Rob Dyrdek x SE Bikes

The Birth of the Big Ripper!

The Big Ripper is the most well known bike in the Retro and Bike Life worlds. It borrows from the same design as the legendary PK Ripper Looptail, but scaled up to become the world's first 29" BMX bike. But how did this bike come to life come in the first place? We have a pro skater and MTV to thank for that!

The MTV Connection

In 2006, SE began working on a few awesome collab projects with DC shoes, so there was already a strong DC and SE relationship. Then in 2008, SE's Todd Lyons was contacted by DC pro skater Rob Dyrdek about another project.

Dyrdek had his own show on MTV at the time called "Rob and Big", which followed the hilarious antics of Rob and his bodyguard Christopher "Big Black" Boykin. Rob had the idea of making a big BMX bike for Big Black. He wasn't sure how they would use it in the show, but he promised to work it into the show somehow.

Building the Big Ripper

There were no big BMX bikes in existence in 2008, so Todd used his BMX Product Manager skills to design a bike using BMX roots plus design cues from 29" mountain bikes. Of course he included SE's signature PK Ripper styling! He had four bikes created and sent to California for Rob to use on the show. The bike didn't even have a name at this point, and simply had PK Ripper decals.

The Big Rippers made their debut on "Rob & Big" season 3, episode 7. Rob, Big Black, and their friends ripped around the neighborhood on the bikes having a blast. The show had a massive worldwide audience, and viewers saw the bikes and instantly fell in love. "Wait, there's a 29" PK Ripper that would fit me and looks that awesome? Sign me up!"

SE began receiving phone calls and emails after the show aired, and it was obvious that these bikes were a hit. Todd added the Big Ripper to the SE line in '09, and it's been one of the most popular bikes in cycling ever since then!