Top ten of 2011

31 12 2011

Wow, it seems like 2011 flew by.

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!

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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!


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Categories : Flatland, Freestyle, goofiness, New products, New School, Old School, Racing, shenanigans, Skatepark, street, Tomfoolery, Trails, Trails/Jumping

Open a beer bottle with a BMX bike

29 12 2011

It’s the holiday season.

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..)

What are you going to do?

Paul Hoerdt shows us the way.

(Warning: audio NSFW)

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Categories : Freestyle, goofiness, New School, shenanigans, Tomfoolery

Merry Christmas!

24 12 2011

It’s Christmas Eve…time to get the egg nog flowing and put some presents under the tree.

Happy holidays everyone!


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Categories : goofiness, New School, Old School, street

Backyard ramp radness from Wayne Keller

23 12 2011

Haven’t heard from Wayne Keller in a while so I was pleasantly surprised to get an email the other day with some recent pics.

Looks like Wayne is still tearing things up…this time on his backyard ramp. Check out this color pic by Chip Riggs…so rad!

And check out this sorta arty black and white shot.  Nice work Wayne!

To see more pics of Wayne shredding, check out his blog, carrot-bag.blogspot.com.


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Categories : Freestyle, New School

Dirt for Dummies – Jon Faure jumping tips

22 12 2011

If you’re new to dirt jumping or your skills are just a little rusty, Jon Faure has some pointers for you in his new video, “How to ride dirt jumps when you suck.”

Jon is 47-year old rider with great dirt jumping skills that only got into the BMX in his late 30s.

In this video, he not only provides some great dirt jumping tips, he even talks about why he prefers a 24″ bike over hard tail MTBs and 20″ BMX bikes. Definitely worth watching.

Check it out.

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

Do BMX races need more pyro?

20 12 2011

I went to a Supercross event a few years back and was impressed with how they started “the show”.

To kick things off they had:

  • Pyro
  • A light show
  • Music to get the crowd hyped.

It got me wondering why things like that hadn’t been incorporated into some of the bigger Nationals. Surely the ABA Grand Nationals, billed as the “greatest race on earth”, warrants this kind of treatment.

But year after year, it sames like just a slight variation of what’s gone on before. To be sure, the Grands is still a big deal and exciting to watch–if you’re into racing–but it lacks a certain “wow” factor.

Now compare clips of the Grands (or any other major race lately) to this clip of a recent race in St. Etienne, France.

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This race has:

  • Pyro
  • A light show
  • Music to get the crowd hyped.

What else?

Stands packed with spectators.

This my friends, is what a National should look like.

(…and if we could add the Monster Energy girls into the mix…well, that couldn’t hurt either.)


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Categories : New School, Racing, Trails/Jumping

Joyride 150: one good thing about winter

14 12 2011

Sure the weather outside is frightful in many places right now but if you’re fortunate enough to have a good indoor park nearby count your lucky stars.

Joyride 150 is my home away from home during the winter months and it is a godsend.  With jumps, a skatepark area, pumptracks and cross-country stuff there’s a little something for everyone.

Heading out there for a weekly session is how I keep myself sane over the winter. While I miss hitting the local trails, I do kinda look forward to the laidback weekend sessions that happen during the colder months at Joyride.

As an added bonus, Drew Bezanson is a regular there.  As you might gather from the video below, that keeps things pretty interesting as well.

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Categories : Freestyle, New School, Skatepark, street

This video is…ahh….Rad?

11 12 2011

This year, with the RAD movie celebrating its 25th anniversary, complete with a big event in Cochrane, Alberta and word of a behind-the-scenes documentary in the works, it looks like the affection BMXers have for this movie is as strong as ever.

Now to add another log to the Helltrack fire, NYC dance group Holy Ghost is featuring a new interpretation of the infamous “bicycle boogie” scene in their video, “I wanted to tell her” (a remake of the Ministry song of the same name).

Check it out.


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Categories : Flatland, Freestyle, goofiness, Old School, Rad

I miss my trails already

8 12 2011

I guess with the awesome fall season we had, I shouldn’t complain.

Heck, I was still able to squeeze in one last trails session last Saturday (just days before December!) But the weather has finally turned and gotten colder. It looks like winter’s on its way and the trails are going to have to wait till spring.

Sure, sessions at indoor bike/skateparks will tide us folks in colder climes over till the warm weather hits….but there’s nothing quite like a fun, mellow session with your bros at some local trails, is there?

I dunno. Maybe I’m just starting to feel the effects of withdrawal or Seasonal Effective Disorder.

All I know is this picture of Buddy (that I came across on the ride indust site) made me think about all the fun times at the trails this past year.

That, and it’s just so rad!


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Categories : Freestyle, Trails, Trails/Jumping

Free Agent reveals the Ratio 24

6 12 2011

As I’ve said before, Free Agent doesn’t get a lot of hype for its freestyle/trails-oriented 24inchers.

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.


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Categories : Freestyle, New products, Skatepark, Trails, Trails/Jumping