Rapper’s delight

14 12 2010

Lotek shoes threw down a challenge to the BMX World recently to see who could write the best jam about Lotek shoes.

My bro, Glen Vanderheyden, rose to the occasion with a rhyme like no other and took first place in the first ever weekly rap challenge.

Check it:

prepare for attack and protect ya neck

cover each foot with a fresh Lotek
check out these fly kicks, they’re Rich made
lookin sharper than a muthaf**n switch blade
you want em baid, I mean bad, don’t correct me now
if you want em for free, I’ma show you how

all shapes and sizes, we’re lookin for prizes
BMXFU never wearin disguises
one surmises that they can join our clan
coz they say that ‘Lee Dennis is the man!’
understand, that we call the f**n shots
whether at home or at your local f**n spots

straight back from Cali, asleep on the plane
Shawn Swain, radder than Gucci Mane
4/20 vision, he rides with precision
doesn’t want to see his friend, Charlie, go to prison
oh Chuck, what the f**? duck, it’s 5-0
they couldn’t hold em down, had to let him go

GoPro, to capture the bmx rapture
record, download, time to manufacture
a member of the FU filming department
Mr. Hill of the Niagara Escarpment
loves the knobby hobby, does our friend, Bobby
gettin Loco’d at someone’s apartment

Orbell’s garage alters your visage
gettin low with the whole FU entourage
like a barrage, Chris can drop some heavy shit
it’s no mirage, check this Illuminati hit
we Bond like James playin bmx games
Jake, Drew, Dwan, you know our f**n names

hang 5, 1 peg, a 20-inch wheel
stackin clips like your name was Cory Beal
say what I feel, my name’s Glen Van
try and out-rhyme me if you think you can
these FU’s are always lookin for new shoes
i said it, check the edit, they’ve paid their f**n dues

For more on the weekly rap challenge, check Lotek’s blog.

For more crazy Glen rhymes, give him a fist bump the next time you see him at Joyride 150 and say, “Yo, G-Money…”

 





C-ya Fit CR24, you’ll be missed

23 11 2010

Dear Fit CR24,

We had a good run.

Two great years.

In 2009, you caught my eye with your old school chrome frame. (I later found out you sometimes sported a badass black finish too…something that just added to your allure.)

Underneath that old school flair though beat the heart of a feisty new-school cruiser.

You liked it when I played rough with you. Always coming back for more.

As the seasons changed, so did we.

You could tell there were new competitors for my attention.

Not one to back down, in 2010 you hiked your bottom bracket to keep my interest. You knew it was all about the ride and this change made things more interesting and fun. It looked like you and me were going to make things last.

Sure, there were things about you that irritated me.  You constantly “gave me the gears” with your rear cassette, hub issues.

But we made it work.

Buying you a few new things at the bike shop seemed to keep things good between us.

I thought we were going to make 2011 the best year ever.

Then suddenly you were gone.

I looked through the Fit catalog hoping for a sign, a note, anything….just something saying where you had gone.

But there was nothing.

Now all I have are these pictures of you.

Won’t you come back?

Sure, take the year off…find yourself.

But let’s meet up again…say at Interbike next year…and see if we can’t make this work again.





Hard to believe it’s been 2 years already

8 11 2010

Seems like only yesterday that I started this little site about big wheeled BMXs.

Looking back, I’m stoked on how far it’s come.

Not a day goes by that I’m not learning something new or smiling (or laughing out loud) because someone posted a great comment.

You guys make it all worthwhile.

Cheers to you.

Update: A new picture courtesy of the “art department”, Andy D.





What are you bringing to the table?

3 11 2010

What people bring to the table can have a big influence on a situation.

For instance, when you bring a Sledgehammer to the table, you might just end up with a great trails photo.

Like this one.

Buddy with a big Texas table aboard his Volume Sledgehammer.

Photo by CMC





Custom parts make a one-of-a-kind ride

28 10 2010

If you’re on Sunday Bike’s Facebook feed, you may have caught this video of Wayne Keller riding his local skatepark.

What you may not know, besides tearing up the skateparks, Wayne also has a thing for repurposing, remachining and generally customizing his parts for his ride.

Check out his stem.  He carved the top off and engraved “Dork” on it. The cool paint job on both the stem and the sprocket are trick too.

His hubs are also attention-getting…painted in a “can’t miss this” orange.

To keep things fresh, Wayne’s redoing his bike at the moment and ditching the lime green and orange. He’s changing a bunch of his parts to different shades of grey.

Check out Wayne’s blog, carrot-bag.blogspot.com/ for more updates on the constantly evolving look of his Model-C.

Great to see  people  customizing their rides and making them their own.





For real, too much steel

19 10 2010

As you may have gathered from my previous posts, I’m not afraid to join in the refrain of “steel is real” when people debate the pros and cons of frame/fork materials. That being said, it kind of goes without saying that, in these situations, I’m talking about chro-moly not hi-tensile steel.

Sure, I get low-end completes may have to scrimp a bit and go with tri-moly or main tube chro-moly frames (the rest being steel) and steel bars. Compromises have to be made somewhere.

What I have difficulty in understanding is a hard-core BMX company putting out a complete that is high-tensile steel throughout.

Like Subrosa.

The 24″ Subrosa Salvador cruiser comes standard with high-ten frame, fork and bars. The geometry and components seem pretty good…seemingly designed for serious riding…yet the frame material seems better suited to a department store bike.

What’s bizarre is that it’s spec’ed with chro-moly cranks!

Well, thank goodness for that.

Because once you’ve broken the frame, bent the forks and snapped the bars you’ll at least have a solid pair of cranks beneath you to carry you home.

If this was part of a 24″ lineup I would kind of get it (sort of) but to have this as the sole 24″ offering from a company that should know better is pretty disappointing.





American Dad gets RAD!

12 10 2010

He’s nothing next to Bart Taylor.

But it turns out that American Dad didn’t forget his time in the lumberyard either.

Guaranteed to put a smile on your face!

 





Dirt jumping training technique revealed

21 09 2010

What does it take to be a top dirt jumper?

Is it skill?

Years of practice?

Cojones?

There’s must be something else…that little game-changer that takes your dirt jumping to the next level.

Turns out it’s a training technique that I didn’t quite suspect.

Check out this footage of Jon Faure in his top secret training facility for the full story.

And yes, as the video title indicates, I think Jon may well have the skills for a second career with the circus.





What would you like to see at Interbike?

17 09 2010

Interbike, the tradeshow for all things bike related is almost here.

Manufacturers are going to be debuting their new lines and the latest and greatest in components.


While  many companies have already leaked most of the details of their new lines, there’s always a thing or two (or more) that shows up that gets people attention.

It got me to thinking…what would I like to see?

Here are some ideas:

  • taller aftermarket cruiser bars (most companies are still offering bar with sub 6″ rise)
  • more color choices from 24″ wheel manufacturers
  • chro-mo complete  24″ race bike

Granted, I’ve mentioned most of these in previous blog posts but they’re simple things that I think would do really well.

What would you like to see at Interbike this year?





A side order of fun: the 24″ sidehack

9 09 2010

Take a 24″ cruiser, a spare wheel, some scrap metal and a razor scooter…weld them together..what do you get?

An old school sidehack.

Looks like the Finestones, Brian and son Finn, know how to have a good time.

Check out this video: to see the Finestone’s sidehack project in action.