Seat posts have been getting the shaft in the modern BMX era. In recent years, seat posts have disappeared nearly as fast as brakes on a new school street bike.
But is the tide starting to turn?
Here and there you will see someone rocking their seat posts proudly…still low by old school standards but higher than what’s been the norm (which for a long time has meant slammed).
Perhaps it’s time to take a poll and find out where you (and your seat post) stand on this issue.
T19, one of the better known skateboarding brands in Japan has introduced a cool vintage-looking 24″ cruiser called the T19 X How I Roll BMX Cruiser.
For those on the vintage tip, this bike has all the classic elements to make an old-schooler happy. We’re talking v-bars, retro frame gusset, skinwall tires…true classic style. Not to mention the frame, fork and handlebar are all cro-mo. (Check out the full spec list here.)
Part of me wants to get one of these and cruise around like it’s 1983!
But then again, it might just be that this T19 video is making me want to grab my bike and run wild in the streets (It’s true…)
Special thanks to Roger Faso for giving me the heads up on this bike.
The 4130 Subway Series celebrated two years of their epic rides this past Saturday. In typical 4130 style, the ride was 300+ riders strong with smiles a plenty.
A tip of the hat to the 4130 crew for keeping this awesome ride going.
In honor of this milestone, here are two web edits of the big night.
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.
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!
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.
For many of us this means having a beer or two with some good friends.
But what happens when you reach for a cold one and realize that you can’t find the bottle opener? (And you’re drinking the good stuff without the twist-off caps..)
You’ve probably already checked out the interbike coverage from Ride and Vital BMX already but you and I both know they’ve left out what you’re really looking for…what’s new in 24″ BMX news.
Good thing Cruiser Revolution was there this year to bring you the highlights that you were really looking for.
Free Agent
An updated colorway and the addition of Sinz forks are all new for the Free Agent Limo 24 in 2012. I’m seeing more and more Free Agents at the track, so this could be a big seller when these drop in stores.
Redline
It seems that Redline’s reputation for out-of-the-box ready race machines remains intact. While the Project 79 bike got a lot of hype (I got the impression that a 24″ version isn’t on the horizon anytime soon) the old workhorses, the 24″ Flight and 24″ Proline look as good as ever with some updated colorways and component tweaks.
SE Racing
While I was hoping to see the updated Floval Flyer (it wasn’t on display for some reason) SE had a number of cruisers to check out. My particular favorite looks-wise was the OM Flyer. For real, this thing is beautiful. A vision in chrome goodness (it even sports chrome valve caps!).
Sunday
Sunday didn’t have a booth this year but I chatted with Jim C. after the Nora Cup awards and got the lowdown on what’s new at Sunday for 2012. The Model-C complete will be sporting a 22″ top tube with a great parts package. Check out this web edit for all the details.
We the People
According to the rep I spoke to, WTP dropped the 24″ for the lineup because “it wasn’t doing what we wanted it to in the market place”. Sad really, considering WTP’s legacy of great 24″ bikes. Perhaps if they actually promoted their 24″ bike…say with a web edit or a picture of someone riding it…. they would’ve achieved the sales they were looking for. (See Where’s the promotion?” ) But who am I to say? Perhaps not marketing is the new marketing. What’s replacing it is their new 26″ Champ bike. If you’re a BMX Museum regular you will see the not-so-subtle design nods to the classic Champion frames from back in the day.
Stolen
Stolen is new on the 24″ scene for 2012 with a good first effort called the Saint. It comes complete with 7.25″ bars and double-wall rims.
DK Bicycles
DK seems to have a lot on the go these days 24″ wise. They’ve updated their popular Sentry cruiser with a 22″ top tube, their freestyle-oriented Cygnus is looking sharp and their long-awaited 24″ Professional frame (with the higher than usual bottom bracket) will be dropping in about a month. Their Evolution rims are also looking dope. Check out this clip of Trevor Gay explaining, with Brian Hunt‘s “help”, all the features and colors available in the Evolution rim.
Bobby Parker and the Sunday crew recently made a trip up to Colorado to hit the plethora of concrete parks available in the state. While there, they managed to hill bomb Mt. Evans (which is supposed to feature the highest paved road in North America) and shoot some great footage.
Andrew Brady was able to capture some of the radness that went down with his camera and Bobby was cool enough to send some of the photos along. He also included a writeup for each one to give you a look into what went on “behind the scenes” for each photo.
So without further ado, here’s some highlights from Bobby Parker’s Colorado trip in his own words:
One-footed table at Boulder skatepark. This place is wild! Big hips everywhere that went all ways and angles. For some reason I started getting the feel for opposite tables on my Model C a while ago on some long sessions at the Walnut Creek Pump Track….For me it seems like opposite carves/airs and opposite tables work better on the 24″. It is debatable on what specifically makes these things happen…something else that’s awesome that cruisers bring to the table (oh yeah….pun intended). The hip at the Boulder park just started feeling really good that way and I had never really toyed with one-footed tables before so I let a few fly. - Bobby
No hander at Valmont Bike Park. Lets just say I still have a reminder of Valmont on me right now…in the form of road rash and a sprained ankle. We rolled into the parking lot about 30 minutes before it was too dark to ride but still managed to ride for about 45….I was trying to get in as many laps as I could so when I saw a few of the Sunday guys take some cranks into the XL line I jumped right behind.
Next thing I know my tire doesn’t quite make it to the end of the log ride and I get sent. A little bit of blood never hurt anyone, I guess.
As I go back to the van to straighten out my bars (and dust myself off) Andrew went to go set up his flashes on the last jump to take a picture of one of the Sunday guys. The team guy ends up calling it quits on account of it starting to get dark. The mosquitos were the size of battleships out there and I knew Brady was being feasted upon. I told him I would try something for his efforts of setting up all of his flash stands. This is what we came up with. - Bobby
Sounds like an awesome trip. In his email, Bobby said there was so many awesome places to ride that they didn’t even put a dent in all the skateparks Denver had to offer. Looks like Colorado is going to be getting a lot more visitors in the near future if people start getting wind of what’s available there.