Monday, August 4, 2008

One-Sided Arguments

Well.

Apologies for the disappearance. Spent much of last week and the weekend watching the X Games—odd parts, too, not just the BMX. Nope. Since I didn't exactly keep track of what was on when, I just took what came: Jake Brown's return to Megaramp (and the ensuing multiple crashes of a drawn-looking Danny Way), the BMX Street final jam session (which seemed rather difficult to judge), a few minutes of FMX Best Trick (whose competitors seem about as culturally relevant as Mudvayne and Slipknot—and equally well-dressed).

I don't know, the X Games just seem to get increasingly stranger and more removed from real life every year. Pro skater Rune Glifberg bitches about the "Super Park" course enough to have an L.A. Times story written about it—then wins the event. Podium regulars Travis Pastrana and Dave Mirra both medal—in rally cars. Rally cars? Why not a demolition derby or monster trucks?

••••••••••••••••••••••••

Someone please explain to me the appeal of one-sided pegs? You know, ones like the Eastern Slit pegs, which have a bunch of undoubtedly NASCAR-approved slits cut in them, or the off-center machined Macneil Fashionably Lights or Colony One-Ways (which are aluminum, to boot). Or, of course, the new EXTERNALLY machined Fly pegs.



They're lighter, sure. Which is the whole point, I guess. But the fact that you can't rotate them—when you grind through one side, they're done—seems to be a steep price to pay. And on the internally machined ones you'll want to be careful not to grind on the wrong side by accident. (Of course they're all advertised as "park pegs" or for "light street," but whoever pays attention to that sort of thing?) What they are, more or less, are pegs that are pre-worn. If I'd known something like this would become popular, I would have kept all my old ground-down Kinks.

I'm also curious how the off-centered machining affects the strength of the peg as a whole. What if you hit one of the "thin" parts against an upright? What if you bail and the bike lands square on the end? Like a lot of parts these days, I understand the appeal of these if your sponsor is sending them to you. Otherwise? Not so much.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm kinda surprised to see the line "...they felt like they didn't want to blow their wad on something like that." in print.

Anonymous said...

it seems as though the light weight parts last just long enough to get you through until the new color(way) gets released thus giving you very good reason to buy a new one in the hip color of the minute. almost as if it's planned, huh?

Anonymous said...

it has been years since i have grinded anything, forgive my ignorance, but for "normal" pegs, what has been an average lifespan, are people grinding through?

Anonymous said...

You can't grind through pegs, there metal.

G.S.GUCCILIFE said...

Todd,the one above..ill leave that to you...

Russ said...

Old Animal pegs lasted forever and a couple of days.

Anonymous said...

Damn, my jpeg lites only lasted forever. Hey Chris...!

Anonymous said...

thanks, g.s. but my red pen is out of ink.

Anonymous said...

I would like to see Mirra and Pastrana go up against Loeb or the other drivers who compete in the WRC. That would be like seeing Fred Blood ride flatland against Martti Kuoppa or something. X-games rally must be considered a novelty act.

Anonymous said...

"You can't grind through pegs, there metal."

im pretty sure you can

Anonymous said...

skateboarders moaning. now there's a suprise...

i'm sure if a skateboarder had built the exact same park then they'd be lauded it as the best thing to happen to humankind since the invention of the foot.

Stephen said...

guys, we owe skateboarding a lot...

because of them, every girl i ever brought home got nervous when they saw my signed Gator poster and board bag.

Unknown said...

I'd like to shake Nate Wessel's hand for pissing off so many people by building an awesome ramp.

Anonymous said...

Stephen, your comment was absolutely brill, thank you.

Stephen said...

you are more than welcome, todd.

tim said...

no i kinda skipped out on watching the xgames but was rune bitching about the ramp before or after he won first place?

Anonymous said...

x Games and due tour are shit now and for ever, due to daniel dehers!!!!

Anonymous said...

Yes Daniel Dhers use the superpark like a miniramp
they don't need to build a complex park for him

Russ said...

Next year Nate should build an exact concrete replica of Pipeline or Upland.

I also would like to give kudos for the Gator comment.