3 years and counting…still going strong

22 11 2011

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.


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Categories : Flatland, goofiness, New products, New School, Old School, Racing, Skatepark, street, Trails, Trails/Jumping

New InDust Cuatro 24 looks interesting

21 11 2011

Just spotted this in a Ridemonkey thread tonight….CMC‘s new InDust Cuatro 24 prototype build.

Made by Stout Bikes in Texas, and billed as “a 24 inch BMX frame with aggressive geometry built for the aggressive rider”, this looks like one serious shredding machine.

Frame specs (according to the Ridemonkey thread, may not be final):

  • 22 3/8″ top tube
  • 14 3/8″ chain stay (slammed)
  • 13″ (approx.) bottom bracket
  • 74-74.5 degree head angle (not confirmed)
  • 4130 chromoly

Not sure what the plans are for a production run of these but I’m definitely interested in hearing more about this frame.

If you want to find out more about the InDust Cuarto, check out the InDust site or the related Ridemonkey thread.


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Categories : Freestyle, New products, New School, Skatepark, street, Trails, Trails/Jumping

Tested: Immortis Bucket Bars

8 11 2011

I received a pair of Immortis Bike Company’s 4-piece Bucket Bars a while back and for a variety of reasons wasn’t able to ride them right away.

When I finally got them on my bike to give them a test drive, I was pretty stoked. These are some cool looking handlebars!  From the distinctive 4-piece design to the heavy metal looking font on the cross-bar sticker, they have a look all their own.

Immortis Bucket Bars have a distinctive 4-piece design

In fact, right after installing them I asked my girlfriend, “How do they look?”  She glanced over and simply said, “Metal”. (She may have even flashed the horns at that point…).  They do kind of remind me a Flying V guitar for some reason so maybe she’s on to something.

I took them out for a spin and immediately noticed the flatter sweep to the bars in comparison to other bars I’ve ridden lately.  It took a few minutes to get used to but after a few minutes I didn’t notice it all.

Out on the trails

A couple days later, I took them out for a session at the Don Valley trails. The bars come stock at a cut-to-fit width of 32″. I typically run 28″ wide bars so I cut them down to that width to better compare them with other bars I’ve tried.

The bars felt great.  They had a solid feel and were easy to get used to. It didn’t take long before I was carving turns at high speed and hitting all my favorite lines in the jumps and rollers.

Slicing through a high-speed turn was a cinch with the Bucket Bars

If you’re looking for high-quality, cool looking bars that are made in the USA…these are definitely handlebars that you should check out.

Technical specs:

  • Rise: 6″
  • Backsweep 10 degrees
  • Upsweep: 2.5 degrees
  • Material:  Cro-mo

(4″ and 8″ rise versions are also available.)

For more on information on Immortis and their line of handlebars, check out their website at www.immortisbmx.com.

Special thanks to Michael Moran for shooting the photos.


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Categories : New products, New School, street, Trails, Trails/Jumping

Jim C. talks frame building with ESPN

25 10 2011

ESPN ran a great post on the weekend featuring Jim C. from Sunday Bikes talking about Sunday’s philosophy on frame building and the reasons why they approach it the way that they do.

It’s an in-depth look at how they work with their partners to create frames with innovative features like wave tubing, hollow dropouts with twice the strength of regular dropouts and their famous 41 thermal treatment that helps keep the frame light but yet incredibly strong.

There’s tons more in the article, so be sure to check it out here.

A Sunday post is always a good excuse to run a pic of Jim C. airing out on his 24.  Bonus pic of Jim at the Sunday office.  (Source: ESPN. Sandy Carson pics)


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Categories : Freestyle, New products, New School, Skatepark, street, Trails, Trails/Jumping

People of Walmart…your 24″ is here

19 10 2011

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.


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Categories : Freestyle, goofiness, New products, New School, Old School, Skatepark, street, Trails, Trails/Jumping

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday

13 10 2011

(Headline best said with a monster truck announcer voice.)

Lots of Sunday news in the past couple weeks, it’s hard to know where to begin.

So let’s just dive right in with the top 3 things going on at Sunday (if you’re a 24″ rider)…

1) Sunday recently debuted the 2012 version of their popular Model-C complete. Off the top, I’m pretty stoked on the refinements to the frame geometry. They’ve increased the top tube length to 22″ (yes!) and tightened the rear end to 14.625″. Lots of people have been asking for a longer top tube on the complete, so it’s great to see it finally becoming available.

Parts- wise, you can’t complain either. Odyssey parts including Quadrant rims, Mike Aitken tires, Monolever, and Twisted PC pedals are all standard on this bike. Throw in Sunday parts like the Sabretooth sprocket and Freeze stem and you’ve got one good-looking complete.

Check out Jim C. shredding this Austin ditch on the new complete for proof that this bike is no slouch.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

2) Sunday also recently posted a bike check of Jim’s recently built up Vapor Blue Wave-C.

This is one sweet looking ride!

It’s loaded with Sunday and Odyssey components and gives you a good idea of what a high-end, custom-built 24″ Sunday might  look like (and also how deep the Odyssey and Sunday product lines are). Check it out here. The guard dog named Monty is a nice touch too….gotta get me one of those.

3) If you’re an eagle-eyed reader, you may have noticed that both the Model-C complete and Jim C’s personal ride are sporting the new Sunday Freeze stem.

It’s no coincidence. Jim Cielencki  and Alex Magallan have been using the Freeze stem since February.

Feature-wise, the stem’s top cap is a 6061-T6 aluminum forging (for additional reinforcement in the bar clamping area)  with a  cast aluminum body. It has a 34mm rise (to maximize bar height) and a length of 52mm.   This is a good-looking stem.

That’s all well and good but I have you seen what the price is on this stem? $29.95! For a stem that can hold up to all the abuse Jim C. and other Sunday team riders can throw at it.

That got my attention immediately.

If you’re in the market for a top-load stem, this should probably be on your short-list of choices.

For more on what’s new at Sunday, check ’em out at sundaybikes.com


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Categories : Freestyle, New products, New School, Skatepark, street, Trails, Trails/Jumping

The UK has the right idea

4 10 2011

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.


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Categories : Freestyle, New School, Old School, Trails, Trails/Jumping

US-made BMX frames on the upswing

1 10 2011

Brian Tunney over at ESPN just posted a great article about The resurgence of US-made BMX frames.

It talks about how the gap is starting to close price-wise between US-made frames and frames made overseas. With the growing costs of both international shipping and production in Taiwan (where most BMX frames are produced) the price advantage that Taiwan had over the US, for many years now, might be a thing of the past.

In the article, Tunney was surprised to learn that:

...between the rising costs of steel on top of stricter overseas regulations and increased shipping costs, the price gap between a US-made frame and an overseas frame is shrinking.

That’s pretty incredible, but check out this statement:

In some cases, a US-made frame such as an S&M might even be cheaper than a Taiwan-produced frame…

Who would have thunk it?

Could we see a return to something similar to the 80s when most premier BMX frames were made in the US?

Looks like it might very well happen.


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Random interbike finds

22 09 2011

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”.


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Categories : Freestyle, New products, New School, Old School, Racing, Rad, Skatepark, street, Trails, Trails/Jumping

Cruising the booths at interbike

20 09 2011

You’ve probably already checked out the interbike coverage from Ride and Vital BMX already but you and I both know they’ve left out what you’re really looking for…what’s new in 24″ BMX news.

Good thing Cruiser Revolution was there this year to bring you the highlights that you were really looking for.

Free Agent

An updated colorway and the addition of Sinz forks are all new for the Free Agent Limo 24 in 2012. I’m seeing more and more Free Agents at the track, so this could be a big seller when these drop in stores.

Redline

It seems that Redline’s reputation for out-of-the-box ready race machines remains intact. While the Project 79 bike got a lot of hype (I got the impression that a 24″ version isn’t on the horizon anytime soon) the old workhorses, the 24″ Flight and 24″ Proline look as good as ever with some updated colorways and component tweaks.

SE Racing

While I was hoping to see the updated Floval Flyer (it wasn’t on display for some reason) SE had a number of cruisers to check out. My particular favorite looks-wise was the OM Flyer. For real, this thing is beautiful. A vision in chrome goodness (it even sports chrome valve caps!).

Sunday

Sunday didn’t have a booth this year but I chatted with Jim C. after the Nora Cup awards and got the lowdown on what’s new at Sunday for 2012. The Model-C complete will be sporting a 22″ top tube with a great parts package. Check out this web edit for all the details.

We the People

According to the rep I spoke to, WTP dropped the 24″ for the lineup because “it wasn’t doing what we wanted it to in the market place”.  Sad really, considering WTP’s legacy of great 24″ bikes. Perhaps if they actually promoted their 24″ bike…say with a web edit or a picture of someone riding it…. they would’ve achieved the sales they were looking for. (See Where’s the promotion?” ) But who am I to say? Perhaps not marketing is the new marketing. What’s replacing it is their new 26″ Champ bike. If you’re a BMX Museum regular you will see the not-so-subtle design nods to the classic Champion frames from back in the day.

Stolen

Stolen is new on the 24″ scene for 2012 with a good first effort called the Saint. It comes complete with 7.25″ bars and double-wall rims.

DK Bicycles

DK seems to have a lot on the go these days 24″ wise. They’ve updated their popular Sentry cruiser with a 22″ top tube, their freestyle-oriented Cygnus is looking sharp and their long-awaited 24″ Professional frame (with the higher than usual bottom bracket) will be dropping in about a month. Their Evolution rims are also looking dope. Check out this clip of Trevor Gay explaining, with Brian Hunt‘s “help”, all the features and colors available in the Evolution rim.

Vodpod videos no longer available.


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Categories : Freestyle, New products, New School, Racing, shenanigans, Skatepark, street, Tomfoolery, Trails, Trails/Jumping

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