subversionBMXblog

Closing down sale...

2009-03-14T18:19:00.003+08:00

This blog is now closed.

You can now find me at my new bike blog

Cable mod...

2009-01-25T02:06:00.007+08:00

Well it's been a while! Thought I'd have a go at modding my front cable as I came up with a solution whilst building up BobK's new rig. The Nokon brake cables come with some plastic tubes which, I think, are to stop cable rattle & paint rub on frames which they are installed on? So the plastic tubes seem to have a good tight fit on normal brake cable outer so I figured I could finally do the cable join that I'd been waiting to do for ages. My reason for doing this mod was purely aesthetic in that I wanted orange cables originally but the Linear will not bend nicely for the brake end of the cable run so a normal piece is substituted for that end.

I cut the top half of the cable (linear) so that the join would run about mid way inside the fork steerer & then the standard outer would continue on to the front brake. I made sure that the 2 mating surface ends of the cables were nice & flat & the fit was nice & tight in the joining piece.

Once fitted it seems to work fine but I will reserve judgement until it's been through a good few sessions. Seeing as I haven't ridden since the RAD Xmas doo that may take a while!

Winter...

2008-11-03T05:50:00.008+08:00

It's a daunting time of year isn't it? All we have to look forward to is a good few months of shitty cold weather which consequently means lack of riding :-( I'm kinda 'between bikes' at the moment as I've got a couple waiting to sell to enable me to get a new one & get stuck into some cold commute! I'm hoping that the RAD Xmas doo won't be the next time that I dust off the 20" though?

I also notice that, as the season turns, you start to see less of your friends. This isn't a good thing & it leaves me wishing for a local indoor spot to keep the summer riding roll going & the social element that goes hand in hand with that.

Here's a seasonal piccy I took last night in my yard, one of my boys mates left his BMX out in the rain.:

On a positive note I'm off to spend 5 days in the tropical paradise that is Centre Parcs for some sorely needed R&R.

Lets hook up soon brothers...

Kona Cindercone SOLD

2008-10-18T19:25:00.012+08:00

1993 Kona Cindercone 18"

Recently completely stripped & rebuilt with 7 speed cassette & DX thumb-shifters, all in good working order & rides lovely :-) This was originally bought in 1993 as a frame-set (Frame, Forks, headset, Stem, Seatpost, seatclamp & brake guide) & built up with my own choice of components & groupset. Now quite sort after as these are pretty hard to find. I have picured the components before the bike was rebuilt for reference to condition. All the important original spec parts like the headset & stem are there with all the original plastic & rubber seals. Seat post moves in the frame no problem & the original brake guide for the rear brake is all there.

This bike is no 'garage queen' as she's been ridden for the past 15 years. Paint is rough in the usual places for a bike of this vintage & there is a very small dent in the top tube (see detail pics) which was done 10+ years ago & is only cosmetic.

Spec:
Frame - Kona Cindercone 18"
Fork - Kona Project II triple butted
Headset - Impact oversize
Stem - Velocity 1-1/8"
Bars - TransX risers
Seatpost - Kona racelight
Seat clamp - Kona
Seat - Free Agent Kevlar
BB - Shimano UN sealed
Cranks - Shimano Deore LX chainset 22-32-42
Pedals - Wellgo DX
Chain - sachs
Rear mech - Shimano Deore 9s
Front mech - Shimano Exage 500
Front Brake Shimano XTR canti
Rear Brake Shimano LX Canti
Brake Levers - Shimano Deore 2 finger
Thumb shifters - Shimano Deore DX 7 speed indexed
Grips - ODI longnecks
Barends - Bizhouse
Front hub - Shimano Exage 32h
Front Rim - Mavic 231CD
Rear hub - Shimano XT silent clutch 32h
Rear rim - Mavic 121
Cassette - Shimano HG30 11-28t
Tyres - Bontrager Revolt SuperX

Pics:

An Indian Summer...

2008-10-12T00:30:00.002+08:00

Just got back from a session at Spiceball & the weather today was great so it would be a crime not to get rolling on the BMX. Surprised (& stoked) to see Sam Keene has blown off the cob-webs & bought Ibbo's old T1 setup & was back out sessioning again! Dan Tobe also keeping it real as usual :-)

Got a few nose picks onto the volcano from the spine down & came close to a tailwhip nosepick to fakie on the jump box which gave me the taste but was sadly not to be repeated... Ray was making it look effortless as per the norm & made some nice opposite stuff.

So maybe our 'summer' falls in the autumn now? who cares! you can't beat a nice little sesh with your mates when its sunny & warm ;-)

Still no sign of Sboy tho...?

Recluse...

2008-10-12T00:01:00.005+08:00

My next door neighbour knows how mad on cycles I am, she told me that the house on the other side to her, had a bunch of bikes laying in the garden. Story goes that the guy who lived there was recently evicted as he never went out & evidently, never paid his bills either. I've never even seen the dude & I've lived here 2 years! So the place is a proper shit-hole, who ever lays out a mortgage on it will certainly have their work cut out...

Today I decided to go check the bikes out & see if there was anything that I could use as spares or maybe build up a ride to sell for a few quid. Here's what greeted me as I climbed over the fence:

This old Claud Butler Racer has been there so long that the wheels have actually dissolved into the mire:

As the drains are blocked with years of leaf litter the 'Path' is just a big puddle of shite & I dread to think what I was standing in?!

So I managed to salvage:

1 pair of plastic 9/16" pedals
1 alloy bottle cage
1 Kevlar seat

Which I wouldn't consider the greatest haul... It was fun to go nosing around & it is surprising how nature takes over when you let it. I'd like to take the Claud Butler but I'm certain it would be uneconomic to sort it...?

Oh & there was a nice wood saw just laying there so I gave that a good home too ;-)

Next...

2008-09-08T01:44:00.006+08:00

I get bored not having a bike to tinker with, so I was in the shed today & thought fuck it, it's time Cinders was stripped, rebuilt & SOLD.

I've had my Kona Cindercone for 15 years now & she is starting to show her age. I know there are retro MTB guys looking for them so I'm going to clean her up as best I can & then see if I can sell her on to someone who will cherish her a little more than I have! The paintwork has worn in places but considering how long I've ridden her & the places she's been, she's still a damn fine piece of metalwork. I've pondered on powdercoating & other such luxuries but I don't have the funds to do that & besides I think these aforementioned retro MTB lovers would prefer to have it in the original colours that it left the showroom with?

Here's how she looked after riding in the Hell of the North Cotswolds in 2004

What no BMX?

Cruiser Update...

2008-09-06T18:07:00.004+08:00

Well thanks to an 'anonymous' post on my cruiser resto thread, I have been in touch with the company that released this bike :-)

Turns out it was indeed an Australian hair-care products promotion & only a few were imported into the UK due to it's lack of lights & brakes.

Thanks to a stoolMX'er & Fudge for their help on this one ;-)

The Score & the Result...

2008-07-23T05:06:00.011+08:00

A far cry from BMX but when this project presented itself, how could I resist?

So, a few weeks ago I came into work bright & early on a Monday morning & there’s this beach Cruiser bike lent up against the cages so I went to check it out. It looked in quite good shape, a puncture up front, I did think it was a consignment someone had sent through our parcel network but that wasn’t the case. It had been dumped by one of our drivers fly tipping at the weekend & so, trying not to look too enthusiastic, I asked my boss if I could ‘get rid of it for him?’ It was clear that several of our drivers also had their eye on it so I told them the polish workers must have taken it?! Ha!

So I’ve wanted a beach cruiser for a while now, as I like the thought of just slow cruising to the shops for a paper etc. I did almost buy one of the Revenge Industries 'Booze Cruise' one’s a while back:

However, funds dried up at the time & it didn’t happen. I’ve not been able to establish who produced this bike yet, it has an F on the head tube & the word ‘FUDGE’ on the seat tube but Google isn’t forthcoming with an answer…?

Once I had her home I set to work on fixing the puncture so that I could take her around the block for a spin & a check to see everything else was in working order. The kids were all interested & all had a go around the street. No major issues were evident & it was time for restoration. Here's how she looked when I got her:

Over the course of about 2 weeks, I completely stripped her down:

& with the aid of some duraglit, Autosol, a toothbrush, a bunch of cloths & dusters & a whole lot of elbow grease & TLC, I gradually cleaned & polished every part up. There was some bad rust on the rear rim & I used those wire-wool soap pads to try to remove it but it took some of the chrome plate off. A lesson learnt? All the bearings were in perfect working order & I don’t think this bike had seen many miles riding at all. It’s definitely a neglected case, left out in the rain to rot. How sad… The coaster was fun to strip & rebuild as I’d not had any experience of a brake like this before although, having done extensive work on Bob K’s old Suntour open bearing freecoaster on his Big Daddy, it wasn’t a world away. I had to repeatedly scrub the white-wall tyres to remove the markings & they came up pretty good but not prefect. Everything else was generally in good condition with only surface rusting to deal with. I had to dump the grips as they were soft foam & were a bit ripped up but managed to get a fresh pair off US ebay for about £8 which, aside from the cleaning products I bought, was the only cash I’ve had to spend on this project. Have to thank Ray for the 24tpi wheel nuts he got me for the coaster hub. I may look at replacing the rear rim if a suitable chrome one comes up & the frame has some minor knocks & scratches so maybe a powder coat in future should I feel the need?

Here's the finished project:

I’m very happy with the results; it’s probably taken 20-30 hours of (mainly) polishing, washing & rebuilding but as soon as I took her for a cruise to the shops, it’s clear that work was worth it. You don’t think about rushing or even where you are heading, just slow pedalling along in a very comfortable riding position enjoying this very ‘chilled-out’ style of bike. It takes me back to my childhood days of my old Raleigh Bomber. It will more than likely be my eldest daughter that gets to ride it most as she doesn’t own a bike of her own & I do think it’s a slightly more girl than boy colour scheme? Still, I don’t doubt I will have the odd spin when mood takes…

Peace

Few bits...

2008-07-14T00:35:00.007+08:00

Not posted for a good while & did some tinkering with the Campillo today so thought I'd do a blog entry for a change...

I wasn't getting on with the tensioners that Fly include with their frames so I took them off. After a session at Corby this week my wheel slipped a bit & I decided I did need at least one tensioner on there after all. My wheel is quite slammed in the frame (oooh look at you!) & it's a bit of a pain to get the wheel out without major surgery of some description. One thing that bugged me concerning the chain tensioners was that, the screw that holds the tensioner to the drop out, sticks out on the outside & interferes with the peg when you push the wheel up towards the BB. I filed off the excess screw that sticks out so that it's now nice & flush to the outer edge of the drop out. This was done in a vice, not in situ ;-)

Just another little detail that's no longer playing on my mind. Here's how the tensioner is positioned on the chain side, fits just nice now!

I've heard that some people have had issues getting these to fit on different hubs so I'm glad that wasn't the case here. After a check over & a little more dialing in, it's good to go for the next session. I picked up some foam cleaner which is real good for removing oily marks from the white frame, now she'd pass the Daz Doorstep Challenge any day!

I also pulled the old Mosca out of the shed today as I want to get rid of her. I cruised up to the local motor factors on my beach cruiser (blog to follow soon) to pick up some paint stripper & after an hour or three I had the back end relatively clean. Shit job stripping frames & I got pissed off with doing it so I left it at this for another day.

Chacombe - 1st of the year...

2008-05-15T04:53:00.002+08:00

Mikey & I dusted off our bad backs & went for a quick session up to Chacombe this evening. It was good to get back on the ramps as neither of us had ridden since the RAD doo back in Feb!? There were a handful of bladers there whom pretty much went off to smoke their shit as soon as we turned up so we had the place to ourselves, as is the norm at Chacombe.

I've been riding my Kona to work since the improvement in the weather to try to get some fitness back so I pretty much just took it steady really as I'm also still getting into my new ride & was a bit rusty. It's surprising how darn cold it was sat up on the decks but we had a nice little session indeed & it's always good to catch up with friends you don't see that often.

Even some local girls gave us a smile when they left :-)

good vibes...

FlyBikes Campillo bike build...

2008-05-12T02:26:00.013+08:00

Finally got the Campillo built after months of preparation! Real happy with how it turned out although there's one or two little bits to change yet...

Spec:

Frame: 2008 Fly Campillo, 20.2”
Forks: Odyssey pro dirt, 14mm, brake lugs
Stem: Super**** elect
Headset: FSA impact internal 45/45, carbon spacer
Bars: Odyssey civilian svelte, hi-rise
Bar ends: home brew, aluminium
Grips: Union 'eat shit'
Front lever: Odyssey modulever OE
Front cable: Clarkes outer, stainless inner
Front brake: Suelo
Rear lever: Odyssey modulever OE
Rear upper cable: Modulever, odyssey linear outers
Gyro: Odyssey GTX
Rear lower cable: Oryg dual, odyssey linear outers
Rear brake: FlyBikes, koolstop eagle claw II salmon pads
Seat: Macneil fat capitol, Knight Ti bolt
Seat post: Macneil
Seat clamp: Built in
Cranks: Primo hollowbites, 175mm
Crank spindle: BSD Ti, 22mm
BB: Super****, spanish, 22mm
Sprocket: Tree Bicycle Co 'Lite' 28t
Chain: KMC Pintle Halflink
Pedals: Victim, magnesium, Ti spindles
Front tyre: KHE premium street Mac2
Front rim: Sun Rhynolite XL, 36h, velox rim tape
Front spokes: Prolite feather, double butted, alloy nipples
Front hub: Prolite evolution, 14mm, hollow axle, 36h
Front pegs: T1 ramp x2
Rear tyre: KHE premium street Mac2
Rear rim: Odyssey 7ka, 48h, velox rim tape
Rear spokes: Prolite Feather, double butted, alloy nipples
Rear hub: Odyssey reloader, 14mm, 48h, 10t, Knight Ti nuts
Rear pegs: Macneil fashionably light x2

Weight: Lighter than my last...

Mods:
Gyro
Bar-ends
Brake noodles used for lower cable bends from gyro stops.

Big thanks to:

Alex @ Cromoly distro in Spain for supplying the frame
(no thanks to IMG)
Kevin Porter @ FlyBikes for the assistance in sourcing the frame
Pat @ Flatlandfuel for the marvelous deals - via BobK
Dan @ cyclesport for the good service

From BigD to Strowler - keeping the faith

2008-04-05T05:11:00.020+08:00

With agent Khol being plagued with injuries of late, it was time to spark that fire again & get him a new build done. Most of the parts are from his KGB Psyconexion build we did in 06, so it all went together relatively painlessly.

Spec:

Frame: Hoffman Bikes Strowler (KJ Sig) internal/Mid, 19.75”
Forks: KGB Space, 10mm, AD lugs
Stem: KGB Trap with gyro plate
Headset: Kink internal
Bars: KGB Sarvet
Bar ends: Inertia, aluminium
Grips: KGB Rhythm
Front lever: Odyssey modulever
Front cable: Nokon
Front brake: Odyssey Evolver
Seat: Odyssey 99'er
Seat post: Odyssey Intac
Seat clamp: Profile slim jim
Cranks: Profile, 160mm. Ti Chainring bolt
Crank spindle: Profile Ti, 19mm
BB: KHE, mid, 19mm
Sprocket: Quamen 25t
Chain: KMC Superlite cool
Pedals: Ares 88
Front tyre: KHE Lamello Skinwall (Tyre pressure =105 lbs)
Front rim: Araya Super 7X, 48h, Odyssey rim tape
Front spokes: DT Swiss
Front hub: Proper Magnalite, 10mm, 48h
Front pegs: Bizhouse Escalator
Rear tyre: KHE Lamello Skinwall (Tyre pressure =105 lbs)
Rear rim: Araya Super 7X, 48h, Odyssey rim tape
Rear spokes: DT Swiss
Rear hub: KHE Geisha street freecoaster, 14mm stubs, 48h, 11t
Rear pegs: Bizhouse Escalator

Cheers

interview 16

2008-03-31T04:16:00.002+08:00

name..... Gregg Jose Alvarez

years riding.. 10

fav spot to ride.. admiral holland car park (without drunkards)

riding style.. mainly forwards, but also backwards.

plans for this year.. build my bmw. then use it to find some cool places to ride that inspire me to ride. ( editors note, mate you can ride to spiceball, its just round the corner from you??)

what inspires me to ride.. nice weather, good music, being happy but in need of a refreshing ride.

who inspires me?.. God. Emmalene. My parents. Anyone who is truly a good down to earth person.

describe local scene.. Banbury is amazing. something for everyone. Always changing and always something fresh to see.

Music.. lots of stuff. from nirvana to michael jackson. not too fond of dance or drum and bass though.

thanks.... God for inventing bmx. emmalene for being the best wife in the world. my parents for being rad. And anyone who has ridden with me and contributed to an amazing sessions.

interview 15

2008-03-28T04:03:00.001+08:00

Name: Alex Leech

age: 37 in April

years riding. 26 in April

fav spot to ride. On my bike, it really doesn't matter what

riding style. Mini tech, but Im happy riding jumps, BMX tracks, Vert, it all counts.

plans for this year. To get on my bike more than once a month

what inspires you to ride. The feeling you get when you ride, and just after riding.

who inspires you? Anyone who is intusiastic and has a good time riding

describe your local scene. I don't get out much so I cant say.

music. My latest playlist includes Gorilla Biscuits, Millencolin, Chain of Strength, The Cure, Anthrax, Huey Lewis and the News, Goldfinger ….

what you at when not riding. Family; wife and 2 small sons. Work; most of the days. Building up old S&M bikes from the 90s.

thanks to anyone? Ian, Sunil and Ray for keepin on keepin on.

interview 14

2008-03-26T03:43:00.003+08:00

sunil.. aka.. s boy, s man etc etc

age.. 38

years riding.. dunno since I was thirteen, so 25 or so, not continuously mind

fav spot to ride.. absolutely fuckin anywhere with friends

riding style.. currently I'm into the art of riding without actually doing any tricks, just fast and flowing and loose...

plans for this year.. ride as often as possible and learn something new

what inspires you to ride.. watchin some loose caboose flowing down the spline on the dime etc

who inspires you?.. joe rich and

describe your local scene.. . oxford rocks, the vibe from the mons ramp scene of the 80's still lives on, it doesnt matter what you ride only that you ride with a smile on your face

music.. devo, minutemen, minor threat, quicksand and of course SLINT

what you at when not riding.. making photographs and spending time with loved ones

thanks to anyone? Bob Haro and Sarah Jane Nichols

interview 13

2008-03-25T07:09:00.003+08:00

Chaz Mann.. aka.. annoying little prick who shags fat birds and likes it!!!

age.. 21

years riding.. about 8 years, only the past 4 1/2 on bmx though

fav spot to ride.. any dialled trails, Chertsey, Brighouse, Winchester, the list is long. Slades Farm, standard, my favourite park ever. Banbury can be good at times, when there is a good crowd hanging and nice weather. The worst spots can be the best ones with a group of sickheads.

Riding style.. fast as possible! Just pull up, do the odd trick, nibble wierd moves when at parks. Just pumping and pulling up and going real fast, with the sound of the freewheel clicking and tires buzzing on smooth packed dirt. Nothing beats summer days in the woods, no chance of a better feeling on a bike in my eyes.

plans for this year.. get the woods fully dialled in, move to Oxford with three of the nicest people I know, travel most weekends, learn to cook better, go out with a model, party hard, go visit some French woods, get a sweet job that I enjoy, spend too much money on petrol, learn a foreign language, drink myself into liking red wine.

what inspires you to ride.. people who dig fun trails, good videos of fast riding with fitting music, English riders who kill it, sunny days, riding in shorts,

who inspires you?.. trail bosses, people who love riding, anyone that loves riding as much away from civilization's eye as much as they do in front of an impressionable crowd. As for riders, Scott Edgworth, BF, Stauffer and Will Hermann are the first ones who always come to mind.

describe your local scene.. where do I start! BANBURY; rad kids, young shredders, ghetto rats, slags, eceltic mix of characters, heckling, laughter. BOURNEMOUTH; golden clay pits, abundance of spots, wild party times, masses of locals, sweet bike shops. OXFORD; soon to be the local, trails scene.

music.. Random artists at the moment - Braintax's new album, the Cure, Rolling Stones, Winehouse, Dubbledge, Regina Spektor, old Public Enemy, Smiths, Mighty Boosh music, Oasis.

what you at when not riding... digging at the trails, being a drunken zombie mess rambling incoherent sentances, watching amusing stuff on TV/net, listening to music, reading books whenever I can, shooting pictures of anything that takes my interest, generally making sure I have fun full time.

thanks to anyone.. definitely my parents for taking me so many places when I was younger. My Dad always fixed my bike when I was to spasticated which was mint. The people who started Hornton Hill and kept it running in the red for so long. Anyone that's ever given me a lift to a spot, dialled my bike (especially the brake!), trail builders for letting me case their sets and building such awesome places by hand straight outta the earth. The many people that let me sleep on their floors, make me toast in the morning and give me duvets to sleep on. Inspirational musicians.

interview 12

2008-03-25T06:58:00.004+08:00

Name.. Mike Westlake aka The Westlake Show haha

age.. 20(??) yrs young

years riding.. 5 ..I think?? ( editors note.. you started when you were 81yrs old)

fav spot to ride.. Wherever my friends are.

Riding style.. Mix of Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon

plans for this year.. Woodward, BMX Masterbators and to not get injured and have fun and try and get up to scotland.

what inspires you to ride.. COMPS, Money, Chicks. haha trying to catch up with Ray

who inspires you?.. Nearly everyone around me.

describe your local scene.. I have two local scenes and they are both amazing. Everyone ast Banbury is really cool and its good to go somewhere where they dont care about the latest fashion (e.g. Ray's style( editors note, clothing or riding?)..) hahahaha, just kidding (you can leave that out if you like.)

music.. depends what i am doing but anything that sounds good

what you at when not riding.. working!

thanks to anyone.. Ray

interview 11

2008-03-25T06:47:00.003+08:00

Eddie Chaffe
22 lucky years old.
Riding for 11 years both MTB and BMX.

fav spot to ride.. "The Dream" at Sheffield. Cool dirt jumps and amazing race track.

Riding style.. I like to pedal, go high and long in any style that gets the job done weather it looks controlled or not, landing smoothly or hard. Composure is the key. BOSH!

plans for this year.. Drink less and be up early everyday, ride more, visit all my friends and go on many fun holidays and make more things happen for myself.
Ride more race tracks and hopefully do well in some regional races. But maybe out for a while as a knee op is in the balance hopefully, because having a few problems riding, less of the road running races me thinks lol.

what inspires you to ride.. First of all, the sunshine! Nice pretty girls watching! Old photos and memories, and when my friends are riding well.

who inspires you?.. My Granddad. My friends, the ones who ride BMX, the ones who ride MTB and some that don't ride at all.

describe your local scene.. I think that the our local scene is really amazing, Everyone supports each other and give probs when someone does something they are pleased with even though there are a wide range of talent in the scene but this adds to the character of the group and I know everyone is happy where they’re at in BMX.
Also I think we have a great park which is only there due to the work of the skate park users, and apart from riding each is willing to help each other out, and also most of the riders are great to party with.

music.. Any live music event with a stage that I can get naked on. Too many bands to list, My friends bands and DJ sets.
Anything to get me going to get loose to and chill out stuff aswell.

what you at when not riding.. International man of mystery fighting off evil aliens to save humanity for everyone but I’ve handed in my resignation and leave the job on Thursday. Sleeping, eating, well into cooking at the moment and try cooking something new most nights, Working to pay the bills, Socialising. Running and reading. Im happy with life.

thanks to anyone.. I have a lot of gratitude for various people and they know who they are, they are the friends who I speak to all the time. I appreciate what anyone does for me and take no one for granted.

interview 10

2008-03-25T04:23:00.002+08:00

Richy P aka Rambo

age.. 17

years riding.. probably about 3 years park then a couple of years trails and hornton hill before that!

fav spot to ride.. Banbury or Gus's Barn!

Riding style.. bit of everything really! not too many tricks..

plans for this year.. finsih my a-levels, get earning for my gap year! then travel my tits off and ride as much as possible!!!

what inspires you to ride.. Mates, good weather and getting out of the house!

who inspires you?.. hot girls... and chaz makes me do things alot and took me places when i couldnt drive. Gus aswell when hes here! plus all the Banbury boys of course!

describe your local scene.. rad. too many rats though.

music.. anything and everything! Uk hip hop for street, anything for park and trails!

what you at when not riding.. checking myspace, partying or hustling.

thanks to anyone.. the Banbury lot for accepting me when i was a wee nipper!

peace out!
x

interview 9

2008-03-25T01:14:00.004+08:00

angus... aka gus..

age.. 17

years riding..I started off racing about 4 years ago.

fav spot to ride.. home trails, banbury park

Riding style.. Fast, flow, racey with not too many tricks

plans for this year.. travel to more spots and get confident on my bmx again after my knee surgery

what inspires you to ride.. friends, good spots, weather, BMX dvds

who inspires you?.. Garrett Byrnes, Alex Dick and the banbury riders

describe your local scene.. I have missed it! The Banbury scene is chill and wild at the same time, there is always some dude throwing the abuse and another shredding hard, awesome riding atmosphere!

music.. mainly the old classics, Led, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Slayer and anything else that i like the sound of.

what you at when not riding..Im usually doing school work or at physio theraphy, haha, great times! I try and party as much as i can too!

thanks to anyone.. My family and friends for being behind me all the time.

interview 8

2008-03-25T00:11:00.001+08:00

Craig mcgill.. aka Ripa

age.. 19

years riding.. 5years

fav spot to ride.. epic, banbury, redditch

Riding style.. riding any good park and trails just flowing and doing tricks 

plans for this year.. travel allot more enter more comps 

what inspires you to ride.. bmx dvds, music, my good mates

who inspires you?.. Sergio layos, harry main and ray smith

describe your local scene.. umm I don’t really have a local scene but I class banbury as my local have to travel 19 miles but its good 
The riders there are good and I get on well with them

music.. everything apart from drum and bass!!

what you at when not riding..with my girlfriend or her mates, watching bmx dvds 

thanks to anyone.. my parents for supporting me, Ray smith for all he has done for me and harry main!!

interview 7

2008-03-24T22:28:00.005+08:00

Ian.. aka wilco, wilma...

age.. 38

years riding.. Blimey... since 83-84... do the math.

fav spot to ride.. Local + anywhere the RAD guys meet up as it's always good vibe.

Riding style.. circa 1985-1995 ha!

plans for this year.. Make my bike even lighter (gay) ride more than once a week & learn some more nose-pick variations :-)

what inspires you to ride.. My bike, I just love riding it! going forward & backwards on my BMX, when your bike is totally how you want it, you will want to ride it more.. Also mid-skool video footage (I think most people know my thoughts on new-skool fashion riding) & my friends I ride with are always inspiration.

who inspires you?.. In no particular order:

Derren Bailey
Rick Moliterno
Alex Leech
Kevin Gutierrez
Rob Ridge
Ray Smith
Vic Murphy
Paul Osicka
Eddie Roman
Lee Sultimier
& anyone else with their own individual style of riding & doing something different.

describe your local scene.. Pretty good park, most of us get on great & despite not being what you might term 'a regular', from what I see, the guys there are always pushing their riding & having a laugh with it. Could do with a lot less hangers-on who think it's too cool to sit around on the decks getting fucked up on D&D...

music.. I'm currently indulging in my mission to buy every CD I've ever wanted to own as I've developed a little HiFi addiction. Latest purchases:

ET soundtrack
Sigur Ros
Eels
Madness
The For Carnation
The Beach Boys
Mudhoney
I'm pretty varied musically, why limit yourself to one genre when there's a world of beautiful sounds out there!?

what you at when not riding.. working, listening to music (as above), movies, full time family life!

thanks to anyone.. My wife, my family, my friends, anyone who's ever helped me out & anyone else I've had fun on a BMX with, cheers! ;-)

interview 6

2008-03-24T07:16:00.003+08:00

steve, sumner, steveo sumner bey!

age.. 20

years riding.. 3or 4 yrs.I think??(editors edit, come on bro tis been at least 5-6)

fav spot to ride.. banbury, and epic

Riding style.. i dunno really, like alot of limbless tricks

plans for this year.. get bk on me bike, and hang with the boys who got me into bmx in the first place

what inspires you to ride.. watching bmx vids, and watching ova people ride, learning new tricks, wich pushes u further to learn more

who inspires you?.. riders who live for bmx, tht ride everyday.

describe your local scene.. fuck, aint been there in ages, so wouldnt no at the min, probs the same as its always been, good lads with lil bikes

music.. punk. metal. ska. DnB

what you at when not riding..drinking, partying. going to gigs

thanks to anyone.. every 1 at the park for getting me in to bmx,

interview 5

2008-03-24T03:50:00.001+08:00

Josh Belcher.. aka Yoshi, Joshy b, Salty.

age.. 21

years riding.. About 4 or 5
fav spot to ride.. Creation, but i love my home park.

Riding style.. Sketchy, i like to go high on stuf, unlike some of the kids at the park that just like to get high.

plans for this year.. Learn new tricks, meet new people, take some good photographs.

what inspires you to ride.. Watching a bmx dvd usually gives me the itch to go out and try something new, and watching some of the locals send it.

who inspires you?.. All of the riders out there that just enjoy nthe lifestyle and ride for the fun rather than the image.

describe your local scene.. Maybe one of the best scenes going, everyone is really nice, and gets on with each other. Ive been to alot of parks and none where the Bmxers the skaters and the bladers all get on like us.

music.. Pretty much anything, im not fussy.

what you at when not riding.. You can usually find me behind my camera taking snaps for a bit of cash, go check my website, www. joshbelcher. co. uk

thanks to anyone.. Everyone who has ever helped me out with stuf when i needed, all the the people who i call my freinds, you know who you are, and my family.

interview 4..

2008-03-23T20:24:00.003+08:00

Ray smith.. aka violent Ray, everyday Ray, Ray

age.. 32 yrs young

years riding.. 11-12 ..I think??

fav spot to ride.. Banbury, thats why I'm here after all!!!

Riding style.. super tech, anything that happens (normally fluke )

plans for this year.. ride loads, travel more, learn nothing fashionable!

what inspires you to ride.. inspires me? not so much inspiring but when I wake 1st thing going through my mind is new combo's, tech tricks line etc, while there fresh I need to get out and make it happen!

who inspires you?.. anybody who rides for fun / smile factor, some of Banburys locals, John, Ian, Baltie, little turner etc

describe your local scene.. amazing, so many cool people to ride with, not to many fashion idoits (one to many chaz's tho!!)

music.. trance, D&B, thrash metal, metal.. anything fast really

what you at when not riding.. playing with stuff with engines being with my family...

thanks to anyone.. my Family, my miss's, all who ride with me!

interview 3

2008-03-23T19:45:00.003+08:00

Dan ibbetson.. aka ibbo

age.. 25

years riding.. 11

fav spot to ride.. fav spot guess darby storm r.i.p or romford,

riding style.. style hmm just a chilled slow speed rider

plans for this year.. plans well due to running a pub now that takes up far to much of my live so plans are to finish new bike and ride more, i may be getting older and i fuckin hurts when i crash now but i can't give up bmx its part of my life

what inspires you to ride.. impresses me. gotta say all these little kids that ride now when i started bmx was not even close to the stage that its at now. theres like 10 year olds doing flips n stuff

who inspires you?.. see above

describe your local scene.. scene. a good bunch of lads. got some fucked up shite going down that other riders will find crazy. welcoming to anyone who comes to ride with us. mates just good mates

music..music. Punk . . rock, metal,.most of you know im in band as the front man. been doing that for bout 3 years now. and playing drums for well far to long, and im still shitemusics always been a part of my life playing it or just chilling with some cd's

what you at when not riding.. when im not rideing. well im probs workin its a tuff job but realy enjoy it, its not all about pulling pints of for ungreatfull people its a dam good crack though,and if not working then im probs doing some pa work or something to do with music.

interview 2

2008-03-23T19:34:00.007+08:00

John Howkins.. aka dirty ..

age.. 16

years riding.. 3

fav spot to ride.. would have to be the local banbury good atmosphere and good park

riding style.. everything big n brakeless..

plans for this year.. to wait for the summer,ride loads and party and well leavin to college

what inspires you to ride.. seein other people ride..good weather web videos etc.. and just good times

who inspires you?.. who inspires you .. ray smith 4 helpin me with my bike and ridin etc ( editors note..NOT chaz mann).. takin me places urmm and lots of pros like mark webb, morgan wade ,chase ( not Harry) etc.. etc..

describe your local scene.. fun! urmm quite small,great atmosphere and great people in general again good times

music.. with music i duno depends what my mood is i like allsorts really.

what you at when not riding.. urmm just bein with my mates g n to partys etc..

thanks to my family and friends

interview 1..

2008-03-23T19:09:00.003+08:00

Callum, aka Baltie..

age.. 16 + 3/4

years riding.. 4-5

fav spot to ride.. specsavers or the wall behind the musketeer pub

riding style.. tweaker (street killer brakeless 4 pegs)

plans for this year.. keep my bike 1 colour

what inspires you to ride.. watchin people go big

who inspires you?.. tom hanks

describe your local scene.. little rats and druggys on bikes

music.. hip hop, reggae

what you at when not riding.. chillin at college or chillin at home ...

thanks to anyone? thankyou to everyone!!

Sheldon Brown 1944-2008

2008-02-14T03:49:00.004+08:00

I heard Sheldon Brown died last week. He lived his life surrounded by bikes & his site makes for some interesting reading. I used his wheel building expertise from his tutorial site years ago to teach myself to build wheels & I've often found myself digging through the other parts of his knowledge of bicycles old & new.

RIP to a fellow biker

www.sheldonbrown.com/home.html

Ratboy Rocket Ruler...

2008-02-11T04:47:00.001+08:00

SS20-Corby-5th Feb 2008...

2008-02-07T06:10:00.000+08:00

It's always got to be good to cut work early to go & ride so it was half day for some old dudes & then hit the road to Corby again.

The plans all came together last minute & it ended up with Sunil & I travelling up from Banbury to Meet Alex, Mon & Zac at the park. After a good old chin-wag all the way up, we were into the park & out of the rain. Derren Bailey & Phil from Cov also came & we were soon all sessioning the bowl & wedge & having a grand old time of it!

Alex - Table

Mon & Zac skated the bowl & were there to do a reccy for the legendary Skate shop SS20 in Oxford. The plan, according to SS20 owner Mon, is to get a load of Skateboarders the world over to get together & have a big Jam type deal to celebrate 20 Years of SS20 with live music, DJ's & undoubtedly, some mental skating going down too. All due to happen as some point later in the year...

Zac

Zac - Hip

Mon

Mon - Bowl Carve

Sunil hasn't ridden for ages so it was good to see him blowing out the cobwebs & getting back into the flow. We made our way around the park & rode a little of everything, there were a bunch of foreign younger guys, all sessioning the main line down the park over the boxes but they all left after a short while & we pretty much had the place to ourselves.

We had a real good session on the street spine which has to have a prize for being the worst positioned ramp in a skatepark ever! it's right in the main line of the jump boxes/step ups callthemwhatyouwill. Fortunately as the park was quiet, we all managed to get some good stuff down on it anyways.

Alex - Spine - 360 Tyretap

Ian - Spine - No-foot nosepick

Big props to Sunil for conquering the spine & for the other guys riding who pretty much nailed everything they attempted. All Good...

After learning that the floor was in fact made of sandpaper (ouch) we returned to the bowl for a while & then Sunil & I called it a day. We said our goodbyes & were soon back on the dark roads to Banbury...

Thanks to you all for the inspiring riding & see you all @ Creation on the 23rd - Yo!

Phil

Derren & Alex

Sunil & Ian

Good times

Thanks to Alex for the photos ;-)

RADBMX-Corby-10th Jan 2008...

2008-01-19T07:13:00.000+08:00

Bit slack on the up take, I know, but what a great way to start the year! Over a month has flown by since the Xmas doo & again we were a bunch of excited kids chomping at the bit to get out & ride ;-)

Alex drove us this time round & Ray took up some of his crew up in his motor. A good chin wag ensued as usually I don't get to say a lot to Al, as we are always busy riding our bikes so it was good to catch up. Soon as we got there the usual butterfly's hit (they always do - go figure?) & we were chucking front wheels back on & scrambling for shelter inside. We signed on the dotted, paid our dues & we were in to meet some other Raddies & after several introductions we were away.

First impressions of the park were favourable with a ton of options it was difficult to know where to start but we went with the bowl behind the mini. This thing is nice & smooth & you could spend all day just riding that & never get bored. But there was a whole park to use so we gradually made our way around the place & got a feel for what was on offer...

The day went pretty fast (as these things always do) & everybody seemed to be having a blast, I'm still not sure who half of the RAD crew are & I will hopefully get around to proper introductions & conversation in the future but they are all a sound bunch of BMXers ;-)

Milks snapped a few fotos:

Alex & CBCL made Toothbonks on the oververt

Milks carved the bowl with mucho speed & made some sweet footplants to fakie, I learnt disaster to nosepick & made 360 Canadians again, Alex made some good nosepicks on the wedge/sub thing in the bowl & nailed some other great stuff & Ray had to take Craig to A&E :-(

We got well lost going home without Ray to follow so plenty more conversation flowed...

Great day & already booked & looking forward to the next one, 23rd Feb, where with luck, Sboy should be with us!

So that worked out then...

2008-01-03T03:31:00.000+08:00

I was reading some post on RADBMX site & remembered that I had posted about new years resolutions around this time last year. I checked the list I had made to see how many of these illusive goals I had achieved...

Answer: ZERO

SO, my single new years rez for this time around is:

TO STOP BEING AN IDLE BASTID!

08/12/07 - RADBMX Xmas Bash...

2007-12-25T05:57:00.000+08:00

This was a big one for me, my first RADBMX get together (I'd missed the last 3 or 4) & to say I was excited was an understatement! The buzz on the site threads was good & it seemed that everyone who was going, was well up for it :-) Saturday came around & I spent most of my day dialing my bike & car & getting everything else ready to go. Ray, Mikey & I decided to trip up in the Scenic & by 4:30pm we were all packed & on route...

I don't get to see my riding buddies very often outside of when we are sessioning together so the trip up was a good chance to catch up & talk bikes/cars/life etc. We arrived at the park early & upon entering, it dawned on me that the last indoor park I had ridden was this one about 3 years previously! I was excited & feelings of anticipation about the park were rising as the last time I had been there it was some kind of Xgaymes stylee place that I didn't really enjoy in the least. After a quick piss & loiter in the entrace, we had negotiated the secret password for entry & we were in. My initial impressions were "yeah that looks cool" "Ooow I like that bit!" "yeah that's all good" & "nice mini" I was thinking a good session was going to be on the cards...

As more & more RADBMXer's filtered in & the Xmas Jam kicked off, it was like going back in a time warp to 'BACK IN THE DAY' central! I mean riders with their very own style!? - Front Brakes! - seatposts! one & all enjoying their riding & having a great time.

We mainly sessioned the mini for a good while which was nice, skatelite, fast but the coping was a bit 'proud' for my liking if I care to split hairs ;-) Ray was all over the park like a nitrous fueled duracel bunny in what seemed like one continuous 5 hour run! Boy got stamina indeedy ;-) I rode around the park & checked out the 'new' spine mini setup which was evil & would probably take me a good few sessions to get to grips with so I opted out on this occasion. Alex, CBCL & Mason Smith seemed to have no such 'issues' with it & they continued to rip it up good! I enjoyed going backwards a lot, 50/50's down the escalator. the spine with a flat bank on one side deal was good for a mess about & Milks & I came up with some cheeky little numbers on that. The mini got most of my efforts & I made some nice litttle bits on it. Milkey made some disaster stuff & was trying some wheel jam type nose picks on the sub on the back of the mini & also some sweeeet footplant tailwhips on the flat bank & almost to fakie too ;-) Ray was more or less just a blur of spinning & tapping in a 'Tas' stylee & was blowing minds with some of his 'Icantevensaythattrickletalonedoit' signature moves, he pulled one of the smoothest 540's on the mini I have EVER witnessed too (which was probably wrong way too) :-)

After a few hours my left thigh started to cramp so I stepped down for a break. I took a big tin of Roses chocs with me as a small token of Crimbo spirit & so I went on a pilgrimage around the park dishing out choc's to all in attendance & managed to get rid of half the tin. Everyone was having a good time & I don't think there was a bad vibe in the house :-)

Milks & I went for a mooch upstairs to look at all the old skool hardware that people had lovingly assembled & there was some rather impressive bikes to behold.

I think one guy (pkradman?) got most of the prizes for his efforts & also one the raffle too! How lucky!? After the draw & prizes were all dished out we decided to go do a bit more riding which continued until the ‘park ranger’ decided it was time we all went home. We said our goodbyes, loaded up the bikes & charged on home.

I met some good people, saw some old friends again & enjoyed some good riding at the RADBMX Xmas Party Bash & would say it’s the best doo I’ve attended in a good long while, just like the good old days.

Roll on next time...

Thanks to Mikey for the pics.

Deranged...

2007-12-16T18:36:00.000+08:00

..hey, at least it has skating and riding in there!

Pic of the week...

2007-11-20T03:17:00.001+08:00

Had to post this great picture of Alex on his 'Old Fools' road trip to Cornwall last weekend.

RAD doood!

For more nfo & more pics, check out Doug Cains blog

Twice a day...

2007-11-13T05:12:00.000+08:00

No posts for ages I know, well I haven't had anything to write for a while but last weekend I was determined to beat the winter weather & get pedalling.

I was up & out on Cinders (my aging 26") by 8:30am, I've been feeling ever the couch potato of late so I have decided to keep up regular exercise in the form of cycling, running & walking. so I did about 30-40 mins on the MTB which got the blood pumping & I soon realised just how much I'd lost the fitness as I plodded up that first hill!

After some shower/lunch/shopping action, I loaded up my 20" & drove to the park. No one of note out today & the way I was feeling it wasn't going to be a marathon by any stretch. After a quick warm up run & some advice given to idiot girls running about on the ramps, it was solo mission all the way. It was great to get out again, I get a real sense of well-being after I have done a few runs & the cogs start whirring over what to try next ;-) With an hours worth under the belt I was heading for me ma's for a well earned cuppa.

After which I crashed straight into the down & out of a sodding cold!

Cheers, sniff sniff..

Black Mags...

2007-10-08T02:02:00.000+08:00

...WORD

How to make a Skyway...

2007-10-08T01:28:00.000+08:00

Just add hot plastic!

New paint and some pictures

2007-09-17T01:24:00.000+08:00

Yo yo yo.
How come pimp my ride uk is hosted by Tim Westwoooooood? He's such a goon. Gimp my ride? Anyway, I spent a slightly overcast saturday a couple of weeks ago painting my bike. For the first time in the history of the world, I actually took everything apart(except my grips, I couldn't be arsed with them, and my chain, cos my chain tool is a bit knackered). There was also some masking tape involved.

Next time I don't think I'll bother, the tape leaked a lot around the edges, and it was a pain in the arse. I did start to mask the engraved shield logo on the headtube up too, but soon got bored. dreadful. I think I should re-cover my seat, it don't quite seem to match. While I'm bitching, the white turned out a bit too yellowy for my liking, but tough.

I actually rode my bike on wednesday, and Chaz got all confused and rode Ian's bike. He did some nice no footed nosepicks, and I attempted to capture the front brake action:

Quite possibly the worlds biggest tweaker:

"Rare old skin" does not even begin to cover this dude. Mental much?

Dirty John goes high, this is a slightly old pic, I think Chaz has a different angle of the same thing somewhere.

Tuff Luv...

2007-09-04T06:34:00.000+08:00

See More BMX Videos at VitalBMX.com

Eating shit & flowers...

2007-08-25T20:51:00.000+08:00

Got some of the new Coalition/Union grips from Cyclone in the mail today. After a flying visit to the local bike shop for some patches & back home for a puncture repair, I fitted the grips to my 20"

I use GT85, a teflon based lubricant/degreaser (WD40 also works well) to fit grips, as you can slide them onto the bars easily & they dry on in about an hour. A liberal squirt down the grip & a quick rub around with a finger of your choice is all you need :-) I've never had problems with grips slipping yet & you don't get any residue when it comes to cutting them off when they are worn out, like you do with glues or hair sprays...

To say they are bright would be an understatement! but I think they look nice & they certainly feel nice too. As the nfo sheet that comes with the grips states: A quality grip with swear words on...

& they match my garden flowers perfectly!

Thanks to Cyclone for their usual 'super fast mail order'

Sun is out so a spot of riding is on the cards...

Ghostrider...

2007-08-19T21:22:00.000+08:00

Looking for some alternative cycle interests, outside of BMX, I came across this site...

A poignant reminder of how riding down your local street can get you dead.

RIP

Hello old friend...

2007-08-13T18:59:00.001+08:00

I'll tell you, the odds seemed against a session at Combe bowl yesterday, people dropped out, the weather was looking doubtful, my ribs were still giving me shit but, alas, the hardcore got to caress those luscious Combe curves once again.

I picked up Sboy's bike as he was in Oxford & we arranged to meet in the village. The car trip was one of anticipation, cloud watching & finger crossing that the rain would hold off & soon enough I was parking up at the cricket pitch. Bikes unloaded & a short wait for S & we were walking the field, feeling that 'Combe vibe'. No one else riding but plenty of people around, enjoying a Sunday afternoon in the park, chilling out & watching the men in white & their little red ball. We made camp & started with a few runs from the top of the keyhole :-)

After a short time spots of rain began & it continued to deteriorate into a shower so we took refuge under the trees & spent some time discussing the trials & tribulations of life & pretty soon the rain had stopped & the sun was making something of an effort to get us riding again. Some dumb kids turned up for a game of football in the bowl & after some blatant ignorance, on our part, they gave up the 'can you do a blah blah blah' banter & went on their way. With the bowl drying out nicely we sessioned again, S made some nice hip jumps, fast plants & carved the bowl fast & with style. I think I made some nose picks (surprise) & even a pretty good 540 variant. When we had had enough & the sky was looking like more rain was imminent, we called it a day & walked back up the field to the cars.

I'd love to know who actually built the bowl, just so that I could say thank you to them for the effort taken to do so & for the good times that I've had there as I'm sure, anyone who's ridden there over the years, has had too...

Splendid.

bruising

2007-08-09T06:23:00.000+08:00

Check me out

Day after crash:

Day after day after crash:

Bruise is spreading, and there's a little bit on the inside of my ankle now too which is new today.
That dark stuff near my toes is bruise too, not fluff, as I initially thought.

Story goes, I was gonna go riding/play with camera, so I headed in to town, down that monster hill that is broad street, and swing round the corner into marlborough street, which is surprisingly full of parked cars and two people in the middle of the road. I miss the people, and the first car I was going to hit, realise the second one is coming right for me and bail, roll my foot over a goodun, and get my bike wedged under a car. Joy.
"Oh my god are you alright?" is pretty far down the list of thing I want to be hearing right now, but they say it at least three times. Cunts. I also have some gravel rash on my elbow.
I untangle my bike from the car(this makes a nasty noise, I think they have some door/bodywork damage but I honestly couldn't give a flying one) and start to continue into town, thinking I can still ride, putting my seat straight, but my foot is swelling up before my eyes and my pedal is at a horrible angle so I head home, where Emma convinces me I should go to hospital, so I do, and sit around for ages, and they tell me it aint broken, and walking on it normally and keeping it moving will make it heal quicker/better, but it'll probably be a couple of weeks before I walk normal, and six weeks before I can do "sport". Yippee.
And I banged my right thigh(other leg) and have difficulty bending my knee, so walking is nae fun.
Did I mention that on saturday I ordered new forks, tyres and shoes, what with it actually being dry.

From a bad one to a good one...

2007-08-05T05:14:00.000+08:00

Yeah! it's always good to follow a poor riding session with a particularly good one! You gotta make good use of the little sun we've seen so far this year, so Sboy & I were, once again, tripping over to Chacombe for some Saturday afternoon BMX'ing. We both made some stuff, rode hard & had a good little session in the lovely weather...

What more could you want!?

A Splinter or two...

2007-08-03T18:57:00.000+08:00

Here's the result of a nice slide across the plywood.

I've had to shave my leg so that i can pull out the splinters without clumps of hair coming with them (ouch) A build up of puss has now set in (yummy) so I'm off to try & dig out some more...

... now where's those damn tweezers?

mid week session...

2007-08-02T18:15:00.000+08:00

I often find myself writing negative things about riding sessions & yes, BMX in general I suppose, so when I got home last night, I was feeling like I wish I hadn't bothered...

I've not ridden spiceball for a while as we have been having some good sessions over at Chack (when the weather is forgiving enough) so I figured I should go get some riding in, down at my local. SB has a funny vibe to it, sometimes when it's quieter & there are a few riders getting their groove on, it can be great but more often than not, the shitheads are in attendance. Last night was not good for me, I couldn't make nowt & I don't dig riding on my own so, along with a few wipeouts & the aforementioned shitheads resident, I was defeated & heading back home...

Today I have a shin full of plywood splinters & a feeling SB is best left well alone...

Combe anybody?

Hands up who was there...?

2007-07-30T03:11:00.000+08:00

This has to rank as one of the best comps we ever went to!?

KOC - 1993
Krt owned that mini ramp, the Standard army dominated & Team Sano debagged anybody within spitting distance!

Legend...

2007-07-26T05:14:00.000+08:00

Paul Osicka

New camera+new back wheel=pics!

2007-07-06T05:00:00.000+08:00

I got a shiny new digital camera off of ebay, partly courtesy of people giving me money for managing to stay alive another year, partly because I have a job that pays me more than £12 a month, and partly because I've got an awesome girlfriend who's willing to give me access to her credit card. She'll learn!
Camera is a Ricoh GR digital, and although I have yet to do anything major with it, it seems really cool, like full manual controls you don't have to go through 12 menus to get to, wide angle lens(21mm!), and a nifty continuous mode thing where it blasts 16 pics in about 2 seconds, which I'm sure will be most entertaining. And a hair over 8 Super EXXXXTEEEME!!! MEGA PIXELS. Or something. Hopefully now I'll get back to taking more pictures, because it's been a while since I shot anything other than bikes not moving, or family crap. I do have about 14 rolls of film still to get developed though, and I'm pretty sure there's some fgood stuff on there somewhere. And for once I'm not exaggerating on the numbers, I really do have a lot of used up film.
Anyway, I used the new camera to take a couple of pics of my bike, complete with Ian's old back wheel(cheers dude!).

Only differences from the last check are the new wheel(proper hub on a 7KA, 13t driver, 48 spokes), a few less links of chain hooking it up to a 36t T1 sprocket that was free, and I might have to paint. The attila stem also shit the bed, stripping the two bolts at the front, leading to wobbly bars syndrome at epic the other week. Rubbish. Back to the Redneck then! Also I think I have less paint and more dirt. And a fishing rod.........
The axle has a groovy allen key hole in one end too. Not sure why only one though :/

Peaceout

Fashionable?...Moi?

2007-06-24T23:50:00.000+08:00

I've been toying with the idea of getting a freecoaster for years now but hub design & cash were always a big issue for me, seeing as BK was changing up some of his stuff for his next project (post to follow soon) I thought I'd grab his old one...

Changing gearing can get expensive these days & it was through getting the chance of buying up Bob's old stock & the favorable exchange rate, that I decided to get it on. As this coaster only came in a 10t version, I had to look at downsizing the sprocket too. Originally I was waiting on the new BSD 'Alex' sprockets but the excitement got the better of me & I couldn't wait to get this project going. I have also been looking at Treebikeco sprockets for a while now, as I'd heard nothing but good things about them & after a check of their site, I discovered that they had a new 'light' sprocket in the works. After the offical launch indicated on Tree's site, I had BK get on to our ever trusted US BMX supplier, par excellence, Pat @ Flatlandfuel. Before long it's here (along with a fuck-off, massive order of lovely flatland components for Rayo & Bob) & the upgrade is on a roll...

I stripped & rebuilt the Odyssey Reloader freecoaster to make sure all was well.

I had to true the wheel of some spiteful up & down action & it was a couple of mm out on the dish but nothing major as far as the wheel was concerned.

The sprocket is the correct size (22mm) for the BSD Ti axle already on the bike so it was all a real nice fit & went together without heartache & I was glad to get rid of the nasty top-hat spacer for some super true sprocket rotation ;-)

With everything together, I don't think the weight has changed much? The freecoaster wheel is definitely heavier than the Proper cassette wheel it's replacing but with loosing the links from the chain due to smaller gearing & the difference between the 36t ANIMAL BIKES sprocket & the Tree light, it's kinda balanced it all out...

Always good to get new stuff for the 20" & I have enjoyed getting this sorted. Now just need to wait (for ever?) for the damn rain to stop falling so I can go test the beast...

Thanks:

BK for the wheel
Alex for the BSD offer
Pat for getting hold of the Tree light

In the midst of a waster generation...

2007-06-13T19:29:00.000+08:00

What is it with kids today? Last night we tripped over to Chacombe for a relaxing evening session & had to sweep the entire park due to glass everywhere, fires lit against the back of the mini & basically sort out a fucked up mess of a park! I don't get it? if I'd have had this sort of facility on my doorstep when I was a nipper, I would have been using it for it's intended purpose & shredding the place daily! It's so easy to be a fucking waster these days eh kids?

So...

BobK, Co, Pornchai & I got our stuff together & after the above cleanup operation we had a good little session. Co has borrowed Bob's old 'Big-D' & seemed to be enjoying a bit of flat & ramp action & hopefully this will be just what he needs to get back in the saddle & back to being the little ripper of old! BK was just chipping away at some bits he's working on, I'm sure he likes to get out on his own solo missions to get some stuff learned but it's always good to see him riding... I just made a few of my normal bits & had a good time.

Summer evening sessions are the best eh...?

Combe next...

A great way to get rid of £6...

2007-04-26T04:32:00.000+08:00

Bought the Smiths album 'the queen is dead' for my birthday & it's such a great CD. I worked in a record store (remember those!?) when this came out in 86 & remember buying it on vinyl at the time. After 20+ years it hasn't aged a day & still sounds great, so go & spend a few quid on a copy & kick back & enjoy the fantastic, often funny, song writing & great melodies, it's worth every penny.

Or if your a tight git then go see I-tunes, Ares or whatever his name is for the ripped, compressed & rubbish sounding MPfree version...

enjoy

For Dummies guides vol:1

2007-04-21T02:31:00.000+08:00

Available from Amazon now...

Celebrity Race - I don't think so...

2007-04-19T21:20:00.000+08:00

from vitalbmx.com:

Dave Mirra Wins Celebrity Race!

The annual Toyota Grand Prix Celebrity race was held April 15th in Long Beach, CA. The race is full of Hollywood actors and professional athletes, and the winner for 2007 was none other than Dave Mirra! Apparently Dave can do anything he wants and come out on top. Congrats to Dave, and you can check out Toyota.com for more info. Crazy.

Results
1. Dave Mirra - NO Dave we said celebrities

2. Martina Navratilova - too busy eating pussy to win

3. Joshua Morrow - who?

4. Mike Skinner - in full factory Burberry uniform

5. RJ Romero - He owns the fucking company! he shoulda won by default

6. Bucky Lasek - you can't skate on gravel, he was destined to place low

7. Scott Kelley - KELLEY is wanted by the District of New Hampshire - New Hampshire Joint Fugitive Taskforce, based on arrest warrants issued by the U.S. Marshals Service and Coos County Sheriff's Office, NH for Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution and Non-Custodial Kidnapping. - last seen in 7th place!

8. Emily Procter - won worst actress awards in 2001, 2002 & 2003 & her dad is a Doctor?? would that be as in the porn film "Dr Proctor - Anal Specialist" what a winner!

9. Kell Hu - & fuck you too unknown

10. John Salley - Ex NBA, aka 'the spider' I reckon had he not gone with the 280mm profile cranks choice he woulda placed higher...?

11. Aisha Tyler - Actress & avid 'home beer brewer' (piss head) was probably too fucked up on 'Old Thunderpussy Barleywine' to give a shit about some poxy BMX race

12. Jery Westlund - A former political consultant for the U.S.-controlled Bicycle Club casino has been indicted on charges of embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from the card club's political campaigns - how could he loose?

13. Kathryn Morris - shes a hottie, I have nothing derogatory to say about her

14. Robin Quivers - I bet he does being up against that 'legendary celeb' Dave Mirra!

15. Annamarie Dean - Toyota race car driver - should have come second right behind RJ??

16. George Lucas - not even the force could elevate George to place higher

17. Kendra Wilkinson - one of Hugh Hefners bunny's - stick to your inevitable porn career girl, you certainly have the rigged up face for it

So I can see it now, DM thinking 'I could beat those mofos for the gold medal!?' If it was that much of a bargain bin celeb deal then where where the following Z listers??:

Vera Duckworth - go go you spiteful old fucker!
Carol Thatcher - hot off her 'I'm a retard get me outta here!' win in 05, she would been hot for rockin' the 20" & leaving DM in her wake
Gareth Gates - someone coulda pulled this looser fuckwit outta the dumpster he now resides in & put the goons career back on the track
Joey Deacon - what a legend! well if he wasn't RIP he must have been down for the win, all he needed to do was have a chat with DM pre moto & he would drenched him in spit from all that whistling shit & DM's Oakley Razor Blades ((or whoever he's sponsored by this week)) would have been fully misted & he woulda put it over the first berm without a doubt...

Celebrities one & all then...

where's Wakey?!?

2007-04-17T21:27:00.000+08:00

What with the perfect weather we seem to be having here of late, the bike sessions are becoming more frequent :-) So Saturday comes around & we find ourselves on the road to Chacombe once again...

Mikey, BK, Sboy, myself & Dopeammo maestro, Co put in an appearance this time round. We all had a great session in the sunshine, Milkey made 'bus driver' disasters & was trying foot jam foofs, Sunil was well back on form & riding the best I've seen him ride in years - go-go-dude!! BobbyK was inspired by watching a legendary old bike video of us from 10+ years ago & was out to prove that riding with craig'MuttDogg'walters back, circa 1994, was not the highlight of his flatland career & he's now set to blaze his way through 2007 - on one wheel. Co seemed to be enjoying himself & will hopefully rejoin the ranks this year & it would be great to see... watch this space ;-) After filming some 'comp runs' we were all shot & so retreated home, for some much needed shade & hydration, Same time next week then dooods.

Oh yeah, I did some more nose picks.

Blue skies for Easter

2007-04-10T03:25:00.000+08:00

Well for the first time in ages, I rode twice in less than a week over the Easter BH-weekend. I'm really getting into this riding thing eh? Whilst some people think nothing of riding on a daily basis, it's a bit of a big deal for an 'old timer' like myself...

So after having a good little session on Thursday with Milkey, Rayo etc, I find myself hooking up with Sboy & BK for another nice little trip over to sunny Chacombe :-) I hope this is a sign of things to come this year as it's a bit of a rarity getting to ride with Sunil & Chack is also suitable for a little rock & roll, in a flatland stylee, which meant BK was also attending - all good!

The sun was out, we had some Slapshot on the tape deck & the old road trip feelings were resurfacing once again. It's great at this time of year, to think you have all that potential good weather & sessions to come, in the months to follow...

There were about 20 skaters 15 bladders & 35 BMXers already sessioning the ramps when we got there... thats a bit of an exageration actually, in reality, there was just one 10 year old girl & a toddler using the ramp as a slide & they soon scarpered as we rolled up :-) you gotta love having a park all to yourself eh?

Having ridden only 2 days earlier I was soon familiarising myself with Chacks curves & Sboy was soon in his element too, going for his tricks including those classic TM fast plants ;-)

Bob was squeaking his pinkies & looking forward to knee surgery

I made some more nose picks (I can do some other tricks - I think?)

& we snapped these photos which I feel really capture the good little session we had on a Saturday afternoon @ Chacombe ramps.

Paint is good

2007-04-06T17:26:00.000+08:00

So, Alex got me thinking about how much I painted my Dirtbike(RIP), and I figured I'd share a few of it's moments. Unforortunately I can't find any of it when it had this awesome yellow/red fade on the go. The red was the same as the wheels(Renault capsicum red) and the yellow was the same as the yellow when it was new (Fiat broom yellow).

So, this one is the first paintjob I did on it, which involved riding into town, buying some paint, and taking it to the park to paint it. There was A LOT of overspray all over the tarmac, and we ran out of yellow so chaz was sent on a mission to get more while the wheels got done, or something. The gold and orange were 100% impulse buys, in a "hmm, nice orange, ooh, and gold, for the ladies" stylee.
Below we have the final, death colours. I think the bike was actually stripped down for this one! I really like the green, and the brown bits looked a lot darker in real life, almost black. The orange looked good in the can, but I'm not such a huge fan of how it turned out.

Parts-wise it's identical to my current bike, cept it's got T1 bars, a redneck light, and I had to cut the brakemounts off myself, and a different seat cover. And clamp. And a shadow conspiracy chain. Oh, and the front tyre's a dirtmonster, and the back is a tioga FS100. Same fat/skinny arrangement as now!

END

At long last, my bike!

2007-04-04T22:14:00.000+08:00

Yea, so it's taken a while, but here goes

Frame- S&M Black Bike, 20.5, no brake mounts!
Fork- Dunno, some I found in the garage, poss old DK ones, not too heavy, soon to be replaced!
Bars- Attila Hot Bars, couple of inches chopped off each side
Grips- Oddy Gary Young. I think my mate Phil in Bristol took pity on me and my holy grips and gave me these
Stem- Attila toploader
Headset- Super**** campy thing
Seat- Primo Haemorrhoid
Post- Might be a Primo Rod, cut down pretty good
Clamp- One Ian gave me, custom super paint job. No finger marks in it, honest
Cranks- Solid. Awesome cranks, pissed me off A LOT recently because the spindle is 7/8, so it wouldn't work with my 22mm bb, but still amazing
BB- S&M 22mm
Sprocket- Metal 44t, many layers of paint
Pedals- Oddy Jim C. Best pedals I've ever had. Set number 2, much paint
Chain- Pretty stock looking thing, poss a KMC, the pins look like they've been punched. Contains links from more than one chain, in a Frankenstein stylee. Again, lots of paint
Front Tyre-Maxxis Holy Roller, fat bastard size
Back Tyre- Primo Wall, skinny bastard size(1.85)
Front Wheel- G-sport Homer on an oddy hazard lite. There's chrome under there somewhere
Back wheel- As above, with less layers of paint on the rim, but more flat spots
Freewheel- Shimano 16t baby!

Pretty standard, no high tec modifications, put a lovely cover on my seat, a bit of tape round the brake route hole in my seat tube to keep the crud out, will probably do the same to the gyro tab holes on the headtube when I get round to painting it. Also had to take the crank axle down to 22mm from 22.225, which was fun. It's still very snug going into the crank arms, but I guess time will tell if I need to shell out on new ones.

Future plans are to get new forks(hopefully coming from Ray, hopefully soon), a new front wheel, prob 36, and sort my gearing out down to 36/13, which'll probably mean a new back wheel too. Aaaaaand I need a halflink so I can suck my back end up a bit. Anywhere round here sell em? Or do I need to find an excuse for a trip to bicester?

Seeya out soon!

C.U.N.T?

2007-03-28T18:24:00.000+08:00

Well ain't I the consummate BMXer? 2 sessions in as many weeks! I better slow down a bit. Arrangements were made to meet up at the park for 5pm-ish, so it was off into the sun again. I love the feeling I get when I'm heading out to ride & the weather is good...

Was great to catch up with Milkey as I've not seen him for a year or so (besides the brief 10 mins meet @ ROM last August) & so we had plenty of slagging off of the current state of BMX to get off our chests. Bob K put in an all too brief appearance & disappeared soon after, due to 'van issues' which I won't go into... I started to get the feel of the ply again after feeling a little bit sketch the last time down & made some nose picks, nothing new there then. Chris & Rayo turned up & got going, with Ray nailing every trick in his (very long) list, I saw him make a wall tap to manual out which was grand. Some of the local kids were heckling some loner guy on a unicycle who seemed to be rehearsing for the next 8-mile movie although I couldn't understand a fucking word that was streaming from his mouth...? hey-ho...

Well it was nice to get out while the sun was shining & the weather report for the rest of the week was bad, although today looks set to be a nice one again...

Well as the title suggests, perhaps see you next Tuesday?

1st of the year...

2007-03-15T18:30:00.000+08:00

14th of March & I got to dust off the bike to go & session Spice ball ramps for the first time this year. It's a nice feeling that we are coming out of the winter season & cutting work early is always a good thing ;-) So, I arranged to meet up with Ray as it was his birthday - congrats mate!

Nice to see some of the local boys sticking with it & all riding well, John's Footjam nosepicks were grand, totally like the old classic nosepick, boned out & real nice. Ray had the usual fire in his eyes & appeared to be in training for the upcoming 12 hour all nighter @ Epic this week end - go boy go! I was being reserved as ever, playing it safe & just trying to get back the feel of the park again, I really should ride more...

Today is 'sore back' day again! I'm not perturbed by it at all & can't wait to get out again though, so see you next week... weather permitting of course.

Sign up...

2007-02-28T19:39:00.000+08:00

JD over at Union has a petition post on his site to save a local park & Epsom trails therein. It's always good to sign a petition to attempt to help save something BMX related & you never know you might get the chance to session there some time? Go & take the time to sign on the line:

Save Nonsuch Park

cheers

Pre BMX...

2007-02-15T17:45:00.000+08:00

Before BMX arrived in the UK, I was fully into riding my 26" wheeled Raleigh Bomber. I have always loved bikes, as far back as I can remember (although I don't remember my defining '2 wheels only' moment...?) & I treated this one, as I have done every bike since: with mucho care & attention... sort of.

I remember the build up to ownership well, I had been pleading with mum & dad for a Bomber on a daily basis since about July! I would strategically leave the Freemans catalogue open on the 'Bomber' page & just go on & on about how good it was & that 'the price was really good for that bike!' I would pull mum or dad into Trinders on a Saturday morning visit to town & stand & stare at it on the display stand, well I must have worn them down sufficiently as on Christmas morning I woke up to find it behind the downstairs living room curtains! I remember shedding a tear I was that happy :-)

I had the original black, 3-speed Sturmey Archer hubbed version, there was also a single speed version. It had sponge grips with the push-in plastic end caps, big beach cruiser bars (It was after all, a copy of the popular US beach cruisers that preceded it) all the usual Raleigh steel accessories like brake levers, solid cotter pin cranks, pedals & brake calipers. It came sans mudguards of course & had grippy dirt tyres which looked quite like Primo dirt monsters do today & also ran a big foam padded seat made for comfortable 'cruising' around the streets.

It was finished off with the nice 'bomber' graphics which were a concoction of planes, tracer fire & search lights, oh, & who could forget the Raleigh crest on the head tube? - all good.

When Tony 'Burlo' Ball came to live in Banbury & started at Drayton school, we made friends on pretty much the first day & we arranged to meet up after school, when we both came riding along to meet each other & he had a Bomber too, we just couldn't believe it! He had the single speed one (ever the purist) & we rode around Drayton, jumping off steps & having a great time.

Well with all this jumping about, the forks on the Bomber became it's Achilles heel, they were designed with a kink in the fork blade at about the level of the brake blocks & quickly became 'choppered' with all the air time. Burlo got his replaced first, he waited until the tyre was rubbing the fork bridge! & mine followed soon after, apparently there were a lot of kids having the same problem... I also remember he came around one day after school & his mum had just bought him a new 'anti skid' tyre from Trinders & of course we took that 'Lying Trinders Bastards' Challenge & after about 10 minutes of 50ft, full tilt, brake melting skids, the inevitable 'BANG' of the tyre submitting to defeat was echoing around the houses. We both laughed so hard, fuck knows how he explained that one to his Mum!?

With the advent of BMX in the UK, my attentions soon turned to the '20" dark side' & I honestly don't remember what happened to my Bomber!? I think I must have had it for a couple of years before it was replaced by the Falcon Pro & the rest as they say, is history...

The legend that is the Sturmey Archer 3 speed hub

I also found the History of Sturmey Archer too, which has some great information about the company.

Heres a C&P from the 'International Cycle History Conference held at Osaka in 2000':

3.3.4 A precursor of the mountain bike

The models discussed thus far already existed when Yvonne Rix became product manager. Following her appointment, she noticed older teenagers in England riding conventional cycles fitted with dirt track racing handlebars and sorbo protective padding. This observation led her to instigate the Bomber. To get the desired image and line while minimising the need for retooling, the front end came from a bicycle already in the range, a Nigerian roadster providing the sloping cantilevered back end. Equipped with chunky tyres and specially-made handlebars, the Bomber somewhat resembled an early mountain bike but was well ahead of the MTB craze and was developed independently of it. Launched in 1981, it was promoted in an advertising campaign featuring pop star Toyah Wilcox.

I have been thinking for a while that a Bomber project is something I might be interested in doing at some point, I saw an old guy trundling along on one last year & was so suprised I nearly crashed my car! If you have any Bomber nfo then please forward it on to me...

Memories...

2007-02-12T18:38:00.000+08:00

I was sorting some stuff out at home yesterday & I came across an old T-shirt...

It got me thinking & reminded me of when I had a Condor frame back in the day. The shirt in question was bought by BobK from the Bicycle Stunts series comp in Oaklahoma in 1994. This comp was amazing, we got a VHS tape off Stu Dawkins from Backyard who was also there with his camcorder clocking all the mad footage: John Peacy won stunt boy with a style all his own & ruled the place on his little GT. Jay Miron did some mental tricks (super fast nose manuals etc) & owned the place in my opinion. Matt was flipping everything, Mirra was flying high, Rooftop was hitting the roof or dying trying, the Gute was in FX & Taj & Joe Rich were making their mark on BMX too. Stuart King was going for it with massive no hander landers & 720's.

The flatland was amazing too, all the west coast boys had travelled to drop their latest links with Day smith & Edgar Placencia taking it to the next level as usual. One name missing from the flat side of things was Richard Zabzdyr (owner of Graveyard products) who was tragically killed in a car crash on the return journey from that years York Jam a few months earlier, check out his riding on some of the older vids as he was soo soo good & could spin faster than anyone.

I remember BK returning from his 'US Summer tour' & us all getting together in the pub & hearing all the stories he had to tell. His riding had improved dramatically & it went to show that if you put the effort in, you got rewarded.

Thanks for the shirt (& the memories) Bob.

R.I.P Richard Zabzdyr

Nothing to do with bikes...

2007-02-11T05:37:00.000+08:00

but it did make me laugh. And it has fire

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfZLe9Ksy3w&mode=related&search=

you've all heard of Gsport yeah?

2007-02-10T02:50:00.000+08:00

ok, so on this BMX site called www.bikeguide.org ..theres been a bit of a debate ( aka slaging match) between G, the head/owner of Gsport,( although I think their mostly owned by odyssey now?) and disgruntalled 'customers'. this seems to do with mainley products produced under the odyssey logo but designed by G.....

G really should learn how to deal with people better, I mean to quote him..." my designs & products pay my mortgage"

http://www.bikeguide.org/forums/showthread.php?t=100659 this is the best ( in my opinon) thread..

and I found this pure entertainment...

Quote:

So I design cranks that only fit 70% or so of sprockets and get a slagging.Wheras these companies like Profile, Tree, Fly etc, make a sprocket that only fits 20% (at a guess) of cranks (without a shitty spacer) and no one says anything against it?

Key thing being that they don't say anything about it because they DO fit, even if you have to use "a shitty spacer"? For most people, if their new sprocket can go on their bike, they're fine. Sprocket spacers aren't the biggest problem you face on a BMX, nor are they an insurrmountable problem, so as a result most people don't have a problem with running one. Notice how people got by for many years before the introduction of Wombolts? Either way, I know you're not a stupid person and you'll know full well why people don't complain in the manner you suggested in your post, so I'll not waste my time by elaborating more.

Quote:

If we go with 22mm then the sprocket is STILL going to wobble about and give uneven chain tension. The "integrated adaptor" is about the only way to counter this. It allows us to have a really nice tight fit without the rider having to hammer the sprocket ALL the way down the axle which would ruin the fit even more....

I had fine chain tension with no sprocket wobble, and without having to hammer on my Profile Imperial sprocket onto my Primo Hollowbites. 22mm spindle and a 22mm sprocket worked out fine for me. No doubt someone will chime in with some horrifying experience about how using a 22mm sprocket on a 22mm spindle gave them lung cancer or something, but from my point of view it works perfectly well enough. The only time I've had a problem with running a sprocket was using a piece of shit top-hat spacer that wasn't worth the money it was made of. With my Mankind sprocket that had a good spacer with it, it worked fine. With a decent spacer, my current United sprocket is fine. With a decent spacer, my brother's Superstar sprocket is fine.

Quote:

The fact is that MOST sprockets are made to piss poor tolerances anyway.

Any chance of specifics here, G? Not that I'm saying that the usual generalisations used on here aren't really insightful 'n' stuff, but it might be nice to know what you consider to be made to "piss poor" tolerances? All the sprockets I've seen and have measured seem to be pretty good these days, in that sprocket manufacture is better than it's ever been.

Quote:

For example 1" would be a good size. We could use 25mm bb bearings and reduce the weight of everything without any loss in strength. Wheras going to 22mm would make it heavier AND weaker....

Are you honestly trying to say that using bearings that are smaller (in that you're increasing the inside diameter of them, but retaining the same outer diameter, unless you're planning on introducing a new BB size that's larger, just to accomodate some cranks...) makes things stronger?

Quote:

If they are using a non-standard hole (liek 22mm) then in my opinion it is THEIR job to make that clear and justify the change.

Cranks (apart from Wombolts) use either a 22mm spindle or a 19mm spindle. By making their sprocket 22mm, it means that half (or whatever the percentage of people is) won't have to use a spacer, and they can supply a well-made spacer for those running 19mm. They've made sprockets that work for the current cranks out there, and from my experience and from other riders I know, they work fine. I'm not saying the Wombolts are shit cranks or anything, before I get a knee-jerk, stereotypical Bikeguide reply of "LISTEN TO G" or some shit along those lines. I don't personally like them, but that's due to other reasons than sprocket sizes.

Quote:

Seriously what is it with fuckwits that cant make these distinctions?

Much appreciated there George, always nice to know what company owners are like. Interesting to note when I used similar terms with someone before, I got a threatening post saying I'd be banned if I ever did it again, and I've seen other people suspended for less, especially with how ridiculously anal about some stuff moderators are on here.

Quote:

I see Grant Smith implying I am a hypocrit, (for setting the record straight about Taiwan), while trying to jam his nose up Chris Moellers arsehole in this month's Ride UK, because he cant distinguish between me slagging shoddy early 90's taiwan made forks and Magoo accusing them of human rights abuses, while buying from there....

Perhaps he was implying more about the way that you used to seem to have an anti-Taiwanese slant to your advertising (going on about being made in Sheffield, and so on...), then happily jumped into Taiwanese manufacture with Odyssey? I've never had a problem throughout my riding life of using Taiwanese products, so don't start "fuckwitting" me again and try and set me straight, I'm just putting across what my interpretation of the article was. This isn't a personal attack on you G, because the Ride articles you do on setup and BMX related stuff are generally good, but it just seems when you're defending your products you seem to not actually be the same person, at all.

rip'd from BG ...

BTW... something not many of you may know, but.. alot of 'Gsport' products, are BAD copies of someones else's work/designs, & most of his 'own' designs are evident when you see them (nimrod forks, wonder bars, custom frames)

here, I believe are some of the true innovators (to which he copyied from)

P.E. hubs
bizhouse
& me, (6-7yrs ago I had a 2hr phone converstation with him about a duel cable system from the lever to the top gyro, only to read that 'HE came up with the idea' ) ....

There are more, some bmx, some mtb ( new 'wave' down tube tech on sundays)..but I think the point is made!

street killer?!!?!

2007-02-08T22:05:00.000+08:00

fly mosca 19.8
ody civilan hi-rise bars, eastern grips w/flanges cut off, loophole barends ti bolts
ody elermentry stem, ti bolt, carbon stem stackers, kink headset
ody race forks
ody 7ka, rim vandero, ti axle, ti nuts, khe 2.2 tyre w/four holes in side wall repaired with puncher patchs, khe tube.. allsorted broken spokes, custom wood chip stuck in spokes, ( bloody benchs)
ody hazard hub ti axle ti 9T driver ti nuts, primo 1.95 commet tyre, khe tube.. allsorted broken spokes.
wtp toxic slim pegs.. sometimes 2, sometimes 4!?!?
primo cranks, rnc ti axle, no axle bolts, fly bb... custom cracked ( left arm..)
dmr mag pedals, one side pins removed
profile (yuk) 25t chainring w/custom bashguard
kmc sl710 chain, w/half link (makes a proper dodgy noise as it goes around the driver??.. custom noise maker....)
gt seat clamp w/ti bolt, custom drilled, for that punk effect en'it
macneil fat capitol w/shortened post, ti bolt

getto cammo paint

so a few changes to the street bike (currently my favorite at the mo).... brake gone, reason... 990 post's were flexing so much that i'd always crush my fingers + the brake felt really crapy so I ditched it, not to worry tho, no chance of this happening on my park bike!.. so I shaved the mounts guides etc off, then touched in the paint.. ( proper getto!!).. I made a bashguard from a worn macneil chainring/bashguard..

Check this out....

2007-01-10T20:23:00.000+08:00

Sunil 'Sboy' Shah has got his new photography site up & you need to go check it out:

sunilphoto.com

'Creativity and expression were the common denominators here and freestyle provided this vent in the form of a 20" bicycle. Performing stunts on a bike is pure heaven and features heavily in this life.'

enjoy...

Thoughts for another year...

2007-01-05T21:52:00.000+08:00

Firstly, Happy New Year to BMX bicycle riders everywhere!

So, what with 2006 all but a fading memory, I was thinking about what I wanted to achieve as far as BMX is concerned in 2007. Could these be considered as resolutions? Who cares?!

Visit Combe bowl one summer evening with a bunch or friends, I didn't make it there (at least with a bike) in 2006 so its well overdue.
Make the pilgrimage to ROM again. That was a great trip last year & I definitely want to go again, I have about 20 years to make up for!
Learn those no footed nose manuals that I've been ripping my sack off trying, for the last few sessions(ish)
Make the effort to ride as often as is possible whilst trying to hold down a 'full-time-life'
Watch a modern BMX video with NO tail-whips in it at all - yeah right!
Build up a flat bike... maybe?
Build a new front wheel for my Mosca, I've had that Alex rim for 'kin years so I might even bite the bullet & try out a 36 spoke build!?
Build a street spine with Rayo (hint hint)
Take some photos for this damn site...

Hope you enjoy your '07 too dudes - cheers

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

2006-12-19T17:14:00.000+08:00

What with my recent house move & the fact that my job is 'seasonal' I've not had a great deal of time to post to the blog lately. So, I just wanted to post a little something to wish you a great festive period this year, hopefully Santa will bring you all those lovely BMX parts you have been wishing for ;-)

Seriously though, have a great one my friends!

I hope I get to catch up with some of you too...

Support Union & your Tea...

2006-12-01T00:45:00.000+08:00

4down dist are giving away 200 Bicycle Union Tea coasters to the 1st 200 emailers. Got mine in the post today & very nice they are too ;-)

"all you have to do is put your name and address in the mail, and keep an eye out for the postman."

Go to it!

FlyBikes on your coffee table...

2006-11-24T19:48:00.000+08:00

Fly have their book out in the shops & it's also available for download. Full of great riding shots, product pictures & some arty stuff, this would make a nice addition to your coffee table, prestige titles...

go have a look

1-Y-O-2-DAY!

2006-11-22T16:40:00.000+08:00

Yo! the blog is one year old today so I thought I would say a big thank you to everyone who has contributed here over the past 12 months. It's been good, so here's to another year & please leave a comment or make a post of your own again soon...

cheers dudes!

10-Q: Ibbo...

2006-11-15T17:47:00.000+08:00

1. What was the catalyst for you getting involved in BMX?

I remember meeting a guy called Nigel who lived in my street and he had a dk, shiny as fook and that was it I wanted one, just used to hack round as kids do skids n endos with the front brake all the way.

2. What was your first BMX bike & what is your fondest memory of that bike?

My first bmx was a firebird freestyler with red mags full white twin tt and sit bars, pegs welded to the forks and them wrap around bar things at the back and I remember the day I did a bunny hop on it smashed my shin to bits on the metal pedals and pissing with blood, but I didn’t give a toss I just pulled a bunny hop.

3. What is your favourite type of riding & your favourite trick at the moment?

Well when I get off my arse and ride I like to ride small stuff ya can play about on ramps walls even grit bins anything that’s got a line or looks cool to play with, road cone and some pallets that will do me, I just ride cuz I want to and as long as I’m having fun its good with me.

4. How many BMX bikes have you owned since you started riding?

Ok
fire bird
Peugeot vitus with freds heads four 4pc bars (found in hedge in town)
diamond back aero,
next few were just frame swaps
homeless soulbro (was ians and rays before)
haro shredder delux (what a weapon)
homeless Mack (got robbed)
standard copy thing (all I could afford)
then I got a full build condor in chrome.
(think chafe has the frame still)
then
federal nation custom (what a bag of shite that frame was)
swapped frame for a khe dirty harry,
that got robbed too wink wink
(I want this bike so bad so it was what I got.)
Terrible one progression (why did I sell it)
then full flybikes1 pantera set up,
and now
t1 barcode (stick to what ya know best, not quite a progression but the next best thing)

5. What do you think of the current state of the BMX industry?

Getting out of hand, pegs that cost £100 FUCK THAT! not in to all the light weight stuff I just ride the thing, if it rolls its good and if ya think about it ya got on ok in the old days with what was on offer so ill keep on it tar.

6. If money was no object, what bike/frame/part would you go out & buy today?

Well I’d just go for what I got now t1 barcode Joe rich sig, but with one of them new khe street coaster hubs on the rear, as I'm too poor to ever buy one myself.

7. What’s the worst thing you’ve ever wasted your money on relating to BMX?

Ufo gyro lasted about a month, and worked like a bag of shite, but god did that blue rim look sexy.

8. What riders have been a source of inspiration in your riding & why?

Well I’ll always look up to Ian and Ray, I’ll never forget seeing them both ride at the old red mini in s/b park WOW and now its like I’m one of the older riders out there. Kind of makes ya smile to think I did some thing and stuck at it with my life, I’ve seen so many faces come and go and those two are still going old oops I mean strong, sorry boys

9. If you could learn any trick what would that trick be?

Tail whip nosepicks I love that trick makes me weep..(Rob ridge rules)

10. If you had to put on a Haro type 1 number plate on your bike with a message on it what would it say? (ie:- ‘trix R 4 kidz’)

Don’t ride just to look cool ride because you want to and enjoy every bit of it, you’ll have a blast and meet some very close friends, bit long I better have two number plates lmao

10-Q: Alex...

2006-11-13T19:40:00.000+08:00

1. What was the catalyst for you getting involved in BMX?

I was 10 and my mate who I rode bikes with was 13. He told me about these "new" bikes from America that had wheels that were un-buckleable and they only had 5 spokes. I thought it strange. How could less spokes make the wheel stronger?

2. What was your first BMX bike & what is your fondest memory of that bike?

My first BMX was a blue and silver Ultra Burner for my 11 ^th birthday. It had blue flames up the seat tube, a big fat blue front tire and blue ally "V" bars. The guarantee from the Raleigh dealer was so good that I took the bike back every few weeks for new bars and pedals (cracked bars and collapsed pedals). They even rebuilt the back wheel for me once.

3. What is your favourite type of riding & your favourite trick at the moment?

I guess transition riding but only cos street takes more effort and strength. Tricks don't matter, just being on my bike is good enough. If you cycle to the park, you have already had a good session before you even get there!

4. How many BMX bikes have you owned since you started riding?

1- 1982 - Ultra Burner

2- 1983 - Diamond Back Silver Streak

3- 1984 - 84 Haro Sport (I've just bought one of these, should be here next week)

4- 1990 - Bully Bashguard

5- 1991 - S&M Dirtbike, Black

6- 1993 - S&M Dirtbike, Purple

7- 1994 - S&M Dirtbike, Black

8- 1997 - S&M Dirtbike NG, Black

9- 1997 – S&M 24" challenger

10- 1998 - S&M Dirtbike, OS, Red

11- 1999 - S&M Challenger, Blue

12- 2000 - S&M Kris Bennet, Black

13- 2002 – S&M PBR, Raw

11 (again) - 2003 - S&M Challenger, Blue (same bike rebuilt)

14- 2006 – S&M LAF

5. What do you think of the current state of the BMX industry?

I can't really comment as I am well out of any BMX goings on and not part of the industry at all. I think if you have been around long enough to see a fashions come and go, and then come back, you always look at it differently, whether its tight jeans & 80s rock or its light weight bike parts and bright paint jobs.

6. If money was no object, what bike/frame/part would you go out & buy today?

There is nothing I want / need really. Maybe a ramp park in Oxford (does that count as a bike part?

7. What’s the worst thing you’ve ever wasted your money on relating to BMX?

Probably the 1" S&Ms I have been buying over the last few years. Oh well, at least its not Hutch or VDC I have a passion for!

8. What riders have been a source of inspiration in your riding & why?

Any and all of the riders who kept things going over the 90s and spend many hours travelling across the country (and world) to ride very poor ramps.

9. If you could learn any trick what would that trick be?

Probably a proper lookback or turndown. I'm not bothered about tricks but you'd think I could do those 2 by now!

10. If you had to put on a Haro type 1 number plate on your bike with a message on it what would it say? (ie:- ‘trix R 4 kidz’)

Id recreate the one I made in 1991 (see pic below). At a time when there there was 1 BMXer to every 10 Skaters.

Alex/Table/Somewhere

cheers Alex

Roll on 20s Blog...

2006-11-10T19:57:00.000+08:00

This guy has a blog which reports from NYC & Brooklyn banks & is a good read. Good foto's (check the links below) so go spend some time there...

Table

Another Table

10-Q: Chaz...

2006-11-10T17:58:00.000+08:00

1. What was the catalyst for you getting involved in BMX?

I'd ridden mountain bikes riding trails for a few years, but there is just no motivation in terms of other riders, video parts, etc (at least at that time). As soon as i rode trails on my 100 Stone Macneil Miron (at Woburn Sands) my mind was changed forever, it felt sooo much better. Never looked back.

2. What was your first BMX bike & what is your fondest memory of that bike?

My first bike was a Dyno Compe but never really rode it. The proper one was a Miron OG weighed a tonne, but was a treat. Seventies wheels, Reagle Beagles, Pitchforks, Primo Rod, GT cranks, the lot mate. Fondest memory, maybe riding this giant nipple thing in Leam with Nck n Charlie, or many street rides with Maza, Beefy, Minter, n those boys.

3. What is your favourite type of riding & your favourite trick at the moment?

Trails. Wish uni was that easy! I don't see it changing for a long time either! Although i have a huge passion for old school concrete too. At the mo, I just love going really fast, riding oposite way and manualing. Just hitting oposite hips fast and high feels soo good. Don't really do many tricks any more.

4. How many BMX bikes have you owned since you started riding?

I've had 6 different frames including the Dyno. And many many different parts along with them. Currently a Freebird, which apparently convinced Doyle to ride a Kink upon seeing me ride mine.

5. What do you think of the current state of the BMX industry?

I don't really pay much attention, except i think it's very trendy orientated. Not to say I don't follow some, but i tink some are worth it and others are just money making PR activities to convince the kids they need.

6. If money was no object, what bike/frame/part would you go out & buy today?

Probably a 21 250L Standard or an FBM Deployer, both are amazing. Just get some light but strong bits, and some of the new chrome Slam xlt's!

7. What’s the worst thing you’ve ever wasted your money on relating to BMX?

Maybe skinny fit jeans, haha?! Probably an obscene amount of seats, seem to have a fetish for seats!

8. What riders have been a source of inspiration in your riding & why?

The Fortes, James Brookes, Scott Edgeworth, Lima, all the Uk trail builders (Epsom, Winchester, Colehill, Kiddy, Woburn, etc!), Chase Hawk nowadays, but mainly UK trail riders. Poll from Kidlington trails defo since day one. Just love the flow of trails, just going really high and fast and style. I'd much rather see simple stuff cliccckkkkkked than the big new tricks. Nice table any day!

9. If you could learn any trick what would that trick be?

Probably 3 turndowns (see Doyle, Brookes, Kye Forte, Edgeworth, Chase's one on Empire DVD) for good examples. Such a good trick when done proper good.

10. If you had to put on a Haro type 1 number plate on your bike with a message on it what would it say? (ie:- ‘trix R 4 kidz’)

Probably 'Real riders are drunk' or '4get park. 4ever trails.' Yeh that's a rad one. That last one. Dialled.

11. PS www.blewbmx.com for regular updates from me, along with 2 guys from Oxford area, one living in Cardiff for uni too. It's sweet. Add it to your favourites.

cheers Chaz

10-Q: Sboy...

2006-11-09T18:21:00.000+08:00

1. What was the catalyst for you getting involved in BMX?

I first saw BMX on a halfords advert in a magazine, it looked so cool, motocross on bikes, we were into Junior Kickstart in a big way anyway, so BMX was a godsend. After that we used to go to halfords and drool over their very limited range of bmx components and accessories. It was when I saw Bob Haro riding at the NEC on tele, doing a show that I got fully hooked. The film ET helped too.

2. What was your first BMX bike & what is your fondest memory of that bike?

The first bike I had was a MT Racing Silver Fox, it was a taiwanese built complete bike, I think it cost my dad £129, which was probably alot of money in 1983. My fondest memory of it was how wicked it looked, all shining and the spokes glinting in the sunlight. The next best memory of it was when I snapped the frame jumping the big doubles at Drayton BMX track, I felt really proud that I'd snapped a frame.

3. What is your favourite type of riding & your favourite trick at the moment?

I've always loved dirt jumping and street riding the most. They seem the most pure to me. Ramps are cool too i suppose. My best trick at the moment IS riding, just being on it. I dont really do tricks anymore.

4. How many BMX bikes have you owned since you started riding?

prob about 7 or so. Loved each and everyone of them!

5. What do you think of the current state of the BMX industry?

I'm not in the scene enough to know what state its in. I hope its in a healthy state and good mates arent becoming enemies cos its turned into a money thing for them.

6. If money was no object, what bike/frame/part would you go out & buy today?

If money was no object I'd build a massive skatepark. 24" Light Blue Floval Flyer, flite cranks, gold araya 7xs, hutch beartraps, SE powerwing bars, elina lightning bolt seat, comp 3s, A'ME tri's, and not a Dia Compe MX1000!!

7. What’s the worst thing you’ve ever wasted your money on relating to BMX?

Burger King.

8. What riders have been a source of inspiration in your riding & why?

Vic Murphy and the Dirt Bros, Matt Hoffman, James Shepherd and Ruben Castillo, Lee inSultimier, Taj, Joe Rich, Ruben Alac, Jerry Galley of course, Union lot, Lemsip, You.

9. If you could learn any trick what would that trick be?

540 tyre tap, turn down, alley oop 50-50

10. If you had to put on a Haro type 1 number plate on your bike with a message on it what would it say? (ie:- ‘trix R 4 kidz’)

"Lets get her man"

Sunil/Fastplant/Playstation London

cheers Sunil

10-Q: Bob Khol...

2006-11-07T17:57:00.000+08:00

1. What was the catalyst for you getting involved in BMX?

We had grown tired of ' stool mx ' at Drayton school.

2. What was your first BMX bike & what is your fondest memory of that bike?

MMmmmmmmm pretty sure it was a chrome DP !! freestyler , and the memory would have to be putting it on two chairs so i could elevate it above the ground pretending to ride it , as it was all finished bar 2 black skyway wheels.

3. What is your favourite type of riding & your favourite trick at the moment?

Favourite type of riding is flatland. Favourite trick is anything dialled really. Although the triple decade 99.99% was as near to the' Hall of Fame' as i have been.

4. How many BMX bikes have you owned since you started riding?

Dp freestyler , reynolds531 ?, TRM ( on loan) , Bully , The legendary ' Big Daddy' , Hoffman EP, Dividual, KGB pysconnecta and Pysconnexion. So 9 i guess. But just round that up to ten cause i know i missed something.

5. What do you think of the current state of the BMX industry?

Industry! We have way more choice than we did back then. Its just everyone needs to sell their product more than anyone else.

6. If money was no object, what bike/frame/part would you go out & buy today?

Done it mate, The Ti project this year was pretty much the bike that i wanted to build and was equally functional.

7. What’s the worst thing you’ve ever wasted your money on relating to BMX?

A black reynolds frame from Trinders bike shop. lightweight tubing , it was wrecked in 10 minutes.

8. What riders have been a source of inspiration in your riding & why?

Definately plywood hoods for me , cause thats the direction my riding went in.

9. If you could learn any trick what would that trick be?

Still want to ride a cliffhanger some day , i reckon 100 hours of practise may be enough to roll it for 1 ft. 200 hours = 2ft...........you get the jist.

10. If you had to put on a Haro type 1 number plate on your bike with a message on it what would it say? (ie:- ‘trix R 4 kidz’)

No , it would say, ' Wilmaroraraman' radical cyclo dude' in a sort of backfired way.......:-)

cheers BK

10-Q: Ray Smith...

2006-11-07T01:06:00.000+08:00

1. What was the catalyst for you getting involved in BMX?

Seeing Ian ride the old Banbury mini ramp not knowing there were still riders out there..

2. What was your first BMX bike & what is your fondest memory of that bike?

tuff one coz I had an old huffy usa import in about 1991 but I didn't ride it in the true sense of riding, first bike that I really used for "riding" was a 1995 diamond back venom. memory, hacking down the oxford road for a feeble grind on a ledge, hooking the rear peg under the wall to full on bar thrust, bending the 10mm axle fully into a hook, then going round Ian's and asking if he could fix it.

3. What is your favourite type of riding & your favourite trick at the moment?

tech mini ramp/spine/volcano. any tech trick that involves rotation.

4. How many BMX bikes have you owned since you started riding?

ummm bout 15 I think??

5. What do you think of the current state of the BMX industry?

love the technology, hate the fashion (tailwhip,tailwhip,turndown etc...)

6. If money was no object, what bike/frame/part would you go out & buy today?

eastern grim reaper titanium..

7. What’s the worst thing you’ve ever wasted your money on relating to BMX?

a chrome flybikes mosca/odyssey/RNC bike..

8. What riders have been a source of inspiration in your riding & why?

all who are different and do there own thing, ie: Kevin Porter, Matt Hoffman, Ruben etc..

9. If you could learn any trick what would that trick be?

to keep a smile on my face EVERY time I rode.

10. If you had to put on a Haro type 1 number plate on your bike with a message on it what would it say? (ie:- ‘trix R 4 kidz’)

"00".. no body expects nothing from nothing.

Ray/Banbury/tyre tap-pedal-tyre tap-opposite pedal-270 in!

Cheers Ray

subblogs 10-Q

2006-11-07T01:00:00.000+08:00

It seems that questionnaires are so chic in the BMX industry at the moment, you cant read a mag or BMX related website without someone getting grilled about their favourite myspace site or what they had for breakfast. The problem is that a lot of the time, those Q’s are nothing to do with BMX?! Surely the whole reason you respect & are interested in a BMX rider is because they ride a BMX? Personally, I’m not the slightest bit interested in what food a rider likes to eat or what their pet dogs favourite toy is, fuck that shit… In an attempt to redress the balance (& jump on the band-wagon), I give you ‘subblogs 10-Q’ which I have randomly emailed to our members to answer. I hope this will give some insight into why we ride & other BMX related topics...

scrumdiddlyumptious...

2006-11-01T19:29:00.000+08:00

I wonder if Ralph will hand the company over to the winner!?

my stable ..

2006-10-26T18:31:00.000+08:00

seeing as all three are now vitally how I want them I thought i'd share them with'ya in all there glory...

each one gets riden at least twice aweek if not more..

top to bottom

street killer (gets ridden the most at the mo)

park bike..

flat bike..

2006-10-14T08:25:00.000+08:00

Yooooooooooooo. Just a bit bored so thought I'd post up some exciting news from Bournemouth. So whats been going on I hear you ask...so I started back at uni this week, although I can't be fucked its quite good to get the old brain ticking again after a long time of riding lots n partying hard! Plus got some dope options this year, which might actualy get a bit more interesting...

Been riding a fair old bit the past 2 weeks, had some real good sessions at the new concrete park, and at good old Slades Farm. Been riding with the 5710 clothing lot a fair bit, real motivating riding with a group of guys who are ridculous and so diverse in they're riding. From pegless trail flow and style, to brakeless street ridiculousness, to shit like whip - ice - 27o in on 1/4's! Its like spectating at Backyard every other session pretty much, and makes you wana ride harder all the time.

Gave the old bike a lick of paint this morning, looks quite dope i thought, something new, might give the frame a dabble some time too.

Go to www.bmxonline.com and check out a crash of the day vid from a coupla weeks back of a rider in a pool in dorste England or something like that. Thats me old mate Goggles, hes a ruler and has been off for 3 months, came riding first time back the other day which was real cool. heres a random pic of him not loving the camera, hes got the scar on his arm from 9 operations in 5 days! Mental crash, and then go contemplate how much you want me to take you to the pool shown in that vid! Oh yeh aparently Ash is in the new ride airing that pool for some more cheeky footage but I haven't seen Ride? So peep that.

Right I'm done talking for now, so I'll try n add some more updates some time with good pics. Plus I'm trying to sort out a little photography/randomness site of me own so I'll keep that fresh if it happens. Heres a few random pics for your viewing pleasure... First off we've got Ollie Gun aka Dangerous Dave Dileward aka dave Gunshot with a banging opo moto over a real good box at a park we discovered a few miles away with some good hips.

Secondly here is me mate Goth Luke from Croydon sending a dialled T down at his local, this guys rad, and loooooooooose as that. Thats lots of o's. This was from a trip we took there for a few days early summer, during June.

Heres one of Olly under his Dave Gunshot alias, cos this tables like BOOOOOM! Down the Farm some time in summer.

And finally, a great example of a rad dude I almost definetely would never know were it not for bikes that are to small. Greg is a ruler on and off the bike, one of my favourite people in the world ever. 6 months in Scotland is a bit rubbish but hes a commited man these days. definetely guna be missed hard by all. Greg rules - fact. Here he twists his signature amazing X up, he does them the best ever. Banbury box, taken Seotember 11, never forget.

If you've read to here, your nuts! Hope everyones good, miss you boys and girls more than words could say, road trips down, sort it (cough...RAY!....cough)! Take care everyone, n I'll try n get some more pics up some time. Peace out. xxxxx

BK's latest ride...

2006-10-11T16:20:00.000+08:00

So agent K gets yet another bike! After hooking up with the KGB guys in Singapore this year, Bob came home with a suitcase full of their latest stuff.

I was responsible for most of this build & completed it last night, all went together without any issues & looks nice & clean with just a front brake set-up.

Spec:

Frame: KGB Psyconexion internal/Euro, 18.6”
Forks: KGB Space, 10mm, AD lugs
Stem: KGB Trap with gyro plate
Headset: Kink internal
Bars: KGB Sarvet
Bar ends: Inertia, aluminium
Grips: KGB Rhythm
Front lever: Odyssey modulever
Front cable: Nokon
Front brake: Odyssey Evolver
Seat: Odyssey 99'er
Seat post: Odyssey Intac
Seat clamp: Profile slim jim
Cranks: Profile, 160mm. Ti Chainring bolt
Crank spindle: Profile Ti, 19mm
BB: Diamondback, euro, 19mm
Sprocket: KGB Trilogy 26t
Chain: KMC Superlite cool
Pedals: Ares 88
Front tyre: KHE Lamello Skinwall (Tyre pressure =105 lbs)
Front rim: Araya Super 7X, 48h, Odyssey rim tape
Front spokes: DT Swiss
Front hub: Proper Magnalite, 10mm, 48h
Front pegs: Bizhouse Escalator
Rear tyre: KHE Lamello Skinwall (Tyre pressure =105 lbs)
Rear rim: Araya Super 7X, 48h, Odyssey rim tape
Rear spokes: DT Swiss
Rear hub: KHE Geisha street freecoaster, 10mm stubs, 48h, 11t
Rear pegs: Bizhouse Escalator

Mods:

Custom red anodised Geisha freecoaster

2006-10-09T16:37:00.000+08:00

in my mind this is way over due.. Ian ripping it this week, he did a gap out of the double coping spine to nose pic on the volcano and it looked amazing.... nice one Ian & good work on the pic's Josh b........

random bordom...

2006-10-05T18:59:00.000+08:00

Did someone manage a sneaky session inside
the cargo hold of Thunderbird 2??

Could be...

midweek - park - session...

2006-10-05T18:51:00.000+08:00

Dear diary

Managed to sneak an hour of riding in after work on Wednesday, pretty glad I did too, as staring out of my (broken) office window today, the rain is relentless…

Having not ridden for a week or so I was chomping at the bit to get back to the park for some BMX. Ray is usually in attendance & today was no exception so it was all systems go for a good time. I couldn’t get my Canadians going at all so my plan to try to learn them over the spine was put on hold for now, Ray was doing his ‘hard-enough-to-say-let-alone-do’ tricks with the usual boundless energy! 360 to pedal pick to 270 out… nice one. I made some olde-skool stuff which is always fun & almost got 270 to smith on the 7’ – next time… Craig was about but sans BMX!?

All in all, a good little mission accomplished.

kevin porter

2006-10-04T02:50:00.000+08:00

yeah so kp has meant to have a frame and parts in the work's...leaked
by me..

Could it be true...

2006-10-02T17:31:00.000+08:00

Morning

Saturday PM & the crew are at BK's, just the usual, hook up & talk BMX whilst the rain falls...

Well one of Bob's (many) project bikes is coming together & of course I got to play wheel-smith & build his new wheel-set. I have built quite a few wheels now & I wanted to share with you, the web site that I found to be a great resource on the art of wheel building.

Sheldon Brown's web page has all you need to know about wheel builds, it's not BMX specific but it has some great nfo. You can be lacing those hoops up in no time! More than anything, I get a great sense of accomplishment by doing the job myself.

inter bike 2006

2006-09-29T16:28:00.000+08:00

ok so here we have some leaked stuff from inter bike

sunday frame with ribbed (for your pleasure) down tube.

odyssey vandero II.

odyssey sprocket with guard.

colony levers.

odyssey new forks with no welded dropout.

I will post up some more stuff as I get it
more stuff here.. http://www.f-bmx.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=6501

were in the army now, wohuhoe were in the ar........

2006-09-27T21:34:00.000+08:00

hey so I thought i'd show you my street bike
it is my old park bike with a jacked up seat, peg's and no brakes...

josh

2006-09-27T20:29:00.000+08:00

nearly all the riding picture's that I post are from our good friend Josh belcher,
Josh is always on hand to take footage and picture's,
often not riding himself so as he's able not to miss anything.....
thanks for your dediction Josh please keep up the good work

my mate mini.......

2006-09-21T21:17:00.000+08:00

one of our local's, mini smashed his back wheel up some 4-5 months ago, since then we've been trying to get him a proper wheel set ( 16" ) .....try as we might it has been near impossible..
then by chance, taking to Ian, he and his lad Jamie had decided to upgrade to a 20" leaving his 16" redundant.. 2+2 =4 if you catch my meaning..

while swapping parts about I also decided to give it a lick of paint..

SPEC'S...

frame/forks.. Hoffman bikes

bars.. commencal school

stem.. haro

grips.. odi longnecks

wheels.. haro 36 spoke

tyres.. ringworm bk/space invader ft

seat/post.. primo/odyssey intact

cranks.. 3 peice?

chainring.. shadow w/bashguard

pedals.. dmr v8

brakes.. tech77 lever/ flybikes u brake

mod's.. loads'n'loads.... ( nil really )

anyone who's seen little mini ride knows that he rip's.... really looking forward to seeing him at the park again..

Right attention all !!!!!

2006-09-19T21:14:00.000+08:00

So.... Chatting to sunil today and it came about that we should all try and get together once more before the winter gets here.
Location.... Seeing as there's been a distinct lack of a visit to our now year old spine mini by the Oxford crew, I thought that Banbury should be the venue...
Date.... Well sunil said maybe Sunday ( that's this one coming ) I know that proberbly won't be possible at such short notice for some of you, so we need to get a date together.. Then keep our fingers crossed for the weather...
so, Ian, Sunil, crowman, Alex and just about anyone else who thinks they should be there get on and leave a comment so we can get this sorted....
for those of you who aren't familiar with our spine mine here's the spec's....
5' main ramp with hip, double coping spine, 6'wide volcano, 7' extension 3 1/2' sub box 10'wide..
and I'm sure you all know the other stuff we have here, so that's about it....
lets be avin yah then

More new bits...

2006-09-16T02:46:00.000+08:00

Yeah well, call me a hypocrite, see if I care! I know I said that these cost too much money; I know I said that lots of people have had 'issues' with them... Well after my last riding session, I knew I needed to do something about the hombre & the lack of stopping power.

An impulsive trip to Broadribbs & I came home with what I thought was a grey brake. When I got back & matched it up on my bike it was clear to see that it was, in fact, brown. I asked if they could get me a black or grey one & was told there was a long lead time on more stocks of fly brakes. So I indulged my Orange fetish & went with...more orange!

Took me some time to set the baby up but after a couple of hours and some bloody hands it was all ready to roll.

I'll update as soon as I have got to ride her again with my thoughts...

*Update*
Without wishing to jinx my new brake, it appears to offer superior braking to the old Hombre & the dreaded 'duck-quacking' sound fx is only notable by its absence... yay!

Fucking Rubbish

2006-09-14T17:30:00.000+08:00

I tell you, some bike companies have come a long way over the years & in the changing face of BMX, a company has to stay ahead of the pack to stay successful.

At the other end of the spectrum there is SE bikes, what the fuck is going on at their HQ?!? Did they hand the design brief over to Kays catalogue or Argos R&D or something!?!?

To think back to how Awe struck we were over SE racing Quads, PK's, Floval Flyers etc of olde, this is a fucking travesty. Scott Breithaupt must be pissed...

The net result of blinkered, price-point marketing goons...

rant over

*update* here's the original Quad

fuck skateparks, street, vert or flatland... field sports is where its at

2006-09-08T21:35:00.000+08:00