Greg Hill Products (GHP) Pro XL BMX race bike

I have always been admirer of Greg, even from the early 80s when I used to race BMX. He has always been totally dedicated to the sport and that is something I can respect. He has a stable of bikes for sale and from what I can see, they are specced out pretty good. Take the Pro XL one pictured above. According to the website:

The 2012 GHP Pro XL race bike features a 7005 series aluminum frame with 1-1/8" integrated headtube, chromoly GHP fork with tapered legs, alloy frontload stem, 8" rise chromoly GHP bars, mushroom grips, alloy V-brake and lever, GHP 180mm alloy 2-pc cranks with sealed External Euro BB, 44T alloy 4-bolt chainring, 3/8" sealed flip/flop alloy hubs with 16T Dicta freewheel, 32H GHP double-wall rims, Tioga Powerblock 1.95 front/1.75 rear tires, GHP Pivotal seat, quick release seat clamp and Wellgo alloy platform pedals. 21.25" Toptube (20.4 lbs) 

Not too shabby! This would be great for the discerning rider who in Singapore only has the likes of ABD or Polygon to choose. I would even take these over the Kuwahara bike sthat are being released now. One thing I can say is, Greg knows his stuff. And we know that

Kuwahara padsets

Kuwahara padsets. That is what is missing from my ride. Unlike the ones that are currently available, these are meant for handlebars which are more easily available nowadays and the quality is absolutely fantastic. I managed to get a set and I was impressed!

RedlLine rolls out the flight carbon kit

I saw this being posted in BMX News today. Redline has been working on this Flight Carbon kit for some time and has always been in the prototype stages, or so I have heard when i made some enquiries. It was then called the Project 79. According to the article:

Redline has put together an impressive mid-step between the frame and hub kit, and the full-on, Veyronesque build at $2799. The Flight Carbon “Rolling Chassis” is kitted out with an Answer Dagger fork, Sun Ringlé polished wheel set with black spokes and red nips and headset hardware with “Team” top-cap for the Daggers.

It costs about $1300 for this kit alone. Well, unless you are a serious racer, by all means, break the bank and get it. For me? I'd stick to the material that got Linn Kastan into the BMX industry by making unbreakable and reliable products: chromium molybdenum steel or chromoly for short.

SunTour XC-II pedals

Back in the day, when one used to race, these pedals were the choice of many. These Suntour XC-IIs (photo courtesy of Helix BMX) really gripped your shoes and were deadly strong, thanks to the chromoly axle it had and the rather strong, replaceable cages. There were more exotic and expensive alternatives available like the Hutch Bear-trap pedals. Quite a few people used to file these Suntour pedal cages to make them sharper so that they would grab the soles of their shoes better. Remember, these things came out even before clipless pedals came into our sport. I have seen a pair in a shop near my place. I might get them for memories sake and put them on my old BMX.

Emails!

We love getting emails. Questions will always be answered so send your questions to us today at admin@osbmx.com. We got this email today:

Hey sorry to bother you, I came across your blog when I was searching for BMX Bikes in Singapore. I'm really interested in starting BMX riding, maybe not racing yet but hopefully to start from street. Any idea which shops that you would recommend a beginner to go to? Really appreciate your time reading this. Thanks!

We replied back and gave him a list of recommended shops that we know of, even though there is a dearth of good BMX shops in Singapore.

We also got this one from Germany:

Hello, I'm the Webmaster of a german BMX Forum and I was wondering if you're interested in Link Trade.I will put your Link on my Site if you add my Link to your Site.


We took him up on his offer. More BMX sites on the Internet means more people are interested in the sport! So keep those emails coming!

Odyssey XTRO thru-axle

A lot of people are talking about the 20mm thru-hubs, the supposedly new technology, that will be gracing bikes very soon. Very few people know that Odyssey already had that idea way back, in the mid 90s actually. So the concept was already there and I knew about it; I just never took it up as I only got back to BMX in 1999. This picture comes courtesy of BMX Society. Beefy looking fork too!

Profile Racing race-specific crankset

This was spotted at Interbike and someone sent it to me via email so i do not know who to credit this picture too. If any of you are reading this know who this picture belongs to, please send me an email and I will give credit where it is due.

In any case, this is the race-specific crankset from Profile Racing. Looks like they are using outward bearings and that the spider only has four arms. Nice bit of kit and I would take these cranks over any DXR or aluminium cranks.

Eric Rupe, a living BMX legend

I still remember reading BMX action in 1984. Even then, I knew who Eric Rupe was...one helluva BMX racer and still racing today! Stuff of legend I tell you. In any case, he now rides for GT, after riding for Mongoose for so many years. But the best thing I like about Eric? His philosophy, which is similar to mine when it comes to BMX:

What I hate about BMX is people who have never competed on the Pro level before yet they are in charge and trying to impose their lame brain ideas/rules

Yep. That describes some people running the show in Singapore alright!

GT Bicycles pro cassette hubset

GT always had some cool hubsets throughout the years. I remember back in 1984 when they were one of the first companies to make hubs that had hollow chromoly axles. Rob Fehd and Greg Hill used to use them on their bikes. In the 90s, GT came out with the Mohawk hub. Extremely popular too. These are the latest from GT. Specifications wise:

120pt cassette ratchet engagement w/16T cog; 

Female Chromoly bolt system; 

Sealed bearings- 2 front, 4 rear; 

36H- Front & Rear; Front 259g, Rear 494g; 

Available in Black and Gold

Yep, GT is making some cool hubs again!

Profile 20mm bolt-thru front hub

Came across this in the Profile Racing Facebook page and I must say that this could be the future of hubs to come. That picture above shows a SINZ carbon fork and the afore-mentioned Profile hubs. I would keep the hubs but the fork, I'll pass thanks! I must say that I agree that it will be stiffer and I dare say it looks pretty good!

New crank spindle size from Fit Bikes. 24mm?

Seems that Fit Bike's rider Shawn McIntosh was spotted with prototype 24mm spindle cranks, according to the Fit website here. Looks like it was a success and Fit will be releasing it in full. Looks like there is going to be a whole new size for BMX cranks, which previously only had 19mm and 22mm diameter spindles. This should be interesting and from what I read, they do not make Spanish bottom-bracket bearings for these cranks, only mid.

BMX racing in the 80s

As far as I am concerned, this is what BMX is all about. Never mind the terrain, weather conditions, we just race. So we have to ask...has BMX improved, or not?