When in Vegas…stop in at City of Bicycles

16 06 2009

If you’re ever in Vegas, make a point of stopping in to City of Bicycles, which is right around the corner from the Rio Hotel. When you get there, chances are you’ll find yourself talking with ABA Hall of Famer and former No. 1 Cruiser rider, Turnell Henry. Turnell’s shop caters to the local BMX scene, with a big focus on racing.

Turnell Henry with his 1981 #1 cruiser award

Turnell Henry with his 1981 #1 cruiser award

When I visited the shop recently he told me how he had been working in other fields (outside of BMX) but then realized if he was going to be working so hard it was going to be for what he loved…and that was BMX.

But he’s not just back into BMX from a business perspective,  he’s taken some of the local racers under his wing and started training them….and he has also got back into the mix himself in the King of Las Vegas race series. He’s racing guys 20 years his junior and more than holding his own.

Definitely take the time to visit Turnell and City of Bicycles next time you’re in Vegas…if you’re like me, you’ll come away just as stoked (scratch that…more stoked) on your conversation with one of the legends of the sport as you are on the great selection of BMX parts and bikes in the shop.





Carhartt & We The People team up again

18 05 2009

Once again, Carhartt has teamed up with We The People to create a cool, retro-inspired BMX cruiser.

This limited edition 2009 model has a Chrome-Moly frame, Sky Tuff wheels, 3-piece crank and if I’m not mistaken, a leather (?) pad set.  This bike will turn heads for sure…

carhartt-bmx-cruiser-2009-540x398





Taking it back to the old school

29 04 2009

With all the hype recently about custom bikes/frames/parts, it’s easy to forget the simple, DIY ways to customize your bike. Paint, some new parts and stickers can go a long way to personalize your bike or make an old bike look like new. In some cases, it can even make a new school bike look old school. Take this Haro Nyquist Backtrail 24; some carefully chosen parts, paint and stickers make it feel like we’ve stepped back into the mid-80s. You can almost imagine Rich Sigur dropping into the Pipeline on this.

24haroretro004





RAD movie script on eBay

15 04 2009

I’m no economist but when you see an authentic RAD movie script go up on eBay you know something is up. Either this recession is going supernova or this is a sure sign that things have gotten so bad that a rebound is right around the corner.

What’s even more surprising is who the seller is…it’s none other than bike-thief chasing Rick Moliterno.  Apparently he’s also got a boatload of the original Shimano DX pedals available for the highest bidder.

I’m holding out for that sweet candy apple red Hutch Trick Star he used to ride back in the day when he was touring with Woody Itson. If that baby goes up for sale, prepare for a bidding war.





This cruiser is Mickey Mouse

8 04 2009

This is kind of interesting…Nemesis Project got together with Disney Bloc 28 late last year to work on a 24″ BMX cruiser inspired by Mickey Mouse. The result is a pretty interesting mix of old school meets new school.

The bike comes complete with laser-cut Mickey “cross gloves” patterns for the seat and chain stays  and a custom  Disney inspired Pivotal seat.

nemesis-project-disney-bloc-28-bike-3-150x1501

As you can see, they also made sure it had the proper Mickey Mouse colors.

nemesis-project-disney-bloc-28-bike-21

Myself, I’m most stoked on the classic Tuff Wheels and NOS Tioga Comp IIIs they fitted it with. Love the black mag and gumwall look.





Toronto Bicycle Show did not disappoint

16 03 2009

You might think that I would be a little disappointed after going to the Toronto bicyle show with a whole laundry list of things to buy and coming  away with almost none of it…but you would be wrong my friend. Maybe it’s because my quest for the elusive gold anodized valve caps was realized this weekend.  Yes, I’m now the proud owner of a sweet pair of vintage gold anodized valve caps. Wade Nelson, upon hearing of my quest, walked over and up and gave me the valve caps right off his bike…whatta guy.

The Toronto BMX Jam contest was, as usual, off the hook crazy (do the kids still say that?). I originally planned to check out some racing and flatland too but the freestyle stuff was just to strong a draw. Freestyle is just so ridiculous now…and I mean that in a good way.

Sitting there in the bleachers watching some crazy riding go down, the Iron Maiden blasting and surrounded by a bunch of old friends trading BMX stories (and a new pair of gold valve caps) it seemed that all was right with the world.





I love gold…

5 03 2009

Gold anodized parts that is.

Maybe  it’s because gold seems to be the only thing not tanking in today’s economy or maybe it’s because what’s old is new again…I dunno…but I’m really feeling gold components again. And I’m not the only one. Freestyle legend Taj Mihelich seems to have been feeling the gold vibe for some time now…he’s been rocking gold rims on a number of his past bikes….his current Giant setup being no exception.

I think what got me thinking about/missing gold components is the  ’08 We The People Unified 24″.

wtp-unified_08

The mix of old and new school on this bike really work for me. Unfortunately, WTP has decided to go with a blue and white combo for ’09.

Perhaps, gold components represent something deeper.  They do if we can trust a BMX academic like Wade Nelson.  When asked by Momentum magazine, “What are the virtues of golden spoke nipples?”  Wade simply responded, “Gold anodized spoke nipples are truth.”

gold-valve-cap

Truer words were never spoken. Now where can I get a pair of those sweet vintage gold anodized valve caps he’s got on his bike?





Freestyle BMX in 2012 London Olympics

6 02 2009

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…

olympic-bmxBMX racing hit the Olympic stage last summer

In a weird coincidence, I stumbled across this today as well:

the beast

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…





Old school style, new school technology

3 02 2009

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.

knight-proformer

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.





Is it time to show some skin again?

27 11 2008

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:

quad-24-blk1

It looks okay, right? What am I complaining about?

Now check out this bike..with classic Comp III skinwalls…

quad-skin1

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.