The alternative to Shimano DXRs

Some people swear by the Shimano DXR cranks for racing, despite cheaper offerings by other crank makers. I do not know about the rest of you but these Shimano DXR cranks are way over-priced. For those of you who insist on using aluminium cranks, use these. They are Primo Powerbite cranks. They are cheaper than the DXRs and I dare say stronger. Plus you can have the flexibility of using chainwheels, unlike the Shimano DXR

Sports certificate? Big deal!

That is what some people with sports diplomas here seem to think about themselves. Look guys. You may have the best sports certificates, sports diplomas or even degrees but if you know jackshit about BMX, sorry. All those certs and degrees will get you nowhere. You need the basics first. Telling everyone that you have all those degrees, and that you can make BMX happen in Singapore, you are in fact making people in the know laugh about you. Get real already!

Where is Steve Veltman?

I have a picture of him here when he used to ride for Magna. What very few know is that the bike he was riding was in fact a custom-made Kastan. In this picture, it looks like he is preparing for a race. Those look like TNT cranks that he is using on his bike, along with 48-spoked wheels. Steve Veltman always chose durability over lightness, something that I do as well. Looks like he retired. It is shame really. He was one of the most consistent riders around.

The old-school gathering was a blast!

As usual, the gathering was lots of fun. We managed to get a new member there and his name is Kenneth. There were some new bikes to be seen. First of all, Selvan showed up with a beautiful Redline PL-24 with 401-series Flight Cranks and Sonlite hubs. Then came Rick with a beautifully restored Kuwahara Nova which he powder-coated orange. It was personal preference I am sure. I do not think he was rooting for the Dutch who were playing against Russia for Euro 2008 that very same evening. In any case, you can find out more pictures here as I posted them up this morning. Hope to see more old-schoolers at this gathering. Keep Singapore old-school BMX alive folks!

Old-school BMX Singapore gathering on 21st June 2008

It is going to be held at the Bukit Batok Skatepark. Join the old-schoolers and even the new-schoolers as we meet up and chat BMX! Details are here

An excerpt as posted up by Eddy Meng:

Dear fellow BMXers,

Kindly be informed that there is a gathering for biking and "talk talk" on Saturday 21 June 2008. Dinner cue "talk talk time" @ Blk 177 coffeshop - 7 pm to about 7.45pm.
Then to the SKATEPARK @ Blk 175 Bukit Batok West Avenue 8 (S)650175. You may bring you bike there or simply go there for "talk talk".

Leafcycles new cranks

I love reading DigBMX because they have all the latest news on what is coming out and I saw this featured there by this company out of Germany called LeafCycles. They have a very innovative two-piece crank design called The Motosticks. , very similar to the Odyssey Wombolt. Other companies have also come up with innovative two-piece crank designs but as far as two-piece crank designs go, I like the Felt Splineloc the best. But I must say...the stuff coming out of Europe is truly amazing.

GT Introduces New BMX Team, Frame

LAKE FOREST, CA (BRAIN)—GT Bicycles is launching a new BMX team program dubbed the Project, made up of 10 riders from around the world who were selected through an online contest held on the Vital BMX Web site.

Members of the Vital BMX Web site community were invited to upload a video featuring their riding and a short interview as their contest entry. GT received more than 200 entries and selected the top 10 riders to be part of the new team.

The riders span the planet from the UK, Australia and all over the United States. GT has developed a new dirt/street frame also called the Project, which is available exclusively to Project riders.

“This is a great opportunity for talented riders who haven’t been discovered yet to ride a great bike, and to be part of our family,” said Chuck Fallon, GT BMX team manager. “This is how BMX got started back in the day, and this is what BMX is really all about.”

The Project provided GT with an opportunity to build the new Project frame, which was designed by GT's BMX senior product manager, Robert Kahler, GT pro rider Dave
Dillewaard and Fallon.

“The Project frame is designed for street and dirt riding, because kids ride everything — not just dirt and not just street,” Kahler said. “It comes with removable Oryg tabs, a 2-inch top tube, and weighs in at 5 pounds.”

For now, these frames are available exclusively to Project riders. GT Project riders also receive T-shirts, hats, and decals. Riders are expected to provide content to GT Bicycles for the Web site including photos, videos and blogs.

The GT Bicycles website will launch the pages dedicated to the GT Project on Sunday.

News comes courtesy of Bike Retailer and can be found here

World Record Attempt in Central Park, New York City

Picture courtesy of Red Bull

NEW YORK, NY--(MARKET WIRE)--Jun 9, 2008 -- On Thursday, June 12th 2008 in the heart of New York City, BMX legend Kevin Robinson will attempt to soar into the world record books by clearing the height of a six story building on a BMX bike, in the next Red Bull Experiment.

Kevin is the winner of seven X Games medals, including three gold. He will make his attempt on a never before built Super Quarter Pipe.

This feat is experimental in many ways -- from the construction of the ramp, to the speed it will take to break the record, the g-forces on his body and ultimately what will happen when Kevin leaves the top of the ramp for the first time. Will he come back to earth safe? Will he own the world record?

More on the article can be found here

For more information including web teaser and poster art visit: www.redbullexperiment.com

High oil prices? Cycle to work!

The picture above may seem funny. I got it off one of the joke websites. But teh sad thing is, the reality is not. High oil prices have directly or indirectly led to food prices being raised, transport costs being raised as well and gradually making everyone hot and bothered about the economy and its rumoured inflation. So I say again, like I have been saying before. Cycle to work. You get healthy in the process by the exercise too! I do it once or twice a week and I feel that it has made a difference in my life. So break out that bike and make a difference today. Do not let high oil prices drag you down

New Fly stem

Flybikes has released a new stem according to DigBMX. I checked it out on the Flybikes website and it looks pretty good. Looks like everyone is lightening up their parts. This thing has been hollowed out pretty much. Check it out here

A washout but not the end of the world

There was supposed to be a dirtjump competition today at the Tampines BMX Track but the wet weather kind of put a damper on the situation. It was a shame too because some riders came all the way from Indonesia and Malaysia. I knew something was amiss when I woke up this morning to rain pelting down like crazy. When I finally made it over to Tampines, I heard that the competition was cancelled. So Freddy aka Kruger went cycling and visiting bikeshops in the Tampines region and we bought some stuff. We visited the track twice and saw that it was really waterlogged and flooded. It was a fruitful day after all, in spite of the rain

SE Bikes Bringing BMX Retro Back

PHILADELPHIA, PA (BRAIN)—For at least one BMX company retro is in.

A large part of SE Bikes’ resurgence can be attributed to the PK Ripper (pictured) and another 1980s legend—OM Flyer.

Sales for the 2008 model year are up 100 percent in dollars with a 60 percent increase in unit sales for the 2007 model year. Hence the need to order 75 percent more 2009 bikes.

More can be found on the Bicycle Retailer website here

Simple Bike Company

Simple Bike Company is a bike company that hails from Europe, Denmark in fact. From what I can see at their site, the bikes are exactly what they are, simple and pleasing to look at. You can judge from the two Simple BMX frames in the picture above. Check them out at SimpleBMX.com

S and M re-release the Dirt Bike

According to what they said on their website:

We've been getting requests for basically the same frame for awhile now and this is it. The Dirt Bike has a 74.5 head tube, taller stand over and a 14" rear end. Built with SuperTherm tubing, this frame is light and strong. It's not available brakeless, it uses a regular seat-clamp, there aren't any holes drilled in it for lightness. This thing looks like a regular BMX frame that wasn't designed specifically for tail-whips, nose wheelies and hang fives! In other words it's a fucking Dirt Bike. Get off the World Wide Interweb and go haul ass on a Dirt Bike.

Available in classic powder-coated S and M colors Black, Yellow and Red with retro Dirt bike graphics.

Looks like S and M are getting back on the gas.