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

22″ bike: could you lose a couple inches?

14 04 2010

Maybe Al Pacino’s character said it best On Any Sunday: “Life is a game of inches“.

This quote keeps coming to mind when I think about FACTION‘s 22 inch wheel bike.

It’s definitely an interesting concept. A sized up BMX bike, bigger than a standard 20 inch, smaller than a 24 inch cruiser.

Is it the future?

Hard to say…but my guess is probably not.

Is 22" the new black? Faction Zeitgeist bike

Some big-name riders have been quoted lending support to the concept. Guys like Eddie Fiola and Mat Hoffman have said they think it’s a cool, progressive concept. However, it’s interesting to note that Hoffman, despite owning a bike company, has never produced a 22 inch bike himself.

Does it make sense to come out with a new “standard” when there’s currently so much choice in 20 and 24 inch bikes? What happens if you break the forks or wreck a wheel? Seems like it would be a pain to get replacements.

What do you think?

Is a 22″ wheel  the answer for bigger guys?  Is it a good compromise between the 20 and 24 worlds? Can the BMX industry support a new wheel size?


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

Vert: the final frontier for cruisers?

8 01 2010

Cruisers have proven themselves at the trails, track, park and the street. They’ve also shown that they are more than capable flatland machines.

That’s why I find it a bit surprising that we haven’t seen more cruisers on vert.  Pictures and web edits are few and far between.

But I’ve done some digging…and this is what I came up with.

If you’re old school, you probably remember this BMX Action magazine cover, featuring R.L. Osborn and Eddie Fiola busting a couple of flatties on the T.O.L. ramp on some 24″ test bikes.

Then there was this picture of Joe Rich tearing up the Terrible One ramp on a Volume Sledgehammer. (I love this picture…awesome style.)

More recently, Ollie Sandles posted the following web edit of Peter Beer shredding a concrete bowl on his cruiser.

Will we see more photos and footage of cruisers on vert? I think it’s just a matter of time.


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Categories : Freestyle, New School, Old School

Old school style, new school technology

3 02 2009

Ever since I saw the first couple pics that came out featuring the Knight Proformer 24″ Freestyle BMX Cruiser frame I’ve been anxious to see one built up. Styled after the iconic GT Pro Performer frame, it had the righteous combination of old school looks, new school specs and cruiser sizing.  Well, at long last I have stumbled across some pics of the Proformer built up and I must say, I’m pretty stoked. Someone on OS BMX posted a full-on Eddie Fiola tribute build using the Knight Proformer. This thing is sooo sweet.

knight-proformer

I had a GT ProPerformer back in the day and this brings back a lot of memories.  It’s in the intro to RAD for pete’s sake! According to the Knight site, the Proformer was a limited edition run and is already sold out…I’ve got my fingers crossed that more of these frames have gotten into good hands and more cool builds like this will surface.

Almost makes me want to dig out my old copy of the GT Demo Tape…okay maybe not.


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Categories : Freestyle, New School, Old School, Rad