The news was a shocker when it came down earlier this month.
Randy Franklin had passed away.
I met Randy at the 4130 Sin Series in Vegas back in 2011.
I’m not sure how we got to talking but it seemed like we were like old friends right from the get-go.
I would run into Randy at subsequent Vegas rides and it would be the same thing…we would pick up like old friends….ribbing each other, laughing, just having a good time.
It seems like every picture I have of those rides, Randy has his arm slung around my shoulder.
He was definitely one of the guys I would hope to run into when I was in Vegas for those rides.
The news of his passing hit me hard.
I keep telling myself that I’m not going to be sad that he’s gone…but to celebrate the times I got to ride and hang out with him.
Hot damn…the world keeps spinning and the calendar pages keep turning.
And here we are: 8 years old.
Thank you so much for hanging with me all these years.
Too many cool things have happened as a result of writing this thing, it’s hard to keep track of them all…but they’re a constant source of stoke…and for that I’m eternally thankful.
Cheers to y’all for the positive comments, words of encouragement and all the good times.
You’re all aces to me.
Thanks again…and let’s see if we can keep this thing rollin’ for a few more years.
Cheers everybody!**
*Special thanks to The Mayor of Hollywood for sporting a #8 on his Robinson Cruiser in anticipation of this important milestone.)
**Two “cheers” in one post…I think I may have started celebrating early
I’m still coming to terms with the news that Dave Mirra is gone.
When I saw the news (a friend had posted a news story) I didn’t want to click the link because I didn’t want to believe it was true.
But it was true.
And as more and more people heard the news, the internet lit up with pictures and stories detailing the impact that Dave had made on so many lives.
A number of people have said it felt like a punch to the gut to hear the news…it sure felt that way to me.
After watching his BMX career, from a kid with exceptional bike skills to X-Games superstar, it’s hard to fathom that he’s gone now far too early.
Seeing all the pictures and video on social media felt bittersweet. Remembering all the amazing things in his career, where we were when it happened and the times when we crossed paths.
For me, it took me back to the ’94 BS Finals (the Hoffman contests that predated the X-Games). I had road tripped there with friends and it was one of those BMX contests where all the big names were going off.
Dave Mirra was no exception.
As BMX Plus put it:
By watching Dave ride in practice, you could tell that there was no way he was going to let anyone beat him. Mirra lofted huge transfers, pulled a flip twist, went for a tailwhip flip, carved a tailwhip air about seven feet up and 5 feet across between two street ramps and wasted two wheels on his way to first place. (BMX Plus, March 1995)
I was snapping photos for the zine I did at the time and managed to capture Dave Mirra during the run that won him first place.
At one point in that run, something went wrong with his bike.
Not missing a beat, he grabbed Todd Lyon‘s bike (his then team-mate) and proceeded to uncork a huge flair/flip twist.
The fact that Lyons’ bike was set up like a stretched out race bike (notice the caged pedals in the pic) vs. Mirra’s freestyle setup just served to up the difficulty factor.
Seeing that moment (at about 0:12) in the video above brought that moment back in vivid clarity.
He would go on to become one of the most dominant athletes in X-Games history but as many of the stories that have been shared show, he still made time for the kids that looked up to him.
As Chris Doyle wrote yesterday in touching Facebook post:
He was larger than life and he still took the time to say a few words to an overwhelmed kid who had nothing to offer. It meant the world to me and I will never forget that day.
As I work through all the emotions of this difficult situation, I’m trying to remember the adage that we don’t honor him in mourning his death but in celebrating his life.
Here are all things that I came across in the show that didn’t fit nicely into a post with anything else.
Without further ado…
“Thin to win” race gear: It seems race gear is getting lighter and thinner than ever this year. One example, is these Troy Lee Designs Sprint shorts. I have an earlier iteration of the Sprint shorts (which were already quite light) and these seem even lighter still. Fly and other manufacturers seem to have gone this route too. Curious to see if tear-resistance is compromised at all with gear getting thinner and lighter.
Tioga’s OS20 tire: (To be truthful, I missed this at the show but the eagle eyes over at BMXNews didn’t….) The BMX racing world’s attempt to produce an “almost 22” tire/wheel setup to get around the max wheel size rules of the sanctions. Tioga had a foldable 0S20 tire on display at the show with plans for a full unveil at the upcoming USBMX Grandnationals.
The Free Agent Ratio 24: It appears that Free Agent is still sticking with race geometry on this supposedly freestyle-oriented cruiser. Sure, it is full cro-mo and has those Kenda tanwall tires that look awesome…but this bike literally looks like they choose a new paint color every year and then call it a day. Would really like to see some updated geometry on this model.
That’s it for this year’s Interbike coverage! Thanks for checking out this week’s posts.
The change in venue from the Sands to the Mandalay Bay wasn’t the only change afoot this year in regards to the annual Interbike tradeshow in Las Vegas.
This year brought out a new assortment of big wheel BMX bikes from companies that usually don’t put out a cruiser model.
First one that we’ll look at is the 26″ Fairdale Taj. Wrapped up in all its old school charm is a cro-mo bike that is meant for hopping curbs and popping wheelies. Despite being the name-sake of a big name freestyle legend, this bike is built for laid back fun and cruising the streets in style.
Ride Magazine also has a video of Taj explaining the features of the 26″ Taj with Journey playing in the background to add a touch of class to the proceedings. Check that out on the Ride site.
Another notable is The Simpsons/Cult Duffman 24. We got the heads up about the Duffman 24 right before leaving for Interbike and it looked very nice up close. According to the Cult rep that I spoke to, these bikes are available right now…so if you’re interested, I suggest contacting your Cult dealer asap.
And in surprise move that I don’t think a lot of people saw coming…Felt debuted their 22″ wheel Catch 22 bike for 2014.
After looking at their 24″ Brink model and contemplating whether a redesign was in order, they opted to drop the Brink 24 from their lineup and put together a sub-$500 (US) complete 22″ bike.
Featuring a main-frame Cro-mo frame with a 22″ top tube (check out complete specs on the Felt site), it’s designed to let someone interested in trying out a 22″ bike to so without dropping the big bucks to build up a 22″ bike from another manufacturer (which tend to be more high-end offerings like the kits available from S&M).
Again, a bold move by Felt and one that adds further momentum to the growing 22″ wheel movement.
cruiser revolution 