When you’re using a tool from Park you know you can rely on it.
I like using them because it appeals to the bike geek in me to be using the same tools that bike mechanics use.
That’s why I was so stoked to get the Park Tool PZT-2…their Pizza Tool!…for Christmas from my good friend Lynn.
Featuring a large diameter stainless steel cutting wheel and a large handle for easy grip, this thing cuts through pizza like nobody’s business!
I tried it recently on a Delissio Hawaiian Pizza and it worked like a charm. If you’re into bikes and you like pizza, I highly recommend the Park Pizza Tool.
So before we ring in the new year, let’s check out the top ten things that went down in 2011.
10. Sunday and S&M kicked off the year by introducing two of the most of the popular frames out there right now: the Sunday Wave-C and S&M 24″ Dirt Bike.
9. This was quickly followed by news that a lot of people had been waiting for: 24″ forks with front brake mounts. S&M was first to market with their 24 “Pitchforks with 990 mounts which was quickly followed by Sunday’s 24″ forks with 990 mounts (although they were testing prototypes much earlier).
8. Some great 24″ flatland vids surfaced almost immediately after from Joe Cicman and Danny Sirkin. (Could this be related somehow to #9?) Heck, even flatland legend Bobby Fisher surfaced a few months later riding flatland on a Sunday Model-C.
6. “Older” guys continued to make their presence felt in BMX on their 24″ bikes. From the older cruiser classes in racing to a skatepark rider proving that age is just a number it’s great to see that there is no age cut-off for having fun!
4. Mongoose, Stolen and InDust introduced new 24s to the scene. Great to see companies responding to the demand for bigger wheeled BMXs.
3. Cruiser Revolution celebrated its 3-year anniversary this year. A great milestone and a testament to the great cruiser community that is continuing to grow.
2. The 4130 rides. I was lucky enough to participate in the 4130 Sin Series ride in Las Vegas back in September and it was one of the best times I have ever had on my bike. Bombing the streets with a couple hundred of your fellow BMXers is something everyone has to do at least once.
1. Having a good time on your bike. Sure, it’s fun to debate the pros and cons of how tall your handlebars are, talk about the latest parts and comment on the latest video edit but when it comes right down to it, when you’re out there riding none of that really matters. Whether its with your bros, your kids or just by yourself, you can leave your worries behind and let the good times roll as soon as you step on those pedals.
For many of us this means having a beer or two with some good friends.
But what happens when you reach for a cold one and realize that you can’t find the bottle opener? (And you’re drinking the good stuff without the twist-off caps..)
Jon is 47-year old rider with great dirt jumping skills that only got into the BMX in his late 30s.
In this video, he not only provides some great dirt jumping tips, he even talks about why he prefers a 24″ bike over hard tail MTBs and 20″ BMX bikes. Definitely worth watching.
I went to a Supercross event a few years back and was impressed with how they started “the show”.
To kick things off they had:
Pyro
A light show
Music to get the crowd hyped.
It got me wondering why things like that hadn’t been incorporated into some of the bigger Nationals. Surely the ABA Grand Nationals, billed as the “greatest race on earth”, warrants this kind of treatment.
But year after year, it sames like just a slight variation of what’s gone on before. To be sure, the Grands is still a big deal and exciting to watch–if you’re into racing–but it lacks a certain “wow” factor.
Now compare clips of the Grands (or any other major race lately) to this clip of a recent race in St. Etienne, France.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
This race has:
Pyro
A light show
Music to get the crowd hyped.
What else?
Stands packed with spectators.
This my friends, is what a National should look like.
(…and if we could add the Monster Energy girls into the mix…well, that couldn’t hurt either.)
Sure the weather outside is frightful in many places right now but if you’re fortunate enough to have a good indoor park nearby count your lucky stars.
Joyride 150 is my home away from home during the winter months and it is a godsend. With jumps, a skatepark area, pumptracks and cross-country stuff there’s a little something for everyone.
Heading out there for a weekly session is how I keep myself sane over the winter. While I miss hitting the local trails, I do kinda look forward to the laidback weekend sessions that happen during the colder months at Joyride.
As an added bonus, Drew Bezanson is a regular there. As you might gather from the video below, that keeps things pretty interesting as well.
This year, with the RAD movie celebrating its 25th anniversary, complete with a big event in Cochrane, Alberta and word of a behind-the-scenes documentary in the works, it looks like the affection BMXers have for this movie is as strong as ever.
Now to add another log to the Helltrack fire, NYC dance group Holy Ghost is featuring a new interpretation of the infamous “bicycle boogie” scene in their video, “I wanted to tell her” (a remake of the Ministry song of the same name).
Featuring a large diameter stainless steel cutting wheel and a large handle for easy grip, this thing cuts through pizza like nobody’s business!
cruiser revolution 