https://en.khebikes.com/BMX-folding-tire-KHE-MAC2-20-inch-x-2.3-inch/5111-020-02

Forgotten Artifacts From Profile's BMX Dungeon

Some truly Old School history that you don't see every day...

16 Apr 2018

Profile Dungeon Rd 02

Words and photos by Rob Dolecki

When the opportunity arose to take a stroll through the fabled “Dungeon” at Profile, I couldn’t refuse. The Dungeon is the previous shop/ warehouse located down the street from the current setup in St. Petersburg, Florida. It’s basically a real-life time capsule, which ceased all operations in 2004, and the entire building was basically left as it was for the last decade and a half since the last crank arm was constructed there. Brand new original early 80s crank arms stacked in cardboard boxes, Hutch Judge and Trick Star frame fixtures (most likely the only ones ever in existence), stacks of rusting Pro Styler frame dropouts… it’s an old school collector’s wet dream. The manufacturing history there is incredible.

I snapped photos of a few of the many gems dotted throughout the building, and Profile's owner and founder, Jim Alley, was kind enough to give a back story behind each. Also check out the upcoming video series Profile is putting together, which goes into more detail about many of the other finds located in the Dungeon (first episode is posted at the bottom).

https://feverup.com/m/163363

Hutch Frames

Profile Dungeon Rd 04

"We built frames for Hutch for about a year and a half. The Hutch frame was basically the Profile Champ Pro without the middle bar in the front triangle. We were building the Hutch frames off our fixtures. Hutch also purchased cranks at first, and put their stickers on them. Hutch wanted their brake bridge to look like it had bullet holes in it and to spell out Hutch. My son Cory was about 13 then, and we gave him a job. We made a master drill fixture that had Hutch in it, and he’d sit at the drill press and drill out all the holes in the brake bridges. It took about 10 minutes to drill out each bridge. Cory did a lot of them. Any Hutch frame out there (Pro and Mini) that has that bridge, they were built by Profile."   

First Versions Of Iconic Cranks

Profile Dungeon Rd 08

"The crank arms were first made in late ’79, early 80, which were prototypes. When we got involved in BMX, there were a lot of one piece cranks on bikes. I went to local races with my son Cory and daughter Justine. I honed in on the gate, since many races were won or lost there, and I’d watch these kids physically flexing the cranks. That’s how the cranks came about. We went back and started on some prototypes. We decided on the final version, made the tooling, and still make today."

Flammable Pedals

Profile Dungeon Rd 07

"We started making pedals around ’83. Watching kids go around a corner and leaning their bikes over- a lot of them would stop pedaling at that point. The big square pedals were available by everyone, we though if we could make them horseshoe-shaped and round, you could lean the bike a little further and continue pedaling without the pedal hitting the ground. We made them out of both aluminum and magnesium. We were really pushing the little kid market at the time, and magnesium is about 35-40% lighter than aluminum. Just by luck, the foundry that did the aluminum pedals also did magnesium, so that’s how we got into that. We made that pedal until about ’86. We’d save all the magnesium chips from machining. You could actually set them on fire; they burn like a flare. The machine shop guys had a party with that. Nobody got hurt, nobody got burned. (Laughter)"

Frame Graveyard

  • Profile Dungeon Rd 12
  • Profile Dungeon Rd 10
  • Profile Dungeon Rd 11

of 3

"We started manufacturing frames in late 1980, after we started making the box cranks. I looked at all the frames out there and they all had 1” top and down tubes. Through earning about strength in my racecar technology, we put it into the frames. We used an 1 3/8” down tube, and cut down the bottom bracket form 2 5/8” to 2 1/2”, and it cut down the bottom bracket flex. Shelby James was about 9 years old when he came to ride for us. He was a natural at it, winning world championships. He sold more bike frames than any pro rider we ever had. The last year we made frames was about 2002. Mark Mulville’s signature frame weren’t done in-house."

Styler Frames

Profile Dungeon Rd 06

"The Pro Styler frames were made from 1985-1987. I’d say we made less than 500. We get a lot of calls from collectors trying to find them."

Aluminum Screw-on Pegs

Profile Dungeon Rd 05

"When we started making the Pro Styler frame in ’85, we made these pegs that were designed specifically for it, and would screw onto the front or rear 3/8” axles. That was pretty much the standard for axles then. We also sold them to other companies."

Production Chart

Profile Dungeon Rd 01

"We had four full-time welders. They’d go from building frames, to building cranks. One day they made a chart, and kept track of how many cranks they were building. There are some frames on there, but we were building cranks like crazy. It’s pretty impressive; some of the years were 50,000 crank sets. That 3/4 - 48 splined crank spindle became the standard of the industry."

Last Remaining Seat Post Clamps

Profile Dungeon Rd 09

"We had a truck and trailer that was going to the races. This was inside on one side of the trailer, and you could see some of the product that was current at the time. It was a great way of merchandising.
Somewhere along the line we moved the case out of the trailer when we sold it, and been sitting since then (around mid 90s). We have no idea where the key is to the case locks. There are doors down below that we’ve had no access to. I think one of these days we’ll drill out the lock and see what’s in there; I’m sure there’s still inventory setting in there from that time period. The seat post clamps (pictured in the main display area) are the only ones left at Profile; We get calls about those all the time."

The First Shop Sign

Profile Dungeon Rd 13

"When we moved from Flemington, New Jersey to Clearwater, Florida, we needed a sign on our shop when we got down here.  It was pretty crude looking. One weekend I just painted a sign. It was one of the first signs we put up here, which was made in July of 1978."

Those Hutch Frame Fixtures

  • Profile Dungeon Rd 02
  • Profile Dungeon Rd 03

of 2

"We didn’t make the Pro Racer, Judge or Trick Star frames. These are the fixtures for making the front half of those frames. When Hutch left us as a manufacturer, he might have gone to MCS; eventually the production went to Thruster (located in Wayne, New Jersey). When Thruster went bankrupt, a good friend of mine who was a racecar builder went there to buy a Lot of chromoly tubing they had. You had to buy whole pallets of stuff and you didn't know what you were getting. I was up in NJ at one point, he contacted me and said he purchased something in that Lot that I might be interested in. It was full of these fixtures; I bought the whole pallet. There’s Hutch, Thruster and possibly Patterson fixtures. A lot of history there."

Related Video

Profile - From The Dungeon: Ep 1

Scratching The Surface - More Info

Previous

Re-Print: Style Police - The No-Hander

Look Mom! Is my variation of this legendary style legit?

Next

SETUPS: Hobie Doan

"My bar angle is touchy to me"

Related Content

Leeper Bmx Brothers Texas 1 Rd

Real Bros: Dillon And Shane Leeper

The common bond of blood and bikes.

24 Feb 2017
Profile Nola
Play Button

Profile - North Of NOLA

With Degroot and Adams

8 Feb 2016
Matt Coplon Print Matters Img 0532

Print Matters: Let Me Tell You About The Time...

"Every contributor was effected by BMX in some way throughout their lives."

16 Jan 2017
DIG DIET Taj Michelich 2

Eat Better - Grind Further

Why healthy eating can help BMXers not only avoid injury, but recover from injuries faster too...

6 Apr 2015
Mulville   Bmx 5 Reasons  Tbog   Rd

5 Reasons Why Sponsorship Loyalty Kicks Ass

Profile's Mark Mulville breaks it down...

29 Dec 2015
Profile Mia Kaleb Bolton Maiden 9 Of 26

Maiden America 2016 - Snapshots from the Road

Profile x FBM X QBP - WE'RE JUST A MINOR THREAT

12 Oct 2016
matt coplon graphic 1

9 Pros and Cons Of Being One Of The Busiest Men In BMX

Matt Coplon on the ups and downs of the 24/7 hustle...

1 Jun 2015
Mia 17 Jay Schile Pic Matt

Exiting the Heliosphere - MAIDEN AMERICA IV

Profile x FBM X QBP - An Interstellar Motley Crew

27 Oct 2017
collapsing-the-whatever

Collapsing Into The Whatever

False possession, electricity poaching, run-ins with satanists, urban myths and more...

7 Oct 2014
https://www.kunstform.org/

Latest Content

F Omt Djc Rezshqdefault
Play Button
Ga W5 Wt60igshqdefault
Play Button
Tv Dqd Fmv7 F8hqdefault
Play Button

Beniamin Crismariu World Team - Kink BMX

Via Frontocean

26 Apr 2024
1enhy PCELG4hqdefault
Play Button

DIG LOCALS: SKIUZ - 'LOST & FOUND'

Sardinia, Italy

25 Apr 2024
IT Nh TWV Zdm Yhqdefault
Play Button

Kim Lea Mueller Bike Build

Lavender Colony Rico goodness!

25 Apr 2024
Gk1yj6m Z Seshqdefault
Play Button

9 Acres: Winter Update

Season 3!

25 Apr 2024
6 X Bly GDE Dx Ihqdefault
Play Button

Quality Control - 'On Our Terms'

A NorCal/Bay Area Scene Video

25 Apr 2024
Is QFW8aii L8hqdefault
Play Button

CALLAN STIBBARDS BEHIND-THE-SCENES

BIG MOVES!

24 Apr 2024
Hf Ew NZ0 Z2 E Ihqdefault
Play Button

NEW BIKE DAY! - PJ MARTINI

Sunday / Odyssey / Frenchys Distribution

23 Apr 2024
Skg X77a Ua0 Ehqdefault
Play Button

Kanode Knows - Chris Childs

Core as it gets

23 Apr 2024
J Dgoq H Co01whqdefault
Play Button

Here's to a legend - Eddie Rios' Sign Ceremony Jam - Profile

Honoring a NYC legend in Deltona, Florida

23 Apr 2024
C PB ewp5n9 Mhqdefault
Play Button

BROC RAIFORD "Retaliate" BTS RAW

Behind-The-Scenes

23 Apr 2024

DIG Partner stores

More Dig This

S1057107 2

MONSTER ENERGY 'CASH UP' 2024 SERIES ANNOUNCED

5 Jams - 5 Countries

25 Apr 2024
Nick wave

IN MEMORY - NICK COOMBES

A true renaissance man in every sense of the word

24 Apr 2024
WTP ECLAT JACKAL FRAME FORK 3

PRODUCTIVITY: WTP/ECLAT JACKAL FRAME & FORK

Did someone say titanium?!

13 Apr 2024
435840693 1414960675891844 3313287078063579831 n

PRODUCT DROP: LEWIS MILLS SIGNATURE VANS 'PEAK'

An all new BMX specific shoe from Vans

10 Apr 2024
Thee void leader
Cinema apparel 24 sring
DSCF2930

PRODUCTIVITY - ECLAT 1023 STEM

Designed in Cologne. Made in Kyoto.

31 Jan 2024
Dig2023stack

DIG BOOK #2023

NOW SHIPPING

8 Jan 2024
Wheel mill winter welcome 24 WIDE

EVENT NEWS: The Wheel Mill - Winter Welcome Jam 2024

Shelter from the storm.

19 Dec 2023
TJP WTP 22 6

SETUPS: TYSON JONES-PENI'S 22" CHAOS MACHINE

"I'm not saying the 22" will become the new standard, but it might help some riders stay on a BMX, rather than switching to MTB."

18 Dec 2023
TAMERICA tam roastin BSD 2023 mcgrath 11

The TAMerica Interview

The USA didn't know what was coming!

12 Dec 2023
Wethepeople THE SWAMPMASTER matt black 01 web

PRODUCTIVITY: WETHEPEOPLE SWAMP MASTER

Bouncy BMX Time

11 Dec 2023