S&M Bikes are making a bar with an 11-inch rise

And I thought bars from our era in the 80s were big. I remember back in 2001 when BMXers were ridiculing big bars. Now it is the other way round. Look at the size of these bars. 11 inch rise and 30 inches in width. Apparently, they sell for about $60 in the USA. You can bet when they come to Singapore the price will be jacked up so high you will be even wondering what hit you. 

But back to these bars. They are currently on sale on the S&M website. I do not know who will buy bars this size but I can bet quite a few of the local riders will...just to have something different. These are the specs from the S&M online store:

RISE: 11”
WIDTH: 30"
UPSWEEP: 3°
BACK SWEEP: 11°
CROSS BAR .75"
WEIGHT: 2.73lbs
MATERIAL: 4130 CrMo

So what is new for BMX in Singapore

It looks like the Asian Cycling Championships for BMX was a resounding success and it looks like it has captured the eyes of some Members of Parliament like Ms Irene Ng. I think people are now beginning to understand about BMX more than they did before. Now. What we need to get are more people interested in the sport and build up numbers...and interest. That will make it grow. Also that "certification" thingy to use the track. That should be scrapped. That is turning lots of people away from the sport. people just cannot see the double standards of not paying to get "certified" to use the the East Coast Bike Park but paying to use the Tampines BMX Track....and rightly so. We here at Singapore BMX have never supported it. 

Another thing is to get the freeloaders and parasites out of the scene. Yes, the people who use BMX in Singapore to sell their stuff and fulfil their own agendas. Some of them are just downright sneaky cunning. There are a few of them and they know who they are. Without parasites like these, the sport will be a better one.

So let us get to work and let the promotion of BMX in Sngapore begin!

Order S and M bikes, frames and components online via their new online store

Singapore is a very strange country. Almost everyday, a new bike store opens up but all of them do not cater for BMX racers. All of us have to buy our bikes from mail-order companies and sometimes, we are lucky to have friends who travel to other countries and can buy stuff for us. This was limited to small items only so as not to take up too much space and weight. But there is good news. S&M have opened an online store. That is great news considering the fact that you can now get parts directly from S&M. Best thing one can do while waiting for those retailers in Singapore to get their act together. What's that? The URL? Oh yeah...here it is: http://store.sandmbikes.com/

Aftermath of the Asian Cycling Championships for BMX

So it looks like everyone enjoyed themselves at the Asian Cycling Championships for BMX and it looks like some time has been bought for the Tampines BMX Track. We here at Singapore BMX would like to congratulate the riders that took part in this....40 riders from 8 different countries. The winner was Daniel Caluag from the Philippines who took the crown in the Men's Elite. Now, hopefully the powers that be take notice of this and actually do something to make sure that BMX is viewed as a serious sport and not a kid's sport. Congratulations once again to the winners!

Looks like it is official...the Tampines Bike Park is going to go

This was featured in Channelnewsasia and it looks like the Tampines Bike Park is going to make way for development. Looks like the new place will be designated as Tampines North. This Tampines BMX track, which is part of the Tampines Bike Park, has been around since 1998. It seems that the Singapore Sports Council is working together with the HDB to see where they can build a new park at an alternative site. Now I do not know if that is a feasible idea but I suppose we can take comfort in the fact that the SSC is doing something at least for our cyclists. The article in ChannelNewsAsia is posted below:

SINGAPORE: A bicycle park in Tampines will soon make way for development, but there may be plans for a new one.

Located along Tampines Avenue 9, the park was built three years ago for the Youth Olympic Games' mountain bike events.

It is now making way for a new town, Tampines North.

The Housing and Development Board (HDB) said earthworks have begun at the site.

The 60-hectare park has one of the country's four mountain bike trails, and is used by some 2,600 bikers every month, on average, according to the Singapore Sports Council.

People that MediaCorp spoke to said casual mountain bikers would be affected by the redevelopment.

One biker said: "Usually they will come down here for a quick (biking) trail and then go to work. So if you close this trail, I don't think they will have time to go and ride (elsewhere)."

Another added: "The Ketam Trail at Pulau Ubin, the Bukit Timah Trail -- I mean these are more advanced. For us starters, this is the place we go to. So if they take down this place, where do we start?"

HDB told MediaCorp it is working with the Singapore Sports Council to identify a suitable location for a new bike park.

- CNA/al

BMX Asian Cycling Championships on 17th to 19th May 2013

Apparently, this event is happening net month and there is hardly any news from the relevant people with regards to this event. There is one individual that put forth an impassioned plea to the powers that be i.e. the Singapore Cycling Federation. Yes. It has sunk this low:

So let us just see if this event happens...if it happens at all. All I can say is that we at Singapore BMX are very, very disappointed with the Singapore Cycling Federation

There goes the Tampines BMX track

This is old news for some but it looks like the days are numbered for the Tampines BMX Track and maybe even the Tampines Bike Track. It seems that it will be making way soon for housing development to house the projected 6.9 million people that Singapore will be hosting soon. Does not look good for the cycling sport in Singapore, especially for BMX. I just hope that an alternative place can be found

Eastern bikes and their cool / crazy-looking dropouts

Cool or crazy? Well, it depends on your point of view or course. Could they have taken a leaf out of Cannondale's book by sanding down the welds? I have no idea. But for me, it looks pretty cool. Check out their page for more info

BMX memories of the 80s on TV hopefully?

Got this from a TV producer. Looks good!

How are you? My name is *name deleted*, director from *company name deleted*
We have been commissioned by *name of TV program deleted* to produce a series of 60-second videos for television that will be aired in Asia. This series focuses on Singaporeans’ memories of 1980s. From the first BMX bicycle to the first MRT train, each of these short stories will be a nostalgic walk down memory lane for many.
We believe you may have a very interesting memory of the 80s through your involvement in bmx. You have been part of the BMX movement, almost from the start. We would like to invite you to share it with the viewers of *name of TV program deleted*.

As the director, I'm interested in your story from the point of view of 'a lifelong love affair that began in the 80s'. Of course this can change when I eventually do get a chance to speak to you.

Filming will only take half a day of your time and we will try our utmost to schedule to your convenience as i really want to do a BMX story as I ride a bike myself.

I'd really appreciate if you can give me a call at *telephone number deleted* so that we can have a chat about this.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Looks pretty good that is all I can say. Heaps of BMX memories...that I have. Stand by for education folks!

HOPE making BMX parts?

I had to do a double-take when I saw this. Hope, the brand synonymous with mountain bikes, making BMX stuff? Apparently yes! I got this image from Fastlane BMX Magazine and I must say that I am really happy to hear about this. According to the article on Fastlane BMX:

The Hope hub has been in design for a while now, but has taken a while to be actually be made. The picture shows it with a shortened freehub and a standard cog but the production one will have an international standard 6 bolt fixing and a choice of cogs from 15 tooth to 21 tooth, and also a 9 speed integrated cog. The production hub's will have an 80 tooth pick up. The rear hub will come in a 10mm or 14mm bolt option, with a bolt either side aswell as a 14mm nutted option. Hope are also going to produce a matching front hub to complement the rear ,which will have an option of a 10mm bolt like the rear or with a 20mm bolt through option .

I do not know about you guys but to me, that is pretty cool. Hope is to the UK what Profile Racing is to the USA. Great products that will last.

New VP of BMX in Singapore

That was quick. In October, I had news that there was a VP of BMX in the Singapore Cycling Federation. Now I find out that there is a new VP of BMX. Maybe the old VP had reasons for resigning the post...it is not an easy post and I can vouch for that but can we in the least get a VP that was a BMX rider before? It is not so hard is it?

And the reason an ex-BMX rider who has actually raced would be a good VP is because he has seen it, and done it. He knows what the race is about and he knows what to make of it. He knows the ins and outs of the BMX system and the BMX community in Singapore would be better with a such a VP.

In any case, those are our thoughts on the VP of BMX here in Singapore. Lets hope some good comes out of it.

Merry Christmas 2012

We here at Singapore BMX would like to take this opportunity to wish all our readers throught the world a very Merry Christmas. Ride safe!

Tampines BMX Track closure until further notice

I was informed about this recently but a post on Facebook confirmed it all. Looks like it will be closed and once again, our youth who want to take part in races and want to practice will have nowhere else to go for that. Once again, sports takes a back seat to money. To be honest, it was not surprising

Profile 22mm spline drive sprocket

We were taking a look at some of our BMX Twitter feeds and we saw this new one from Profile Racing on their Twitter account. This was about four days back and it is simply titled: "The birth of the Profile 22mm spline drive sprocket". Interesting. No more sprocket bolts!

BMX parts in Singapore?

Like we have said before, we love getting letters and emails from people because we can get to spread the BMX love far and wide. The problem is, BMX race parts in Singapore are pretty hard to get and very few bike-shops carry them, so I can understand this gentleman's frustration as we have faced it before as well. This email was received recently:

Dear Sir,

Need your assistance to refers to local bike shops that carries BMX bikes and parts. I'm looking for racer specific parts and accessories or do we have to import from US/UK since the BMX scene here is basically very much dead? Never see BMX so "dead" after 30 years of cycling............BTW this is for my son.............I'm more into road bikes, but once upon a time a big BMX fans for 13 over years
Any forums or shop list you can refers to will be great.
Thank You so Much!

We replied to his email and hopefully, the shops we listed would have what he needs. As for the scene being dead...

International riders in Singapore? Interesting.

We here at Singapore BMX get mails everyday and we always try to respond with offers of help or referrals. We got this mail recently. Sounds pretty exciting:

Hello. My name is (name deleted) and I would like to find out if you would be interested in working with us..
We are planning on bringing a group of 6 Professional BMX Rides (Freestyle - Park and Dirt) to Asia at the end of December/beginning of January. The group will comprise of 6 international Pro BMX riders (from USA, Germany, Spain, UK and France) and will spend at least 1 week in Singapore.

Our plan is to start in Singapore and then travel through Asia. We would be very interested in performing for shows, and/or offering workshops for the local riders. As such, we are reaching out to you to understand your level of interest in working with us.

Please let us know of your initial thoughts and ideas.

I'd be very happy to share more details. My numbers are listed below. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

We told them we would be happy to work with them. They were happy about it and they said that they would be in touch.

Remember...keep those emails coming in! Send them to admin@osbmx.com

Fiend BMX

We are always on the lookout for good BMX bars that one can use for racing. I was recently alerted on these bars by a friend of mine in the USA, a company by the name of Fiend BMX. These bars look pretty good and are plenty wide to handle BMX racing. Specifications of these bars are:

8.75″

8.75″ rise, 28.5″ width, 12 degree backsweep, 1 degree upsweep, 1.7 lbs; 13 butted heat-treated 4130 chromoly. ED Black, Embryo Red, Embryo Green and Chrome

8.5″

8.5″ rise, 28.7″ width, 12 degree backsweep, 1 degree upsweep, 1.6 lbs; 13-butted heat-treated 4130 Chromoly. ED Black, Embryo Red, Embryo Green and Chrome

8.25″:

8.25″ rise, 28.5″ width, 12 degree backsweep, 1 degree upsweep, 1.5 lbs; 13-butted heat-treated 4130 chromoly. ED Black , Embryo Green, Embryo Red, and Chrome

Not too bad eh?

Happy Diwali

Singapore BMX would like to take this opportunity to wish all our Hindu friends and riders a very happy and blessed Diwali

Rest in peace Kyle Bennett. You will never be forgotten

Picture courtesy of BMX Mania

The BMX World has lost one helluva racer. We read yesterday that Kyle Bennett, one of the smoothest riders that we know, passed away in a car accident. He was 33 years old. So many people are saddened by his death and we here at Singapore BMX wish to add our condolences to his family. We will remember him. Rest in peace Kyle. Rock that BMX track in Heaven!

New VP of BMX in SCF

Old news for some but for those who do not know, there is a new VP of BMX in SCF named Richard Dawson. You can send him emails if you want to know about race schedules and such. Alternatively, you can still send emails to us here at Singapore BMX and we will be more than happy to forward all emails to him. Let us just hope that Mr Dawson brings BMX in Singapore up to a higher level than what it was before. Let us also hope that funding and recognition for BMX in Singapore rises, along with participation. We need your help to bring the level of BMX up. In any case, congratulations to Richard Dawson!