It’s time to bring cro-mo back to racing

27 05 2010

Steel is real. It’s a refrain you’ll hear time and time again in the forums from die-hard cro-mo fans. And while there are cro-mo race options out there…like S&M, Supercross, Standard and CycleCraft, by and large, they are available in frame and fork only.

Why doesn’t anyone offer a cro-mo race complete?

Back in the day, a complete cro-mo race cruiser was easy to find. Not so anymore. Pure race machines are pretty much all aluminum these days.

Is it time to bring the complete cro-mo 24 race cruiser back?

I think so.

And there are a number of reasons why.

Versatility: Sure an aluminum bike might be fine for the track, pump track and light trails….but would you trust it anywhere else? Bigger trails? An impromptu session at the skatepark? Probably not. A cro-mo bike would let you ride in any of these situations with confidence. Sure, some people have a second bike for this very reason but many people do not have this luxury.

Better value: A good cro-mo bike can easily outlast an aluminum bike. With the way the economy is these days a bike that lasts just makes good sense. And if you’re a Dad just swinging a leg over a 24 for the first time (or after a long layoff from the sport) a little bit of the “give” that 4130 has will be welcome.  If your kid decides to quit racing and just ride trails and park? No problem, the cro-mo bike will take you to the park or trails in style.

Pent up demand: With such a vocal group on the internet forums, a good cro-mo race complete would probably sell like hotcakes.

While I don’t expect S&M to suddenly jump into the complete market, certainly the Fit CR24, with a couple of tweaks to the geometry (and maybe the components) could be offered as a race version (just as an example…not to pick on S&M/Fit). I think there’s a market out there and whoever decides to take the plunge will be pleasantly surprised.

It’s time for race bike manufacturers to get back to their roots…it’s time once again, to sell the metal.

David Frid knows steel is real. He rocks one of the nicest 38 Specials out there in the O-Cup race series.



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Categories : New School, Old School, Racing, street, Trails/Jumping

Liquid Facebook page worth checking out

25 05 2010

If you’re thinking about buying one of the Liquid Feedback frames, you might want to check out the Liquid Bikes Facebook page. It’s filled with pics from owners showing off their new builds.

There’s also some cool rider photos…like this one of Sean Parrish at Ray’s MTB.

Love this pic (Jeremy/Sean: hope you guys are OK with me borrowing it).

And while we’re on the topic of Liquid Bikes…Jeremy sent in this pic recently of his bike and  helmet with a couple of cruiser revolution stickers freshly added to it.  Looks great.


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Categories : Freestyle, New products, New School

It’s an honor just to be nominated

21 05 2010

Thanks to everyone that took the time to vote in the recent Crank – The World Cycling Blog Rankings. I’m stoked that you took the time to nominate this little blog in the competition.

Unfortunately, Cruiser Revolution didn’t move on to the next round of voting for “top blog”  etc. but we are in the directory and that’s still pretty cool.

As you may have noticed more and more people are checking out the blog and joining in on the conversation about 24″ bikes.  This may be a small niche in the cycling world but it’s a great one and I’m stoked everyday when I see that people are stopping by and getting in on the fun.

Click here for the directory.


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Categories : Uncategorized

Scott Towne is not missing out

19 05 2010

Scott Towne needs no introduction. Holding down a slew of editorial positions at a number of BMX mags over the years, he’s been part of the BMX community for what seems like forever.  A bit out of the mainstream BMX spotlight at the moment he continues to ride his BMX and share his musings on his blog, the Deliverance Project.

I haven’t visited his blog in a while but after checking it out again it seems that Scott is still having a  good time on his bike and providing entertaining (and inspiring) words on his blog.

Take this post for instance.

It starts off with him rambling on about his new helmet but quickly changes to a comment about riding and how most everyday folks will never quite understand how satisfying it feels after a good session.

…rode until it was dark. I can’t describe how much satisfaction I get out of riding those jumps. Standing in line at the store to buy a couple beers afterward, dirty (probably more from mowing the lawn earlier) and soaked with sweat, with a big grin on my face. Each person I saw, all I could think was how much they were missing.*If only they knew what I had just finished doing. Not that they would be impressed with my riding, just that what I experienced had to be better than anything anyone else did on their Saturday evening. I wouldn’t trade it for anything…                                                                                                                                   * (italics mine)

Soaked with sweat with a big grin…who hasn’t been there after a good session?

Something so simple yet something that makes the everyday hum-drum bearable.

Scott Towne’s not missing out on the fun of riding and I hope you’re not either.

Photo from an interview that inthegnar.com did with Scott Towne a while ago.

Great pic of Scott having fun on his bike.


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Categories : New School, Old School, Trails, Trails/Jumping

Cast a vote for the revolution

16 05 2010

I guess it’s time to get out there, shake hands and kiss babies.

No, I’m not running for office….but…

Crank – The World Cycling Blog Rankings are asking for nominations for the top cycling blog in a number of different categories. While there’s not really a category for BMX, I think a case could be made for cruiserrevolution.com fitting into the “Lifestyle” category.

Whatta ya say?

It only takes a few seconds.

Support the revolution.  Make your nomination here.


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Categories : goofiness, Tomfoolery

Like father, like son

13 05 2010

…or may be it’s the other way around?

Jon Faure’s been working on a video featuring him riding with his son and how getting a 24 (his Sunday Model-C) helped make it all possible.

Should be a great video. After all, you don’t see too many father-son trains flowing through Woodward West…unless the Faures are in the house that is.

Clearly Jon is raising his son right, just check out his table manners.

Like son, like father?

Jon shows the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.


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Categories : Freestyle, New School, Trails, Trails/Jumping

The twin top tube makes a comeback

11 05 2010

Josh from Coyote Bicycles sent an email a while back about his new frame and I have to say it’s definitely one of the more interesting looking 24s coming on the scene.

Missing the era of twin-tube frames, like Torker, etc., Josh set about bringing it back…but this time with a more modern take on it . The result: a bike with a relatively quick head angle, short rear end, integrated headtube and mid bottom bracket.

Check out the specs:

  • 21.5″tt
  • 74 ht
  • 71 st
  • 12.5″ bb height
  • 14.25″-15.5″ chainstay
  • 14mm drop outs
  • 25.4 seat tube
  • 990 mounts

The only other twin top tube 24 offerings that I am aware of  are the Ambiente and the Brooklyn Machine Works Pooky. Ambiente may be out of business now so a twin top tube 24 is as a rare as it is cool.

If you want more info on Josh’s frame, drop him a line at info@coyotebicycles.com. You can also check out his site (which is still in development) at www.coyotebicycles.com or  his feature on bmxmuseum.com.

And for those of you thinking this frame would make an awesome Haro Master replica with the addition of some old school decals and paint, I was thinking the same thing. Just imagine if this guy with retro Nyquist 24 got a hold of this frame.


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Categories : Freestyle, New products, New School, Old School

A backyard pumptrack revisited

7 05 2010

As you may remember, I was pretty stoked on Jason G’s backyard pumptrack when I first saw a video of it on vimeo. Well, it’s a new season and Jason has been putting in some time making it even better.

He’s got a regular Thursday night session going on (as you can see below) and he’s already planning on adding to it and changing things up. So far he’s the only cruiser rider in the group for the Thursday night session but I suspect that won’t be for long.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

more about “back yard pumptrack early season sesh…“, posted with vodpod

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Categories : Trails, Trails/Jumping

Specialized debuts new P24 at Sea Otter

5 05 2010

Specialized is jumping back into the BMX scene with its new P-series of bikes. On display at the recent Sea Otter MTB event, the P24 model looks like it took its influence from some of the current crop of 24s that have entered the market in the last year or so.

It’s built with Reynolds tubing and has next-to-no graphics (although that might be due to it being in the prototype stages). And yes, your eyes are not deceiving you, that’s a Sunday fork that  was being used to build up the bike for testing.

Here’s a more close up look:

One of my first thoughts when I came across this was…why debut this at Sea Otter? A MTB event? It’s a BMX bike after all. Then after thinking about it for a while, it seemed to make more sense.

Whenever I’m riding somewhere that has a lot of riders with “urban/DJ” MTBs, there always seems to be a questions and interest regarding my 24. Many seem unaware of the 24″ BMX option.

Maybe MTBers are the great cross-over market for 24s…if reading the ads for  Urban DJ bikes are any indication, it just might be. Almost to the one, the ads will say something like, “BMX-inspired” or “BMX-style” in describing the bike and the components. Maybe the answer for the people reading these ads is to actually get a BMX bike.

Specialized might be on to something with this approach.

For more on the Specialized P24, check out Bikerumor and Sicklines.


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Categories : New products, New School, Trails, Trails/Jumping

Is Accelerate the new RAD?

4 05 2010

Long a cult classic, RAD is both loved and hated by the BMX community. No matter what your opinion of the movie, if you’re a BMX rider you’ve seen this movie…probably more than once (in my case…probably more times than you can count). BMX Bandits, featuring a young Nicole Kidman, is pretty cheesy in its own right, but RAD took things to a whole other level.

Now over two decades later, another BMX movie is in the works: Accelerate. Will it live up (or stoop) to the standard set by RAD?  Too early to tell.  But I did read on their  site that Bill Allen who played Cru Jones in RAD will be appearing in the Accelerate movie. For a BMX geek like myself, that’s already enough reason to see the movie (just kidding…sort of). In the mean time, check out the trailer to get a taste for what will hit the big screen in 2011.


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Categories : Freestyle, New School, Old School, Rad, street, Trails, Trails/Jumping