The ride’s the thing

5 07 2010

Two fun group rides are happening  in sunny California this weekend.

On Saturday, the July 4130 Subway Series event goes down in SoCal. Probably the biggest group ride of its kind in the U.S., it has attracted some big numbers during past outings, including heavy hitters like Todd Lyons, Greg Hill and Stu Thomsen.

Not sure what the route is, but I believe it starts in Hollywood somewhere. They’re raffling off a Liquid Feedback frame, so that’s a pretty good incentive to go.

On Sunday, Trent B., who goes by goride09 on this site, is hosting a ride in San Francisco.  It starts by the Clock Tower/ferry building and includes a trip across the Golden Gate Bridge as part of the route. He’s raffling off some BMX swag too, so if you’re in the area you should check it out. For more details, drop him an e-mail at chfrcka@yahoo.com



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Categories : New School, Old School, street, Tomfoolery

Kevin Jones rode a 24″ at the York Jam

2 07 2010

Flatland legend Kevin Jones showed up at the York Jam last weekend riding a Sunday Model C! Easily the most influential flatland rider of his era, the list of flatland tricks he invented is too long to recap here…needless to say, seeing him on a 24″ bike is pretty exciting.

Jim C has also got to be pretty pleased that Kevin is on a Model-C. Check out the Sunday Bikes site for a bigger version of the Eric Mitchell photo above.

For more 24″ flatland action, check out this post on Dan Sirkin flatlanding on his Model-C.


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Categories : Freestyle, New School

Sometimes I miss front brakes

28 06 2010

The recent comments about front brakes have got me thinking.

Is it time to put the front brakes back on?

It wasn’t too long ago that just about every freestyle rider rode front and rear brakes…now the pendulum has swung the other way with many riders seeing brakeless bikes as the new standard.

Have things gone too far?

Are we missing out by running just a rear brake or no brakes at all?

Before you answer, check out the videos below.

Exhibit A: Eben Fischer makes the case for front brakes.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Exhibit B:

Jay Miron, front brakes till the end.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

more about “Jay Miron Macneil DVD“, posted with vodpod


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Categories : Freestyle, New School, Old School, street

Is a Model-C with wave tubing next?

24 06 2010

I’m not sure how I missed this when it came out but inthegnar.com has a great interview with Jim Cielencki of Sunday Bikes on their site.

When asked about how Sunday has evolved over time he mentioned how 24s have impacted the company in a positive way:

The 24″ stuff has been an interesting surprise.  Bikes are at an interesting time.  It really seems like the definition of track bikes, MTB and BMX is becoming less clear. You are starting to see MTB and track bikes coming towards BMX with its tricks, style and use of BMX parts.  The 24″ has been great because it allows older and bigger guys to ride BMX without having to think they should be on a MTB.

What really got my attention though, is what Jim said what he was riding. In addition to a Third Wave 20″, he’s also riding a 24:

The 24″ is a Wave C prototype with front brakes.  My bike is so good right now.

Whoa…now that would be cool if it went into production. Wave tubing.

Fingers crossed the Wave C shows up at Interbike.


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Categories : Freestyle, New products, New School

A tale of love, loss and…redemption

24 06 2010

Having a bike stolen can feel like a sucker punch to the gut. Your prized possession…gone. In many cases, never to be seen again.

Since your bike is the link to doing what you love, hearing a story about someone having a bike stolen seems to prompt  a visceral response when you hear it. I know it does for me.

Just imagine how you’d feel in this situation:

It’s 4 o’clock and time to meet my buddy Matt for a Monday street session…except my bike is no longer on my rack. At first I thought it was a joke – I scour the shop to make sure it’s not hiding behind any of the shelves, stuffed in the machine shop, or behind the trailer. Nothing. I realize my bike was stolen right off my rack, 10 feet away from my desk. I was separated from my car by a bay door.

That sinking WTF feeling.

It can happen to anybody.

Even guys that work for big bike companies like Profile. Check out  Matt Coplon’s stolen bike story (where the excerpt above comes from) to find out how he handled it.

For more on Matt Coplon, check out Matt Coplon’s 24 hour session.


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Categories : Freestyle, New School, shenanigans

Getting stoked…an epidemic?

16 06 2010

I get pretty stoked after a good riding session but it appears certain people are taking things too far. Some believe it has the makings of an epidemic.

For more on this, click on the image below for a report from theonion.com.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

more about “Getting stoked“, posted with vodpod

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Categories : goofiness, New School, shenanigans, Tomfoolery

Old cruiser stereotypes no longer apply

10 06 2010

For many in the BMX world, the stereotypical image of the cruiser rider as a squirrelly, middle-aged cruiser racer persists.

Another stereotype:

Nobody under 30 rides a cruiser (unless it’s for racing).

And finally:

“Big” tricks are only done on 20″ bikes.

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know that this kind of “traditional wisdom” is rapidly falling by the wayside.

Not convinced?

Check out this web clip from Ollie Sandles.

Granted, it’s mostly 20 inch riders but look closely at the lone cruiser rider (who I think is Peter Beer).  In addition to a nice turndown at the beginning, check out from about 1:54 on….flairs, tailwhips, vert airs.

This (relatively) young guy is tearing things up…including all those old stereotypes about cruiser riders.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

more about “Winter Times 2010“, posted with vodpod

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

Cruisers get the cover of BMXer magazine

8 06 2010

Most BMX magazines are, at best, hot and cold on cruisers. Not many are bold enough to put them on the cover. BMX Action did back in the day. These days? You’d be hard-pressed to find cruisers getting a mention, much less the cover.

That’s why it’s such a cool surprise to see BMXer magazine stepping up and putting George Goodall and Carly Dyar, the two national number one cruiser riders, on the cover.

Good on ya BMXer for stepping up!



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Categories : New School, Racing

It’s time to bring cro-mo back to racing

27 05 2010

Steel is real. It’s a refrain you’ll hear time and time again in the forums from die-hard cro-mo fans. And while there are cro-mo race options out there…like S&M, Supercross, Standard and CycleCraft, by and large, they are available in frame and fork only.

Why doesn’t anyone offer a cro-mo race complete?

Back in the day, a complete cro-mo race cruiser was easy to find. Not so anymore. Pure race machines are pretty much all aluminum these days.

Is it time to bring the complete cro-mo 24 race cruiser back?

I think so.

And there are a number of reasons why.

Versatility: Sure an aluminum bike might be fine for the track, pump track and light trails….but would you trust it anywhere else? Bigger trails? An impromptu session at the skatepark? Probably not. A cro-mo bike would let you ride in any of these situations with confidence. Sure, some people have a second bike for this very reason but many people do not have this luxury.

Better value: A good cro-mo bike can easily outlast an aluminum bike. With the way the economy is these days a bike that lasts just makes good sense. And if you’re a Dad just swinging a leg over a 24 for the first time (or after a long layoff from the sport) a little bit of the “give” that 4130 has will be welcome.  If your kid decides to quit racing and just ride trails and park? No problem, the cro-mo bike will take you to the park or trails in style.

Pent up demand: With such a vocal group on the internet forums, a good cro-mo race complete would probably sell like hotcakes.

While I don’t expect S&M to suddenly jump into the complete market, certainly the Fit CR24, with a couple of tweaks to the geometry (and maybe the components) could be offered as a race version (just as an example…not to pick on S&M/Fit). I think there’s a market out there and whoever decides to take the plunge will be pleasantly surprised.

It’s time for race bike manufacturers to get back to their roots…it’s time once again, to sell the metal.

David Frid knows steel is real. He rocks one of the nicest 38 Specials out there in the O-Cup race series.



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Categories : New School, Old School, Racing, street, Trails/Jumping

Liquid Facebook page worth checking out

25 05 2010

If you’re thinking about buying one of the Liquid Feedback frames, you might want to check out the Liquid Bikes Facebook page. It’s filled with pics from owners showing off their new builds.

There’s also some cool rider photos…like this one of Sean Parrish at Ray’s MTB.

Love this pic (Jeremy/Sean: hope you guys are OK with me borrowing it).

And while we’re on the topic of Liquid Bikes…Jeremy sent in this pic recently of his bike and  helmet with a couple of cruiser revolution stickers freshly added to it.  Looks great.


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Categories : Freestyle, New products, New School

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