Ride the lightning

31 03 2023

Is your ride missing a little zip? Or maybe what it really needs is a little more zap.

Oh zap!

Indeed, BMX today, in general, needs more zap.

What in God’s green earth am I talking about, you say? Well, I’m talking about the veritable lightning in a bottle that the iconic Zap Pads brought to an 80s-era BMX bike.

If you were a kid in the golden years of BMX and tore out pages of the mighty BMX Action magazine to hang on your wall….well, you probably had one or two Zap Pad ads featuring a steely-eyed, all business Greg Hill staring back at you with his Zap Pad adorned GT (and later years a GHP).

Yes, you too young grommet. You could be like “The Businessman” Greg Hill and be as fast as lightning out on the track.

Or least look good trying.

Some of that Zap Pad magic…that lightning in a bottle, or should I say pad set, recently starting re-aappearing on retro-fab completes like the SE OM Flyer.

Later, the Fit CR-29, would also sport that familiar Zap Pad-esque lighting bolt as well.

Pretty flashy, huh?

So flashy you would think they would be offered as an after market padset, right?

Surprisingly, they were only sold as part of the bike…not separately.

What a letdown!

But like a bolt of lightning…..

One day I came across a post with a picture of the City Grounds X SE Bikes Collab Big Ripper.

Like the OM Flyer and Fit CR29, it too sported a Zap Pad-like pad set.

When I posted a comment saying to the effect, “Sigh, I wish these pads were offered separately”….I was shocked to see a reply moments later, saying yes, yes, these pads are actually available separately.

Hot damn!

It didn’t take long for more my order for the SE Bikes SE X CG Padset to go in!

Couldn’t be more stoked to get ahold of these.

I’ll finally be able to ride the lightning!

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Categories : New products, Old School

Gettin’ radical on the Haro Group 1 RS2

23 05 2018

Haro continues to re-up the retro with their bike lineup…this time with the soon-to-be-released Group 1 RS2.

This 80s-inspired cruiser is going to be available in late summer in 24, 26 & 29 inch models.

To get the hype going, Haro team manager Joey Cobbs took the 24″ Group 1 RS2 for a ride and shared the results on Instagram and Facebook.

And despite being a race-style cruiser, Cobbs had no problem getting his shred on. In fact, it kinda reminded me of when the BMX Action test crew would take race cruisers and test them by taking them jumping and riding half pipes.

Cobbs was definitely in more of a “street session” mode vs. “snapping gates” mode with this ride.

Which makes these pictures so much more fun.

Hope to see more teaser shots (and maybe a video?…wink,wink; nudge, nudge) like this in the future for Haro’s new cruiser.

 


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Categories : Freestyle, New products, shenanigans

A piece of your action

20 06 2012

Just when you start thinking, “Where’s a good action shot when you need one?”

Pat Joubert comes through with two great shots of him tearing things up on his Liquid.

Check out this great shot (taken a secret location) by Mike Lawless.

Or this one by Pat’s friend Jeff.  Serious air time at the public Greenlake trails in Seattle.

So rad.

(By the way, the whole time I was typing this I had Piece of your Action by Motley Crue playing in my head.)


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Categories : New School, Trails, Trails/Jumping

Everything old is new again

2 06 2012

Got the latest issue of Pull magazine  from USA BMX today.

Pull magazine covers are typically yawners but this month they did something interesting.

Working with Team Redman, they piled the Redman team into the company car to recreate an iconic 1978 Bicycle Motocross Action magazine cover.

If you’re old school and/or a BMX nerd, seeing this cover probably brought back memories of this cover, shot by none other than icon-in-his-own-right Bob “Oz” Osborn.

Actually, the whole “flashback” feel seems to (unintentionally…I think) run throughout the rest of the magazine as well.

Flip to the center-spread and you’ll find a two-page ad for chromoly forks…. It’s like 1987 all over again!  With month after month of ads featuring the latest and greatest carbon-fiber wonder fork, seeing an ad — a two-page one at that — for a chromoly fork seems quite out of the ordinary (but in my mind, definitely a refreshing change).

Then check out the back cover.

A Crupi ad featuring cruiser speed demon David Archibald promoting their cruiser lineup.

Seems like it was just yesterday that BMX Plus! ran an article talking about “The Death of the 24”. Now here we are, just a couple of years later and a major race company is buying up prime ad space to promote “the largest selection of cruiser frames and parts anywhere.”  Seems like the rumors of the 24’s demise were greatly exaggerated…and the popularity of cruisers are just as strong as they ever were.

The longer I stay in this BMX game, the more I see things come and go…and then come back again. Anybody else have the same experience?


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Categories : New products, New School, Old School, Racing, shenanigans

Would Cru make the same choice today?

10 08 2011

In a key plot point in the movie Rad, Cru Jones makes the life-changing decision to postpone taking his SATs to take part in the big race at Helltrack. He does it because he thinks he’s got a chance at winning against all the “factory hot shots”.

Did he make the right choice?

It seemed like the right idea at the time. Factory BMX racers seemed to have it all back in the 80s. Driving Porsches, international travel, BMX Action magazine covers…you name it. They were living the high life.

Winning the big race would be Cru’s ticket to living the dream.

But today? I’m not so sure skipping the SATs would’ve been the right choice.

Check out the check that Denzel Stein, Redline factory hotshot, is holding for a recent win…$1400.

Compare this with the check that Team Kachinsky (Brian Kachinsky, Corey Martinez, Sean Sexton and Will Stroud) is holding after a win at the recent Nike 6.0 contest…$14,000. (Sure it’s split 4 ways…but c’mon that’s a much sweeter payday.)

Today, he probably would’ve been wise to skip the race altogether and focus on perfecting his bicycle boogie skills.



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Categories : Freestyle, goofiness, New School, Old School, Racing, Skatepark, street

How to make BMX racing big again

29 07 2011

If you spend any time at all on the BMX racing forums you’ll notice that inevitably, before long,  the subject of “How to grow BMX” will come up.  Another variation of this thread is “Why isn’t racing as popular as it was in the 80s?”

People will argue that you have to one thing or another…from doing presentations at local schools to embracing the whole Supercross track phenomenon.

The trouble is, none of things is doing much to grow the sport.  Yet time after time the same ideas keep getting trotted out.

The solution might be simpler than the collective BMX racing community thinks.

Get a friend hooked on BMX.

Wasn’t it Chris Moeller who said back in the early 90s that the way to make BMX grow was to build up a bike and give it to a friend? (Actually, I’m not 100% sure on this quote but the  research department is out on a patio somewhere right now enjoying a pint so let’s just go with it, ok?)

Matt Shelley got Malcolm hooked on BMX

Matt Shelley, from BMXActionOnline, employs a similar strategy. He chats up folks at the track, all the while with the agenda of getting them out racing.

Check out Matt’s latest success story:

 I met Malcolm at the Fresno Nationals last year. His kid races 13 challenger. We got to talking and he loves bikes, but never considered BMX until he saw us gray beards having so much fun. I dropped some science on him and figured he would do what he will with the advice.

Fast forward to the start of this season… there he is with a craigslist bike, a license, turning hot laps, and getting a ton of encouragement from his son. He admits to having a long way to go (his gates are horrid, natch), but through sheer force of early (and maximum) participation–He is currently leading the state series in 50-54 cruiser!

Nice going Matt (and Malcolm)!

Could it be that easy?

I think so.

I’ve had a few instances myself where friends and friends of friends have approaching me and inquired about getting a bike. Usually it starts with, “I see how much fun you’re having…”

So if you’re concerned about “growing the sport”…talk to your friends about BMX…and build them a bike if you have spare parts lying around.

Spread the word and get your friends out riding. Once you do that, this “growing the sport” business will take care of itself.


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Categories : goofiness, New School, Racing

Edward Koenning’s blog is addictive

8 07 2010

I have been checking out Edward Koenning‘s blog, When are you going to get a real bike? for a little while now and I have to say I’m getting pretty hooked.

A big part of his blog is digging up vintage BMX magazine pictures/spreads and commenting on them. I often find myself tripping down memory lane when I read one of his posts. I start remembering where I was when I saw or read it, how I devoured every word of the mag (keep in mind this was before the Internet) and how much it had an influence on me.

I was pretty stoked to see him pull out this gem recently. An awesome berm slide by RL Osborn from BMX Action‘s “24 Wars” cruiser shootout article.

I was pretty stoked on this spread too. Eddie Fiola with a perfect table top air (on vert!) and “The Culligan Man”  doing a big jump on a race cruiser to see how it would hold up.

If you’ve been into BMX for a while, When are you going to get a real bike? is definitely worth checking out.


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Categories : Freestyle, goofiness, Old School, Racing, Trails/Jumping

Cruisers get the cover of BMXer magazine

8 06 2010

Most BMX magazines are, at best, hot and cold on cruisers. Not many are bold enough to put them on the cover. BMX Action did back in the day. These days? You’d be hard-pressed to find cruisers getting a mention, much less the cover.

That’s why it’s such a cool surprise to see BMXer magazine stepping up and putting George Goodall and Carly Dyar, the two national number one cruiser riders, on the cover.

Good on ya BMXer for stepping up!



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Categories : New School, Racing

How can you not love this vid?

7 04 2010

I smile every time I watch this….really what’s not to like?

Jam packed with 80s freestyle legends, Jon Faure shredding on his cruiser, a weird close-up of Wade Nelson and a quirky soundtrack.

The soundtrack alone takes me right back to my teenage years when I used to read BMX Action and Freestylin’ cover to cover.

Vodpod videos no longer available.

more about “Old School BMX Reunion 2010“, posted with vodpod

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Categories : Freestyle, goofiness, Old School, shenanigans, Trails/Jumping

Andy, Lew and Spike exposed

29 05 2009

If you were a BMX kid in the 80s and 90s, Freestylin’ magazine was your bible.  Before that it was BMX Action magazine.  Put out by Wizard publications they set the standard for BMX magazines everywhere. Regretfully, by the early 90s they were no more.  There’s some debate about caused the demise of these great magazines…you can google a bit and find out the theories.

Recently, with a lot of hype, the limited-edition Freestylin’ book was released by the original editorial team of Andy, Lew and Spike.  It was an attempt to capture those early, heady days when freestyle bmx came into its own.  It’s a pretty good look back from what I’ve seen.  But it didn’t capture everything. Steve Emig, a former staffer, seems to have had his experience there glossed over..well, actually left out of the book completely.  Feeling miffed, he decided to post some of stuff that was left out of the book….and it’s some of the funniest, most addictive BMX-related writing you’ll find on the web. Topics range from Windy’s Boobs to riding with Craig Grasso.  This is like the True Hollywood Stories of Wizard Publications. You have to check freestylinmagtales out.


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Categories : Freestyle, shenanigans, Tomfoolery

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