After all of last week’s Interbike coverage, it’s about time we got back to some actual riding.
So, for your viewing pleasure…Buddy Sardenga with a sweet tabletop (aboard his custom Beelzebike 20 666’er) at the Tejano Trails near Austin, TX.
(Pic by Octavio Arturo)
Beyond walking the aisles of Interbike, checking out the new bikes, parts and trends of the show…one of the high points of the week is meeting up with the crew behind the 4130 Sin City Series ride for night of fun, rolling through the streets of Vegas.
I had to miss it last year (because I had to fly back early for a wedding) but I had my fingers crossed that the stars would align and I would be able to ride this year.
Well, the stars did align.
And, like he has in the past, Mike Leonard came through for me with a bike I could borrow for the night, along with a lift to the meetup spot.
(That’s Mike on the right…not sure why our skin looks like we’re under heat lamps..must be the Vegas lights.)
The group was smaller this year (I heard there was a race nearby that drew away a lot of people that would’ve participated) but it didn’t diminish the fun in the slightest.
It was good to catch up with Sal and Cactus, who I had rode with on previous rides.
The night was a blast…out in the elements, experiencing the crazy lights of the strip, the high fives of passersby and a good laugh with the other people on the ride.
Definitely a good time.
Let’s do it all again next year!
(All pics by Mike Leonard)
Call it what you will…nostalgia, “retro-inspired” or just a nod to the old school…you could be forgiven if you felt there was a bit of 80s in the air at Interbike.
Over at the Haro booth, the retro fever got started with a teaser photo — released just prior to the opening day of Interbike — of a new re-pop Dennis McCoy Haro Master.
That definitely got the ball rolling!
Not to leave out the cruiser folks, Haro also showcased this bad boy…so you can get that retro rush while rolling comfortably on a 24″.
Over at GT, Haro’s main rival back in the 80s glory days, their booth was adorned with a mint GT Pro Performer (paging Martin Aparijo!).
I don’t think this bike is going to be a re-pop…or what it was even doing there exactly…aside from making me drool a bit and making me reminisce about my own Pro Performer from back in the day.
SE, of course has had its retro game on lock for years now. This PK Ripper, for example, is like candy to an old schooler.
And of course, SE had the big wheels covered too.
Redline had their PL-26 on display.
And We The People had the Avenger.
Heck, if even the new school components are going a little retro these days.
Over at the Sparky’s booth, I mentioned to Sean Burns that the new Bone Deth bars reminded me of the old Redline Forklifter bars…he replied that he thought they were more reminiscent of the Hoffman Low-drag bars.
Old school or mid-school…you decide.
Word has it that Haro is also updating and re-releasing their Group-One cranks from back in the day.
It’s an interesting turn of events. Back in the 90s/early 2000s it seemed everyone wanted to distance themselves a bit from the 80s era.
Now, it seems people are looking back at it a little more fondly and reinserting some of that style back into the marketplace (albeit with the necessary tech upgrades).
While not as big a showing as previous years, Interbike did have its share of BMX race cruisers on display this year.
Probably the most eye-catching was the Free Agent Limo. Featuring a bright colorway (compared to more recent years) and a new fork (I think) this is FA’s flagship race cruiser and it looks every bit the part.
Over at Redline, the workhouse of the race lineup, the Redline Proline 24 was on display. Solid, bang-for-your-buck race machinery right there.
At Hyper, it looks like the oil-slick colorway lives on (I kinda think it might be past its due date tho) with a 24″ kitted out with Snafu components.
At GT, the entry-level 24″ Mach One was on display. I was kinda hoping to see the Speed Series Pro 24 in the booth…but alas, they only had the 20″ version. I do dig that copper on white colorway on the Speed Series Pro 24.
There were a couple of noteworthy things I spotted on the periphery of my “cruiser-oriented lens” at Interbike this year.
One was The Dash from Bombtrack Bicycle Company (an outfit connected with We The People).
It’s billed as a “fixed freestyle street weapon” but can be converted into an “urban 26″ single-speed machine”.
In other words, a cruiser then?
This is a real nice-looking machine.
Full cro-mo frame, fork and bars with a liberal sprinkling of Salt components. The tan tires, remininscent of the new, limited edition tan Stolen Joint tires are the icing on the cake.
You can definitely see the BMX influence on this bike and it might be an option to consider if you swap out the fixed driver with a cassette (I think it comes with a removable brakes, even though they’re not on the display).
On the smaller end of things, GT had a race bike built up with then new OS20 wheels they’ve been experimenting with for some time (see this previous Mike Day post for more details).
While it seems a bit odd that the racing side of things can’t fully embrace the current wave of enthusiasm for 22″ bikes (in the freestyle/trails side of BMX) due to an arbritary…and dare I say it…archaic mandatory wheel size standard. It was definitely cool to see this bike built up with the new wheel size just skirting 22″.
On a side note, I have heard that you might be able to get the OS20 wheels to work on some of the mid school-era trails frames — with the longer dropouts — so I’m curious to see if people might start experimenting with these new wheels on old frames sitting around. It would be a neat thing to try out.
So, a couple things outside of the “cruiser mileu”…but two things that definitely have some cross-over elements into this part of riding.
At last year’s Interbike, it was hard not to notice that 26″ cruisers were having their moment in the sun.
Companies were adding 26″ cruisers to their lineups, left and right, and it was hard not to turn your head and see that this bandwagon was growing.
If this year’s show is any indication, this trend is in no danger of abating…and might even be picking up more steam.
There were companies that have had a 26″ in their lineup for a while, like Volume with their Hessian complete (in two colorways!) to companies either adding a 26″ to their lineup or refining existing models to give them more appeal.
Stolen Bikes was there with their Stolen Zeke XLT (click here for specs) nicely kitted out in chrome.
Subrosa had their Malum 26 on display with its new cool rat-rod finish (click here for specs).
Redline had their nod to the old school, the PL-26, on display (see previous post).
Eastern Bikes is even back on the scene again…and wouldn’t you guess it…they have a 26″, the Growler, in their lineup. (That being said, the rep said it’s high-ten steel and made strictly for light cruising.)
SE had their Fat Ripper 26 on display (see previous post)…just one of…what is it?…three 26s in their lineup (see previous post).
And we’ve already seen We The People’s new 26″ Avenger.
Which kinda brings it all back full circle. Last year, when I first noticed this trend at Interbike I made the comment:
I wonder if the increasing popularity of 26″ bikes will prompt We The People to bring back the 26″ Champ cruiser…not that I would want their 24″ offering, the Atlas, to disappear.
Turns out We The People did jump back into the mix with a 26″ (although not with the 26″ Champ cruiser) but still kept their kickass 24, the Atlas, in the lineup.
All in all, it’s good to see so many big wheel choices for riders to choose from in the 2016 lineups.
As mentioned in the previous post, I had made a beeline to the We The People (WTP) booth at Interbike because of earlier rumors that had said WTP was going to offer two cruisers in their lineup for 2016.
I was intrigued…and half-concerned…that they would change up the 24″ Atlas.
It turns out that the WTP folks decided to stick with a good thing and left the spec/geometry pretty much the same as last years…essentially a long, “trails-y”-feeling 24.
What has changed is the look of the WTP Atlas.
The black and red ano colorway of the 2015 has been dispensed with.
In its place?
A “bottle-green” (trans) green frame & fork, complimented with generous helpings of chrome and black, and rounded out with tanwall Kenda Small Block 8 tires.
This combo looks really nice.
Not much more to say about this bike, other than this is a real looker and ready to shred right out of the box.
If you’re someone that doesn’t like the higher BBs on other modern 24s…but want something more responsive than “traditional cruiser geometry”…this might be the bike you want to take another look at.
The specs/particulars:
Frame/fork and bars are full cro-mo.
One of the first booth’s I made a beeline to at Interbike this year was We The People. I had heard rumors that We The People were going to have two (TWO!) cruisers in their lineup this year.
When I got to the booth those rumors were confirmed…not only was the 24″ Atlas returning to the lineup (more on that in a bit) but We The People (WTP) had put together a real…dare I say it?…show-stopping 26″ cruiser. Employing the Avenger name used on cruisers in previous model years, this particular iteration is like no previous version of the Avenger.
Taking style cues and inspiration from classic Laguna beach cruisers, WTP combined old school elements with modern-day tech to make a fun bike perfect for chill riding sessions and cruising the neighborhood.
To make the ride more responsive than the typical beach cruiser, WTP raised the bottom bracket a bit and tightened the rear end a bit.
To keep the looks classic, a quill stem, American bottom bracket, and bear-trap pedals were used.
And could you put a pivotal seat on a bike like this?
No way.
WTP got it right by going with a standard seat/seat post combo.
Adding sealed bearings throughout keeps things trouble-free.
It just makes you wanna get behind the bars and cruise, don’t it?
WTP has made some great cruisers throughout the years but I have to say this one has really got me stoked.
I’m a sucker for shiny blue frames and tanwall tires too…so I can’t help being smitten by this bike.
The specs/particulars:
The frame on the Avenger is a full Hi-ten frame with a Cr-Mo downtube, the fork and bar are both 100% Cr-Mo.
I’ll be in Las Vegas by the time you read this, cruising the aisles of Interbike.
Expect a full recap next week.
Until then, keep your eyes on the Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages for highlights, teasers and other randomness.
It’s been a minute since Brooklyn Machine Works has had a 24″ cruiser in its lineup (they offered a cruiser in 1997 and later, their Pooky cruiser in 2004) but it looks like the wait has been worth it!
The company, backed by Pharrell Williams and Nigel Sylvester, has a history of interesting bikes and projects.
This cruiser, built in the USA, is no different. Constructed out of 4130 Cro-Mo, it features all the modern touches, such as an integrated headset, 14MM dropouts and a mid bottom bracket.
It has a nice, versatile geometry which means that you can probably ride this bike just about anywhere — street, trails, even the track.
Here’s a breakdown of the specs:
You can score one of these bad boys in Matte Raw, Yellow, Green and Night Sky Blue.
(I’m digging that Night Sky Blue!)
cruiser revolution 
