes to cromo forks the Bottema forks are very expensive but they are built by Tange and they are chrome, which is an expensive process these days. One thing is for sure, when you buy a Bottema fork you are not buying the lightest, fastest, latest and greatest BMX product, you’re buying a very unique fork that’s going to turn heads. Or, in my case, for the love of cromo.
• The Bottema forks are probably among the heavier cromo BMX fork on the market, but they are very stiff and strong. Let’s face it, if you are looking for a light weight fork you are more likely to go down the carbon route these days.
• The original Bottema fork was unique looking, strong and lightweight. As Meatloaf used to sing “two out of three ain’t bad”. While the modern Bottema fork isn’t the lightest it is extremely configurable making it adaptable for any build with the 1 1/8″ steerer and 20 mm dropout with 10/15 mm adapters.
• The Bottema forks look great, feature clean welds and do an amazing job of modernising one of the most iconic forks ever produced for BMX. While the Bottema forks is right at home on a Race Inc RA20 frame, it’s perfect for any mid school or modern day build.

Where are they available?

Bottema Products are available from the American BMX Company (abmxc.com/pages/bottema-forks).

Reviewed by Shane Jenkins/bmxultra.com May 23, 2023