Chockablock cruiser coverage in Pull mag

28 10 2018

The October issue of USABMX/BMXCANADA’s Pull Magazine follows in the footsteps of last year’s “Cruiser Issue” with pretty much chockablock Cruiser coverage.

The cover is a good one, with National #1 Cruiser rider Major Marshall Gehrke busting out a sweet tabletop, and it is just the start of the cruiser goodness.

Interviews with both Gehrke and National #1 Cruiser Girl Cruiser champ Maddie DeSantis are big features in the mag.

I wasn’t that familar with Gehrke’s background but the interview clearly shows he’s shifting his energies more to freestyle these days. Judging by the cover (and his Instagram) he certainly not afraid to bust out some style and catch air over jumps…so maybe an X-Games medal is not that far off either!

The “Clipped-In” bike check features FallRisk’s Chris Sutton tricked out SSQuared CEO cruiser as well. (It’s pretty trick with a disc brake and carbon fiber wheels.)

Rounding things out is a 6-page feature/buyer’s guide about the the 26″ cruiser revival.

The article talks about the origins of the cruiser class…back when everyone was on 26ers. Of course, as we all know (and if you don’t, check out this post on 24″ RRS cruiser) 24″ cruisers ended up taking over and dominating the cruiser class.

With that being said, we’ve been reporting on this resurgence of interest in 26″ cruiser for a long time now. Back in 2014, we said that 26″ cruisers were having a moment. And, as the years went on, they were making it last.

These days it’s not uncommon to see 26″ dirtjumpers and 26″ cruisers racking up with 24″ cruisers in the older cruiser  classes. Heck, as Pull puts it in the article’s intro:

“Daylight’s Turnell Henry, a BMX Hall of Famer who once raceed on a 26″ Nomura in the early 80s, is now competing on a 26″ Daylight…and winning on it.”

So yes, as the magazine’s cover says, things have come full circle. Good to see the racing world (by way of Pull Magazine) acknowledge it.

All in all, some solid cruiser coverage from Pull Magazine.

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Categories : New School, Old School, Racing

A cruiser by any other name

29 05 2017

As many of you know, the BMX cruiser class had its orgins with the classic beach cruiser.

In fact, up until Craig Kundig (of RRS bikes) put one of his racers on a 24″, race cruisers were generally 26″ bikes.

Yet with the many changes and improvements made to 24″ race bikes over the ensuing decades, the “cruiser” moniker stuck.

BMX legend Eric Rupe was around for those early days (and has continued racing through to the present day) seems to think that the “cruiser” name should be changed.

In the recent PULL magazine “Cruiser Edition”, Rupe was quoted as saying the following:

An interesting take…yet granted, something I have also pondered.

It reminded me of a conversation I had a few years ago at Interbike.

I was talking to a vendor that produced beach cruiser-related accessories.

She saw that my tag read “Cruiser Revolution” and asked about it. I explained that my site covered “BMX cruisers” not the “beach cruisers” that she made parts for.

She got upset with me and said “those aren’t ‘cruisers’! You need to change your name.”

I laughed it off but she seemed a little too hung up on it so I moved along to another booth.

To me, while there definitely has been a revolution in the design and quality of modern-day BMX cruisers (see what I did there?) I think maintaining the “cruiser” name is a good thing…it reminds us of the how this type of bike came about but it also lets us redefine what it means as the years go on.


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Categories : Freestyle, New School, Old School, Racing

PULL magazine dedicates issue to Cruisers

17 05 2017

The May issue of Pull Magazine showed up on my doorstep yesterday (on #TwoFourTuesday appropriately enough).

I had been waiting on this one with some anticipation ever I since I got word that they would be dedicating the issue to Cruisers.

Drew Motley , 2016 National #1 Cruiser Champ,  graces the cover.

Inside, Motley also gets a fairly in-depth interview talking about a whole range of things, including how Motley bested the comp (at the Grands) with a belt drive.

Another big part of the issue is their list of the 40 most iconic cruisers.

I think they made the right call (at least from a racing perspective) for the #1 placeholder.

The RRS 24 was truly a game changer in the cruiser scene.

Craig Kundig’s decision to put one of his racers on a 24″ instead of the more commonplace 26″ bikes (of the time) truly set a new path for race cruisers.

However, I’m bit a surprised by what got left off the list…but I guess you need to generate a little controversy with the readership to get people talking about it.

Plenty of other cruiser-related stuff in the issue for you take a gander at too. I’ll let you check those out on your own.

All in all, a solid issue by PULL.

Nice to see them giving cruisers some love.


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Pull Magazine shows cruisers some love

24 04 2014

As mentioned back in the Monday minutes post, Pull Magazine put out a teaser saying that they were releasing a special Cruiser Issue this month.

Well, it finally came in the mail today and I have to say, I’m kinda impressed.

Pull magazine tends to be ho-hum but it looks like they stepped up their efforts a bit with this issue.

There’s an editorial encouraging people to race in the cruiser classes, a cruiser shootout, an ad featuring George Goodall on a Redline 24 and an in-depth interview with Cruiser champ, Shawn DiPrete.

Pull Cruiser Issue Cover

I was a bit disappointed with the cruiser shootout…it was not comprehensive enough…missing out on some big-name race cruisers and failing to go into much detail about the different bikes.

The Shawn DiPrete article was great though.

It’s pretty rare for a magazine to give a serious interview to a cruiser guy…but it was a interesting read.  Pretty cool to find out what drives a guy like DiPrete.

Shawn DiPrete Interview

If you’re a USA BMX/BMX Canada member this mag is probably already in your mailbox. If you’re not a member, you can check it out on iTunes.


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Categories : New School, Racing

Monday minutes

7 04 2014

It’s the start of the week and there’s already a bunch of news to check out.

Pull magazine/USA BMX dropped a teaser on their facebook page recently about their “2014 Cruiser issue” set to hit USA BMX/BMX Canada members’ mailboxes any day now. According to the promo blurb, the mag will:

[g]o Inside the mind of a Champion with National #1 Cruiser Shawn DiPrete. Check out the top cruisers in the industry and some awesome race action at the Cajun Nationals.

Haven’t received my copy yet, but nice to see this type of feature.

Pull Cruiser Issue

Still on the magazine theme, Mark Summers, co-owner of Joyride 150 gets some well-deserved coverage from Bike magazine. Check out  Joyride 150’s instagram page for more.

joyride 150

Cale Avery Schindler, who wowed us with his creative riding in last week’s Clip du jour, is now rolling on a Sunday Wave-C. He mentioned that he was in the market for a new frame (in the comments of that post)…looks like it didn’t take him long.

Cale Avery Schindler Wave C(Pic from the 24 26 and 29 inch BMX Cruisers Only facebook group)

Finally, to kick the week off right…check out these two little 4-year old shredders from NZ, Jake and Theo riding (and crashing) their bikes. Looks like they’re having a blast.  So awesome.

 

 

 

 

 


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