Roma Abramov (@romaonbmx) found a good way to cope with the rain.
A sweet indoor ramp set up…perfect for lip tricks, pocket airs and other goodness.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BPYotbxjycU/?tagged=cruiserrevolution
I’m digging it.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BPjFm0fh5aj/?tagged=cruiserrevolution
Check out romanonbmx rips for more on this guy.
I was checking out the #cruiserrevolution hashtag on Instagram earlier this week and was stoked to find some awesome clips from a Russian rider (living in Spain) named Roma Abramov (@romaonbmx).
https://www.instagram.com/p/BOzuGMvDPGn/?taken-by=romaonbmx
He’s rocking one of those rare Vapor Blue Sunday Wave-Cs…and he knows his way around a skatepark.
Actually, he rips!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BO0TPy_ho9M/?taken-by=romaonbmx
…and whips! (Sorry, couldn’t help myself)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BO0VPyyBtaP/?taken-by=romaonbmx
Hope to see more from this guy in the future….
Here we are…at the end of 2016.
A bunch of stuff happened this year in the cruiser world and while I was planning on doing a standard “Top Ten”…it seemed like four key items stood out to me the most out of all the possible ones that I could highlight.
So, without further ado, the top four cruiser news stories of 2016:
4. The 22″/OS20 wheel size gained some serious momentum this year.
More complete bike, frame/fork, wheel and tire choices made this a more viable choice for many riders to try. Yes, 22s are more sized-up 20s than small cruisers…but there’s often quite a bit of crossover in riders that are interested in 22s and 24s.
With that being said, I’ve been posting about the 22″ phenomenon as far back as 2010 but given that Cruiser Revolution is a cruiser-focused site, I launched Big & Tall BMX in June to do a better job covering both the growing 22″ scene and 20s that are set up for tall riders. Expect to see more stuff there (on B&T) on this topic in 2017.
3. Collabs, Retros and 26″ Cruisers…this year these trends collided.
These trends were already starting to show legs…but this year, we saw two to three of these trends showing up on the same bike! This was clearly in evidence at this year’s Interbike, as well as throughout the year. The Shadow Subrosa collab was one, GT’s 26″ Pro Performer, the SE/Public Enemy Big Ripper…the list goes on.
2. The mellow head angle/disc brake-equipped 24.
Combining the mellow handling of a 26″ dirt jumper with the “flickability” (is that a word?) of a 24, we saw versions of this throughout 2016. Graham Stanley’s custom Curtis was the first one we saw in 2016, followed by Roy Sutton’s custom Invictus. Later we found out that an industry icon, Harold “McGoo” McGruther, had bought into the concept via Commonground Bikes. Then we learned even S&M Bikes had developed a version…which they debuted at Interbike.
1. Yess introduces a belt drive cruiser…and wins a cruiser title with it!
Yess debuted a belt drive cruiser in April and it definitely caught our attention. Belt drives had been attempted in the past…but were quickly discarded (due to middling success) for more conventional drive trains. This time, it seemed a more robust version had been developed. But like most “innovations”, the best way to judge it’s success is out in the field.
Well, Yess did it in the most convincing way possible. Yess-sponsored rider Drew Motley rode a belt drive-equipped cruiser all the way to the USA BMX #1 Cruiser title at The Grands! This was the first time a non-chain bike had taken the title. Hot damn.
After a long hiatus from the race scene, Mongoose is making a bit of a comeback.
According to the company, they saw a need for more affordable, race-ready complete bikes and developed the new Title series of bikes to fill that void.
In terms of affordability, they definitely hit the mark.
The Mongoose Title Pro 24 is a steal at $250 (US).
Especially for a bike that features a 6061 Aluminum frame (with euro bb), full cro-mo 3-piece cranks, and Arisun tires.
So how does the bike cost so little?
When you peruse the spec sheet you can quickly see where the cost savings came in to play. The forks and bars are hi-ten steel.
Not ideal, but not out of line for an entry-level bike either.
I could see someone picking one of these up as an inexpensive starter bike…and if they watch the fence line at the local track for some lightly used forks and bars, they could get this bike upgraded for just a little more cash.
So what are the specs?
All and all, not too shabby for an entry-level race bike.
Available at mongoose.com and Amazon.
Paul Tolme of the Belted Blog caught up with USA BMX’s Cruiser Champ recently to talk to him about his “off the chain” win on his Gates Carbon Drive-equipped Yess cruiser.
Here’s a look at his winning main:
As the announcer says, Drew Motley had to win his main to take the title.
And he got it done…on a bike without a chain.
Switching teams, switching drivetrains
Joining the Yess team this season offered Motley the opportunity to ride bikes kitted out with the Gates Carbon Drive system.
And if his Grands performance is any indication, they’ve made a difference.
As Motley tells Tolme in the Belted Blog:
“I really, really liked it immediately…It’s faster. I can feel it. Pedal efficiency is a huge deal in BMX, and the belt just felt more efficient and easier to pedal and faster.”
And Motley is not the only cruiser rider to find success with a belt drive Yess Cruiser.
Jean-Marc Durviaux won the Belgian National Title in the Cruiser 40+ category on one earlier this year.
According to Durviaux (in the Belted Blog) the main advantage is out of the gate:
“I most sense the Carbon Drive as an advantage at the acceleration stage at the start…The first three pedal strokes provide a more instant response.”
With titles starting to stack up…are more riders going to start looking to a belt drive for an added edge on the competition?
I think more than a few might be tempted.
Now if Gates can get some more companies to buy into this this type of drivetrain…well, then I think things will get very interesting.
(Pic: USABMX)
I didn’t catch a lot of The Grands livefeed over the weekend but I did have the dumb luck to tune in at just the right time to see a little bit of BMX history go down.
Here’s the setting: Drew Motley was in the gate in the no-joke 46-50 cruiser main.
He needed a win –and only a win– to take the overall cruiser title.
No pressure, right?
Well, he got it done.
From lane 7, if I remember correctly.
That’s an accomplishment on its own…but what might be more exciting is he did it on a bicycle with no chain!
Drew pulled off the impressive win — and the title — aboard a YESS cruiser kitted out with a belt drive drivetrain. (Just like the one we talked about back in April.)
This is the first time a non-chain bike has taken a BMX title!
Motley is in good company…just check out these former #1s congratulating him. (You know Carnes and Rupe ain’t no slouches.)
Motley’s performance and title certainly add some additional legitimacy to YESS BMX’s innovative concept.
It will be interesting to see if this now prompts other riders (and companies) to jump on the Belt Drive bandwagon.
(Pics: BMX News & USA BMX)
Maybe I’m showing my age…’cause right after coming across pictures of Grump Racing Cycles new Double Barrel Cruiser on the weekend…I immediately started humming that old “Double your pleasure” Doublemint Gum jingle.
Which is a little sad really, considering how cool this bike is…and how lame those commercials were.
Loving that double-top tube.
Seriously, when is the last time you’ve seen a double-top tube race cruiser?
No word yet on specs or pricing (Grump is based out of Australia so keep that in mind)…but based on these pictures, I have feeling there’s gonna be a lot of folks interested in these.
It’s gonna turn a lot of heads at the race track, that’s for sure!
The Cult Devotion 26 caught our eye at Interbike last month.
It was a bit of a departure from the 24″ cruisers Cult had put out in the past.
At the time, we didn’t have too many details …besides learning that it was full cro-mo (frame, fork and handlebars) and that it was kitted out with the new 26″ Vans tires.
Since then we’ve found out more about the Cult Devotion 26.
Geometry-wise, the 26″ Devotion’s numbers stacks up as follows:
Wheel-wise, you’re looking at a single-wall front rim and a double-wall rear rim, both paired up with sealed hubs (female axle on the front).
And as mentioned above, the wheels are sporting the fab new 26″ Vans tires (which are 2.30 width).
All in all, a pretty cool 26er from the folks at Cult.
(If you’re in the market for the Vans tires though, you’re going to have to wait a bit longer…ETA is January 2017.)
Pictures of Ice-Element‘s new cruiser made the rounds on social media earlier this week and it’s easy to see why.
Sporting an almost MTB Dirt Jumper-like appearance and kitted out with hydraulic disc brakes…this bike is a real headturner.
And even though I’m more of traditionalist when it comes to frames, this is setup is — at least to me — so over-the-top techie looking that I think I kind of dig it.
It seems like the sort of bike George Jetson might race on.
What do you think?
(You can check out all the frame specs here.)
Beyond all the fancy bikes, accessories and industry news at Interbike, one of the best parts of the whole shindig is who you run into over the course of the show.
This year had some noteworthy interactions for sure.
Upon entering the conference floor, I paused at the Park Tool booth and heard a distinctive voice that had been ingrained in my subconscious from repeated viewings of BMX Plus! magazine’s video, Rad TV. It was none other than BMX photographer extraordinaire, John Ker.
I turned around and spotted him immediately…and the 14-year old version of myself suddenly popped into my head and started going crazy…I had to go talk to him.
I’m pretty sure I nerded out the whole conversation but he was extremely gracious and I was glad I got to meet the man behind so many iconic bmx images.
This boded well for the rest of the show.
Making my way through the show I came upon the SE booth.
And again, the 14-version of myself had returned to take over my brain. In the booth alongside SE’s Todd Lyons, were 80s mega-stars: Mike Buff and Stu Thomsen.
Holy Cow.
They were signing baseball card-style cards of themselves for anybody that would stop by.
I have to say I’m pretty stoked with this autographed card.
Then a little while later, with the Interbike floorplan map in my face, struggling to find out which way to go next, I ran into Joseph Gallacher.
Joseph is the impresario behind Mill Town Cycle (and heavily involved with the Milton BMX track back home) so it was cool to run into him and get a few minutes to chat…especially since both of us were unaware that we would both be in town for the event.
The next person I ran into was Adam Hendershot.
Adam’s a good friend that has recently moved out west, got himself married and started to race cruiser (he’s been busy).
He mentioned that he would be in town but I wasn’t expecting to see him until the next day.
Turns out he got in early and hit the show right away. Of course, we end up bumping into each other…again while I was trying to figure out the Interbike floorplan.
We had good chat and then he was off to the SE booth.
(That’s him in the middle…note the super-stylish Chicken & Waffles Vans shoes.)
If you’ve been following Todd Lyon’s social media feeds, you’re probably already familiar with Adam’s back.
He reps SE and BMX hard!
Then toward the end of the show, I was checking my phone when I someone that I was hoping to run into, walking up to me…Travis Engel of Commonground Bikes.
I had seen that he was at the Outdoor Demo, but I wasn’t sure if he would be at the show.
He was (obviously).
If you saw the Something new, something dusty post, you can see the type of bike that Travis was already promoting well before S&M created their prototype.
We had a good chat and I’m stoked that we got a chance to meet up.
All in all, a good show in term of random meetups and pleasant surprises.
Fist bumps & high fives to y’all.
*As you may have noticed, not all of these photos were taken at Interbike…I think I got too caught up in the conversations to remember to snap pictures of everyone.
cruiser revolution 
