Merry Christmas Everyone

From all of us here at Singapore BMX, we would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your loved ones a very Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year

40 years of BMX

BMX had its origins in Long Beach over 40 years ago. Check it out at 40yearsofBMX.com

A Happy and Blessed Diwali to all Hindus

We at Singapore BMX would like to take this opportunity to wish all Hindus a very Happy and Blessed Diwali.

CW is back!

I did a double-take when I first saw this on a German BMX site. At first, I thought the Germans were doing a CW tribute. I then did some more research and found out that CW Racing had indeed been set up, by none other than Mike Miranda, their old pro! Check out the framesets above. They are made like back in the day, with some new-school influences. If you manage to get one of these, you will need a quill stem and a 1" threaded headset. Looks like Hollywood Mike Miranda is back on the gas! Check it out at cw-racing.com

Aftermatch of the gathering on the 23rd of October

We had quite a surprise at the gathering when some of our old friends we had not seen in several years turned up to be part of the gathering at the East Coast Skatepark. Razak and Ojai were there, sharing stories and swapping tales about BMX back in the day. They even brought their old-school bikes down and they all brought their families down to share the love of BMX. A great gathering. We will be doing one more again before this year ends.

More pictures are available in the forums

Dorel Industries Partners With the Tour d'Haiti to Provide Mongoose BMX Bikes for Orphans in Haiti

Good ol' Mongoose. The partnered with the Global Orphan Project to supply BMX bikes to orphaned and abandoned children in Haiti. The article is located here and here is an excerpt:

The Pacific Cycle Group, manufacturer of well-known brands including Schwinn, Mongoose, IronHorse, Pacific, InSTEP, Dyno, Playsafe, KidTrax, Powerlite, and Roadmaster, is providing 200 Mongoose BMX bikes to be given away to the orphaned and abandoned children in the care of The Global Orphan Project's outreach programs in Haiti. The 200 bikes will be distributed at approximately ten orphan villages throughout central and southwestern Haiti during the Tour.

Thanks guys!

Broken Demolition cranks

In the course of our daily rides, we met other cyclists who are just as passionate about their rides as we are about ours. One day we happened to come across a group of fixed-gear riders. They were attracted to the 29er I was riding then and they asked what crank I was running on my 29er. I said that it was a Profile crank. He asked me if it was strong. I told him that I used to use the crank for BMX racing and you bet it was strong. He then told me that he had a picture of a fixed-gear bike with a broken BMX crank. I told him, "This I gotta see!" So when I reach home, I had a link waiting in my email box and the picture is up there.

There is a blog for fixed-gear riders, or fixies as they are more popularly known as. This blog named FixedGear Geneva had a picture of it and the rider was a guy named David Pili. Apparently, he cracked the cranks after a gnarly riding session. My respect for these riders just went up another notch. You guys rock man!

Some emails

As we have said, we love receiving emails and we do our best to answer them. Here are some of the emails that we received:

Hi, I'm new in Singapore and am trying find out more about BMX racing here. I'm an old school BMX'er but still ride at 38 years old. Are there any racing clubs? Is the new YOG track open to the public? Thanks in advance.

Well sir, all I can say that the track is still closed. One of the readers of the blog sent me an email, which was printed earlier, that the place is guraded up, which is a good thing because we can get some undesirables inside there that misuses the track. e are at the crossroads now so we will send you more info when we get it.

Hello, Im (name withheld), Im a BMX STREET/Park rider… I’ll be visiting Singapore within the next month sometime, I don’t realy know exactly when but in that time frame sometime… I have a few riders coming with me and we’re really trying to find spots to ride or any local riders that would be interested in riding… Im currently working on a site and a team called (name withheld) its pretty legit. But due to my current job in the navy I rarely have time to work on it or be state side … you can check us out through my face book tho. But if you could help me on any information, parks , spots , bike shops, locals anything it’d be so helpful. We plan on filming a lot when we arrive. Thanks.

Thanks mate. Well, we replied to this gentleman and we look forward to meeting him. Sent him an email too! Well, that is about it letters-wise. Keep sending us your emails!

New-school Kuwahara cruisers

Came across this new-school Kuwahara 24" cruiser at this site named kuwahara-bike.com and I must say that we are kind of surprised. Frame and fork is made of 4130 chromoly steel but the thing that surprised us the most was the choice of names for the cruiser - Survivor. Not only that, check out the gussets on the part where the downtube meets the top-tube. They do not look anything like the Kuwahara's of old. And the front wheel is radial-laced. Something tells me that this could be a recreational bike, something for the average leisure ride. we have been asked if these models are for sale in Singapore but honestly, I do not know. What I do know is that there is some hope for Kuwahara if they do make some models out of 4130 chromoly instead of the ever ubiquitous aluminium. Cheers to Kuwahara on that one!

What is BMX looking like for Singapore?

Now that is a great question, and it was a question that was posed to me on Saturday afternoon when I received a call. I kind of expected the call to come so when it did, I was not surprised. That is not too bad considering that just before the YOG, some of my fellow friends and myself included, were labelled as "terrorists" because we were taking on the powers-that-be, who were comprised of some people who could not see the wood from the trees.

I had a chat with most of the people who were with me when we re-started BMX in Singapore back in the day and we agreed to give it a shot...but it would have to be completely re-done from the ground up. We do not need or want any monkeys on our team and if there were, we will uproot them. We will be doing it for the sport.

So look out for a new team. As someone once said, you can get busy living or get busy dying. We think we can make the change

T.J. Lavin in coma after crash

Just came across this on TMZ. From the TMZ report:

T.J. Lavin -- a BMX star and host of MTV's "The Challenge" -- is currently in a medically induced coma after losing control of his bike and crashing during a jump at a BMX event last night.

Lavin was competing in a Dew Tour event in Las Vegas -- when he hit a dirt ramp, lost control, and slammed down onto the ground. Friends and crew workers immediately rushed to Lavin's side, but he didn't appear to be moving.

Lavin was rushed to nearby University Medical Center hospital ... where he was placed into a medically induced coma.

We're told Lavin is also experiencing brain swelling and is listed in critical condition.

UPDATE: A rep for MTV tells us, “Our thoughts are with TJ. He is an important part of MTV’s extended family and we’re all praying for him."

As for Lavin's condition, a rep for the Dew Tour tells us, "he is in the intensive care unit and is currently stabilized."

Old-School BMX gathering at East Coast on 23rd October 2010

Yes, you read that right. There will be a gathering on the 23rd of October at the East Coast skatepark. Anyone, young and old, join us there as we re-live our BMX passions while chatting with friends old and new. More details can be found here

See you there!

Some more emails

We get emails here at Singapore BMX on a pretty regular basis. Many emails ask for information as there is very little information about BMX in Singapore. I remember when I wrote a post here about Singapore BMX YOG team manager and asked the question if the fella ever road BMX, I got this email

BMX is a specialized sport and should not be just covered under a general term like "cycling". If you look into history of track and road racing, you will find most of the fastest guys around, are ex bmxers, and also downhill mtb and 4x... Again, ex or even current bmx champs.

The committees need to open their minds a bit and be flexible. BMX is here to stay. Treat it well.

I thank the author of this email and I do agree with him 100%. I am sad to say that some of the people pushing BMX in Singapore have never ridden competitively in BMX at all, let alone raced BMX. One of the guys out there is doing it purely for the money and hoping that it will help his business. He knows who he is.

I got this other email today and it was a bit disturbing:

I was cycling around bedok at night towards th bedok interchange skatepark when i accidentally knock a lady,i then immediately stopped and apologised with all my heart and have a feeling that i feel guilty when suddenly a man whom i think it was her husband insulted me even though i also said sorry to him and so since he insulted me i immediately cycle of as fast as i could from the site and because of that ichange into a skater instead of a biker(please advice me on what to do)

Poor kid. He apologised but got scolded for it. But then again, I do not know about what happened as I have only the email to show for it. But I am willing to bet that he was riding on the pavement.

Guys, please do not ride on the pavement. They are for pedestrians only. Respect the pedestrians first and foremost as they have every right to be on the pavement. If you must cycle on the pavement, cycle slowly and always say "please" and "thank-you" to pedestrians who give way to you. Co-existing with pedestrians is the first step towards a harmonious society.

And last, but by no means least, I got this other email that day

i require some help. im doing some research on BMX and MTB Scene in Singapore. Mind helping me out?

I'll drop you a few topics, hope you could help me out. would be very helpful getting info from someone who is from the scene.

Hope you could help me answer my questions.

I basically need to know the BMX riders hangout venues, like underground skating/Public/Parks.

Next would be the famous skating shops.

Skating Teams/Group.

Events Past/Present

Hope you can help me out.

Helped him out I did. I was able to answer most of his questions.

That is about it for today. Happy BMX-ing!

Like after the YOG BMX

Someone sent me this image. It came off BMXNEWS.com and it is sad. Is this what will become of Singapore's YOG BMX track after all is said and done? Will there be money pumped in to maintain the track? Will it fall into disrepair? Considering the fact that many of the BMX riders spent their own money on tools and gave up a lot of time maintaining the track because there was no interest at all, will it resemble the China Olympic BMX track? We all hope that BMX in Singapore will not wane after the YOG but will the track be abandoned? Only time will tell.

From a reader of our blog....paranoid android?

I would like to go on record to thank this gentlemen who posted something in the blog. And I can say that his sentiment is shared by many.

Ok, this is how I see it. I'm sure I'm not alone. Singapore seems to have this paranoid mentality that portrays: If we build the track early, people might use it and enjoy it. Now we don't want that do we... I'm actually surprised it isn't being demolished after the games due to it being a "safety issue - someone might get hurt". I'm super keen to ride this track, but I'm expecting to be hit with hundreds of conditions of use. "Must not leave the ground", "Do not go above 20km/h" And so on... Sounding so negative, but it's how it is.

I actually went to check out the track a month or so ago, I was swamped by security and their CANNOT word when I asked about having a look... It was right there, still CANNOT. Please I said, I just want to look at it... CANNOT. After 10 or 15 minutes of talking to the slowly calming "security" guy guarding the gate like it was Buckingham palace, he allowed me to look at it under his supervision...

Lets see how it goes after the games...

You are right about that. The Games are almost at a close. You can bet we will be keeping a very close eyes on the proceedings.

The aftermath of the BMX in YOG

Yesterday was raceday at the Tampines BMX Track as far as the YOG was concerned. We had two riders, a male and a female in the BMX category. Both failed to make it but at least they had a taste of Olympic glory. They tried and did their best. I am sure all of Singapore is very proud of them because they gave their best. I was a BMX racer. I know what it feels like to race in competitions. These two riders took part in an Olympic competition. Let that sink in...an Olympic BMX race. Imagine all the butterflies-in-the-stomach moments. The pressure is on you. You feel it. It is dang near impossible to get the feeling that our two riders felt. Alvin and Nasthasiah, we are proud of you. You two did your best and we know that.

Now that the cycling part of the YOG is over, let us look at what we have. Will we be having BMX races again? I think so. I hope so. Will we be having better coaches than what we had? I hope so too. From what I heard, the coach that was coaching them had NO BMX experience. I do not think he has even ridden BMX competitively. Then there are the ones who want to cash in on this BMX fad that has been fuelled by the YOG. Have you guys ever raced before? Ever lined up at the gate with six other riders? I doubt so. The saying goes...a bad leader is worse than having no leader at all. The same thing can be said about teachers.

The track will be there. Whether or not people pour money into it to maintain it is another factor. Over $300 million Singapore dollars was spent on making this YOG possible. What is a few thousand dollars? We need to keep the sport alive. We need to keep the hopes and dreams of the BMXers alive. This is not 2005 when I was very bluntly told, as VP of BMX in Singapore, that there was no budget for BMX and that they were only going to concentrate on road and mountainbike. I just wish that these so-called sports people would not walk with blinkers on.

There is hope for BMX. I know there is. We will keep fighting for it. I have seen the fire in the eyes of the young kids when they race. I see myself in them, as young kid over 20 years ago, on my BMX bike. It meant the world to me then and it still does.

I will say it again. We are proud of you two, Nasthasiah and Alvin. You made history.

Singapore BMX riders won't be on the podium

Not my words exactly but the words Jeff Ang in today's Straits Times sports section. You want to know why? It is because we had zero support for BMX back in the day. Our local riders had to maintain the track, using self-bought shovels. At one time, as VP of BMX in SACA or the Singapore Amateur Cycling Association, I was told that they were channelling SSC funds (which was literally pittance) towards mountain-biking and road-biking. They did not really care about BMX. It was left to me and a bunch of dedicated volunteers to make it happen.

My friend Gugud's daughter, Nadia, deserves all the praise she gets. She tries and was riding since she was a young girl. Not too sure about Alvin Poon though but if he can ride BMX, he has learnt to ride what, in my opinion, is one of the hardest bike sports out there.

But the problem is, the YOG bike team manager is not a BMXer. That is why I say, God help us.

YOG Bike Team Manager a BMXer?

Is the Singapore cycling team manager a BMX rider?

I was asked this question by some Australian media guy covering the Youth Olympic Games. So I made some enquiries and found out that this guy Daniel Loy is not a even a BMX rider. I wonder if he knows about BMX and what it encompasses. Also there was a rider mentioned in the Today Online newspaper yesterday as being a BMX rider, someone named Alvin Poon. Now that is strange...I have never come across this guy riding in the races that we organised then, back when I was VP of BMX. Maybe he was too young to take part then but isn't that where the BMX skills are picked up? From a very young age?

And people ask why there is so little interest in the Youth Olympic Games. Read the Today Newspaper's article. BMX has been active in Australia for a VERY long time. Yep, they pretty much, as the article says, have it covered.

Runway Cycling 2010

Went to the Runway Cycling yesterday. Did not see much BMX bikes there, at least, not like last time when we participated in the cycling while riding our BMX bikes. But I did hear that there was a BMX static jump display so there was some BMX after all.

We had a talk with one of the guys at Dirtraction and it looks like we will be working with him, advising him and generally helping him with the BMX side of things in Singapore. It is looking good and we feel comfortable working with him.

On the humorous side, we got this email from someone in India

Hi, I need few BMX riders for my show in india. You think can we work anything out? Please call or mail me if you think we can work out something..Money is good!!

I would have thought that he would have gotten in touch with the BMX clubs in India. In any case, we sent him an email, asking him what he needed and how we could help. Guess what? No response.

Oh well. It would have been great though!

2011 UCI BMX Permanent Number System

Received this email from the UCI today. All UCI BMX riders, please take note

Dear Madame/Sir, The UCI introduced on 1st August 2006 a permanent number system for Elite Men & Elite Women. With this system, riders can choose a “career number”, which they have the exclusive right to use for their entire Elite class career. This will give riders a possibility to market themselves and to give media and spectators an easy way to identify riders. Now for the 5th time, riders are given an opportunity to apply for number not yet occupied.

Rider’s which number has expired (not scored any UCI points in the last 2 seasons) will become vacant again. Rider’s may re-apply for their number, although it will be subject to the normal procedure mentioned in the UCI rule book.

The National Federation shall submit a list of all their (Elite Men & Elite Women and Juniors moving up) riders born 1992 or earlier, wishing to receive a permanent number before July 15, 2010.

If you need further information, please don’t hesitate to contact the UCI office.

Opening of the Tampines BMX Track

There was a race today at the Tampines BMX track and I am happy to say that we now have a track that we can call our own, even though it was pretty late. But at last I can rest because the dream, at least for me, has come true. I can now fade into the shadows and rest happy because I know that in some point in my life, I have been there and done that. Don't get me wrong. I am not retiring from BMX. I intend to keep BMX alive by re-living the old-school of BMx

To those guys that are running the BMX stuff in Singapore...hold the torch high. Do not give up. Don't fall for the idiotic preaching by some of these so-called BMX consultants. These cretins were not around when we were pushing for BMX in Singapore but now, when all is said and done and there is fame and money to be made, they are coming out.

And to the next batch of young riders out there...practice hard. You now have a world-standard BMX track. Make use of it and treat it well. Make Singapore proud!

NSAs to get more funds for YOG

I read here that "The Singapore Sports Council (SSC) is set to release the third tranche of funds from the $6.2 million pool set aside by the Singapore Youth Sports Development (SYSD) Committee to help these associations gear up for the YOG."

What? Only now? When the games are almost at our doorstep?

Back then, do you know how much was set aside for BMX races? Practically ZERO. Yes, you heard it...practically zero. Funding from SACA was set aside for road and mountainbike only. All of us volunteers had to literally dig from our own pockets to fund races that happened only four times a year. We did not even have prizes for winners. we had to beg like crazyto get funds for medals and trophies for BMX races.

As for the track. Boy, that was a joke. So many back-breaking hours were spent digging the track, getting it prepped for the next BMXrace. And now, when the YOG comes here, we get a brand new track. So what about all those years when we were imploring SSC and SACA for funds and we got pittance? Some people seem to have forgotten about that!

Well, now you know.

A message for the Singapore YOG BMX team

Someone posted this up on the forums. Could not have said it better myself. The link on the forum seems to be gone but the words, oh the words...

Police get BMX to 'break down barriers' with youths

You will not see this happening in Singapore anytime soon

The article is from Bike Radar and is located here

Police on mountain bikes are a common sight in many cities around the world, but Leicestershire Constabulary reckon they've found an even better tool for urban crime fighting – the BMX.

While it may not afford officers the same dignity as a larger wheeled bike, the force reckon their new Haro F3 will "break down barriers" when police meet young people on the streets and in parks.

PCSO Vince Preston, from Oadby and Wigston local policing unit, said: “It's a size the children can get on, and it helps build a rapport with them. Kids are more open to speaking to you than if you're on a larger bike or on foot patrol."

The marked-up blue and white machine will also be used for school safety sessions – and officers reckon it'll come in handy for catching criminals too. PCSO Preston said his experience using mountain bikes showed how valuable they were for tracking suspects, and he reckons that in the majority of cases a BMX is quicker and easier to manoeuvre.

“In a car, they can hear you a mile off, but on a bike you're virtually silent," he said. "This area has lots of alleyways which I know and can use, so often I can get to an incident at least as quickly as colleagues in a car. And while you're on patrol, you can communicate with members of the public and you can see and smell more than being in a car.”

Haro Bikes' UK distributors have supplied the bike free of charge. Brand manager Adam Garner said: “Moore Large and Co are delighted to be involved in this fantastic project. We're hoping it will help gain respect between the police and Leicestershire’s youth. I'm looking forward to supporting Leicestershire police over the coming months and watching the project make a positive influence on the local community."

It's unclear how the F3's stunt pegs and 360-degree gyro will aid crime fighting; maybe officers hope to stun offenders into submission with a succession of grinds and barspins, or maybe they'll use the pegs to give colleagues 'backies' when chasing more than one suspect?

Frank Lampard gave schoolboy £200 after running over his bike

More often than not, many people will not give a hoot if they run over people's or kids bikes. My respect for Frank Lampard just went up a notch. You are OK in my books Frank!

The article is from The Mirror and is located here

The Chelsea midfielder struck the 14-year-old's BMX as he reversed. Then Lampard jumped from his Range Rover, convinced he had run over the lad in a London street. But the boy, who was not on the bike, was unhurt - and Lampard gave him the cash to get a new BMX.Lampard's agent Steve Kutner said:

"All sorts of things were going through Frank's mind. "He saw the bike in his mirror and was sure he'd run the boy over. "Frank checked the lad was OK and asked how much the bike cost. "The boy said it was worth £100, so Frank gave him £200 in cash. It was the least he could do. "If anything, Frank was more upset than the boy."

BMX racers in Singapore now can learn from this

A friend of mine posted this in Facebook. It is a sad reality but these kids are WAY better than many of the kids here in Singapore. It seems sadly ironic that Singapore, as the host of the YOG, do not even have a BMX team that can even handle what these kids can do!

The nerve of some people

We get all kinds of emails. Some ask us about BMX in Singapore, which we are more than happy to oblige and we do our best to answer all questions that they have. Some are curious about BMX and we try to help them as well by answering their queries. And then we get emails like this one:

I’m (name with-held), a Student Producer for (name of company with-held)

An introduction of our show

(He went on into a long introduction of what the show was all about)

We will need 2 sets of protective gears. This are for the 2 hosts who will be learning the stunts together with the instructor. Please note that there is no payment for this project. However, we are able to provide a text credit for your company.

How about that? He seems to think that money grows on trees. At least a token sum for the instructors, who need to take time off work to help them. In any case, I have taken the liberty of giving them a "text credit" and I did not even reply to their email

Thanks guys but no thanks.

Why do we only have one BMX track?

There was a very good article in The Straits Times today about land use in Singapore. We have space for 22 golf courses and only one BMX track. Why in the heck do we have 22 golf courses in Singapore?? An island of slightly less than 700 square kilometers? The article in the Forum page is located here:

IN HIS letter, 'Land, not money, is the primary problem' (March 30), Mr Andrew Williams bemoaned the dearth of permanent spaces for recreational sports in Singapore. In the light of increasing enthusiasm for these pursuits among the young, he reasoned that more land, rather than money, needs to be found to meet their needs. We may not have to look far for such land. In a report last year ('Plots of greenery for recreation and friendship'), 300 plots totalling 582ha of open spaces were made available for recreational use free of charge. This is roughly the size of 892 football pitches. There is no indication that this area will be enlarged in tandem with the increasing popularity of sports. Yet, in contrast, to date we have built 22 golf courses, most of which are 18-holed oases to cater to a sport whose following is a mere 2 per cent of all regular sports participants, according to the Singapore Sports Council's National Sports Participation Survey in 2005. Discounting the driving ranges, these 22 courses occupy about 1,400ha of land, if one makes the conservative calculation of pegging each course at an average of 65ha each. The 1,400ha of land is equivalent to 2,200 football pitches. Given the disparity in space allocation for sports and recreation, it is easy to conclude that golf courses, especially in the context of land-scarce Singapore, are hogging far more state land than is necessary. The old rationale that the land cannot be used for other developments strains credulity. Regardless of the innumerable justifications, ranging from health to economic well-being, for turning vast stretches of premium land into golf courses for the pleasure of a small minority, the question that must be asked in the context of a land squeeze for sports is: Do we really need 22? We must free up in stages some of our golf courses for the sake of the growing number of sports-loving children who need the space to play and grow into robust and health-conscious adults. The extent of benefits far outweighs those that golf can provide.

Lee Seck Kay

Jay Miron sells his BMX businesses

By Mark Sutton from BikeBiz

Industry legend leaves the industry

20-INCH wheel legend and the owner of MacNeil Bikes, Ten Pack Distribution (US) and Metro Events, Jay Miron has revealed that he has sold the former two companies to his business partners Darcy Saccucci and Jamie McIntosh. The latter, Metro Events, will reportedly be closed down.

Having started the firms just over ten years ago, Miron announced that he will be passing the torch on, largely as a result of having to stop riding himself due to injuries, commenting in an interview with TheComeUP.net that it has been “difficult to stay around the sport, watching everyone else enjoy BMX so much.”

Miron added: “After spending my entire life either on a bike, or working in the bike business, I’m walking away from it.

While it’s pretty scary leaving it all behind,
I’m super excited for the new life that lies ahead. I haven’t yet decided what that life will be. I’m going to take a while to relax and see what comes up.

“I want to thank everyone whom I’ve ridden with, partied with and worked with over the years. I especially want to thank Darcy, Jamie and everyone else who has worked with me at MacNeil and Ten Pack. It’s been amazing.”

http://www.bikebiz.com/news/31983/Jay-Miron-sells-his-BMX-businesses

The Big BMX

I was browsing the Internet for anything BMX related and I came across this. Yeah I know. Looks like a 26" BMX cruiser. In fact, it is a BMX cruiser, with a nice looptail to boot. It is being manufactured by a company in the UK and it is billed as "the ultimate single-speed city bike". Quite a bice ring to it considering the fcat that we seem to think along the same lines as well.

The specs are located below. Quite basic

Frame
Aluminium hard-tail frame with oval down-tube and 1-piece rear triangle including disc brake bosses and slotted dropouts.
Top tube length 670mm
Head tube angle 72°
Seat tube angle 72°
Chain stays 450mm
BB height 300mm
Colours Black/Red/White/Blue.

Fork
Cro-Mo Rigid for 26" wheel.

Gears
Single speed. 135mm cassette hub with s/s conversion. 3-piece cranks with single chain wheel. Sealed MTB type BB.

Pedal
BMX style metal parallelogram platforms.

Tyres
26" x 1.75 energy efficient all terrain tyre.

Brakes
Low maintenance V-brakes front and rear. Handlebar 5.5" rise BMX style handlebar with integral cross bar.

Wheel
26" black anodised alloy wheels.

Saddle
BMX type short and wide comfort seat.

Seat post 400mm single piece design.

Seat tube clamp
Allen-bolt type (not pictured).

Accessories
User Manual, Chainguard, Reflectors, Bell (not pictured)

According to their website, located at BigBMX.com, they say:

BMX's debut at the 2008 Beijing Olympics has amplified BMX appeal. 2012's Olympic audience will enjoy even more of the action taking place on home turf in London. This mounting resurgence in BMX popularity has spawned another variant of the bike: The Big BMX. The BMX has evolved to meet the needs of the people.

The Big BMX is around the same size as a mountain bike and without the complexity of gears or suspension, it is lightweight, affordable and reliable. These benefits will not be lost on regular cyclists familiar with modern cycle technology.

Thanks guys. That is what we have been saying all along.

Mailbag

Got an email from the Straits Times a couple of days back. Interesting questions were posed. here is the mail:

I am (name witheld) from the Straits Times, and am writing a story regarding the lack of BMX training grounds for competitive cyclists with YOG around the corner.

The lady asked some questions ad I was only happy to answer them. Looks like even the local media are hearing the grouses from the ground with regards to the lack of BMX facilities, racing-wise.

Keep sending us your emails!

Phil Wood passes away

Phil Wood, the legendary maker of bicycle hubs, passed away. I use his spokes on my wheels and they are of excellent quality. According to Bike Retailer in this report here, he passed away at the grand age of 83. Rest in peace Mr Wood. The BMX world will miss you

BAXTER, IA (BRAIN)—Phil Wood, the man responsible for sealed hubs and bottom brackets, died on March 14 at his daughter's home in Roseville, California. He was 83.

He started the Phil Wood Company in 1971 as primarily a hub maker, though he offered other components. He sold the business to Peter Enright and a group of investors in 1991.

“I feel so lucky to have talked with him about a week before he passed away, and he mentioned again that he was so lucky to sell the business when he did,” said Enright, Phil Wood Company’s president.

“We talked off and on over the years, usually to catch up on news about his friends in the bike business. But he was quite happy to return to the farm after selling the business to help raise his granddaughter,” Enright added.

Rally behind YOG, Singaporeans...right

I read this story here about the Government asking Singaporeans to rally behind the YOG. Now one has to ask themselves...what has the YOG done for us?

Back in 2003 when we asked for a BMX track to be built, the SSC did not even give us the time of day. Now with the YOG here, they are scrambling like mad to get the track done, with no Singaporean BMX racers that could have been _if_ the track had been ready way back when. Not only that, when we push and push for the track to be built, we are called "terrorists" by some people at the people at the top because of our relentless pushing and talking to the press

Getting through to the YOG people, do not get us started on that. Leaving messages for them to get backl to us and they do not even want to. It is like they are not interested in the whole Singapore BMX thing. Some people that come to mind are a certain Dominic who does not even want to return our calls.

So we ask again...why should we rally behind the YOG?

Singapore Sports Council have no answers

Received an email today from someone. At least I am not alone in finding out how secretive the SSC is. I know how this person feels because I myself encountered many brick walls when I was asking questions.

Hi

I saw your post about the BMX track being closed and I thought I would call the number to ask anyone there about the situation with regards to the BMX track. My son and some of his friends used to ride on that BMX track on a regular basis but now it is closed and totally levelled out. When I called the Singapore Sports Council, I was promised calls from some of their "media" folk but no call came, considering the fact that I left my number for them to call. I asked them how soon the BMX track will be up and why would it be closed till after the Youth Olympic Games I got no answer but the person that took my call was very helpful but only because she had no access to information.

It is almost as if the Singapore Sports Council or SSC do not want to answer questions or evade any questions asked.

My son and his friends do not have any other place to practice. That was the only BMX track, or rather, a resemblance of a BMX track and in land-scarce Singapore, we do not have much choice when it comes to places to ride in. From what I can read in your blog, they are being pretty cagey over this. So much for a professional sports body.

Well, there you have it. Yet another person upset about the lack of communication from the SSC. Keep sending in your mails!

Closed for so long?

I kind of suspected that something like this would happen and now here it the proof. I kind of suspected that they would put off this track upgrade till the last minute and not even let the local kids have a try at it. They could have done it a LONG time ago but the SSC and SACA chose to turn a deaf year to me and put it off till the last minute. I have been clamouring for a new track since 2003 and when do they do it? The year when the YOG is going to take place. So that means our locals cannot even have s tab at a race that is held in their country. Thank you very much guys. It just shows how much you have the BMXers in your thoughts. But then again, maybe one of the so-called "BMX consultants" (and boy are the numbers growing) out there told them it was for the best.

Stu Thomsen - The Legend

There have been many names thrust at Stu throughout his career... Mighty One, Stompin' Stu, the list goes on. This guy is a stuff of legend, someone I looked up to while racing and someone I still look up to till today. This, my friends, is what BMX is all about.

This is how the BMX should be

BMX has progressed a lot since the heydays of the 70s and 80s. This event was from the X-Games 2002. Look at this. Even though this has huge jumps, this is the way BMX should be raced. No clips, just raw BMX racing. Sure, one says we have to keep up with the times but a BMX racer having to ride a roadbike in the YOG? I said it before...different muscles and different bike handling skills. I like this video because it shows what BMX is. BMX now is all about being a jock, or a joke if it held in Singapore, who put things off at the last minute by building that BMX track only now. For me, BMX is in my blood, ever since the day I watched the film ET which was over 28 years ago.

The development of the new track

I had some emails asking me about it. I told them what I already know, which was very little. I did hear that the track will be up before April this year. It really makes me wonder. It takes some hand-twisting to make the powers that be build a new BMX track. Maybe that, and the fact that the YOG are beginning to be the laughing stock of the whole world for the lack of BMX facilities. We will be following this development with great interest and if there is any other news, it will be posted up here.

'Youth' Olympic Solidarity

There is a new group in Facebook that will serve as a wake-up call for the BMX scene in Singapore as far as the YOG is concerned. It is located here. The mission of this Facebook group is to give a “wake up call to the National Olympic Committee of Singapore”, not only to try to do the best as hosts of the first Youth Olympic Games (YOG) – investing money in IT, PR, and so on - but also to support athletes in their own country. Check it out

The Tampines BMX Track has been flattened

And about bloody time too. I wonder what made them pull up their socks and get it happening? But let us take a good look at this. It is now February. SYOG is going to be in August. How about our local riders? How are they going to train? Did our local cycling association even think about fielding in our local riders to race against the rest of the world? If they had, they would have built up the bloody track earlier. I do not know how fast they can work to build up the track but I will say this...fat hopes about having any of our locals making it. I hope to be proven wrong so to all you local BMX racers, prove me wrong. Win something for Singapore please. Put us on the BMX map. make Singapore BMX proud!

More emails with regards to the Singapore BMX track for YOG

I still keep receiving emails. Many have read about the BMX track in Singapore and the sorry state it is in. You know, it is amazing. We could have had the chance of putting some pretty good riders in Singapore on the pedestal if some one on the top had just listened to my requests to do more for BMX back in 2003 but very little was done. So just now, I get an email:

Hi all. I'm a former BMX pro (42 y o now) and also concerned about the situation. What's UCI doing about it? Will they come (to Singapore) and do an inspection on the BMX track? (what track???) I know a BMX track can be built in a few days but why not having it now to give everybody a chance to practice.
Cheers

Looks like the rest of the world is with me on this. We need to send a message to the YOG people at the top and remind them that the track is needed and fast. We have been asking for 7 years now and still nothing has been done!

An observation about the Singapore YOG, BMX-wise, from a European's point of view

We love receiving emails from people and we do receive emails from all around the world. We just received this email this morning. This gentleman hails from Europe and these are his observations. The names have been edited out for privacy reasons.

Hi,

after I heard first time about Youth olympic games in 2008 I googled for BMX / Singapore and set the first link to your Homepage in May 2008. I was interested in the first youth Olympic games because all my kids ride BMX, and not so bad for (European country named edited out)

I’m one of the so called “commissaires“ never did a BMX race in my live … I’m 49 so it was not may time. With 18 I tried a bit skate boarding, MTB started 10 years later in (European country named edited out).

We also have some (small) Problems with ‘Jokers’ and ‘Monkeys’. What I learned is that age or even BMX Race Practice is not so important than to (try to) understand youth and sport. What I can say about Tampines: For me its shocking. After 2 years the track became even worse. If an official puts a photo -like it is on http://www.singapore2010.sg - from a “BMX-Track” on an official Homepage, he/she don’t understand anything about BMX, MTB, 4x, and I would say Biking as a whole. Because of the “innovative and unique” concept of UCI for the Bike events - Mix of everything - (European country named edited out) doesn’t /can not take part. We are qualified but … When I saw the Event place “Tampines Bike park” on the official Homepage I think its good, because it cost – for parents and national organisations – lot of money to send 4 young riders and staff to Singapore. From parent’s side: We’ll spend that money on European challenges.

Hope to here from you

(name witheld)

PS: Best sentence on off. Webpage is: The trail is being upgraded to make it even more technically challenging ;)

Thank you for your email sir. You just made our day! :-)

Stu Thomsen

When I was a kid, growing up in the 80s (Yeah, I am an old fogey BMX-wise) one of the heroes I literally worshipped was Stu Thomsen. Stu on his RedLine was unstoppable. I really wanted a RedLine PL-20 back then but they were kinda out of my range because they were pretty expensive. At the last gathering, there were quite a few folks out there with RedLines so I decided that I would love to get one again, just to relive my old-school longing. I already have a Kuwahara but a RedLine is what I would love. So be wary out there...this old man will be riding on a PL-20 soon when I can find one. The only problem is...what colour do I paint it? Some of us here have PL-20s painted in white, black and school-bus yellow. Hmmm...decisions decisions but I have to get that frame first!

Cycling Asia but nothing on BMX

There is this new online magazine, hailing out of Malaysia. I would not have known about them if not for the email I got from them yesterday. I checked out their site to see what they had to offer and lo and behold, nothing about BMX, despite one of its representatives telling me that he did a write-up of some extreme bike park in Malaysia. Guys, there is more to BMX than just stunts, jumping and extreme. BMX started off as BMX racing and that is in the Olympics. I and a whole host of others would love to see the other BMX disciplines in the Olympics but until they do, and I have campaigned for it, please support BMX racing. As for that Malaysia cycling site, here is your chance to be one of the first in the region and feature BMX racing.

Letters to us

We get all kinds of letters to us...all the time and we always try to answer them the best we can. Some emails to us are from people looking for information about BMX, some offer help and some just want to catch up and get addresses from us. An excerpt below

My name is (name witheld), I'm a reporter. I was hoping to do a story on BMX culture in Singapore. Skateboarding and aggro in-line skating has had a lot of press in the past years, but I want to show the BMXers of Singapore doing their thing. Are you guys meeting up soon? Is there anybody I can talk to about the beginning of the sport in Singapore? You help would be appreciated. Thank you so much for your time.

Well, this dude did not come down to our gathering but one of his reporters did. He and his cameraman were able to to film us and they had heaps of fun, as the email from him states below

eh guys! mark here from razorTV. thanks for accommodating us on Saturday. Wan and myself had a great time - i'm sure you guys could tell. big thanks to all again who were there to welcome us and share some camera time. Especially Alan, hasan, the 2 eddies, Anthony for his home made beer, Peter of cos, nina and all the rest that we forgot to mention. Till next time, kudos and best of luck!

You are more than welcome Mark. We enjoyed your company too. You are free to join us anytime you wish.

We got this one below fairly recently. Now I know that BMX bikes are pretty unique in their own way but not something that she would be interested in so I gave her directions to the shop of one of my friends:

Hello there,

I'm helping with a story on interesting looking bikes in Singapore. Chanced upon your page on Facebook - wondering if you know of any bicycle owners with interesting looking bikes, or unique features? Do let me know - I'm reachable by phone or email. Thanks very much!

No worries at all. So please, keep those emails coming in. Always glad to help to explain the Singapore BMX scene to you all. We are Singapore BMX

BMX talk

I get many people asking me via emails, telephone calls and even on Twitter about what is the vision for Singapore as far as BMX is concerned. The thing is, I do not know. I suspect that even the people looking after BMX in Singapore do not know either. But then again, many of these jokers do not rock the cradle...they are pretty much afraid to. There is nothing in the timetable after the YOG in August, which I do not need reminding is only about 7 months away. Our BMX riders do not even have a proper track to practice on. So for the inaugural Youth Olympics with BMX in its repertoire, which will be held in Singapore, all we have Singapore-wise is a bunch of commisaires, which from what I saw, do not seem to know what BMX is and some of them do not even ride BMX nor were ever BMX riders in a race.

What is your vision for BMX in Singapore? Let us know. Send us an email at admin@osbmx.com

A great meetup for 2010

Today's gathering was the first meet-up for this year. The gathering was held at the Bukit Batok Skatepark and as usual, most of the regular gang was there. But today's gathering was a bit different. We had a TV crew present there...a TV crew from RazorTV. Most of us got interviewed and questions were asked of us about BMX in Singapore and the like. The guys that interviewed us were totally cool and I think they enjoyed our little gathering, seeing the camaraderie we had. When they left, I feel that they got a bit of an understanding about local BMX and what it had to offer. They were enlightened indeed.

We chatted mostly about old-school BMX, something we all are very knowledgeable about and some other non-BMX related stuff. We also discussed about getting some T-shirts together. This BMX forum is about ten years old anyway so we needed something to commemorate the evnt. After the gathering at the park, we finished off at the coffee-shop near the park for some coffee. We left the place feeling tired but happy and we look forward again to the next gathering, which will be soon. Watch this space!

Some BMX cyclists unhappy upgrading of Tampines facilities not on track

I saw this article on the CNA website located here. There is truth in that unhappiness for sure. Way back in 2003 when I was the VP for BMX in SACA, I pushed for BMX to have more recognition as it was then made an Olympic sport but was told that they were only going to concentrate on road and mountainbike. I kept pushing but I was up against a brick wall. Maybe some people at the top did not care? I certainly got my fair share of rebuffs as far as BMX in Singapore was concerned. So if you read that article, I can tell you from the perspective of one who was involved...it is the truth. So here we are now, with only a few months away from the Youth Olympic Games and we have no track. Sad really.

Food for thought...what is going to happen to BMX in Singapore after the YOG?

Tune Tote for BMX

We all take the iPod and and other music players for granted these days. Files are all digital and stored on flash memory. But back in the day, when you wanted to listen to your favourite tunes, you had to hook on one of these babies to your handlebars. The name of the product? Tune Tote. One of the cool members of VintageBMX.com posted this up in the forums. What this basically was was a set of speakers that bolted or clipped to your handlebars. You hooked your portable cassette player to these speakers and away you went. We did not have much choices when it came to poratble music players back in the day so this was our best bet. I would love to have one just for memories sakes!

How to stop mud entering your BMX fork

If you have an old-school BMX, see if you can get one of these old-school racer handlebar plugs, you know, the ones that used to come on roadbikes back in the day. Stick it up the bottom of your fork to prevent mud and crud getting through. It will not stop everything going through but it will slow down the flow. I have had one on my bike for years and there may be a few bicycle shops still stocking these.

DK Sentry 24" BMX

Checked out the DK site today and came across thie beautiful DK Sentry. Comes with a 21" top-tube and an aluminium frame. The best about this bike is that it come with 4130 chromoly cranks instead of that aluminium stuff that comes with the other bikes. This bike looks bad-ass! I wonder if I can get this into my stable of bikes without overcrowding it?

Haro X24

Just saw this on Haro Bikes revamped website. Funny thing is, they are using the design of yesteryear, with the same graphics and the familiar chevron logo that was around when Bob Haro ruled the roost. I thought I would check up on the Backtrail X24 cruiser that they have because I happen to have a 2000 Backtrail X24 and it rocks.

I came across this bike. Looks ok and then I did some checking on the specs. Check this out:

Frame: X24 Crmo DT – 21.7" TT.
Fork: 1 1/8" Full Crmo- Threadless
Handlebar: Hi-Ten- 5.25" rise.
Crankset: Haro 3-pc Crmo USA Sealed Bearing- 175mm.
Gearing: 39/16 Freewheel.
Tires: Kenda K-Rad 24×1.95 Front and Rear
Hubset: 36h 3/8" Frt / 14mm Rr axle w/Alloy Shell
Rims: Alex 36H Alloy

Looks like Haro cut some corners on this cruiser. What is with the hi-tensile steel handlebar and having the downtube on the frame the ONLY tube made of chromoly? Yeah Haro...you may bring back the logo of old but honestly...you guys need to bring back the quality of old too!

Cycling News in Asia

I came across this site today named Cycling News Asia (a Google search will throw it up) so I thought I would go in and take a look. Has an interview with a couple of Singapore cyclists but check this out...nothing on BMX, which is not surprising at all. It looks like the site is located in China, which is strangely ironic because BMX mades its Olympic debut in the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Looks like many in Asia are still ignorant about BMX or just do not know much about it. So it looks like this so-called Cycling News Asia is not a credible portal to put on my hit list. Next!

The truth hurts

Latest posts. In case anyone wants to know how BMX in Singapore is holding up, this is it http://z15.invisionfree.com/Singapore_BMX_Forums/index.php?showtopic=1664

SE Racing Quadangle looptail

When I saw this bike for the first time, I had to have a second look. Nice. Interesting colour combination... a far cry from the days of the blue and brown. SE Racing gets a thumbs up from me for staying true to the concept of BMX. The beauty about this Quadangle? It is made of 4130 chromoly steel. The green rims and hubs give it a nice touch. The only time one could get green rims back in the day was if they bought a pair of Skyway Tuff Wheels or ACS Z-Rims. These really hit the spot!

Singapore Youth Olympic Games 2010

Singapore Youth Olympic Games Organising Committee (SYOGOC) held some shindig at Kay Siang road. John and myself went down to take a look at it to see what was in store for BMX. Well, we saw that people were awed about BMX but when they talked about history, how about the history of BMX and what it stood for? One does not just gloss over important details like that.

And another thing. The guy explaining about BMX there really needs an education in the sport. From what I gather, he does not know about BMX. OK...maybe he is a newbie to the sport. We were all newbies at some point in time. There are reasons why BMX frames are shaped as such for example. There is a reason why it is called BMX aka Bicycle Moto-X or Moto-Cross. People want to know about BMX. People need to know about BMX. But these things were cast aside.

It is now 2010. This is the year for the Youth Olympics in Singapore. The track in Tampines is anything but ready. And then we haveto ask...what about AFTER the Youth Olympics in Singapore? What is going to happen to the track? Is it going to be a while elephant? Will people organise races, just like what was done before? It is a golden opportunity for BMX in Singapore but after what I saw today, I have a nagging suspicion that BMX will be doomed. Someone prove me wrong please. As Winston Churchill once famously quoted, "Eating my own words has never given me indigestion"

As for the attendees being wowed, all I can say is, in the kingdom of the blind, the one-eyed man is king

Peter and Thailand Old-School BMX

Our very own OSBMX legend Peter (5th from left) went up to Thailand to spend some time with our BMX brothers up in the north and told us that he had a helluva time there. The Thailand Old-School BMX guys want to hold a gathering and a get-together up in Thailand somewhere in April or May. This sounds great! Sounds like they have a thriving old-school BMX scene up there in Thailand, just like we have. This is proof positive that there are people out there who still like the days when BMX made more sense.

Coaster brake hubs

Back in the day, in the 70s even, BMX bikes used to come with coaster brakes. I still run coaster brakes on two of my five bikes which I have in my possession. The reason? Very little maintenance and these things can work even in wet weather. I used to use these on my race bike back in the day. Back in the days when BMX made more sense, we had track conditions that were wet and dry, not like the wusses in the BMX word today in which the tracks have to be really smooth with no water puddles anywhere. In any case, back in the day, when there were water puddles, these brakes made sure you stopped when you wanted to. I managed to get some old SunTour ones the other day. They are pretty old but they do work well. Lace up a pair today!

Flex fighters

Back in the day, we did not have the 1 1/8" threadless fork system that we have now. I think in that sense, BMX has improved. All our forks back in the day were fastened to the frame via a headset with a 1" thread. And we had to use quill stems. Sometimes, the taller riders really jacked up their stems anfor the really brutally strong riders, this lead to cracked stems and goosenecks. Enter the flex-fighter, pictured above. These things kept your stem strong. I never had one of these but I really wish I did back in the day. These at least helped to stem some breakage stem-wise!

Bukit Batok Skatepark 23rd January 2010

Hi all and a very Happy New Year to one and all, if I have not wished you previously. There will be a gathering for Singapore Old-School BMX at the Bukit Batok Skatepark on the 23rd of January, which will be Saturday. Spend some time with some old-schoolers who will wax lyrical about a time when BMX made more sense and when there was actual camaraderie. There will be lots of camaraderie there in the meeting so be there! There is a post in our forums about this event located here

See you guys there!