Yes my friends….fenders.

Turns out GHP racer Todd Parry is running a carbon fiber (?!) fender on his race cruiser to avoid “being sucked in between the tire and the seat”.

And while the different sanctioning bodies tend to frown on these kind of things, it appears that track operators are letting the use of fenders slide.

Seems a little goofy to me.

What do you guys think?

Well, they’re back at it again.

This time taking a 26″ Volume Sledgehammer through its paces and teaching the big bike some new tricks.

Check it out.

If you weren’t, let me give you the scoop.

Back in 1982, Skyway came out with the  T/A frame. T/A stood for “Totally Aerodynamic” and featured teardrop-shaped tubing that made it an instant classic.

It was widely available as a 20″ and Skyway was said to have produced thousands over the years that it was available.

However, despite the 20′s popularity, Skyway decided to only produce a 24″ version in limited quantities. You pretty much had to be a factory rider like Richie “The Avalanche” Anderson to get a hold of one of these puppies.

This kind of exclusivity has made them a much sought-after item for collectors. You either had to be extremely lucky or have deep pockets to get a hold of one of the 24″ Skyway T/As.  (Being as hot as Eva Gabrielle didn’t hurt either.)

But now PlanetBMX and Skyway are working together to bring a 24″ Skyway to the masses.  It’s going to stay true to the original classic design but have a few modern elements thrown into the mix.

Check out the specs:

• 22″ top tube
• Euro BB
• 1-1/8″ threadless headtube
• V-brake mounts
• Headtube angle- 73.5 degrees
• Seat Tube angle- 73 degrees
• Chainstay length- 15.4″ to 16.75″
• BB Height- 12.3″

I just love the look of these frames…especially the chrome ones. Throw on some black Tuffs and some skinwall tires and you’ve got a serious looking machine on your hands.

When you’re using a tool from Park you know you can rely on it.

I like using them because it appeals to the bike geek in me to be using the same tools that bike mechanics use.

That’s why I was so stoked to get the Park Tool PZT-2…their Pizza Tool!…for Christmas from my good friend Lynn.

Featuring a large diameter stainless steel cutting wheel and a large handle for easy grip, this thing cuts through pizza like nobody’s business!

I tried it recently on a Delissio Hawaiian Pizza and it worked like a charm. If you’re into bikes and you like pizza, I highly recommend the Park Pizza Tool.

So before we ring in the new year, let’s check out the top ten things that went down in 2011.

10. Sunday and S&M kicked off the year by introducing two of the most of the popular frames out there right now: the Sunday Wave-C and S&M 24″ Dirt Bike.

9. This was quickly followed by news that a lot of people had been waiting for: 24″ forks with front brake mounts. S&M was first to market with their 24 “Pitchforks with 990 mounts which was quickly followed by Sunday’s 24″ forks with 990 mounts (although they were testing prototypes much earlier).

8. Some great 24″ flatland vids surfaced almost immediately after from Joe Cicman and Danny Sirkin. (Could this be related somehow to #9?) Heck, even flatland legend Bobby Fisher surfaced a few months later riding flatland on a Sunday Model-C.

7. Low-rise traditional handlebars for cruisers dying off.  The tall handlebar trend is firmly established in the freestyle end of 24″ bmx but it looks like it starting to take hold in racing too. MattyJo Shelley (of BMXActionOnline) tried it out on his race bike in a special guest post and he found taller bars had advantages for racing too.

6. “Older” guys  continued to make their presence felt in BMX on their 24″ bikes.  From the older cruiser classes in racing to a skatepark rider proving that age is just a number it’s great to see that there is no age cut-off for having fun!

5. DK introduced a line of bikes in Wal-Mart, including a 24″ version of the General Lee. Is this good or bad for BMX? The jury is still out.

4.  Mongoose, Stolen and InDust introduced new 24s to the scene. Great to see companies responding to the demand for bigger wheeled BMXs.

3. Cruiser Revolution celebrated its 3-year anniversary this year. A great milestone and a testament to the great cruiser community that is continuing to grow.

2.  The 4130 rides. I was lucky enough to participate in the 4130 Sin Series ride in Las Vegas back in September and it was one of the best times I have ever had on my bike.  Bombing the streets with a couple hundred of your fellow BMXers is something everyone has to do at least once.

1. Having a good time on your bike. Sure, it’s fun to debate the pros and cons of how tall your handlebars are, talk about the latest parts and comment on the latest video edit but when it comes right down to it, when you’re out there riding none of that really matters. Whether its with your bros, your kids or just by yourself, you can leave your worries behind and let the good times roll as soon as you step on those pedals.

Happy New Year!

Which is a bit of shame really because for around $400 (US) you get a full cro-mo frame, fork and handlebar along with a pretty respectable parts package on the new Free Agent Ratio 24.

Geometry

In terms of geometry, Free Agent has pretty much stuck with what they used in last year’s Devil 24.

That being:

• 74 degree head angle
• 72 degree seat angle
• 21.5″ top tube
• 15.2″ chainstay

All in all, not too far out from what you would expect on a bike like this (although they could’ve gone a little shorter on the chainstay).

What they could’ve done better

Given that most companies have adopted the new “standard” of a higher bottom bracket height, it’s a bit surprising that Free Agent stuck with the more race-oriented 12″ bottom bracket height for this year’s model.

Furthermore, the stock handlebar is a sub-6inch offering. While I give them points for spec’ing it in full cro-mo, the trend is decidedly taller these days.

Who might be best suited to this bike

Given the more traditional, race-style geometry (and the full cro-mo construction) this might be a great trails bike for the racer who wants to have a strong bike he can thrash on while keeping his race machine in good shape for the track. The ride should be very similar to a race cruiser so switching back and forth would be a cinch.

Or, if you’re a rider that just prefers more traditional 24″ geometry, this bike is a great option for hitting the trails or skatepark.  A well-spec’ed full cro-mo bike at this price point is hard to beat.

Cruiser Revolution hit the three-year mark this month.

Three great years of talking 24″ BMX.

Whether it’s sharing stories of guys getting back into BMX on a 24inch bike, checking out the latest bikes and parts, finding out what other riders are doing or just the random goofiness that pops up here from time to time…it’s great to be on this ride with you.

They say that time flies when you’re having fun and I guess it’s true in this case.

Thanks to everyone for their support.

I really appreciate all the great comments, discussion and general awesomeness from all the great people I’ve gotten to know through this blog.

Cheers to you.

Can’t wait to see what’s in store for the year ahead.

Made by Stout Bikes in Texas, and billed as “a 24 inch BMX frame with aggressive geometry built for the aggressive rider”, this looks like one serious shredding machine.

Frame specs (according to the Ridemonkey thread, may not be final):

• 22 3/8″ top tube
• 14 3/8″ chain stay (slammed)
• 13″ (approx.) bottom bracket
• 74-74.5 degree head angle (not confirmed)
• 4130 chromoly

Not sure what the plans are for a production run of these but I’m definitely interested in hearing more about this frame.

If you want to find out more about the InDust Cuarto, check out the InDust site or the related Ridemonkey thread.

When I finally got them on my bike to give them a test drive, I was pretty stoked. These are some cool looking handlebars!  From the distinctive 4-piece design to the heavy metal looking font on the cross-bar sticker, they have a look all their own.

Immortis Bucket Bars have a distinctive 4-piece design

In fact, right after installing them I asked my girlfriend, “How do they look?”  She glanced over and simply said, “Metal”. (She may have even flashed the horns at that point…).  They do kind of remind me a Flying V guitar for some reason so maybe she’s on to something.

I took them out for a spin and immediately noticed the flatter sweep to the bars in comparison to other bars I’ve ridden lately.  It took a few minutes to get used to but after a few minutes I didn’t notice it all.

Out on the trails

A couple days later, I took them out for a session at the Don Valley trails. The bars come stock at a cut-to-fit width of 32″. I typically run 28″ wide bars so I cut them down to that width to better compare them with other bars I’ve tried.

The bars felt great.  They had a solid feel and were easy to get used to. It didn’t take long before I was carving turns at high speed and hitting all my favorite lines in the jumps and rollers.

Slicing through a high-speed turn was a cinch with the Bucket Bars

If you’re looking for high-quality, cool looking bars that are made in the USA…these are definitely handlebars that you should check out.

Technical specs:

• Rise: 6″
• Backsweep 10 degrees
• Upsweep: 2.5 degrees
• Material:  Cro-mo

(4″ and 8″ rise versions are also available.)

For more on information on Immortis and their line of handlebars, check out their website at www.immortisbmx.com.

Special thanks to Michael Moran for shooting the photos.

That’s right, kids.

Wait.

Kids don’t ride brakes these days.

Anyway, back to what I was saying.

Odyssey has come out with a brake cable, called the Race Linear Slic Kable,  that’s 37% lighter than other brake cables.

How you ask? They’ve taken their popular Linear Slic Kable housing and replaced the steel linear wire with an aluminum one.

I’m extremely curious to see how durable these cables are.

Will they stand up? It’s hard to say right now…they’re still pretty new. But I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough, especially when weight-conscious racers get wind of these.

I do like the added trick factor of the color-coated inner wires and ball ends though (something not available on the regular Linear Kables).

For more on the Race Race Linear Slic Kable, check out the Odyssey Daily Word on it.