C-YA 2021

31 12 2021

Well, there goes another year in the record books.

It has been a year of ups and downs and a lot of us are still dealing with pandemic-related weirdness (depending on your locale) and just trying to do the best we can…and getting in as much riding as possible.

Personally, I’ve tried to take advantage of as many riding opportunities as possible….really, it’s the best way to keep sane.

With that being said, checking the calendar I’ve noticed that we’ve checked in at 13 years for this wee little blog about big BMX bikes. Thanks again for being along for the ride! I appreciate you for checking out my increasingly sporadic posts.

Hope y’all have a happy and prosperous new year!

Hit me up on the Gram if you haven’t already…I’m a bit more regular there these days.

Talk to you in 2022.

Cheers!

(Pic: unknown source, from Internet)


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GT puts the CRU in their new cruiser

27 10 2021

The nostalgia wave celebrating the movie RAD is in overdrive these days. Everyone from Etnies to Mongoose to Flite to you-name-it seems to have a marketing tie-in. And why not? RAD is a classic and something even the most hard-core of BMXers has a soft spot for.

The latest company to get on the Helltrack train is GT.

GT appears to have decided to really put the CRU in cruiser for this new bike and they showcased it this past weekend at the 3-day Classic BMX Festival the Frogtown Classic in Angel Camp, California.

With “RAD SERIES GT” on the the downtube , “CRU” in that iconic typeface on the fork and the CRU Jones-inspired pad set you know they’re really trying to pull on your heart strings for your favorite cheesy BMX movie.

Along with the classic touches, GT added some modern touches to this throwback cruiser. Peep the disc brake and comfy saddle to keep things safe and comfortable for rad dads flaunting their ride as they cruise the neighborhood.

Word on the street that these bikes are supposed to become available some time in December. I’m not sure how ambitious that is with supply chains being what they are but hey, just like in RAD, sometimes the hometown boy (or new bike buyer) has his day.


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Categories : New products, Old School, Rad, Uncategorized

Big Wheels, Big Fun

17 03 2021

Dan’s Comp recently dropped a video profiling the 26″ Stolen Zeke. The backstory is that the rider/employee featured (Michael Barrow) wanted a bigger bike to assist with his rehab for a broken foot/ankle.

The bike he chose was the Stolen Zeke. His thinking was the bigger wheels, geometry and more comfortable ride would get him back in BMX shape in no time.

As his ankle got stronger, he began jumping curbs and then riding the 26″ Zeke more aggressively. He soon discovered that what he thought would be a “fun toy” to rehabilitate his ankle was much more. He didn’t realize just how much fun he would have riding a 26″ freestyle-oriented cruiser could be.

In the intro, he touches on the bikelife movement, how versatile a 26″ is for commuting and store runs (while dropping manuals in the middle of the video) but then soon starts putting the Zeke through its paces in the streets, skatepark…you name it.

He even adds pegs to get some grind action in and the Zeke does not miss a beat. You can do some “serious riding” on this bike but the result is still smiles and fun.

Just goes to show, don’t judge a bike by it’s wheel size.

When it comes to BMX, you can have a seriously good time whatever size wheel you ride on.


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Categories : Freestyle, New products, New School, Skatepark, street

Bentonville Wants Bikers

2 03 2021

With work and home life so topsy-turvy these days, some cities and states (in the U.S.) are offering incentives to encourage folks who are working remotely to pick up stakes and move to their neck of the woods.

While there’s more than a handful of places offering relocation incentives, Northwest Arkansas might have the best offer on record at the moment….especially if you are a bicycling enthusiast.

Northwest Arkansas will give you $10,000 to move, plus throw in a bike (MTB or “Street”) to sweeten the deal! Northwest Arkansas has 162 miles of paved trails, the 37-mile Razorback Regional Greenway and the 322 miles of world-class mountain biking trails.

The city of Bentonville also has the The Railyard bike park which looks amazing!

Barry Nobles posted a video of him shredding the park recently and if that video is any indication of the caliber of biking parks and infrastructure in Arkansas then this offer seems extremely compelling.

(Video link: https://www.facebook.com/BarryNobles95/videos/therailyard-did-not-disappoint-rogers-arkansas-/417877396050423/)

Another notable to shred the park is none other than Mike “Hucker” Clark (See below).

Northwest Arkansas has put together quite the offer…I’m getting the feeling this could become quite the hotspot in the near future!

 


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Looking back at 2020 highlights

31 12 2020

It seems a little off to title this with “highlights”… given how strange a year it has been. That being said, there were a few highlights looking back at the year.

First off, the re-release of RAD. After years of waiting, it seemed like it would never happen. But it did! Granted, it wasn’t the release it deserved, as many viewings were planned that got subsequently cancelled. But true to form, Radness will find a way and when drive-in viewings took on added importance as the year wore on, RAD was shown at the drive-in screens of many lucky cities.

Berm Peak (formerly Seth’s Bike Hacks) featured some 24″ shredding. Could there be more in 2021? Let’s hope so!

S&M Bikes designed one of the coolest looking retro-inspired cruisers this year, the Covid Cruiser. I kinda dug these when I saw the prototypes but now that I’ve seen them built up….I really dig them. If you managed to snag one of these bad boys you are justifiably stoked!

Biking saw a boom year unlike anything in recent memory. Young and old got hooked on biking, including this 80-year bad ass that took up racing to keep in shape for his primary sport of vintage motorcycle racing.

GT came through with a 24″ version of the Dyno Compe. As Dyno fan, I was pretty stoked on this. Of course, partly to do with the item above (the bike boom) these promptly sold out. Word on the street more are on the way for 2021.

And finally, there was a lot of rad riding this year!

j1cam invert

(*This isn’t actually a 2020 picture but we shared it in 2020 so can we let it go on a technicality? Thanks)

Hope you got out as much as possible to ride.

Cheers to the New Year!


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Tuni turned it up at the Grands

3 12 2020

Don’t call it a comeback, he’s been here for years!

Turnell “Tuni” Henry showed the world last weekend that keeping those skills sharp means keeping the BMX dream alive right into your 60s.

At the 2020 USA BMX Grands, Tuni brought out a 26″ Supercross RS7 Fastback cruiser to show the 61 and over Cruiser class what was up. (He’s been rolling on a 26″ for a couple years now as noted in a 2018 issue of Pull magazine.)

The result? Tuni manualing, jumping and plain just setting the bar for what the older cruiser classes are all about.

He was putting dudes decades younger to shame.

Peep this screen grab:

Or this one:

Pretty rad.

Stoked to see him still ripping it up.


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Categories : New School, Old School, Racing

A dozen years

30 11 2020

Well look at that, a look over at the calendar indicates this little blog has hit another milestone…a dozen years of operation!

Really, where does the time go?

With so many things on hold this year, it seems like my posting has been more sporadic than ever…but I’m planning on getting on that horse again and delivering more timely offerings for consumption.

What I mean to say is like a dozen donuts, not every individual one is going to be your thing but collectively it’s hard to knock a box of 12 donuts.

And since I can’t share a few dozen donuts with y’all, I’m glad we could share a dozen years together talking about big wheeled BMX bikes.

Thanks for all the support, words of encouragement, meet ups, borrowed bikes, high fives and so much more.

Let’s keep those big wheels turning.

Cheers everybody!


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Categories : goofiness

Radness Reminder: 24s can fly

17 11 2020

It’s always good to get a gentle reminder.

Found this clip of @j1cam getting rad while I was going down an internet rabbit hole and was instantly stoked.

The height, the style….so good.

He’s bringing the heat on a 24″ Sunday Model C3 frame that he built up…why did Sunday drop them from the lineup?….they gotta bring those back!

And just for good measure, here’s a still photo of @j1cam getting inverted from the Sunday Bikes insta.

j1cam invert

That’s some radness right there….I wanna go ride now!


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Categories : Freestyle, Skatepark

Dyno delivers with the Pro Compe 24

29 09 2020

Selling out almost immediately when it hit shops this summer, the Dyno Pro Compe 24 is just what the doctor (and Dyno fans like myself) have ordered.

When Dyno made a comeback as a 29incher last year I was stoked but also a bit bummed that it wasn’t available as a 24.

Of course, as we reported then, there was rumors already afoot that if the 29″ version proved popular that a 24″ incarnation would follow. I was cautiously optimistic that it would happen…but like a scorned lover I had been burned by big promises from bike companies before and I didn’t want to get my hopes up too high.

Turns out, GT/Dyno were true to their word and the 24″ version of the Dyno did appear this year. And what a 24″ Dyno it is!

It harkens back to the year of our Lord, Lord Voelker. Inspired by the year 1987 when Voelker turned pro on Dyno and carved a path through the freestyle scene with big burly tricks and street moves that still inspire today.

It hits all the right style points too and it’s complemented by all the modern touches that make it a capable shredder for 24″ riders today.

Spec-wise, you can tell this 24″ is ready for more than cruising the beach:

  • Head tube angle:  74.5 degrees
  • Seat tube angle:    71 degrees
  • Top tube length:    22″
  • Chain stay length: 15.6″
  • Bottom Bracket:    13.92″

With that being said, I’m curious why GT wouldn’t have spec’ed it out with a slightly shorter chainstay. (To compare, the Stolen Saint 24 comes in at 15″ and the Sunday Model C shorter still).

Onto the looks department,  the classic 80s look is in full force: Pretzel bars, Power Series cranks, Dyno forks and Mallet stem. Heck, there’s even a Dyno pad set and pegs thrown in for good measure.

Of course, no bike worthy of the Lord would be nothing less than full 4130 Cro-mo, which this bike is.

All in all, I’m pretty stoked on this 24″ Dyno.

Now we just need to see more stock in the stores, maybe a new colorway or two and……maybe, just maybe, a full blown modern-day edit of Voelker shredding one of these in his classic Voelker fashion.  GT/Dyno….let’s make this happen!


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Categories : Freestyle, New products, Old School, Skatepark, street

80-year old racer is now a track regular

14 09 2020

The Covid era has influenced so many things this year.

Two big trends, the explosion of all things bike-related and the cancellation of major events, seems to have influenced an 80-year old  to take up BMX racing and become a staple at Electric City BMX in Montana.

Charlie Rossell took up the sport to stay in shape for his favored pastime, vintage motorcycle racing. With the cancellation of his vintage motorcycle races due to Covid uncertainty, he is still able to scratch that racing bug with BMX racing.

Pretty rad (and inspiring) if you ask me!

And don’t get me started on that classic GT jersey….this guy is doing it style!


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Categories : Old School, Racing

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