Steve Wilson was a top-level trials, scrambles, and speedway rider in the 1970s, with many national-level successes under his belt, riding for impressive brands such as Bultaco and SWM. Steve was also a top engineer, well known for building innovative frames for trials bikes that were often considered better than the manufacturers’ own products.
In the early 1980s, like Don Smith before him, Steve decided to call it a day in trials — and the BMX journey began. Based near the new Redditch BMX track and Halfords’ head office, he applied his engineering and motorcycle frame-building expertise to start producing BMX frames — some of the first ever made in the UK. These frames were eventually sold in key Halfords stores across the country in significant volume.
Dave Dawson recalls one of the early Redditch races:
“My dad had been involved in motorcycle trials and knew Steve Wilson, who was then a trials star in the Midlands and a skilled frame builder. Steve had made a few BMX bikes, and on that day at the Redditch event, he loaned me one of his bikes. I recall finishing second to a Dutch rider.
Soon after, I got a bike from Steve and helped develop it over the next year or so. The original Wilson team included Dave and Adrian Jessop, Dave Westwell, Simon Ryland, Mark Butler, and myself.”
Steve was heavily involved with the Redditch track. In 1981, at the Anglo American Cup, he organised all the marshals from the local motorcycle club and even introduced the famous bomb hole into the track design — along with new drainage and a fresh shale surface.
In 1982, Steve made a custom bike for Scott Dommett, who went on to win the British Cyclo-Trials Championship. The Halfords/Wilson partnership grew over the next few years, with the brand supporting top riders such as Chris Taylor, Trevor Robinson, Darrin Stock, Sarah-Jane Nichols, Mark Watkins, and Tim Print — all achieving major wins and titles. Their success culminated in both UKBMX and NBMXA championships, as well as The Kellogg’s, European, and World Cruiser titles for Whoppa in 1984, and a European and World Title for Sarah-Jane Nichols in 1986. Pro rider Gary Llewellyn also represented the brand in 1986.
Steve wound things down by the end of 1986, but the Wilson BMX brand remains popular today across old-school BMX social media forums and collector pages. Now 74, Steve still rides bikes and enjoys life in Cornwall.
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