Sneak Peek: 2016 Volume Hessian

23 06 2015

Volume Bikes just released a sneak peek of the 2016 version of their 26″ Hessian Complete.

Available in Trans Red or Matte Raw, it’s an interesting blend of high and low…Chromoly Down tube frame, Odyssey components, and a mix of sealed and unsealed parts.

Certainly not a hard-core shredder like some of the other iterations of their previous 26″ models.

However, if you’re looking for a simple neighborhood cruiser for launching off curbs (and the like) this might just be the ticket.

Volume Bikes 2016 Hessian 26 red

FRAME & FORK:
Frame: Chromoly DT (22″ TT, 15.75″ CS)
Fork: 1pc Chromoly Steerer
Bars: Hi-Ten Steel  (6.75″ rise & 27″ wide)

COMPONENTS:
Stem: Volume Staple V2 Top Load
Headset: Genesis Sealed Integrated
Seat/Post: VLM Fat Pivotal
Seat Clamp: Alloy Single Bolt
Brakes: Odyssey Springfield
Brake Cable: Odyssey Quik-Slic
Grips: Volume Flanged VLM Team

DRIVE TRAIN:
Cranks: Genesis Octagon 3-pc Tubular Chromoly 175mm
Chain ring: 25t
Bottom Bracket: Sealed Mid 19mm
Pedals: Odyssey Twisted

WHEELS:
Rims: Genesis 36h
Front Hub: Genesis Unsealed 3/8″
Rear Hub: Genesis Turbine Sealed 14 mm Cassette
Driver: Sealed 10t
Front/Rear Tire: Resist Nomad 26″ x 2.25″


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Categories : Freestyle, New products, New School

Colony Eclipse 24: customized

12 06 2015

The Colony Eclipse 24 has had my attention ever since Colony dropped a sneak peek of it earlier this year.

Once I got a chance to get a closer look at the specs, my interest was piqued further. This was a nice looking bike…and one of the better equipped completes on the market!

That being said, every rider likes to customize their bike a bit, no matter how good it comes stock, to make it “their own”.

Will C. did just that, customizing his Colony Eclipse 24 to make it just the way he wanted, with no compromises.

The end result looks pretty sweet!

will24-02Here’s the spec list:

Frame: 2016 Colony Eclipse
Fork: S&M Pitchfork 24
Stem: Colony Squareback
Bars: Colony Cromo
Grips: Colony Much Room
Sprocket: BSD Superlite 3D 28t
Cranks: Salt Plus Groove 175mm
Pedals: Snafu Anorexic
Hubs: Colony Sealed 9t
Chain: Shadow Conspiracy Interlock Supreme
Rims: Odyssey Hazard Lite
Tires: Innova
Seat: Unknown “…but super comfy and [Will’s] had it for over a decade”
will24-03

According to Will, the bike “rides great – super smooth and solid” and still “under 25 lbs” with the mods.

 Will still has plans to switch out the bars (…and if I could be so bold with a suggestion…a pair of tanwall Stolen Joint tires or DMR Supermotos would really put this one over for the top for me…)

All in all, not too shabby.

Looking forward to seeing more 24″ Colony bikes under riders’ feet in the future.


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Scott Towne rollin’ on a Stolen

9 06 2015

Just spotted this over on Instagram.

All-around renaissance man, Scott Towne is now rolling on a custom 24″ Stolen Gold.

Scott is well-known for his daily shred sessions, his work in the BMX industry and his stints in a variety of BMX publications.

The pics went up last night on his Instagram page and his Tumblr, fUNBRO, and I have to say his new rig looks pretty sweet.

Looking forward to seeing the big bike being incorporated into his daily shred sessions.


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

Sneak Peek: Cult Limited Edition Cruiser

3 06 2015

Just when you thought The Simpsons/CULT Duffman Cruiser would be a one-off for the Cult Crew…Cult has returned to the 24″ scene with a Limited Edition Cult cruiser bike.

This time around, they’ve dispensed with the bright orange paint and gone the stealth route with a low-key black paint job paired with chrome components.

Cult special edition cruiser

That being said, eyeballing the picture and taking a quick glance at the specs, it looks like this will not be a big departure from the Duffman cruiser in the setup/handling department (it’s pretty similar sans the color and branding).

Specs:

  • 21.6″ Top Tube 6061 AL alloy Frame
  • 73° Integrated Headtube / 15.6″ Chainstay
  • Cult Chromoly 10mm Forks
  • Cult Chromoly Bar (8.25″ x 28″)
  • Cult Dehart Grips
  • Cult Salvation style Topload Stem
  • Sealed Integrated Headset
  • Cult 3-Piece 8 Spline 175mm Chromoly Crankset
  • Sealed Mid BB
  • Cult 25T steel Sprocket
  • Cult PC Pedals
  • Cult 410 Chain
  • Single Wall 36H Front Rim
  • Alloy 36H sealed 10mm Female Front Hub
  • Double Wall 36H Rear Rim
  • Alloy 36H sealed 14mm Cassette Rear Hub with sealed 9T driver
  • 24 x 2.125 Tires
  • Cult Slim Pivotal Seat/Seatpost
  • Low profile U-Brake
 These will be a limited run (from what I understand) so if this bike floats your boat ya better jump on it!

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Brits using drone technology to get faster

27 05 2015

Well, it looks like drones aren’t just for filming freestyle edits anymore.

Great Britain’s BMX Racing Team is using technology — usually seen in drone aircraft — to give them an edge going into the Rio Olympic Games.

According to bbc.com,

The technology, first developed for unmanned aircraft, uses a camera and sensor system to monitor speed and trajectory of a rider from the moment they exit the start gate and travel across jumps through a course.

The game-changer in all this is capturing an element of a race that couldn’t be measured previously.

liam-phillips

According to Liam Phillips (in the same bbc.com article),

It measures speed across a jump which has been impossible until now.

In a sport where victory can be measured in seconds (or 100ths of a second) this could definitely make a difference in terms of training and race prep.

Kinda cool from a techie/nerdy perspective.

I wonder if other countries will “jump on” (sorry, couldn’t help it) similar techie training techniques.


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Gary Turner releasing line of 26″ frames

20 05 2015

The man responsible for building one of the most well-known brands in BMX, GT Bicycles, is returning to bike biz (as Gary Turner BMX) with a limited run of vintage-style 26″ cruisers.

Each frame set will be chrome plated with “old style” Gary Turner BMX chrome stickers. Price for frame, fork and handlebar will be $800 (US) and the run will be limited to only 100 frames.

Here’s a “spy shot” from the Gary Turner Facebook page.

gary turner frame shot

Plans are also in the works for 24″ and 20″ frame sets at a later date.

Pretty cool to see one of the icons of the sport returning to the industry he helped create.

Here’s a lookback at an ad with Gary in his heyday.

gary turner gtThe Gary Turner online store, www.garyturnerbmx.com, will be taking orders for the 26″ cruiser sets on Tuesday, May 26, 2015 at 8am PST.

And if you’re in Corona California on August 9, swing by Pole Position Raceway. Gary will be hosting a vintage bike show and launch party for the new frames. A 26″ Limited Edition frame set will be given away as a “best in show prize” at the event.


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Categories : New products, Old School, Racing

Behold…the non-race race jersey

13 05 2015

Here’s an interesting development.

Freestyle-oriented companies producing BMX racing jerseys!

Sure, back in the 90s a number of dirt jumpers (e.g., Shaun Butler) could be seen sporting race jerseys but that trend seems to have fallen away in the modern era.

shaun butler ride coverHowever, things might be trending back that way…if a couple of recent product offerings are any indication.

The first notable instance of this was the limited run of Empire BMX race jerseys. These babies sold out quickly and (from what I understand) there are plans to make more.

And now more recently, the Shadow Conspiracy Contender jersey.

A jersey “inspired by BMX racing” but with enough “street-wise styling” to not scare off the street riders.

I, for one, am digging the look of these jerseys and hope that this type of thing continues.

Yet it still makes me wonder…who’s going to be next to jump on this bandwagon?


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Categories : Freestyle, New products, Racing

Lairdframe’s eye-catching 24″ frame

7 05 2015

Lairdframe has been building its reputation on building quality, custom one-off frames.

To this point, most of these custom frames I have seen have been 20″ in size. It’s to be expected, given that’s the biggest market.

I’ve always been stoked on how they look and the build quality.

With that being said, I was pretty stoked to spot this custom 24-inch(!) Lairdframe build over on BMXMuseum.

Lairdframe Eye of Providence 24Definitely a new school build, this bike is certainly an eye-catcher.

Peep the specs:

  • Headtube angle: 74.5 degrees
  • Seattube angle: 71 degrees
  • Toptube length: 21.75″
  • Chain stay 14.375″
  • Bottom bracket height: 13.625″
  • Stand over height: 9.375″

All I can say is, “Wow!”

I sure hope we’ll see more 24″ custom frames like this from Lairdframe.

For the rest of the deets (and more pictures of the bike), check out the BMXMuseum profile .

For more on Mike Laird and Lairdframe, have a look at this FatBMX writeup and Lairdframe.com.

 


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Lurch’s custom Stout 26-inch

30 04 2015

This sweet ride caught my attention during my last trip to Ray’s MTB in Cleveland.

The owner of the bike, Joshua “Lurch” Gittere, was tearing up the jumps on it so I chased him down to get the scoop.

Very much in the MTB or BMX? category, his custom-built bike seems to combine elements of both styles of riding to make something very distinctive.

Lurch custom stout

Manufactured by Matt at Stout Bikes (you might remember the eye-catching Beelzebike was also made by Stout) this bike is big and strong.

Lurch had originally asked to have it built up for a 100mm suspension fork, which is how he rode it for a little bit.

Then he decided he wanted to see what it rode like when it was built up like a “true” bmx bike with rigid forks and big bars.

According to Lurch, the new setup,

“Feels amazing!! Rides soooo smooth and works for me…anything that keeps me riding is whats up in my book.”

Lurch manual r

Here’s the specs of the custom frame:

Head Angle: 69 deg.
Seat Angle: 74 deg.
Top Tube: 23.5″
Chain Stay: 15.25″ slammed
Finish:  Black with silver flake
 Lurch custom Stout fv r
Lurch’s setup:
Fork: S&M Pitchfork XLT 26″
Handlebars:  S&M Hoder Bars
Grips:  DUO Corey Martinez
Bar Ends:  Kind Ideal
Stem:  Colony TLD Flatland Stem
Seat:  United X Cinema Pivotal
Seat Post:  Shadow Pivotal
Cranks:  Profile Madera 180mm
Sprocket:  Kink Sound Sprocket 28 T
Pedals:  Deity Compound Pedals (plastic)
Chain:  KMC
Headset: Kink Integrated
Front Rim:  Sun Ringle MTX 33 36 Hole
Front Hub:  Profile Elite
Rear Rim:  Sun Ringle MTX33  36 Hole
Rear Hub:  Halo DJD Singlespeed Cassette, 11 T
Spokes: DT Swiss
Tires: Geax Booze 26 x 2.3
Brakes:  Hayes
Pegs:  Sunday Pipe Pegs (not shown)
–
All in all, a pretty interesting mix of both BMX and MTB elements in this bike.
 –
Lurch said he had dealt with some back problems in the past and this setup really made it easy for him to ride and be comfortable on his bike again.  Who can argue with that?

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

Sneak peek: Tribute prototype tease

24 04 2015

Tribute Bikes put the word out yesterday that they have a new prototype 24″ frame, ready for testing.

While specs have yet to be finalized, it looks like some details have been more or less confirmed (at least if the specs in the teaser image are correct…).

Here’s what we know so far (spec-wise):

  • Top tube: 21.98″
  • Chain stay: 14.25″
  • Stand-over: 9.5″
  • Bottom bracket: 13″ (TBD)

Other notables?

Well, how about Reynolds 853 tubing, removable brake mounts, and a “top-secret chain stay yoke”?

Hmm…I wonder what the scoop is on that last part.

Tribute 24inch prototypeLooks pretty interesting, in any event.

Hopefully we’ll see Tribute rider, Mike Leonard on one of these soon for some street-level torture testing.

 


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