December 2008

Happy Holidays

December 31, 2008

I fell off the blogging wagon over the past few months, as seems to be the case with me every-so-often. My school and home lives have both been busy, and I haven’t come through with new material for a while. So, I at least wanted to say “Happy Holidays” to those of you who take the time to read my ramblings. I wish all of you and yours a safe and Happy New Year. So here's a classic clip from the movie E.T. of the bmx chase scene.

November 2008

Red Bull BMX 816 Session Video

November 11, 2008

In the infancy of this site, I posted about a contest that happened in KC at the Pleasant Valley Skatepark. During the contest, I noticed a guy rolling around on a skateboard, filming. I was told by Ivy Melvin from Red Bull that the guy on the board was Trevor Hawkins of Butter Films and she had hired him to grab some footage. So, over a year has now gone by, but I stumbled-upon Trevor’s work on YouTube last week. Almost 10 minutes worth of some great footage of the good times had. Gotta love the long-jump section around the 3-min mark.

Barack Obama is Your New President

November 4, 2008

America, your president-elect. Barack Obama is indeed your new bicycle.
Now that you rocked the vote, rock a helmet like him, too.

October 2008

Hacks and Kicks Videos

October 21, 2008

DJ Truly Odd and Greyboy released a promo video for their new sidehack company, Hercules, a couple weeks back, and it is awesome. Just looks like too much fun. They’ve ben working with Ben Ward from Odyssey on some of the design details, and showed a prototype at Interbike last month. Can’t wait to see more.

Well, Rich Hirsch and the Lotek crew have filmed a ton with a number of their riders over the summer, and you can now see the fruits of their labor over on VIMBY. The Lotek SF Mixtape Episode 1 was very street focused, and Episode 2 has quite a bit of park riding. Both are awesome in their own right, keep an eye out for their new episodes. Go check ‘em out.

Benefits and Bikes for Mike Aitken.

October 17, 2008

Video by Jordan Utley
As you have probably heard by now, and as I mentioned on the site last week, Mike Aitken was injured, and as the appeals have gone out to give him and his family a hand, the BMX community has responded. Odyssey and 5050BMX shop are raffling off a one-of-a-kind S&M LTF, Profile is auctioning an early Hutch frame, and there is a bunch of other stuff happening that you can check out at MikeAitken.com. You can also hear about Mike’s progress at his site.

Positive thoughts go out to him and his family.

Lighten the Mood

October 15, 2008

I got a couple great links from a couple friends this week. You can call them vintage, retro or whatever, but here’s some enjoyable viewing to be had.

First up, from Jason, I got the above video, “Industry on Parade”, featuring Columbia Bicycle manufacturing. A great look at an American bicycle factory in the 1940s. Check out the women who could be our Grandmothers lacing wheels around the 2:40 mark. As Jason said, it is definitely “worth the 5 minutes”.

Next, from Andy, who gave us the behind-the-scenes on the Nike Olympic designs a few months back - airwalkprototypes.com. Ollie pads, lace-savers, neons, and more. The site is a labor of love by a guy with a serious fetish for some rare kicks. Though I often rocked the ever-popular Adidas hi-tops or Chuck Taylors, I destroyed a few pairs of Airwalks back-in-the-day. The best thing is that you could probably re-create the visual design of many of these by using Nike ID, or Converse One.

I’ll be back tomorrow with some updated ways to help Mike Aitken, as well as a couple of new big bikes I gotta tell you about.

Mike Aitken Needs Our Help

October 8, 2008

Pro-rider, father, and BMX style-cat, Mike Aitken fell hard and is in need of the BMX community’s help. I hate posting this kind of news - similar to Jimmy Levan and Stephen Murray, amongst others, last year. Aitken is known for his amazingly smooth, classic riding style, as well as his Fit frame, popular with so many kids these days, the S3. Hell, I even run an Odyssey Aitken seat. Now, he and his family need some help with the oncoming medical bills they’re facing with his injury. I encourage you all to do what you can, even in these trying economic times.

Here’s the press release from Aaron Cooke, of the Athlete Recovery Fund, an organizing body that is trying to implement insurance for Action Sports riders and their families…

Mike Aitken is a Professional BMX rider in need of our help. Mike is an icon in the sport of BMX and is someone who rides with incredible style and passion for the sport. He is also a proud husband and a father. Read the message below from his brother Jeremy Aitken:“Mike Aitken has been hospitalized in serious condition. While in Pennsylvania over the weekend, Mike was seriously injured when he over-rotated a 360. He is currently in the ICU unit and has not regained consciousness. His injuries include a fractured eye socket, sinus and both sides of his jaw. A CAT scan shows no swelling on his brain. As soon as any changes in his status are available, we will pass them on. Thank you for your faith, prayers, and support of Mike and his family.They are needed and greatly appreciated.”10/6/2008

This is a time when we can pull together to make a huge difference in Mike’s recovery. No amount is too small and if everyone pulls together and offers a little bit we can make a dent in the medical bills to come.

Ways for you to help:
www.5050bmx.com There is a link and a Paypal account set up for Mike and his family.

www.athleterecoveryfund.com Click the “Make a donation button” and because ARF is a 501(c)3 Non Profit the PayPal fees are less than most anywhere else, meaning more of your donation goes to Mike and his family. All donations made at this time go directly to Mike Aitken and his family.

Mail a check to:
Athlete Recovery Fund c/o Mike Aitken
27636 Ynez Road L-7 #284
Temecula, CA 92591
Write check payable to Mike Aitken

Athlete Recovery Fund is in the process of providing a grant to also assist Mike and his family through this tough time. While extremely unfortunate this is the reason why we started our charity. For the PayPal and mailing address we are simply helping coordinate donations with the approval of Mike Aitken’s family. For large donations or concerns about receiving tax deductibility please contact aaron@athleterecoveryfund.com.

September 2008

Interbike 2008 - BMX Coverage

September 25, 2008

MacNeil Cruisers Coming Soon

September 21, 2008

Black and Orange Macneil Cruiser. Photo courtesy of the Defgrip Photostream

Just perusing Defgrip, and saw what appeared to be a clean-looking cruiser on their Random Photo feed. Sure enough, it linked me to the DefGrip photostream, and viola - a couple of shots of the new MacNeil cruisers. Harrison Boyce (Defgrip contributor and MacNeil Art Director) says that they’ll have them at Interbike, which starts this week, and that they’ll be available for purchase, soon. More specs as they come available.

White Macneil Cruiser. Do I see a big-ol’ gusset? Nice. Photo courtesy of the Defgrip Photostream

Look for a site for the cruisers off of the MacNeil site soon. Oh, and while you’re at the MacNeil site, check out Travis Collier’s new frame. It is a very traditional looking flatland frame that’s meant to be ridden on most-any terrain. Simple and clean, without flatland-specific geometry that limits the use of the bike.

Brian P’s Summerslam #4 Video

September 21, 2008

For the past four years, one of the good guys of the vintage bmx scene has held a party at his house in New Jersey. Brian P and his family let a bunch of BMX kooks invade their yard, street and home for a day of fun. Folks bring out their bikes for show, and to get their kick-turns on with the wedge ramp. Enjoy the video from this year’s 4th annual Summerjam.

Ride BMX 150th Issue Party - Today

September 17, 2008

UPDATE: Looks like Ride has added a video feature to their site to capture the happenings during the party. It isn’t exactly live streaming, but it is being updated quickly, and is very cool nonetheless. Check it out on their homepage.

If you’re in SoCal, and can make your way to Tustin, CA (1421 Edinger Ave. to be exact), you should go to the party that Ride BMX Magazine is throwing in celebration of their 150th anniversary at their HQ. They’ll be giving out copies of the magazine, handing out beer mugs to the first 150 or so people, and having a bunnyhop contest and a mini-ramp jam. Plus, there should be a bunch of pros of all eras on-hand. As of this posting, you have 4 hours to get there (it starts at 3PM PST).

Mulligan posted about all this on his blog and said “Consider yourself officially invited. Bring your bike and a smile, we’ll take care of the rest.” Go, dog, go, and if you’re there and shoot some photos or video, send ‘em my way and I’ll post them on BMX Roots.

Congrats to the Ride staff (past and present) on this achievement. Can’t wait to see issue 200. Also, I dig the understated approach to using the above logo on the cover. Nice and clean, but there for all to notice - plus, it looks like there is a special 15oth issue poster inside.

SNAFU Goods for Your Event

September 15, 2008

Dave Mirra might not show up at your next homegrown jam, but the SNAFU parts he rides might. Photo from Mirraco Bikes

McGoo’s been posting like mad over on the SNAFU site. New product, new photos and new words that should make you stop and think.

Anywho, he mentioned that they’re getting ready to do a bunch of updates to their MySpace page, and with that, he wants anyone doing a contest, jam or other bicycle-related shenanigans to send him a flyer of the happening, as well as info about it. They will post it on the SNAFU MySpace page, as well as their blog, and send you some product to give-away at your event. Gotta make room for the ‘09 product, so why not give it to those evangelizing the BMX-culture? Sounds like a solid plan to me, so, hell, why not go plan something right now? Summer is almost over, trail season is firing up…

2012 London Olympic Cycling Plans Revealed

September 8, 2008

We’re only a few weeks from the wrap-up of the Beijing Olympics, and the London 2012 organizers have released the plans and the above video for the “VeloPark”, which includes an indoor velodrome and outdoor BMX track. As this is one of the premier permanent facilities for the 2012 Games, it will remain a part of the London cycling scene, and an additional 1-mile road cycling path and MTB course will be added after the games. Read more about it over on the BBC.

I know this is for the Olympics and all, which means big plans and a big outlay of cash (though not to the extent of the Beijing games, I’ve read) but it would be great to see more multi-use bicycle facilities in the US. With the popularity of track/fixed/single-speed bikes, it would seem that there is a market for more velodromes, and BMX tracks and skateparks should just go hand-in-hand.

Thrown-back; Bashguards and Twin-tubes

September 4, 2008

A little of this, and a lot of that…

A couple of new complete BMX bikes have been hitting the web in the past few days that reference earlier times in freestyle. One from the recent past, and one from the very beginning.

First, Subrosa has released news that they’re going to be doing a bashguard bike that is a modern take on the old Bully bashguard frame of the early 90s. As Ryan Sher, of Subrosa puts it on their site, “I can vividly remember seeing a bike that I only wished I could own, or even knew how to use; that bike was the Bully R.L. Inc”. He goes on to say that it was around this time that he was inspired by the progression of BMX, and the street riding “style” that became so prevalent.

Ultimately, he says that it is about bringing the fun back into BMX. A topic that seems to be popping up in a number of places (Thanks, mcGoo - note I meant “sight”, not “site”, ugh). I’ll keep saying it - remember, this is about riding bikes, and bikes should be fun. If sliding on a plastic bashguard helps to get you there, cool, go for it.

Next, there’s news that the retro Haro Bikes Gen-1 Freestyler is finally happening. After a couple years of speculation, and a few prototypes (one of which was at last year’s Interbike), there are images of the 2009 Haro Bikes catalog floating around that shows what should be close to the production version of the retro Freestyler, based on Bob Haro’s original Haro Freestyler,the predecesor to the ubiquitous Haro Master. As with the Subrosa Bash Bike, it looks like an integrated headtube and “updated geometry”, as they say in the catalog, are part of the package.

Rumor has it that both of these are going to be limited-edition run. With all of the clamor about the Haro, I have a feeling they’ll go quick, but then become available over the upcoming months. This is the third retro model done by Haro, the first was a Dave Mirra-based Freestyler, the second was the 2005-06 retro Sport. For Subrosa, the bash bike is a continuation of what they started with their Letum cruiser.

I’m down with either of these, but of course, I have a lot of heart for the Haro, just because it has been discussed for SO long in the vintage bmx circles. However, I have to dig the Subrosa because it not only has graphics in the vein of the Bully designs, but also because I was right there, watching RL and Chris Day tear it up on early Bully frames at a mall show in Overland Park, KS, during a summer tour. We snuck our bikes in and rode through the mall - good times…

FBM Featured on local Binghamton, NY news

September 2, 2008

Click the image to watch the video over on the NewsChannel 34 site.

FBM has a piece from the local news station about their facilities in Binghamton and their new complete line of bikes. Their master welder, Big Dave, John Paul Rodgers and Steve Crandall are all featured in the video. It looks like most of the bikes being built in the video are FBM Fixed frames, which look so damn nice. Side note - awesome to hear the reporter say “Fat Bald Men”.

August 2008

Olympics BMX Coverage

August 23, 2008

Download Donny Robinson, US Olympian and Silver Medal Winner

Well, even after the semi-finals were rained out, and thus, not televised as planned, the BMX events in the Olympics put on a solid 45-second (per race) show. Jill Kintner, Mike Day and Donny Robinson all medaled for the United States with bronze, silver, bronze, respectively. Maris Strombergs of Latvia won the men’s gold, and two French riders, Anne-Caroline Chausson and Laetitia le Corguille took the gold and silver.

Stuart over at DHADM sent me a couple of videos in the build-up to the BMX racing events in the Olympics. One from the Seattle program, Evening Magazine, and another from MSNBC. The video from MSNBC, above, features some more behind-the-scenes of the track, and an interview with racer, Donny Robinson.

Interesting that the host on Evening Magazine, John Curley, mentions that if you haven’t heard of “BMX Motocross” before, you’re not alone. Strange, because I know that BMX has always had a good footprint in the Pacific Northwest, and, well, it has been around for what, 30-plus years? Public perception of BMX never surprises.

Download Evening Magazine BMX Feature, featuring some solid Washington racers

If you didn’t get a chance to see the Olympic medal rounds on tv, you can check them out here

Oh, and George over on Kranky found some great photos (via We Mine Deeper) of the Olympic BMX races, shot by a non-bmx photographer. Cool stuff.

On the heels of this, I’ve dug through my archives, and I have something pretty special planned starting Monday - it will be Bob Haro week at BMXRoots. Check back for some stuff many of you may have never seen.

So about this BMX Olympic thing… Discussions from around the ‘net

August 17, 2008

The BMX competition in the Olympics is only three days away, and with that, there are some lively discussions popping up all over. Since most of my time has been on the freestyle/non-racing side of BMX, I’m focusing on this side of the fence. There are plenty of other places to get the BMX racing contingent’s thoughts on the Olympics, and a quick search will get you there pretty quickly.

First, Phil at Super Rat Machine is giving you a shot at winning a set of Super Rat Prototype pedals as one of his Friday Freebies, for answering these questions in the comments of his site:
Since this is the first year of bmx in the olympics and since it will essentially expose millions of people to bmx racing what are the pros and cons of the event as you see it? and do you think it will affect your daily interaction with joe public? and to go along with that do you think any other form of bmx will make it into the olympics?
Post your answer here by Friday, August 22nd, for a chance to win a set of sweet not-even-yet-released pedals.

Over on the RideBMX site, there’s an interesting bunch of quotes from BMX-industry folks and riders. Mat Hofman’s response and comments (taken from another interview in a German newspaper), have sparked quite a bit of discussion. Rad to see the infamous McGoo throwing some thoughts, as well.

(Note that I’m not the Jeremy commenting on the Ride site, it is me on the Super Rat site, however, for what its worth…)

On a lighter note, I encourage you to take a cue from the Minnesota Faction BMX crew, and get some other riders together and watch the racing. If you’re in Minneapolis, join them. What better reason to ride, drink and eat - in whatever order you prefer? Thanks to Paul Smith for the heads-up.

Corked pedals…not pedals made from cork. A Super Rat Friday Freebie.

Knight Retro Performer Cruiser Geometry

August 15, 2008

Seat stay/framestand and bologna-cut top tube detail. Photo: George Yang

Looks like there’s already quite a bit of chatter about the Knight Performer - I’ve seen it pop up on a number of the vintage BMX sites over the past couple of days. One thing that’s been discussed is the geometry of the ride, and how it compares, considering it is overall, a pretty modern ride. I hit George at Knight up for some more information, and he sent over pretty much all you might want to know:

Material: 4130 Chromoly
FRAME
Top tube length: 21.5″
BB height: 12″
Chainstay length: 15.25″
Head angle: 73 degree
Seat tube angle: 70.5 degree
Headtube: Integrated
Bottom Bracket: Mid type
Brakes: 990 mounts
Seat post: 25.4mm
Dropouts: 3/16″ thick
Axle type: 3/8 axles
Extras: Coaster Brake plate like the 20″ version

So, there you have it - the top tube length should keep it roomy, yet quick for a cruiser. With the 3/8″ axles, you might need to hookup a set of the Skyway Graphite TuffWheels to go with the frame. Keep a lookout here for shots of the prototype as it gets built-up.

Related: Knight Retro Performer Prototype

More big bikes - New Knight Retro “Performer” Cruiser

August 12, 2008

Raw and fresh out of the jig. Photo: George Yang

The 24″ Retro Squareback Knight released last year was very well received by those looking for a cruiser with vintage styling. Modeled after the Redline squarebacks of yore, it was a fairly traditional cruiser frame, with some really nice detailing.

I think that the new 24″ jam from Knight will up the retro BMX game - other manufacturers should take note. In fact, it is only retro in styling, as it features all of the modern features of today’s BMX bikes - integrated headset, mid-bottom bracket and 990 brake mounts. However, look closer at the photos of the prototype - a coaster brake tab and a standing platform. Yeah, I said it - a standing platform, just like the GTs of yore - on a 24″ cruiser. Knight is calling it the Knight “Performer”, but I don’t know if they’ll stick with that name. They say it is a tribute to one of the most recognizable early freestyle frames, the GT Performer/World Tour, and Eddie Fiola - who helped make GT so prolific early in the freestyle game. Be sure to hit the link on Eddie’s name - there’s a great story on lifelounge.com, with some of Eddie’s personal photos.

If you want one, get a hold of Knight quickly. They’re going to be made in limited numbers, and available very soon. Damn, just like yesterday’s post - did I find yet ANOTHER bike/frame to obsess over? Check more photos over on the Knight blog.

Olympic BMX Television Schedule

August 8, 2008

THAT, my friends is a starting hill… Photo Credit: Casey Gibson/USACycling.org

As I type this, the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics are underway. Controversy aside, it is pretty amazing to see BMX recognized as an Olympic sport. Thanks to the good folks at the OS-BMX Forums, here are the broadcast schedules for the Olympic BMX coverage on NBC, here in the United States. If you’re a night-owl, you can watch some of this live online at nbcolympics.com

August 20, 2008 - 12:30am - 2:00am EST
Late night (LIVE) BMX cycling, featuring men’s quarterfinal races.

August 20, 2008 - 8:00pm - 12:00am EST
Prime time (LIVE) cycling’s BMX finals.

August 21, 2008 - 2:00am - 5:00am EST
Prime time Replay BMX finals.

Wanna know more about the bmx athletes? Check these links:
jillkintner.com - Personal site of the sole female USA rider and all-around badass cyclist
USA Olympics Cycling Team
Redline’s Global Olympic Team Page
Mike Day (Olympic rider) on EXPN.com
Uhh…

Related:
Nike USA Olympic Uniforms

Dan’s Comp Freestylin’ Book Giveaway

August 7, 2008

Dan’s Comp has 3 of the 2,500 limited edition Freestylin’ Books from the Nike Collaboration to give away. These are much sought-after in certain circles, and I gotta say that I’d love to get my hands on one as well. You can enter once a day, and there’s no purchase necessary. Check out the details here.

Kansas Action Sports Contest

August 4, 2008

Double foot-jam tailwhip at the Kansas Action Sports Contest - rider’s name coming. Photo: Jeremy Schutte

Alright, I’ll get the obvious out of the way first - August in Kansas is HOT. Not quite Texas hot, but we can get damn close. Heat and humidity combine to make some sweaty, exhausting times. So, first, props to the 12-15 riders who rode through the heat yesterday in the state capital of Topeka, for the bmx portion of the Kansas Action Sports contest - which also had skateboarding on Saturday and Inline skating on Sunday as well. It was pushing 100 degrees yesterday at the end of the contest, with 90+ % humidity. Ugh.

Ty from Topeka organized and announced the bmx contest, held at the Rip On Skatepark at Shunga Glen Park. Rip On is a small park with some big features - definitely worth checking out if you’re in the area. Seeing that I had my almost-4 and 6-year-old boys with me, I didn’t get to meet many of the riders, but I gotta say that, as always, the midwest guys easily throw-down with any rider out there. A nice mix of new and old tricks, with footjams, whips, big boosts, grinds and wall-rides all represented.

Rumor has it that they are considering moving the contest to earlier in the summer, and I gotta say that this, along with wider promotion of the entire contest, across all disciplines, would boost the contestant and spectator turn-out. Again, especially with BMX, we gotta evangelize it, and I was glad to see the amateur group available to the younger/less-experienced riders.

The contest was sponsored by Capps Bike Shop, Midwest Skateboarding, Topeka Parks & Rec, the City of Topeka and Pepsi of Topeka. Nearly every rider walked away with something in-hand from the sponsors - always a nice touch.

I’m planning on shooting some photos with some of the riders, in the upcoming months, so look for those here, soon.

July 2008

Ride’s New Site & Mulligan’s Favorite Things

July 28, 2008

Ride Editor, Keith Mulligan’s custom-made sticker board.

If you haven’t been over to ridebmx.com - aka bmxonline.com - aka bmx.transworld.net, get over there and check out their new site, which launched a couple weeks ago. Much more user-friendly, with content from the magazine and new blogs from their editors, the new site has a ton of reasons to visit and hang around for a bit. Personally, I’m just happy to see the funky photo gallery navigation/pop-up thing go away.

Keith Mulligan, Ride’s editor, wrote a “favorite things” post about a week ago, and most of them are of the vintage variety. From his first BMX racing trophy in ‘81 to the plexiglass board his dad made, covered in hella-cool stickers of various eras, it is definitely worth a read. BTW, what BMX rider hasn’t had a certain place to stick, or horde the many stickers collected over the years? I know I do.

Check it here: Mulligan’s Favorite Things

Friday Freebies courtesy of Super Rat Machine Works

July 24, 2008

Phil at Super Rat is doing a cool contest of sorts to get people excited about what he’s got going on in the shop and reward them for participation - wisecracks, sarcasm and innuendo are all welcome.

Basically, he’s got a small inventory of BMX parts and Super Rat schwag to give away for free. All you have to do is post an answer (in the comments of the site) to the question he posts on a Friday, and by the next Friday, he will pick his favorite. The winner gets the weekly freebie sent to them. Easy, eh?

This week’s giveaway is a Super Rat 7075 t-6 bottle opener, simply for posting your best hangover cure, and Phil says he’s got sprockets, stems and other parts to pass along in the upcoming weeks.

Check it out here: http://www.superratmachine.com/category/freebies/

Nike Lab Interview - Olympic BMX Uniforms

July 19, 2008

My friend, Andy, (thanks, man) sent me a great link to the Nike Lab, a series of interviews with their designers, and there are a couple with John Martin, who led the Nike/Freestylin’ collaboration and is leading up their Olympic BMX effort. As most of you know, the 2008 Olympics in China will feature BMX (in the form of racing) for the first time in the Olympic games.

Hit these links to check out the uniforms and the shoes they’ve designed for the riders. Interesting to see the inspiration from the early Haro Designs uniforms and hear about their design process.

City Battle 2 Skatepark Jam - Saturday, July 12

July 9, 2008

I just found out about a skatepark jam/contest coming up this Saturday, July 12 in Topeka, KS. Teams of riders from different cities will compete against each other in a sort of advanced game of B.I.K.E. This is all going down starting at 10AM, at the Rip-On public skatepark.

From MySpace user TY! (sorry, I don’t have his real name - will update when I do), who is organizing City Battle 2:
“The first city battle was a game of bike. We had 6 cities/teams and about 23 riders…City Battle 2 will be more riding and less sitting around, more of a jam style. Lets say I turndown the 8′, Team Topeka gets 1 point but if Trent from Manhattan pulls one on the same obstacle the point is taken away. So basically its going to come down to which team has the biggest range of tricks and creativity.”

The Rip-On Skatepark is located at 23rd and Washburn in Topeka, near the Washburn University campus, by the soccer fields. Get a hold of TY! via his MySpace page for more info. Definitely check it out if you’re near the area.

Monkey Masks and Balloon Tires - 1963 Bike Safety Film

July 9, 2008 in Bikes, Video, Vintage by Jeremy | No comments

I’ve known about the Internet Archive for a long time, and have used it for work and personal research for years. Between the Wayback Machine (a website archive - here, check out RideBMX’s site from Sunday, June 18, 2000), and the Live Music Archive, you can literally spend hours finding hidden gems of all sorts.

The sweet spot, to me, however is the Moving Images archive. Especially the vintage films found in the Prelinger Collection. You say you want a Chevrolet World’s Fair movie? Check. How about some AFL-CIO union worker training films? Sure, no problem.

Well, this being a bicycle/bmx-focused site, and all, you know where I’m going with this. So, I wanted to post something a bit more light-hearted today, so here’s some TRUE vintage for ya.

There is some great bicycle safety film footage from the 50s-60s that is too good. And in the case of “One Got Fat“, the gem above, it features a bunch of kids riding with creepy-as-hell monkey masks and running into steamrollers and other obstacles in suburbia. Seriously, the masks are waaay creepier than anything from Planet of the Apes.

Here are some others to check out. The first one reminds you that you should never be a “showoff”:
You and Your Bicycle
Drive Your Bicycle
Bicycle Safety - shot in Lawrence, KS

Limited Editions and Colorways…

July 8, 2008

Great discussion over on SPRFLS today, regarding limited edition parts/colors/etc. Something that’s been on my mind as of late, and Russ fired off a new post that got some discussion going. The second day in a row that the comments have really been flowing over there.

Check it out and participate in his comments section…

Here’s an excerpt of one of the responses:
Wasn’t it a similar mentality that lead bike shops to having massive amounts of inventory during the late 80s, that now lead to guys with major “scores” of NOS (new old stock) bright green Skyway pegs, dug out of these shops … how many sets of DiaCompe Nippon calipers did a dealer have to carry when they were manufacturing SO many colors?

Happy 4th of July

July 4, 2008

Doesn’t get much more American than the USA-made blue, white and red Standard Bykes S250 that I just built. Yeah, I know, the majority of the parts are imported, but this one was built on the cheap, and American-made components are getting harder and harder to find.

Check the specs over at the BMXMuseum.

Oh, and don’t forget about the red, white and blue Skyway T/A wallpaper I posted last week.

June 2008

More Nike BMX and Freestylin’ Magazine coverage

June 30, 2008

I thought we might see more coverage from the Nike SB BMX/Freestylin’ launch party today, and indeed, the info keeps getting better and better. Above, there’s a video that just came up on YouTube, from what I believe to be is Mark Lewman’s (Lew for those of you Freestylin’ Magazinephiles like me) design company, Nemo Design. Note that John Martin, Nike’s Director of Action Sports spearheaded the project, and he gives a very emotional introduction to the Nike BMX work. Cool to know his history of BMX as well.

Vital has a photo album and a great introduction by Mark Losey, here:
http://www.vitalbmx.com/features/Freestylin-Retrospective-Launch-Party,3925

Discuss this over at the VitalBMX forums:
VitalBMX Old School Talk Forum

Nike SB BMX Collection

June 28, 2008

Yesterday, Nike released their limited-edition SB BMX pack in honor of the first Olympics to feature BMX - this year in Beijing. This is a continuation of the participation Nike has had, starting with the Lightning Bolts show last month. The SB BMX collection will feature four different shoes, including a limited-run pack that includes the “Trickstar” Dunk Low and Blazer Hi, as well as a couple throwback Hutch-styled jerseys. Only 600 Trickstar packs were made, and were released at DQM in NY and Brooklyn Projects in LA - both shops participated in the design of this collection. The other shoes will be out later in July, though the Trickstars have already hit the ‘bay.

Also, rumor has it that these will coincide with a Freestylin’ book release, more info as I hear it…

Interesting, because though it is great to see Nike giving major support to the BMX effort this year, they’ve never been known as much of a BMX brand. Recently, they have built a BMX team with Nike 6.0, but in the 30+ years since BMX began growing, their participation has been limited. That said, a big brand getting behind the Olympic BMX effort should only help the recognition of the sport.

Also, I’m a bit confused by the fact that they have released the BMX collection under the SB (skateboard) brand, and not the 6.0 moniker. Probably has something to do with distribution, but seemingly minor details like this unfortunately only add to the little-brother status of BMX riders to our skateboarding brethren.

See other shoes in the colleciton:
Michael Lau Chinese BMX Federation
and
Kuwahara ET

Knight Bike Co Retro Stems - v2

June 16, 2008

I’m back. After a long unplanned hiatus (life, work, etc. got crazy for a bit). Enough about that, though…

George at Knight just sent news that he’s got some new inverted Pro-Neck-style stems available, as well as the traditional top-loaders back in stock. Right now, the inverted stems are available in silver and gold, with blue available next week. Check ‘em out and order directly from Knight. So, if you wanna drop your bars a bit, and do so with a clean, simple looking, retro-styled stem, you’re set.

I’m interested to hear what you think of these, compared to the other retro-styled products that are starting to crop up. Drop your opinions over at the Vital BMX Old School Talk forum.

April 2008

Hutch Comeback?

April 30, 2008

I wondered when it would happen. We’ve seen a number of retro products over the past couple of years being pushed out by Knight, SE and other manufacturers. Just yesterday, it was announced on a number of the BMX message boards that John De Bruin, who has been making repro Hutch pedal cages and decal sets, has acquired the rights to the Hutch Hi-Performance BMX brand, as well as CW. He plans on creating new product “reissues” that have at least one detail that is different from the original, and down the road, creating more modern products. Read his full press release here.

Needless to say, with the prices of Hutch parts continuing to climb, Hutch Hi-Performance with be something to watch. Interesting to see if John will build bikes with modern geometry and old-school flavor, a la SE, or vintage-style frames with 1″ headsets. Hell, they’re making “new” 60s Ford Mustang bodies now, so it was only a matter of time until we saw this happen with BMX.

S&M Bikes’ Chris Moeller Interview on OS-BMX

April 3, 2008

Chris Moeller, 2004. Photo from sandmbikes.com

Just got word from Steve over at OS-BMX about a huge interview he and a couple of the other fellas from the forums over there just completed with S&M’s Chris Moeller. It is an excellent read, giving Chris’ thoughts on the history of S&M, the current state of BMX, and for the vintage guys out there, a bunch of info about the different models of bikes over the past 20 years. Check it out, now. Oh, and while you’re there, sign up and spend some time digging around. Some good people on that site.

Also in S&M news, they’ve got some new chrome parts out - Slam XLT bars, Race XLT bars, and Race XLT forks, are avialable now, with Pitchforks and LTFs coming soon. Just saw Ryan Guettler’s new bike on the Mirraco site as well, looking straight outta 1986, with purple, pink and chrome - is this the 2nd (3rd?) coming of chrome?

Have fun everyday…

April 1, 2008

…especially on April fools day.

Profile and Eastern have some rad new parts coming out soon that they’ve just posted about recently - hit the links to check em out. Pure awesomeness from two cutting-edge bmx companies.

I’m sure we’ll see some other “announcements” coming out today.

Tip o’ the hat to Kranky for the Eastern news.

March 2008

FBM Owners Group

March 24, 2008

Have a FBM bike? Wanna show it to the rest of the unwashed FBM masses? Then get on over to the new FBM Owners Group site and submit your ride. As the site says, “The FBM Owners Group is for anyone; industry types, pro riders, FBM staff, and kids everywhere. Basically anyone with an FBM they wanna show off.”

This is a great way to get riders involved intimately with the brand - which is especially important with the rider-owned companies. Fit has a similar feature on their site as well, with the Fit Trust. Dig.

What’s Old is New Again
March 16, 2008
KHE, the German BMX company with roots back to 1988, has a couple of new products out that remind me of how the BMX industry should always look back at its relatively short history for ideas that worked before, and can still work today. Both their Centaur handlebar/stem combo and 1pc seat combo refer back to products that were popular some 20-odd years ago.

KHE Centaur circa 2008.

Vector pro bars circa 1984 - photo by “oldmetal” on the bmxmuseum.

The influence of the Vector bars and Troxel seat are immediately apparent, though with modern geometry, technology and materials, KHE has created something totally new in today’s bmx market. For example, with the seat, by removing the seat guts, they were able to significantly lower the weight and the price will be comparable to a standard saddle alone. With the bars, KHE wants to again create the purest form of a handlebar and stem, again to reduce weight and simplify the number of parts on your bike. The Centaur bar/stem will come in a couple different angles, though the seat will only come in one angle.

KHE prototype seat/post combo prototype.

Early ’80s Troxel Comet combo seat/post - photo by “bmxr68″ on the bmxmuseum.

Both of the KHE products should be available in Spring 2008. Will be cool to see how KHE continues to reference the past while offering something new.

February 2008

Terrible One Fakie Contest Videos

February 19, 2008

Joe Rich at Terrible One just posted a couple videos from their fakie contest they held a couple weeks ago. One features just the fakies, shot in DV, and the other has a bunch of footage shot of the whole event, shot in HD. You’ll recognize some of the riders, such as Taj, Chase Hawk and Tony Cardona, tearing up the T-1 compound in Austin. Plus the HD video features “Cactus” by The Pixies, how can you go wrong?

These kind of contests are what bmx is all about, and I can’t wait for the spring to get here so I can get to more of them in person.

Related: Red Bull Pleasant Valley BMX Jam - Kansas City

Rob and Big tearing up the BMX track

February 19, 2008

From Todd Lyons at SE Bikes:
If you’ve ever seen the “Rob & Big” TV show on MTV, then you know that Big Black is a very, very big guy. He told us a while ago that he’s really into the whole old-school BMX scene. But his problem was that he couldn’t find a BMX bike that came anywhere close to fitting him. So being the cool guys that we are at SE Bikes, we built him a custom sized PK Ripper Looptail that would fit him like a glove. I went up to Rob’s house & gave it to him a little while ago & they filmed the whole deal for an episode of the “Rob & Big” TV show. I even went to a BMX track & rode with Rob & Big & their whole crew. And man, was it funny watching those guys ride!

Anyways, I’m pretty sure that this stuff will air tonight at 10:30pm ET & PT on MTV. Check it out. And if this segment of the show doesn’t air on the show tonight, then I’m almost positive that it’ll air next Tuesday night.

Click here for more info & other air times & to check out the show in case you don’t have cable:
http://www.mtv.com/ontv/dyn/rob_and_big/series.jhtml

I’ve watched Rob and Big a bunch, and it is a good show, with a bit of “Jackass”-like humor. From the looks of it, good times will be had on the bikes. I appreciate the fact that Todd and SE continue to push their bikes and therefore, bmx, into the public eye, continuously. More exposure leads to more riders, and so on. May the circle be unbroken, or something like that…

Super Rat Machine Works - New Products and Site

February 14, 2008

Veteran BMX pro, Phil Wasson, has been running Super Rat Machine Works for a couple of years out of Kansas City (KC Pride!), making parts for a number of BMX manufacturers you know and love like FBM and Solid, and some others just starting up. Super Rat also manufactures prototypes and products for other industries as well. As a pro, Phil was known for having a dialed bike with tons of custom mods, and his love for solving problems with creative solutions shows in the work the shop produces.

Just a few days ago, Super Rat launched their new site with more information about their projects, past and present, and the going-ons of the shop. One of the most interesting bits of news is that they’ll be doing their own line of products, starting with pedals like the prototype shown above. Read all about them via Phil’s post, here. They’re going to be a bit wider than “normal-sized” pedals, and should be available by the end of March.

Also on tap is a new stem from Terrible One (scroll down the news on the left), and a new stem from Sequence, a flatland-focused company - check out the photos below.

Friend of BMX Roots, Thad Allender, redesigned the site, using a modified WordPress theme from his company, Graph Paper Press.

SE Racing Aluminum Signs

February 13, 2008

So, you’ve got your vintage looptail PK Ripper, your retro O.M. Flyer, and all of the latest SE t-shirt designs. Continue to show your love of all things SE with this 47″x14″ aluminum sign. They’re available now through any SE dealer for MSRP of $36.00.

VitalBMX 2.0 Relaunch

February 11, 2008

Vital Media Network launched the first version of vitalbmx.com back in December of 2006. They’re about to drop version 2.0 of the site anytime now. I was a part of the beta testing, and have seen the changes they’ve got on tap, and I think the community will be pleased. Some really smart functionality that will create a better overall user experience, and keep people hanging around the site longer. Plus, there will be more to come after this relaunch goes live.

Quick Update (February 12, 2007): The site is up, and Vital is looking for your thoughts and any technical issues you might come across via a link at the top of the page: Welcome To Vital BMX 2.0! We’ve listened to your feedback over the past year and put it into this re-design. Click here to let us know what you think or if you have any technical problems. Thanks!

Albe’s Daily Special Sale

February 6, 2008

Starting today, Albe’s BMX mail-order shop is running a Deal of the Day sale throughout the end of February. Offically, it is called the “Christmas in July even though it is February Sale!!!”, and they are planning on offering some killer deals every day until February 29th. They are also having some sales that are not part of the daily deals, but will be on sale through the month. Get all the details here, and check out today’s deal on the Albe’s store homepage.

Related:Albe’s Mail Order Video Contest