Rad Rides: not in Oprah’s book club

17 05 2012

I recently picked up a super cool book called, Rad Rides: The Best BMX Bikes Of All Time (Intercity, Gavin Lucas & Stuart Robinson).

And while it will probably never be an Oprah Book Club Selection, I think this a book that you’ll still want to check out.

Tracking the evolution of BMX bikes from the 70s to the modern day, it’s cool reminder of how far we’ve come in terms of BMX technology, and also how in many ways, we have stayed more or less true to the original designs from back in the day.

There are also cool one-off bikes, like Woody Itson’s gold-plated Hutch Trick Star.

And in the “modern era”, some of Jim Bauer’s cool custom projects.

24″ BMX gets some love too.

Whether it’s an OG Patterson cruiser, a 2009 S&M 24″ 38 Special or an early SE Floval Flyer…Rad Rides has got that covered too.

Overall, I’m pretty impressed by this book.

Just thumbing through the pages, I find myself constantly stopping and poring over each cool ride.

If you have any roots at all in BMX, you gotta check this book out.

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Is brakeless better?

25 03 2010

Brakeless riding is prevalent in just about every area of freestyle bmx these days….especially street riding. While definitely not as widespread in the 24″ scene, it is starting to creep in.

High-profile guys like Jim Bauer have been riding their 24s brakeless for a while now and more and more cruiser builds are showing up without brakes.

Brakeless advocates argue that going without brakes makes them better riders: smoother and more committed to making the trick rather than braking at the last minute.

Do you agree?

Is brakeless better for 24″ freestyle riding?

Is riding brakeless the secret to Jim Bauer‘s style?





Are shaved headtubes next for Model-Cs?

9 02 2010

Odyssey designer, Jim Bauer recently had a couple of bike checks posted on ESPN, including his tricked out Sunday Model-C.

Off the top, you’ll notice the tricked out, “Bauer-original” paint job and it’s brakeless setup. It’s also loaded with Odyssey and G-Sport components.

Sunday has been experimenting with a shaved headtube design and Jim’s ride has it! The headtube is slimmed down, with less of an hour-glass shape and the bearings of the internal headset are exposed.

Finally, a picture of the man with his bikes. That’s a Metal prototype on the right. This photo just begs for a caption that includes the phrase, “…from the wrong side of the tracks.”






Same trick, two different eras

22 09 2009

Some tricks are timeless. The bikes and location may change but the feeling never does. Jim Bauer with classic style that spans two different eras of BMX. (Check out Bauer’s photostream on flickr for more.)

no-hander bauer cruiser





Jim Bauer gets things done on a 24″

26 08 2009

No brakes, no pads, no limits.  Jim Bauer from Odyssey takes care of business on his Model-C.

Nose_bonk_Jim-500x281

Check out the Sunday site for another shot of Bauer–this time tabling out of the ditch.