Sin Series ride: finishing on a high note

27 09 2013

Just as I had suspected, the annual Friday night ride with the 4130 Sin Series crew was one of the highlights of Interbike week.

Catching up with old friends, making new ones and going for an exhilarating ride through the streets of Las Vegas is something that never fails to put a smile on my face.

4130 Sin Series selfieWith Mike Leonard on the whistle (that’s him in the extreme closeup above) we took off from the Fremont Street area, up to the Las Vegas Sign and then onto a final run through the neon lights of the Las Vegas Strip.

4130 Vegas SignGotta love the “We are the champions” pose of Patrick Thomas in this photo (in front, bike in the air)…it just shows the stoke factor of these events.

So much fun.

Thanks for having me along for the ride guys.

(Pics: Mike Leonard)

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More from the Interbike photo album

27 09 2013

Here’s some more highlights of the different cruisers on display.

Volume brought out their new 26″ Hessian.

Volume Hessian front

Free Agent gave its Ratio 24 a new cool looking colorway.

Free Agent Ratio front

We The People debuted their new Atlas 24.

WTP Atlas

Subrosa showed off their new 24″ DTT frame & fork.

Subrosa DTT 24 stock

Sunday also had their Model-C complete on display.

However, my photo of it is a little blurry so if you haven’t seen it, check it out here.

Sunday Model C

In terms of race stuff, there was some race cruiser stuff on display (in addition to the DK stuff previously covered) but not nearly as much as the freestyle-oriented stuff.  For a look at the race side of things at Interbike, check out BMX News and Vintage BMX.


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Categories : Freestyle, New products, New School

Meanwhile over at the DK booth

26 09 2013

The guys at DK Bicycles have also been busy updating their cruiser offerings for 2014 and that hard work was on display in their Interbike booth.

The Cygnus got a bit of an update in the geo department…with a slightly higher bottom bracket and longer top tube (I think) to bring it more in line with today’s modern freestyle cruisers.

DK Cygnus

A new 24″ model, called The Sprinter, has also been added to the lineup as their more affordable race-ready option. (This replaces the Sentry 24.)

DK Sprinter

Finally, for 2014 the Elite Series cruiser has been made better than ever (if you recall,the 2013 DK Elite Series Cruiser did not disappoint).  The Elite Series now comes fully loaded with Box and Promax components, including special edition X2 Carbon forks with 20mm hubs.  I’m not usually a fan of carbon forks but the Elite Series they had on display (albeit the 20″ version) looked super mean.

And because only the 20″ version was on display, I’ve dug around and found a picture of said 24 for your viewing pleasure through the magic of television…I mean, the internet.

14_ELITE_CRUISER2Update: Jesse Klein (from DK) came through with the high-res image above to replace the blurry one I had here originally.

Check out their new catalog for the rest of the  details, specs, etc. on the 2014 DK lineup.


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Categories : Freestyle, New products, New School, Racing

Stolen Bikes steals the show

25 09 2013

The folks at Stolen Bikes had dropped a few teasers in the comments of the Countdown to Interbike post that they were going to have a lot of new cruiser stuff on display this year for Interbike. So, when I got to the show I was eager to check out their booth to see what the hype was about.

They weren’t kidding around.

But first, let’s take a look at their current lineup.

The mainstay in their lineup, the Saint,  is still holding strong for 2014 but now comes in a rad Matte Retro Red…

Stolen Saint Matte Retro Red

…and a Matte Gum color.

Stolen Saint Matte Gum front

Next up, the Saint XLT is also still in the lineup.  It’s available in a Basic Black with polished components….

Stolen Saint XLT Black

…and a super cool looking “Super Blue” version.

Stolen Saint XLT Super Blue

What’s new for this year?

Stolen has decided to get into the aftermarket end of the 24″ bike market.

In their booth, they had their new 24″ Gold frame & fork on display.

Available in Matte Black or Sandblasted Matte Raw, the frame features a 21.75″ top tube and the following specs:

  • 74.5 degree HT
  • 71 degree ST
  • 15″ CS
  • 13.8 ” BB height

Stolen24inch Gold Frame Fork

Stolen is also offering 24″ Rebellion wheels as an aftermarket option. Sealed hubs, female axles and available in a range of colors, these look like a great way to trick out your ride when it comes time to replace your wheels.

Stolen 24in Rebellion Wheels

But the 24″ parts goodness doesn’t stop there. Stolen is has also brought out some high-pressure (110 PSI) tires called Joint HP tires. They have a nice low profile design…and this is the part I love…they come in both a tan and white wall version!

Stolen Joint HP Tires tread

A new 26″ complete

Finally, Stolen’s new 26″ Freestyle cruiser called the Zeke made its debut at the show.  The frame has 100% chromoly tubes, a chromoly fork with a one-piece steerer, aftermarket MOB cranks, and a bunch of other good stuff.

Stolen Zeke front

It features a 22.5″ top tube and has the following specs:

  • 74.5 degree HT
  • 71 degree ST
  • 16.25″ CS
  • 12.5″ BB height

(Update: these specs are not final…they’re being tweaked before production. See the comments section for more details.)

Here’s a side profile:

26 Stolen Zeke

All in all, a great display of cruiser awesomeness from Stolen.  Super stoked to see them step up their commitment to the big wheels of BMX!


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

Interbike 2013: let the coverage begin

24 09 2013

The change in venue from the Sands to the Mandalay Bay wasn’t the only change afoot this year in regards to the annual Interbike tradeshow in Las Vegas.

This year brought out a new assortment of big wheel BMX bikes from companies that usually don’t put out a cruiser model.

First one that we’ll look at is the 26″ Fairdale Taj. Wrapped up in all its old school charm is a cro-mo bike that is meant for hopping curbs and popping wheelies. Despite being the name-sake of a big name freestyle legend, this bike is built for laid back fun and cruising the streets in style.

Fairdale Taj

Ride Magazine also has a video of Taj explaining the features of the 26″ Taj with Journey playing in the background to add a touch of class to the proceedings. Check that out on the Ride site.

Another notable is The Simpsons/Cult Duffman 24. We got the heads up about the Duffman 24 right before leaving for Interbike and it looked very nice up close. According to the Cult rep that I spoke to, these bikes are available right now…so if you’re interested, I suggest contacting your Cult dealer asap.

Cult Duffman 24

And in surprise move that I don’t think a lot of people saw coming…Felt debuted their 22″ wheel Catch 22 bike for 2014.

After looking at their 24″ Brink model and contemplating whether a redesign was in order, they opted to drop the Brink 24 from their lineup and put together a sub-$500 (US) complete 22″ bike.

Featuring a main-frame Cro-mo frame with a 22″ top tube (check out complete specs on the Felt site), it’s designed to let someone interested in trying out a 22″ bike to so without dropping the big bucks to build up a 22″ bike from another manufacturer (which tend to be more high-end offerings like the kits available from S&M).

Again, a bold move by Felt and one that adds further momentum to the growing 22″ wheel movement.

Felt 22

Coming up:

Updates on Stolen Bikes, DK Bicycles, and a whole lot more.


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The Simpsons/CULT Duffman Cruiser

12 09 2013

In one of the coolest collaboration projects ever, CULT has teamed up with The Simpsons to create the 24″ Duffman cruiser!

According to CULT’s Robbie Morales, in an interview in DEFGRIP, the project got its start at the AGENDA TRADESHOW in Long Beach (California).  Robbie says:

Santa Cruz skateboards had just finished a board collab with THE SIMPSONS, and their people were walking the show. They noticed Adam L. Roye in our booth rocking a SIMPSONS shirt and they really liked CULT and the aesthetic of the brand. They politely asked if we were interested in doing a bike collab and we graciously agreed. Adam and the rest of our crew are big fans of the show, so it was natural to work together.

Duff Cruiser

There’s going to be a limited number of these completes available. In terms of details on the bike itself, Robbie says:

This bike is made from 6061 T-6 aluminum to keep the weight down and provide a stable, responsive ride. The spec is dialed and with the DUFFMAN logos it looks awesome. Definitely a bike you can thrash on or just cruise to the bar.

No details yet on geometry and other specs but we’ll let you know if (or when) they become available.

Duffman Cult Cruiser

For the complete interview with Robbie Morales speaking on the new Duffman Cruiser, swing on over to DEFGRIP.


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Categories : Freestyle, New products, New School, Tomfoolery

Subrosa DTT dawn patrol

11 09 2013

Wayne Keller dropped us a line a few days back that simply said:

7:19 am Friday, dawn patrol…

I guess he figured the picture he attached would do all the talking.

2013-09-06 dawn patrol Subrosa DTT cruiser wayne kellerLooks like he’s pretty comfortable on that Subrosa DTT TTWOFOUR he’s being rolling on for a while.

To see more of Wayne’s riding pics and zany antics, check out his blog at http://carrot-bag.blogspot.com/.


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Countdown to Interbike

5 09 2013

It’s September and that means,  in addition to the classic Earth, Wind & Fire song, “September” constantly playing in my head, the bicycle industry’s annual show ‘n’ tell called Interbike is just mere weeks away.

Like in years past, I’ll be cruising the aisles of Interbike checking out what’s new and happening in cruisers and bigger-wheeled BMX bikes.

Last year, some new complete bikes debuted that really caught my attention.

Bikes like the Stolen Saint XLT

and the DK Elite Series Cruiser really stood out.

But walking the tradeshow floor is only part of the comprehensive investigation this hard-working BMX journalist will be providing.

In 2012, I went out and pounded the pavement to see if I could find the information that you just couldn’t find in the kiosks at the show.

That desire to get the inside story took me to one of the pools on the Strip where Maxim magazine’s Hometown Hotties were holding court.

It was there that I heard that the 2013 models would be bigger in the front and have tighter back ends.

Who knew you would learn about chain-stay length at a Vegas Pool?

Hometown Hotties and Cruiser Revolution

Of course, it’s  important to get the local perspective on things.

And there is no better place to do that than at the annual 4130 Sin Series ride (scheduled to go down on the Friday of Interbike Week this year).

Rolling with good peeps, like Vegas locals Mike Leonard and Chris Fox (pictured below with me (Ed) after the ride…thanks again for lending me a bike Chris!)

Chris Fox and Ed 4130 Sin Series

…and catching up with out-of-town visitors like Randy Franklin, this is the event that brings it all home.

Even though I’m excited to see what the bike industry has cooked up for 2014, it’s important to remember that bike riding is still all about getting together with your friends and having fun…and that’s what the 4130 Sin Series ride is all about.

Looking forward to some good times in Vegas.


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