This year, with the RAD movie celebrating its 25th anniversary, complete with a big event in Cochrane, Alberta and word of a behind-the-scenes documentary in the works, it looks like the affection BMXers have for this movie is as strong as ever.
Now to add another log to the Helltrack fire, NYC dance group Holy Ghost is featuring a new interpretation of the infamous “bicycle boogie” scene in their video, “I wanted to tell her” (a remake of the Ministry song of the same name).
Check it out.
BMX has lost a lot of things over the years.
Knobby tires.
Padsets.
The Jofa mouth guard.
But you know what else BMX has lost? The BMX moustache.
That’s right. There was a time when race bikes were chromoly and BMX racers rocked ‘staches.
Back in the day, the legend Perry “PK Ripper” Kramer, intimidated his competition and broke the hearts the hearts of trophy girls everywhere with his moustachioed swagger.
Later, Hollywood Mike Miranda would bring his All-American moustache to the silver screen with memorable scenes in the movie Rad (“Hollywood Mike Miranda makes his second dramatic exit of the day”)
Thankfully, the Movember fundraiser is in full swing and guys everywhere are growing moustaches to raise awareness and funds for men’s health. I’ve joined the cause and I’m donating my upper lip to the cause for the 30 days.
My moustache has already caused a few sideways glances at work, and some outright laughter when I’ve gone riding at the trails but it’s all for a good cause, to raise awareness and funds for prostate cancer. Which as many of you know, affected one of the icons of our sport, Stu Thomsen, in recent years.
If you’d like to support me in raising funds for this great cause (and bring a little moustachioed swagger back to BMX) you can donate to my campaign via this link: http://mobro.co/EdVandermolen.
Any support would be greatly appreciated. (Be sure to check out the Ron Burgundy and Tom Selleck tomfoolery on my Movember page as well.)
Can you believe it?
Cruiser Revolution hit the three-year mark this month.
Three great years of talking 24″ BMX.
Whether it’s sharing stories of guys getting back into BMX on a 24inch bike, checking out the latest bikes and parts, finding out what other riders are doing or just the random goofiness that pops up here from time to time…it’s great to be on this ride with you.
They say that time flies when you’re having fun and I guess it’s true in this case.
Thanks to everyone for their support.
I really appreciate all the great comments, discussion and general awesomeness from all the great people I’ve gotten to know through this blog.
Cheers to you.
Can’t wait to see what’s in store for the year ahead.
Less than a decade ago, if you were looking for serious, non-race 24″ cruiser your choices were few and far between.
If you wanted a 24″ bike that would take some abuse, it usually meant you were riding either a Haro Backtrail 24 or the DK General Lee.
Today, you may have noticed (especially if you’re a regular reader of this site) that the choices for non-race 24″ cruisers are a little deeper. And perhaps fittingly, those two old workhorses, the Backtrail and the General Lee were dropped from their respective company’s lineups.
But just like those ol’ Duke Boys in a car chase with Roscoe P. Coltrane, the General Lee was a bike that couldn’t be kept down. It’s resurfaced, albeit in a slightly different incarnation and to some sometimes heated BMX forum discussion in, of all places, Walmart!
Do Bo and Luke Duke know what happened to the General Lee?
Word on the street is that Huffy bought out DK and, in addition to their higher-end bikes and parts, they are offering a small lineup of race and freestyle bikes in Walmart.
This version of the General Lee is hi-ten steel with Chro-mo 3-piece cranks…a far cry of it’s original completely Chro-mo version…but priced accordingly, at $179 (US).
Some people are burning up the forums saying this is a travesty.
I dunno. Remember the Subrosa Salvador 24 from last year? That was a hi-ten bike with chro-mo cranks priced at $404! That to me, was more of an outrage. At least this bike is priced appropriately and sold in a place that makes sense.
Would Uncle Jesse approve?
I can see a Dad picking one of these up, at the same time he’s picking out a first bike for his son or daughter. Who knows, after jumping curb cuts, popping a few wheelies and just having fun on his $179 bike, he’ll decide to upgrade to something a little better at his local bike shop. And there he’ll see a brand he recognizes but be something much better suited to heavy-duty riding.
What do you think about DK bikes showing up at Walmart?
Something good?
Or something bad?
For complete specs, check out Walmart’s page.
For more info on all the Dukes of Hazzard references in this post, click here.
Back in the 90s, Bobby Fisher made a name for himself with a style of riding that combined the technical aspects of flatland with a creative street element that was awesome to watch.
A regular in videos and magazines of that era, Bobby has now slipped out of the limelight for the most part.
Bobby’s still going strong though. ESPN recently caught up with him and found out that he’s still riding but now balancing that with running the family tire business and other aspects of day-to-day life.
What’s interesting though is that Bobby’s made the jump to a 24inch bike, specifically the Sunday Model-C.
Asked about the transition from a 20″ to a 24″, Bobby said,
The transition was actually easy. The Model C feels just like a 20-inch but with bigger wheels. I commute by bike quite a bit so I was stoked to be able to ride BMX more often.
But Bobby’s doing more than just commuting. As these pictures from ESPN show, Bobby is still tearing things up.
In flatland:
and street:
Whether it’s running the family business or sticking with the types of riding most fun to him (and what made him famous) Bobby has stayed true to his roots.
It’s great to see that Bobby has managed to keep his love for BMX going despite all his other responsibilities. And now that he’s doing it on a 24″ bike, I couldn’t be more stoked.
**If you’re not familar with Bobby Fisher, check out this clip from Style Cats back when Bobby was a key part of the Standard army. No doubt this cat’s got style.
Click here for the full interview.
Spotted this sweet pumptrack vid on a VintageBMX thread today.
Talk about an awesome setup!
Word has it that these tracks are popping up all over the UK….and they’re paid for by the local city councils!
Not only that, you can get a decent cup of tea there too…maybe it’s time for a visit.
After a week in Vegas, checking out the latest and greatest at interbike, celebrating the top riders in the sport at the Nora Cup Awards and just taking in the spectacle of the Strip…it felt there was something missing from my interbike experience.
Sure flashy new bikes and parts are cool but BMX is so much more than that. It’s that feeling you get when you get a group of riders together and have a good ride or session.
Thankfully the 4130 crew, together with Vegas local Micheal Leonard, brought the L.A.-based 4130 Subway Series ride to Las Vegas to coincide with interbike. Renamed the 4130 Sin City Series ride, 200 plus riders made it out to take part in what would become an epic ride. Everyone was smiling and having a good time…old school, new school, race or street rider…it didn’t matter. It was a celebration of BMX in it’s purest form.
That good feeling you get when a good group of riders gets together to ride?
The 4130 rides have that in spades.
I’m still hyped on the ride a week later.
So much fun.
Vodpod videos no longer available.While I was cruising the booths at interbike, a few random things caught my eye. No real rhyme or reason to them but things you might be interested in.
The return of the Redline Forklifter Plate
Spotted this in the Redline booth. It looks pretty similar to the old Forklifter plates that RL Osborn used to sport on his bike (like in the opening sequence of Rad).
Tioga’s “is this taking things to far?” new pedals
Spotted these at the Tioga booth. I’d be a little nervous about riding these puppies. (What I was hoping to find in the Tioga booth is news that they would be offering the Powerblock tires in 24 X 1.95…alas, no such luck.)
New kicks from 5-Ten
Although I’m something of a flat pedal purist when it comes to racing, I do like the added edge that sticky shoes like 5-Ten provide. Wandering by the 5-Ten booth I noticed that they’ve stepped things up this year with cool half-cab and high-top styles.
Pryme knee/shin guards
Not sure if these are new or not but I really liked how streamlined they were. They looked like a good option to wear under jeans at the local bike/skatepark.
Cruiser Candy
I got pretty excited when I spotted this van at the show. Probably because I was hoping to fill my pockets with cruiser-shaped candy. Unfortunately (at least for me anyway) Cruiser Candy is a business focused on the beach cruiser market. I consoled myself with one of the complimentary beers that some of the booths were offering to “guests”.
By the time you read this, I’ll be in Sin City (Las Vegas) checking out all the new 2012 stuff on display at Interbike. It’s going to be a busy week. Tons of stuff to check out and people to meet. And while I’d love to say that I’ll be “reporting live”, I’ll probably just put it all together in a recap next week.
I’m also planning on hitting the the Nora Cup Awards. Drew Bezanson (who rides at Joyride, my local bike park) is up for another award so I’ll be cheering him on.
On Friday, the Vegas edition of the 4130 Subway Series goes down. It’s going be nuts. (Now I just have to borrow a bike so I can participate!)
More details next week.
cruiser revolution 
