Sunday Bikes has set up a Flickr group…which isn’t that exciting by itself…except in it you’ll find some new photos of the about to be released Model-C.
Like this good shot of the Model-C as Jim C. gets ready for a session. Love the gold components.
Or this one…Jim C. again with a nice toboggan transfer out of a mini.
Fingers crossed that we’ll see more photos of the Model-C being put through its paces.
What is going on here? Bikebiz.com is reporting that the 2012 Olympics will feature Freestyle BMX! Seeing racing hit the Olympic big time was one thing…but freestyle? That’s pretty incredible. I wonder if the Olympic powers-that-be will be able to handle the notorious “free-spirited” antics of the average freestyle superstar. We’ll see…
BMX racing hit the Olympic stage last summer
In a weird coincidence, I stumbled across this today as well:
the beast
Never mind that the bike will give you whiplash from ’80s nostalgia…look at the numberplate….is it just coincidence that these two items surfaced on the same day? We may be in the end times…
Ever since I saw the first couple pics that came out featuring the Knight Proformer 24″ Freestyle BMX Cruiser frame I’ve been anxious to see one built up. Styled after the iconic GT Pro Performer frame, it had the righteous combination of old school looks, new school specs and cruiser sizing. Well, at long last I have stumbled across some pics of the Proformer built up and I must say, I’m pretty stoked. Someone on OS BMX posted a full-on Eddie Fiola tribute build using the Knight Proformer. This thing is sooo sweet.
I had a GT ProPerformer back in the day and this brings back a lot of memories. It’s in the intro to RAD for pete’s sake! According to the Knight site, the Proformer was a limited edition run and is already sold out…I’ve got my fingers crossed that more of these frames have gotten into good hands and more cool builds like this will surface.
Almost makes me want to dig out my old copy of the GT Demo Tape…okay maybe not.
McGoo, an industry insider from way back in the day, has seen it all..from Martin Aparijo doing infinity rolls to street riders wearing girl jeans to everything in between….his ascerbic answers to dumb reader mail questions were one of the highlights of Ride magazine in its early days. McGoo is now the driving force over at SNAFU and has a pretty good take on things on the industry. I check out the SNAFU blog from time to time and noticed that they have a little something on the new bike in their “test stable”: the Mirraco Icon 20Forty.
They’ve spec’d it out with all sorts of goodies like the new OLA sprocket and prototype Splitter stem in bronze ano. Squint and you’ll see them in the picture above.
But perhaps the most interesting thing about the post is what he leaves till the end:
Mirraco isn’t the only progressive BMX company to offer a 24-inch trail/street bike for older and taller riders: Fit Bike Co., Subrosa and Haro also have two-fours in their quiver, and according to insiders at all these companies, they can’t keep ’em in stock. Does this mean an army of giants might take over the trails in 2009? Who knows. All we know for sure is this: 24-inch BMX bikes are fun to ride, and that’s good enough for us.
The italics are mine but I can’t help but share the sentiment… 2009 is going to be a big year for cruisers…there are just so many good options available now. Older, taller riders (as well as everyone else) are starting to see how much fun they are to ride and are jumping on the bandwagon. Is an army of giants going to take over the trails in 2009? There very well might be…that is, when they are not taking over the streets, racetracks and skateparks.
Another day of the winter deep freeze, and I’m getting cabin fever…I’m looking at my bike leaning up against the wall and just wishing I could just go out and jump curbs or something.
In the meantime, here’s a little Volume Sledgehammer trailer that I stumbled across on YouTube that reminds me of better (I mean warmer) times:
Tooling around the internet the other day, I ran across something interesting on the KHE website…their 24″ Pygymy PRO comes complete with a freecoaster. Sweet! I think this is the first manufacturer (correct me if I’m wrong) to really step it up and offer a complete 24″ with a freecoaster.
I can’t wait to see a web vid of someone seriously rocking a freecoaster-equipped 24″…and if there is one already one out there, please post the link in the comments. Till then I’ll have to content myself with this Bruce Crisman vid showing what’s possible with a freecoaster…
Whatever happened to the skinwall tire? There was a time when every high-end…scratch that…every tire, high or low-end…had a skinwall sidewall. It was just a given. You took it for granted. Then, without anybody noticing, it seemed every company slowly moved towards the all-black tire. No one seemed to care…actually most probably welcomed it…this all happened during the era when everybody started to run black front wheels and spraypainting everything on their bikes flat black…a nice-looking bike wasn’t important…being hard-core or looking hard-core was all that mattered. But I’ve been looking at some old photos recently and I have gotten a little wistful for the old school skinwall. They really did add that little something to a pair of wheels.
You don’t think so? Just compare this:
It looks okay, right? What am I complaining about?
Now check out this bike..with classic Comp III skinwalls…
Looks a little better doesn’t it? And I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s not because of the number plate!
People, we have to rise up and demand to see some skin again! Bring back the skinwall!
From the cheap seats:
It looks like Colored Tuffs has managed to source some skinwalls for the discerning tire buyer (uhm…that’s the weirdest thing I’ve ever typed). Not a lot of detail but worth a look I guess…
Odyssey seems to have something in the works too with the tanwall tire …No word if a 24″ size will be released.
The interweb has been ablaze lately with the unveiling of the Sunday Model-C prototype. Jim Cielincki seems to want to pull the BMX cruiser into the modern age…and it looks like he is on the way to doing it…with better frame geometry and the cool colorways Sunday is famous for. If the pictures he’s been posting lately are any indication I think we are in for a treat when these go in to production….I mean just check out the toothhanger above…this isn’t just a converted race cruiser…this thing is ready for some serious street riding.
Jim is solicting feedback on the design of the bike…and judging from the flurry of comments on the Sunday blog — people are not shy about voicing their opinions. Thankfully the tall folks (which full-disclosure — I’m over 6 foot) are weighing in and voting for longish TT lengths…I think people are pretty stoked to finally have the chance to get a cruiser that fits them properly….without having to go the custom built route …and have it stand up to modern riding. Check out the Sunday blog and see what all the fuss is about.
cruiser revolution 
