Las Vegas Super Show

The next champion that you need to know is Isidro Juarez from Houston, Texas. Isidro, the family and their "Prophecy" '71 Schwinn from Rollerz Only Car Club are now officially titled the 2004 Lowrider Bicycle of the Year champions! Can you see the fireworks from Houston? We sure saw the excitement alright in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the recent Lowrider Magazine 2004 Super Show!

The road to the Super Show success is never easy and if you plan on locking handlebars with the latest batch of '04 champions, you're gonna be in for a big and nasty surprise. This year's main event Super Show took place just north of downtown Las Vegas at Cashman Field on October 10. The stakes were high and the battle was on. The only thing missing was a three-rope wrestling ring in the middle.

Defending their three-wheeled '03 championship was Gene and his son Cody Bare from Cashion, Arizona, and they victoriously prevailed again this year as the 2004 Lowrider Tricycle of the Year winners. A big hand goes out to these two big-time builders, designers and competitors. Don't even think that we're overlooking the issue of thanking everyone who participated not in only in the nationwide hunt for a championship lowrider bike, but throughout the Tour. It's been quite a year, especially for competitors in the hurricane state of Florida. We're sure that if Michael Linville ("Twisted Toy," LRB Fall '04) didn't have to brave the set of hurricanes in September, he and his dad may have made it to the show with a sure threat to the throne. As proud as we are about the Tour's success, many thanks and yahoos go out to everyone who rides on the Tour and on the street.

People do care about Second and Third Place, we certainly do. Staying in the top 10 bicycle class and coming in Second Place behind Isidro Juarez was last year's 2003 Lowrider Bicycle of the Year champs, Chris and Pete Moreno. Isidro and Chris basically traded places in '04. The Morenos' highly tricked-out and modified "Wolverine III" from the exclusive Legions Bike Club vigorously defended their title and vowed to be back next year to reclaim what they feel is rightfully theirs. Now, now, fellas, let's not get all huffy and puffy, it's supposed to be a friendly event.

There must be legions of Legions club members and the Third Place Bike of the Year winner is the "Freddy Krueger" two-wheeler owned by Pedro Fraire from Victoria, Texas. Taking a break this year was the "Man of Steel" bike from Arizonian Sam Paz. The just-for-show evilness of Pedro's pedal scraper was impressive and again puts the darkside on the winning edge. Will Pedro hang the bike up in his garage in retirement? That's the question that we asked him and he says that he might retire and may enter the Trike class, but right now after the show, things are way up in the air.

Going from award-winning bikes to victorious trikes, Rollerz Only member Jesse Prado (Arlington, Texas) sealed the deal for the second year in a row as the Second Place runner-up in the Trike class with his "Lil' Outer Limits." Last year, Javier Rojas' "Professor X" (Phoenix, Arizona) rolled into the Third Place spot, but this time he was bumped by Legions bike clubber Carlos Ruiz from Houston, Texas. This is Carlos' first time in the Sweepstakes trophy lineup, but the ladder to the top only gets harder so let's wish him luck.

While double checking the winner's list we decided to look at the Bike and Trike special awards and they all went to top honchos. Best Paint, Graphics, Body Modifications, Plating and Engraving went to Isidro Juarez. Best Display was won by Chris and Pete Moreno, while Best Upholstery and Use of Accessories was awarded to Gene and Cody Bare. Pedro Fraire won Best Murals while Legions Bike Club army won the Most Members plaque.

LRB remembers way back in the day (the '90s) when California bikes won all of the Sweepstakes trophies, but it seems that that trend has shifted east to Arizona and mostly Texas. So grab your cowboy hat and boots, because if you want to compete at the 2005 Super Show, you're going to have to wrangle the trophies away from these tough hombres, that's for sure!