Just caught this sneak peek/spy shot over on the Planet BMX Facebook feed.
It’s the new 2016 version of the 24″ Skyway T/A XL frame & fork set, fresh from the paint shop.
A noticeable (and much welcomed) change from the previous iteration is the introduction of an integrated headset.
Color choices are white and chrome.
Watch for these to become available in the next 6-8 weeks. (Visit Planet BMX if you want to get in on the pre-sale.)
Pic: Planet BMX
It’s been said more than once: cruisers and beer, they’re a match made in heaven.
And we’ve seen some attempts in the past to bring the two together.
The most recent example was Cult Bikes’ one-off Duffman Cruiser. Granted, Duff beer is/was a fictional beer (word on the street is that there is now a licensed version of Duff Beer available in Chile).
Prior to that, Greg Mundy of Fireman’s Texas Cruzers teamed up with Brad Farbstein at Real Ale Brewing to create Fireman’s #4 Blonde. And as a form of cross-promotion, Greg and Fireman then offered the Brewery Bike inspired by the beer.
Now it looks like this pairing of Beer and Cruisers is hitting the mainstream. National brand, Pabst Blue Ribbon (PBR) is partnering with SE Bikes for The PBR x OM Flyer.
Pabst approached SE to create a bike in their colorway (white, red, and blue)…however, they wanted it yesterday…so with a couple tweaks to the existing 2015 OM Flyer (new decals and pads) the PBR X OM Flyer was conceived.
The catch?
These won’t be available to the public.
Only 83 of these bikes were created, and will be used exclusively by the Pabst Blue Ribbon marketing team. They will be riding them at sports events and other promo activities.
Bummer.
But wait….
I noticed on the pbr_miami instagram feed…where they also have the bike featured…they say in the caption that “One lucky person will win this bad boy…stay tuned for info“….Sounds like keeping a watch on their insta feed might be a good idea…snagging one of these would be quite the catch!
Now, I don’t know about you…but I need a cold one.
Cheers everybody…it’s the weekend.
Maybe it’s not just the summer of BMX movies…maybe it’s the summer of bicycle movies, full stop.
Case in point, the recent Toronto showing of Marinoni: The Fire in the Frame.
Granted, not a BMX movie by any stretch of the definition, it certainly was one of the most entertaining — and inspiring — documentaries I have seen in a long time.
The movie features 75-year-old Giuseppe Marinoni, a former champion road racer that transitioned to become a legendary frame maker who decides he is going to “attempt the world hour record for his age group, all on a bike he built with his own hands almost 40 years ago.”
At times a cranky sourpuss, other times an affable older gentleman…there is no mistaking Marinoni’s passion. When it’s revealed that he will be riding a frame he welded for Canadian cycling legend Jocelyn Lovell in the late 70s — a rider who’s career was cut tragically short when he was hit in an automobile accident — it’s hard not to get teary-eyed.
If you’re a rider, into bikes in general, or simply want to see someone who has kept his fire alive well into his 70s…this is a movie you should check out if you get the opportunity.
You will be stoked.
Scot “The OM” Breithaupt’s signature bike is set to take up its rightful place again in the SE Bikes 2016 lineup.
Featuring an eye-popping yellow looptail frame, retro cruiser bars and old-school checkered pads this bike looks as “back in the day” as its classic Mushroom grips.
Given the OM’s tragic passing, it’s good to see the OM Flyer refreshed and ready to go for another year. I’m sure the OM’s smiling somewhere, thinking about the good times riders are going to have on the bike that still bears his name…so many years after the start of it all.
And with the current nostalgia for old school SE products and OM-related gear, this will no doubt be a hot seller. Don’t sleep on this one.
As mentioned in the previous post, Sneak Peek: select 2016 SE Cruisers, the new lineup of 2016 SE cruisers is being revealed in bits and pieces to generate excitement for the new line.
It seems to be working.
The BMX Museum thread on the topic has reached 12 pages already and I see no signs of that stopping any time soon.
I’ve been peeking at it now and again and that’s where I saw the following teaser shots of even more 2016 cruisers.
Let’s have a look.
First off, the Floval Flyer.
If you remember the CR test on the Floval Flyer (from a few years back) you know how much of a fan I am of this bike. Again, SE upped the ante with even more polished aluminum/chrome to make this bike as shiny as it is fast.
Next up, the 24″ Quadangle Freestyle.
Jumping off from last year’s version, SE has adopted a new white and blue colorway which is actually more evocative of the freestyle-y SEs of the 80s.
Think back to that iconic Freestylin’ cover of Todd Anderson jumping over a car of SE dudes or even Rockabilly Jay’s sweet custom Quadangle cruiser…this colorway is on point.
Finally, the Big Ripper.
This year, it bumps up the old school factor with a checkered padset and a generous helping of chrome and gold anno accents. If you were around during “the golden days of BMX”, you know this big boy hits all the right notes.
I’m definitely digging the updates and new colorways of the SE lineup.
Tip of the hat to Todd Lyons and the SE folks for the great work, especially for the retro line!
It’s starting to feel like the 80s all over again.
Remember when Rad and BMX Bandits were on the big screen? Those were heady times…filled with so much promise. It seemed like BMX had made it…at least to the big screen. (Heck, even Nicole Kidman appeared in BMX Bandits!)
Little did we know how long the drought between BMX movies would prove to be.
However, this summer seems to be where things really start to change.
The long anticipated Heroes of Dirt — with a whole slew of BMX cameos — is now making its way around the US, getting hype and generating positive reviews.
Following that we have instances where BMX plays a prominent role in more mainstream movies.
The Strongest Man comes to mind. A little off-beat in the storyline department, to be sure, but still pretty interesting nonetheless.
Then we have Turbo Kid.
Sort of a mashup between Mad Max and BMX Bandits from the look of it.
This one almost feels like it should be on VHS in a dusty remainder bin in an old movie rental place…and I mean that in the best possible sense. This has a retro vibe that I kinda dig.
All this leads me to believe that we are at the beginning stages of an honest-to-goodness wave of BMX movies…and I couldn’t be more stoked about it!
Like many in the BMX world, the news of Scot Breithaupt’s passing on the weekend came as a shock to me.
It didn’t seem real.
And while there has been an outpouring of positive messages from the BMX community celebrating Scot’s achievements…he basically wrote the template for BMX back in the day…it still hurts.
I’ve been in a funk ever since I heard.
And going back and forth in my head of what to write about the topic.
What more can you say about this guy?
We owe so much to Scot. As a race organizer, promoter, businessman, a showman and as a fierce competitor.
The SE roadtrips back in the day are the stuff of legend. He packed a bunch of crazy BMXers in a bus (or van) and traveled across the US with them. In the process creating experiences and stories that will last several lifetimes.
This, like so many things Scot pioneered, lives on today…How many BMX memories have been made during BMX roadtrips? Too many to count.
SE Bikes, the legendary bike company he founded, has the slogan “We make it happen.” That was just as (or even more so) fitting to describe Scott. He “made it happen” in so many ways when it came to BMX. He gave us the template to make it happen.
It’s up to us now to continue to make it happen…whether that’s holding a jam, piling into a car with friends for a BMX roadtrip or just getting out on a bike for some fun…we have to continue to make it happen. This is his legacy.
C-Ya on the other side Scot.
(The Youtube video above was produced by Diana Frerick, a friend and business associate of Scot, for his 57th birthday last year.)
Todd Lyons (of SE Bikes) is slowly lifting the veil on the 2016 lineup of SE cruisers.
For the last week or so, he’s been showing bits and pieces of some of the bikes. But just a couple days ago he showed what at least two of the cruisers in the lineup would look like.
First up, the 24″ So Cal Flyer. Sporting an old school look, it features a retro stem, Flyer seat, and a classic SE Racing padset. Some gold graphics round out the retro vibe on this one.
Next up, the 26” Quadangle Looptail.
If you’re old school, this will definitely be your cup of tea. It features the unique double downtube frame that the Quadangle made famous so many years ago, along with a looptail rear end. The black, gold, and chrome colorway (and checkered pads!) make this look like it came out of a time machine from early days of BMX.
Lyons has been dropping hints of the new lineup on the regular, so stay tuned for more updates. I’ll be sharing them on the Facebook page whenever they pop up. From the hints he’s been sharing so far, I think we’re in store for a lot more cool stuff.
I suspect if you’re under 35, you’re probably not going to get the Bob Osborn reference in the title.
Which makes me sad a little, as Bob Osborn was the driving force behind BMX Action magazine (R.I.P), the publication that set the gold standard for all BMX magazines that would follow in it’s wake.
Anyway, there’s a certain style of photo, and a certain style of riding, that just scream of that era.
The classic bun buzzer jump is just one example of this.
And once again, Scott Towne, and his Instagram account, come through with some good stuff.
In this case, it’s a shot of Sean Newton boosting a nice bun buzzer on a 24.
Pure old school style…something dear old Bob would certainly approve of, and want to immortalize in the pages of the mighty BMXA.
–This might take a second to load-
I’ve been drooling over this bike ever since I laid eyes on it.
Restored and built by artist Lix North, this 82/83 Profile cruiser is powder coated in glossy, sea foam green with custom decals. The color choice was inspired by Fender’s iconic seafoam green electric guitars.
While definitely not a color that old school Profile frames were available in, it still tugs the nostalgia chord all the same — given its wide use in cars, guitars and ton of other stuff back in the day. (E.g., GM’s use of the color on the 1956 Buick.)
This unique color color choice is then combined with other awesome throwback items: a GT drop-nose seat (with custom leather cover), pitbull brake, mag wheels and tanwall tires (yes!!).
So good.
For more on Lix North and her custom BMX creations, check out her website Lix BMX.
You will not be disappointed!
cruiser revolution 
