'Haro Steel Reserve' Dirt Jumper Build w/ 'Made In USA' Parts!

Nate Fegan
Apr 19
5 min read

Updated: May 4

How I Got This Bike / Why I Chose To Ride A Dirt Jumper!

In 2016 I asked a friend of mine, who happened to own a bike shop at the time, if he could order BMX bikes. His answer changed my life!

More on that in just a moment... but first, here is a quick back story: As a kid, in the 70s, I started out with a 20" bike complete with a banana seat, high-rise bars and a coaster brake! I was in fourth grade when I became inspired to dump the 'banana seat and sissy bars' for a 'ten-speed seat' and a pair of used BMX bars. After that it was all BMX as far as the eye could see! [More on this time period to come in another post]

Then, when I was about nineteen years old, I got a job at bike shop that had recently opened in town. It was there that I became curious about road biking. Hungry for something new, I took the plunge and started to enjoy longer rides on the many country roads that were in my area at the time. I did this for a while, but after building a new Cannondale M800 Beast Of The East [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JwYQVq5pcc] I was in love!

To make a long story shorter, I eventually switched over to mountain biking, then back to BMX, and back to mountain biking... Something didn't seem quite right: BMX bikes were too small for the trail riding I liked to do and mountain bikes felt too big and bulky for doing manuals and for jumping. Eventually, I had a full-suspension mountain bike that I started to ride standing up and with the seat pushed all the way down. This was as close as I could get to the type of bike I wanted to ride, but could not yet find!

So, there I was at the age of 43 asking my friend, the one who owned a bike shop, if he could order BMX bikes. I had decided that my full-suspension mountain bike, even with the seat pushed all the way down, was still just too big and bulky for what I wanted to do. When he said yes, gave me some brand names to look into and offered to trade a new bike for guitar lessons, I was seriously stoked!

As I began to look into the brands that he had mentioned, it quickly became pretty clear much had changed since the last time I had looked into the bike scene. The last new bike I had purchased was probably the 1995 GT Speed Series that I bought at a second bike shop where I had become head mechanic.

From the selection of brands that my friend had mentioned, I recognized only one from my earlier days growing up with BMX, and that was Haro! So, there I was on Haro's website and I was quite surprised to discover a 'new type of bike' called a Dirt Jumper. And, there it was: the perfect [for me] combination of BMX and mountain that I had been waiting for! And, here we are!

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Be sure to read, below, about why I had to replace the original crankset!

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This 2016 'Haro Steel Reserve 1.3' Features A Chromoly Frameset w/ a 22.5" Top Tube!

This Is The Original Marzocchi DJ1 Suspension Fork That Came New With The Bike!

The Steel Reserve Has A Tapered Headtube And Still Has The Original FSA 1 1/8”

to 1 ½” Headset w/ Sealed Bearings!

Profile Racing 'Helm’ 40 mm Stem Designed For A 31.8 mm Diameter Handlebar!

Profile Racing - MADE IN USA!

Spank Spoon 785 Handlebar w/ A 40mm rise and a diameter of 31.8 mm

Oury Grips!

Front & Rear Tektro Draco II Hydraulic Disc Brakes!

The rear brake came with the original bike - and, I added the matching front brake on day one of the original build.

Original Haro Seat & Post!

American Flag Stickers From The Original 'Stick-Em-Up' Sticker Company!

When I decided to put American Flag stickers on this build, I thought it would be really sweet to have stickers from the Stick'Em Up sticker company that I remember from the BMX magazines! I did some digging on the internet and ended up connecting with, Cliff Johnson, an original own who said that he still had some stickers left... The next thing I new, I had recieved 'one more package' from the Stick'Em Up sticker company! This made made my day! "Hi Nate,.. Here is what we have left. I remember those good old day's, thanx for your past business. cj"

175 mm Profile Racing 'RHD Race Crankset' In Now Discontinued 'Raw Finish'!

Back in 2017, after owning this bike for less than six months, I was out riding when all of a sudden the left crank arm just peeled off right below the crank axle. It was one of the weirdest feelings! [See Photo Below]. So, I decided to buy an American made crankset from one my favorite BMX companies: Profile Racing - and, I love it!

Profile Racing - MADE IN USA!

Profile Racing ‘European Internal’ Bottom Bracket w/ 68mm Wide shell!

Profile Racing - MADE IN USA!

6” Profile Racing 'GDH Titanium Crank Axle' With A 19mm Diameter!

Profile Racing - MADE IN USA!

Profile Racing 25 Tooth 'Spline Drive' Front Sprocket!

Profile Racing - MADE IN USA!

KMC K1SL SuperLite Kool Wide Chain!

Crupi Pro 3.75” 'Made In The USA' Pedals w/ 9/16th" Axle!

Continental Race King 26X2.2 Tubeless Tires!

I ordered these tires based upon being light weight. What I didn't catch is that they are Made In China. I was bummed when I saw this written on each tire. On the other hand, the unique aroma coming from the rubber compound took me right back to childhood in a great way! We used to go to a big shopping mall called Park City [Lancaster, PA], and there was a auto tire store right next to a denim store that, for advertising, had a mini-van / go-kart right up front. That go-kart drew me in just like a magnet with each and every visit! Great times!

Stan’s Flow 26” MK4 Alloy Rims

Muc-Off 7075 Machined Aluminum Tubeless Valves

USA Titanium Spokes in Raw Finish

Alloy Spoke Nipples

Profile Elite Hubs w/ a 14T Rear Cog

In 2024, I called Profile Racing and spoke to Gus about building a custom wheelset for the Steel Reserve. I had been pinching pennies, in the bike department, for almost thirty years, so I finally decided to splurge a little bit. Gus, at Profile Racing, was great over the phone and he sent me to Termite's 'Wheel Street USA', a custom bike shop in Sarasota, FL. "Termite", according to Gus, was a great BMX rider who had worked for Profile Racing over a period of many years before opening his own custom bike shop. So, to make a long story a bit shorter, I worked with Casey at Wheel Street USA and had the following wheels built [see Casey's photo below]. And, they are fantastic! The only bummer is that it appears as though Wheel Street USA has closed permanently!