These days with riders going off at the X-Games, the Dew Tour and in crazy web edits it’s easy to forget the simpler aspects of BMX.
Like cruising the neighborhood with friends.
Nothing quite replaces the joy of roaming the streets, hitting spots and feeling free as you roll along on your bike.
The 4130 Club has captured all those things in their monthly rides.
This is BMX in its purest form.
Respect.
If you’ve ever thought about a Trickstar-inspired cruiser, or were a fan of Woody Itson‘s pink Trickstar back in the day, this may be the bike for you. Check out the front end in the pictures below for the obvious Hutch Trickstar influence.
Japan’s online BMX store, W-Base teamed up with x-girl (a clothing company) to create this limited edition cruiser. Only 100 were made and they have been available since April from online store Calif.
Two versions are available:
Neon pink with white forks
Matte white with pink forks
There are silver, blue and black components throughout on both versions.
Remember the post, “Is a Model-C with wave tubing next?”
How I said it would be so cool if it went into production?
That I had my fingers crossed the “Wave-C” would show up at Interbike?
Well, I still have no idea if (or when) the Wave-C will go into production but I did find out that the Wave-C was at Interbike!
Chris at PlusSizeBMX.com, a site that covers mostly 24 and 26″ MTB riding, got in touch with me recently and let me know that he got some great pics of the Wave-C at Interbike.
I gather that if this does go into production it will be a frame-only deal….if it also features a longer top tube…well, then I think Sunday is going to have a hot seller on their hands.
With the spec on complete bikes consistently getting better year after year, it’s often hard to justify spending the dollars on a custom build.
But what happens when the frame you really want is available in frame only?
Or maybe the aftermarket version of the frame on the complete is available in a bigger size…one more suited to your lanky body?
What to do?
If money’s tight you may go with the complete but feel you compromised in a way. Alternatively, if you decide money be damned, you’re going to build the bike you want from the ground up you may end up feeling like you overpaid for your bike. Another route is to transfer your old parts to the new frame but then you miss out on the pleasure of having new parts to go with your new frame.
Maybe there’s another way.
The Do-It-Yourself (DIY) complete
With the recent hype about the new 2011 bikes and parts, many people forget this is also the time that bike shops and mail order companies are marking down their “old” 2010 stock.
I’ve been thinking about getting an S&M 38 special or a Standard 125r for racing. If JensonUSA marks down some of their race cruiser completes down 40- 50% like they did last year…well, then my dream of getting a Cro-mo race complete suddenly looks within reach. I’ll just transfer the parts over to the new frame. If I turn around and sell the frame from the complete it becomes even more affordable.
If a long, trails-oriented frame is in your sights, you’ve probably considered the Liquid Feedback frame. If you want a “complete” version though, you’ll have to take matters into your own hands. Luckily, building your own complete Liquid 24 isn’t hard at all. In fact, CMC advises someone in this thread on a Pinkbike forum to do just that. He suggests picking up a marked down We the People Avenger and transferring the parts over to the Liquid…it’s all compatible and it’s hard to beat the parts that come standard on the 2010 Avenger.
A DIY Liquid could get you manualling like CMC in no time
The Craigslist DIY Complete
If these tough economic times have hit you hard or you just like a really good deal you can take this same approach using Craigslist or eBay.
Check out what artist Chris Piascik did:
I hunted on Craigslist for a couple weeks and found a Haro cruiser and a Standard 125R cruiser frame. The Standard frame was fantastic (as all their bikes are) and the Haro was complete. I did the only reasonable thing I could think of—I bought both. I moved all of the Haro parts over to the Standard and then put the Haro frame back on Craigslist.
Of course, because Chris is an artist, he had the bike totally tricked out with some original art work.
Check out Chris’s flickr stream for more cool shots of his tricked out Standard 125r.
Will 2011 be the year of the DIY complete?
So what do you think?
Is this something you would try?
I’m certainly thinking about it.
When I hear Latvia and BMX, the first thing that comes to mind is super fast BMX racer, Maris Stromberg.
That was up and till I received this pic of Sergei Babikovs from Latvia.
I have no idea how fast he’s going to hit this double-peg up the ledge but it sure is sweet.
Fun fact: Sergei is riding the the only Sunday Model-C in Latvia.
With Interbike in full swing, video clips of all the new product lines are coming fast and furious from all the major BMX sites covering the event. Not surprisingly, most bike companies are highlighting their 20″ offerings in these clips and leaving out the 24s in their lineup.
Sunday, on the other hand, takes a decidedly different route and leads off their video clip with a look at their new 24s. Say what you will about Sunday, this is just another example of the level of support and innovation they’re bringing to the 24′ cruiser scene.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Sunday 24s at Interbike 2010, posted with vodpod
Contrast that with We the People, who despite having a relatively long history of making great 24″ BMX bikes, do very little to promote them or grow the market. Checking out Vital BMX’s video of the WTP booth, you would never guess that they have one of the better 24s available. Seems crazy to not even mention it….especially given all the attention that Sunday has brought to the 24″ scene.
Sunday Bikes continues to step things up in the 24″ world with two (yes, two!) versions of the Model-C set for release in their 2011 lineup.
The Model-C EX
Designed as a low-cost option for the first-time 24″ bike buyer it still packs plenty of punch with some great aftermarket parts. It has the proven Model C Plus 4 geometry and is great option for those riders that don’t have the cash to build up a frameset from scratch.
It features:
It has a cro-mo downtube, headtube and dropouts. There are two color options: matte gray and red. Different graphics and sticker kits for each color option. (Priced at about $519 US)
Model -C PRO
This is Sunday’s top-of-line 24″ complete and it looks the part!
One of the best spec’d completes on the market. It features:
Full cro-mo frame, forks and bars. This will handle just about anything you can throw at it. (Priced at about $799.99 US).
Top tube sizes for both the EX and the PRO are 21.25″.
It looks like Ray’s MTB isn’t the only bike park where you can rent/try out the Sunday Model-C.
Sunday just announced that Joyride 150 (just outside of Toronto, Ontario) has added a Model-C to their rental fleet.
This is great news, not only because it’s sure to get more riders hooked on 24″ BMX, but it also gives me even more of reason to visit Joyride 150. Even if I don’t have my bike with me, I can stop in for a session on a 24″!
For more on Joyride 150, check out this video of Drew Bezanson tearing up the place.
I don’t even know where to begin with this photo.
Taken during Trent B’s (goride09) recent Golden Gate Bridge ride, it’s such a classic picture.
From the the trick itself (when’s the last time you saw someone uncork a bar endo?), the Golden Gate Bridge in the background to the extended hand for extra style points…
This pic has got it all.
So good.
Den Dowling is the man behind the camera. Check out his Flickr photostream for more pics of Trent and the Golden Gate Bridge ride.
Whether you’re 7 or 47*, nothing quite matches the pure fun of riding your bike.
Whether it’s street, dirt, park or racing 7-year old Finn Finestone is not missing out on any of it.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
cruiser revolution 