May | 2011 | cruiser revolution

Pitch perfect: S&M 24″ Pitchforks

27 05 2011

It’s fitting that a bike company that makes such sweet bike parts would end up with a picture of its forks looking like candy.

S&M 24″ Pitchforks: sweet like candy (from the S&M Bikes Facebook page).

Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: 24" BMX, BMX Cruiser, BMX Cruiser forks, Candy colored, S&M 24" Pitchforks, S&M bikes
Categories : Freestyle, New products, New School, Skatepark, street, Trails, Trails/Jumping

Pad sets: poised for a comeback?

25 05 2011

With so many old school bmx setups making comebacks these days–things like seat & seat post combos or front brakes–I thought I would make the case for something near and dear to my heart.

The pad set.

And if not the complete pad set…

At least the cross bar pad.

I started running one a while back after a session at my local pump track.

There was a downed tree in a particular section and I had to duck every time I went under it. Every time I ducked my grill was super close to the cross bar. I soon realized a hockey player smile was in my future if I ever happened to slip a pedal and come into contact with a cross bar.

After the session I dug through some old BMX parts and found an old cross bar pad. It was pretty basic but it did the job. I’ve since upgraded to something more stylish, which you can see below.

Cross bar pads are hot! Just look at the flames on this one...

I’m not sure exactly how much protection it actually does offer but a little is better than nothing…dental work can be expensive.

And for those of you that chipping or knocking out a tooth on a cross bar is no big deal…cross-bars can get you in other ways too…just check out this Chester Blacksmith clip.

Ouch!

Comments : 10 Comments »
Tags: BMX cross bar pad, BMX pad set, Chester Blacksmith, front brakes, old school bmx setups, pump track, seat and seat post combination
Categories : Freestyle, Old School, street, Trails, Trails/Jumping

Craig Kundig: part of 24″ BMX history

20 05 2011

When I think back to the early days of BMX cruisers, one of the first people that comes to mind is Scot “The OM” Breithaupt.

But others played a role too.

Craig Kundig, for one.

Craig helped lead the way towards making 24″ bikes “the standard” for BMX cruisers, replacing the 26″ versions that were more prevalent at the time.

Craig Kundig: part of 24" BMX history

Check out this excerpt from the ABA, when he was a 2004 ABA Hall of Fame nominee:

In a way, all cruiser racers have Craig Kundig to thank for the creation of the class they race. For it was Kundig, as owner of RRS (Riverside Redlands Schwinn), who put one of his fastest amateur team members on a 24 inch bike that quickly put the 26 inch beach-cruisers to bed and created the industry standard of 24 inch wheels on a cruiser. (Of course, it helped when that rider — Joe Claveau, went on to become ABA National No.1 Cruiser rider.) That year was 1981. Around that same time, Craig Kundig was also running the infamous Corona BMX track–still talked about today as THEE gnarliest track in all of BMX.

Craig also had some pretty innovative ideas (for the time) when it came to frame design which he incorporated into his own RRS frames. Just check out this ad:

Today, Craig is still going strong in the bike industry, running the Cyclery USA bike shop.

(Above pic from the Press-Enterprise)

Comments : 10 Comments »
Tags: 24" BMX, ABA BMX, Bmx Cruisers, Corona BMX, Craig Kundig, Cyclery USA, RRS cruiser, Scot Breithaupt
Categories : Old School, Racing

Weigh in…can a bike be too light?

18 05 2011

Racers tend to be the the most weight-conscious in the BMX world. But these days, everyone tends to have a little “weight-weenie” in them. Have we all gone overboard?

How concerned are you about your bike’s weight?

Weigh in with your thoughts.

Comments : 8 Comments »
Tags: bike weight, BMX racers, BMX weight weenies, BMX World, Importance of bike weight, weight weenie
Categories : Freestyle, goofiness, Racing, shenanigans, Tomfoolery

A little 24″ flatland for you

17 05 2011

If you haven’t been on the Cruiser Revolution Facebook page in a couple of days, you may have missed this cool flatland video collaboration posted by Joe Cicman and Danny Sirkin.

Eagle-eyed readers may remember Danny Sirken from a previous post, Be still my heart…flatland on a 24″ bike! (And if you’re a BMX nerd, you’ll also know that he was featured in a BIO in the last issue of GO Magazine).

Looks like he’s still going strong, this time on a Specialized P24.

Filmer Joe Cicman is no slouch himself, just check out this video featuring his flatland skills.

Pretty stoked on this video…especially the pinky squeaks (0:43), can’t get enough of those!

Comments : 7 Comments »
Tags: 24" Flatland, Dan Sirken, Danny Sirken, flatland on a 24" BMX bike, flatland skills, Go magazine, Joe Cicman, Pinky squeaks, Specialized P24
Categories : Freestyle, New School, Old School

This old dog still has some new tricks

12 05 2011

If you’re into 24″ BMX bikes, you’ve heard about Jim Cielencki, the driving force behind Sunday Bikes.

But how much do you know about his background and what keeps him motivated now that he’s an older guy and has been in the industry for decades, both as a rider and a bike company guy?

Old Guys who Ride caught up with Jim and asked him those questions and a whole lot more in an interview that they just posted on their site.

I especially liked this excerpt, where they asked how he deals with the fear of being hurt. Jim takes it one step further and talks about he works on an idea in a “safer” environment before going for it in another riskier situation:

It’s not so much the fear of getting hurt, it’s just dealing with how long will it take to recover and if it’s permanent. I’m not made of rubber any more. Usually I take baby steps towards something. I’ll work on an idea in a safer environment usually at a skatepark or something like that. I make it so I understand the trick and the only issue is that I am just doing it at a different spot. So in reality there’s just this little unknown part. I won’t really just go out and wing it because I want to continue riding.

It’s a great read…well worth checking out.

I also like it because it gives me an excuse to run this rad pic of Jim C. hitting this tight vert wall ride. Bad ass!

Comments : 5 Comments »
Tags: 24" BMX bikes, bad ass, Jim C., Jim Cielencki, Old Guys who ride, skatepark, Sunday bikes, wallride
Categories : Freestyle, New School, Old School, Skatepark, street

My new ride: Sunday Wave-C

11 05 2011

While complete bikes are getting better and better these days, nothing quite beats getting a new frame and building it up. In this case, it was the Sunday Wave-C.

I had been thinking about a Wave-C ever since I heard that a prototype was being tested. The fact that it was going to be offered with a 22″ top tube also got me pretty excited.

The build

When I took the frame out of the box I was stoked. This was a nice looking frame! And you can just tell it can stand up to just about anything.

But I still had to wait for a few parts to arrive before I could start building.

When the last few parts came in the mail, I went over to my friend, Mike “Carbon” Pavao’s place to put it together. While trading BMX stories, we were both impressed by how well built the frame was and the attention to detail.

Ed's Wave-C build at Casa Carbon

The only potential snag was a brake bolt that needed a little grinding down. Luckily, Gary Quill dropped by, and he just so happened to have a grinder in the back of his work van. A couple of seconds of grinding later, a few more twists of the wrench and this puppy was ready to ride!

We grabbed our bikes and took off for an old school ride through the neighbourhood, hitting things along the way and made our way downtown. We finally ended up at the 7-11 Mike and Gary used to hang out at when they were 14 year old hoodlums.

Initial impression of the frame: Wow!

Wave-C build

I took it out on the local trails today and I continue to be impressed. (For another perspective on the Wave-C, check out Jon Faure’s review.)

Shoutouts for their help with this build: Bobby Parker from Sunday/Full Factory, Tom at Empire BMX, Mike Pavao from…uh… Casa Carbon and Gary Quill for his skills with a grinder.

Parts list

Frame: Sunday Wave-C 22″
Fork: We The People
Bars: Sunday 24umph
Stem: Salt Front load
Grips: Eclat Chester Blacksmith
Barends: Eclat plugs
Headset: We The People sealed
Seatpost Clamp: Sunday
Seat/Seat Post: Macneil Fat Capital /pivotal
Cranks: Salt 175mm
Sprocket: Macneil
Chain: Shadow Conspiracy
Front Tire: Kenda K-rad 24×1.95″
Front Wheel: Alex with Salt hub
Rear Tire: Intense Microknobbie 24×1.85″
Rear Wheel: Odyssey Hazard Lite rim with Odyssey V3 Hazard hub
Pedals: Macneil Face
Brake: Tektro
Brake Cable: We The People
Brake Lever: Tektro
Pegs: None
Modifications: Spacers under the stem, Gold anodized valve caps and Cruiser Revolution stickers

Future mods planned: Switch to a top-load stem, slightly fatter tires (and maybe taller bars)

Comments : 10 Comments »
Tags: 22" top tube BMX cruiser, BMX, Gary Quill, Jon Faure, Mike Pavao, Sunday Wave-C
Categories : Freestyle, New products, New School, street

It’s not easy being green

8 05 2011

Thinking about dear ol’ Mom the other day, a memory came back to me about a story she told me when I was a teenager.

My mom had gotten together with a group of other moms, I think it might have been a church group or something, and they were talking about a bunch of things and the topic of cleaning products came up (stereotypical I know, but bear with me).

One mom mentioned Simple Green and was raving about it. All the moms had something to say and then my mom piped up, “Oh Simple Green, that’s what the boys use to clean the brake pads on their bikes.”

No one else had kids into BMX, so from what I understand, the reaction was essentially, “What the…..”

Still makes me smile when I think of that story.

Thanks Mom, it hasn’t always been easy. But you’ve always been there for me. Even if when it was just looking out the window and watching me clean my brake pads.

Thanks Mom.

Comments : 5 Comments »
Tags: BMX, BMX brake pads, Mom, Mother's Day, Simple Green
Categories : Freestyle, goofiness, Old School

I wanna rock…an S&M Widowmaker

5 05 2011

Sometime in the early 90s, a metal band lead singer (that hit the big time a decade earlier) got together with a little bike company called S&M Bikes and the S&M Widowmaker was born.

The lead singer? Dee Snider from Twister Sister.

Here’s a excerpt from the news section of the February 1993 edition of Ride Magazine with some more background.