If you’re new to dirt jumping or your skills are just a little rusty, Jon Faure has some pointers for you in his new video, “How to ride dirt jumps when you suck.”
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.
Check it out.
Vodpod videos no longer available.Is the Liquid Feedback the go-to 24″ for trails this year?
All signs point to yes.
Erik Hortsch puts his new Liquid through its paces in this Vimeo video edit.
Vodpod videos no longer available.
*Warning- Borderline hippy post*
I hit the trails after work today and had a good session with a couple of MTBers that were there. Between runs we were chatting and it struck me that despite all the media hype about caring for the planet, the green movement, etc. I couldn’t have been more aware of and in tune with nature then I was right then.
We were talking about which trees were leaning more than usual, which ones had fallen and how it felt good to be back out in the dirt after a long winter. We took a few more runs. Afterward we could hear someone aways off ripping through the trails on one of those obnoxiously loud motorized mini-bikes. One of the MTBers started yelling at him to get off the trails because he was wrecking them.
Looking around you could see why it bothered him so much…all around groomed jumps, pump lines…hours of collective sweat and effort…and this guy is chewing up trails that so many people rode and put in so much time to maintain.
In a roundabout way, what I’m trying to say is a day at the trails is perfect way to get in touch with what I think was the original intent of Earth Day. You can’t ride trails and not be aware of the environment.
Whether it’s keeping the place clear of garbage and debris, working together to fix a section, trimming tree branches or just yelling at guy for not being respectful of the trails…it’s all about showing love for the dirt (earth) and all it gives to us.
My friend Glen has been riding and building trails for as long as I’ve known him (which is a very long time). Nice tuck at the Glenridge trails in St. Catharines, Ontario.
Liquid Bikes has a new site up that looks great! It includes a blog and an online store to make it easy to pick up a Liquid frame or bars.
While the store appears to be set up for US shipping only right now, you can email for details and get sorted for international orders.
I like checking it out for the great trails clips that Jeremy posts from time to time.
Like this one:
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Spotted a great thread on VintageBMX.com yesterday called I rode a cruiser tonight at the track…and it was fun! written by a guy that usually rides only a 20″.
Sounds like he’s seen the light:
I rode my friend’s cruiser just to get some laps in. Well I ended up riding it all night. I absolutely loved every second of it. Jumps smooth, manuals soooo easy. I was just totally in love.
I had a similar experience…after riding a 20″ for most of my BMX “career”, I visited a BMX track while staying with my girlfriend’s family and was lent a Haro 24 to take a couple laps. It felt amazing and couldn’t believe what I had been missing…it’s been cruisers for me ever since.
If you’re reading this site you’re probably already a convert but it’s still nice to see people showing some love to cruisers on other sites too. The VintageBMX.com thread is currently up to 3 pages, so check it out and join the conversation. Spread the word…Cruisers rock!
One of the people participating in the thread, BS, also posted a picture of himself taking care of business as part of the discussion. Love it because it reminds of lazy summer afternoon trails sessions…nice!
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.
The Giant Method 24 doesn’t get a lot of attention but if you’re looking for a well-spec’d, roomy bike for trails this could be the ticket. Featuring a a 22 inch top tube, this is probably one of the longest production 24s out there (not counting pure race bikes).
It features a traditional low bottom bracket and a slightly mellow 73 degree head angle, so it’s going to feel good dirt jumping but less so at the skatepark. It would also make a good race bike if you’re not to obsessed with how much your bike weighs.
This pic was “borrowed” from ridemonkey.com…it’s someone that goes by Cru Jones…no, not that Cru Jones…showing what the Method 24 is capable of in the dirt.
For 2010, Giant has dispensed with the cool tan & bronze look for something that looks a bit reminscent of the new 2010 Redline race bikes. Not sure what the thinking was behind that….while this look might be ok at the track, it looks a little bit too much for the trails…where I have feeling that a bike like this would see more action. No word on if the geometry has changed…Giant seems to have removed the specifications tab from their bike pages and I can’t seem to find the 2010 information anywhere else.
In somewhat related news: you may have seen the news that Giant is dropping some heavy hitters from their team, including Taj, Corey Bohan and Heath Pinter. It’s tough to see such talented riders losing their sponsorships so I’m hoping they find the support they need to keep riding and stay part of the scene. Giant’s Chris Arriga has gone on record that there will be a 2010 BMX program at Giant, complete with a team, in the new year but so far no details have been given.
Sutty, the guy behind a cool blog from the UK called but the regrets are killing me posted an update recently with some cool riding shots. With this weekend being a bit of bust riding-wise, these pictures at least got me thinking good riding thoughts and were a good reminder that we are on the cusp of warmer weather and prime trails riding time.
Looking forward to some more updates (and pics) from the UK! Keep up the good work Sutty.
Add Felt Bikes to the growing list of bike companies to put out a 24″ bike for trails, street and park riding. The Felt Brink is a good addition to their lineup as it provides an alternative to their pure-race Sector 24.
Unfortunately, despite how stoked I am to see another bike company jump onto the new school 24″ bandwagon I’m little disappointed in how it’s spec’d out. The frame is only main frame cr-mo (top tube and down tube), the bars hi-ten and the price kinda high. A bike like the Mirraco 20forty is spec’d a whole lot better for nearly the same price.
Hopefully they’re just testing the waters for ’09 and will step things up next year…otherwise why bother if you’re not going to put out a full cr-mo frame…it doesn’t seem to make sense to have a steel backend for trails, street and park riding…..
Bonus info: if you write into Felt with a question about their product line you have a very good chance of getting a response from Brian Foster’s older brother, Alan. Remember him? One half of Schwinn/Airwalk’s one-two race punch in the 90s.
We’ve been seeing some unseasonably warm temps in these parts recently and its making me even more antsy for spring. It’s warm enough for riding but with the snow melting and salt on the roads…it’s a sloppy mess. Still, sneaking a few minutes out of the office got me thinking about hot summer days and fun times at the trails.
The warm snap will be short lived though…they’re already calling for snow on the weekend. I console myself by remembering that both the Toronto International Bicycle Show and the Supercross are just one month away…
*Don’t ask me who the guy in the pic is…stumbled across it on the internet somewhere a while back…nice tuck jump though.
cruiser revolution 