Blue Falcon, Orange Cranks, and Green Clovers

Working on something longer for tomorrow (here's a hint), so just some quick hits today, I fear.

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The latest entry for "What Does A Real Bike Look Like?," courtesy of the Blue Falcon:

I particularly like the inverted frontload drop stem with high-rise bars and a spacer underneath. Time for a new Fit topload stem? Also please note the visible seatpost, big dirt front tire, metal pedals and dress-unfriendly standover height. BFF!

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Hey look, a new Profile color. No way!


Still somewhat surprised that Profile keeps banging out new colors of the Race Cranks without trying a bigger, hollow spindle or a two-piece design or something. While I do respect the "if it ain't (that) broke, don't fix it" mentality, I also think there would be a huge market for a Profile crank that's stronger than the Race but not quite as massively overbuilt as the SS/DJ. American-made, 22mm, 48-spline chromoly cranks? How could they miss?

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If you ever wanted to knock off your own Pivotal setup, here's your chance. Or at least you can see how many patents are involved. From an interview Tunney did with Darcy at Macneil. (I would love to know how much revenue the Pivotal patents bring in annually—not that anyone will ever tell me. Bastards.)

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Ben Ward at Odyssey sent me this along with my monthly check (kidding!)—that's a gen-you-wine SPRFLS sticker on the bike rack in front of the PDX's own Goods. Holla. (I'm gonna get more made soon, promise.)

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Finally, how could something right be so wrong? Don't get me wrong, it's totally awesome that Vans gave Tobias Wicke a signature shoe, especially since they seem to be hard to come by these days (signature shoes for BMXers, not Vans).


But a full-length visible airbag on a pair of Vans? For serious? It's like Ian MacKaye rocking a fauxhawk or a vintage Ferrari with spinners or Metallica...well, doing pretty much everything they did after 1990. Come on Vans, you're better than that! Leave the gimmicky nonsense for companies like DC, please.

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Odds and Endos

Who was it that called a section Odds and Endos? Was it the original BMX Action? I think it was, but I'm too lazy to walk 20 feet to my box of old BMX mags and check. Good name, though. And in BMX, even those who learn their history are eager to repeat it.

Take Subrosa. Despite the fact that they've only been around for—well, not very long—they posted something rather interesting under History 101 (August 29th): what appears to be a prototype bashguard frame:



I e-mailed Subrosa and have yet to hear back. It's probably just another hoax, who knows? But still, the image triggered something in my leaky memory. And a quick Google search revealed this:


Hm. Subrosa straight-up copied Bully's bashguard design. Hopefully that's all they borrowed from Bully, seeing that they had a nasty habit of breaking at the downtube/headtube junction the second the warranty expired. (Although, come to think of it, some new Marc McKee graphics would do Subrosa good.)

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Quick! Who makes this bike?


If you said "Deluxe," you'd be wrong. They're not offering complete bikes...yet.

Nope, this is a United (link here), just with the model name more prominent than the brand name. Which wouldn't be a problem except for the fact that the model name is also a brand name. Ah, confusion at its finest.

(What makes it even funnier is that it comes with a straight cable and a front dirt tire, and is thus something of a trail bike, while Deluxe is a trails-only company. Coincidence?)

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Mirraco is not content to sit idly by while other companies put out countless disgusting-looking seats. Although they chose to use earth tones instead of letting Rainbow Brite shit on them, they're still pretty fugly.


Available soon at Banana Republic right next to the khakis. Love the utterly superfluous stitching. Jay Miron must be laughing all the way to the bank.

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The best under-a-minute BMX video posted on the web this week, or possibly ever? That's easy. Paul Buchanan's T1 Props commercial from 1999:



How many 10-year-old edits stand up today? Feeble to sprocket is so freaking good. Hm, maybe that explains the Subrosa frame.

(For the record, Taj's blog in general should be required reading. 2010 Giant prototypes? Of course, Brooklyn Machine Works already does an elevated drivetrain, but not on a BMX bike.)

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Pivotal Discussion

"Hey, didn't Odyssey say they'd never make a Pivotal seat?"
"I don't know whether they said never. Seemed pretty unlikely, though."
"Man, that's so weak."
"But wait, it's a totally new base. And they offer a pre-stripped version. Kids'll be psyched on that."
"Yeah, whatever. Sellouts!"
"Still, the plastic ones look better than any Macneil or Animal with the padding ripped off."
"Yeah, whatever. Why are you rationalizing so much? You're a sellout, too."
"Look, I just can't hate on any seat with a lightning bolt on it."
"SEEEEELLLLLLOOOUUUUT. How much are they paying you to say this?"
"Man, it's just a Pivotal version of one of their existing designs. At least it's not another fashionably re-covered Velo. And at least they're not offering yet another re-branded stump post."
"Yet."
"Yeah, I'd assume they'll do a post eventually. Wouldn't want the team riders to be running another company's product."
"Why do you do that all the time?"
"What?"
"Assume. You're wrong half the time, ya fuckin' moron."
"I don't know. Old habits die hard, I guess."
"You're still a moron. Well, let's see you defend the Odyssey Pivotal post. What are they gonna do to make it different from the 25 of them already out there?"
"No idea. Maybe they'll put a pump in it or something."
"Right. Like Odyssey would ever do something like that."
"Oh well. Guess we'll just have to wait and see."

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Just in case you're wondering whether the concept for the new Fit Hawk x Empire was a new one in BMX, the answer is an emphatic no:


Hutch did it 20-odd years ago.

Still pretty cool, though.

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When I saw the photo of Joe Simon's new Cosmotron, it reminded me of something. Maybe it's just me?

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I've always loved this song.

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EDIT: Thanks to Jim Bauer for coming through with the Aerator image.

Territorial Pissings

In light of getting a post up before the crack of dusk, the FAQ has been postponed. Not to mention the way it was working out a lot of it was gonna be about me, and who cares about me? I sure don't. For now, let's talk about this éclat Pivotal/railed adaptor instead:


Most other sites already posted about this thing last week when the mass e-mail went out (which is posted verbatim on their blog anyway), but I wanted to wait. Mainly because I wanted to know just a little bit more about how it works. Not that something that uses one bolt can be really complicated, but hey, I'm old and easily confused. They'd even provided a handy diagram:

But that wasn't enough. Brian Tunney, the éclat TM, was kind enough to pass my questions on to the designer, Andy Cheney. Not that I had many:

Question: Will the post need to be modified? Pivotal posts are threaded, are they not? Wouldn't that threading have to be removed? Or is the bolt just smaller in diameter? (That seems logical).

Answer: No, you’re right – no modification to the post, we use an M8 bolt (I think M8, without going back to check CAD), that bolts up from the underside. Goes straight through the pivotal post thread into a threaded cr-mo cradle nut on top of upper clamp plate.

Question: And I'm guessing you couldn't use this setup on a long, OG-style Pivotal post unless you have a REALLY long allen wrench.

Answer: Yeah in that case you’d need a reeeeally long allen key. Let’s hope we don’t see pivotal snake posts - that could be a headache. At the end of the day there’s a big shift toward slammed pivotals, so everyone’s got tools for that case, and that’s really what this converter’s for. If you are running a 300mm pivotal things ain’t gonna be so easy, but it’s only a bolt. There are alternatives (using a hex head bolt and socket for example) that we’re looking at for production versions, but for the standard 135 and 75mm posts the hex cap screw works fine - check the pic with the converter mounted on a 75mm post.

To be honest, this is what I thought the Fly seatpost was going to be when I first saw pictures. I was disappointed when I found out it wasn't. And with the Gonzo-dicking of Pivotal seats reaching epidemic proportions, maybe railed seats aren't such a bad idea after all. At least the éclat adaptor doesn't require you to cut a big hole in your seat like the S&M one will. (If S&M were smart, which they are, they would offer a pre-cut version of their Thin seat that would a) work with their adaptor straight out of the box, and b) be lighter, OMG.) Hey, anything that offers more options can't be all bad.

There will be complaints, of course—that you can't slam a railed seat as low as a Pivotal, and that the serrated post doesn't let you microadjust your seat angle to the thousandth of an inch. Oh well, we all have to make sacrifices.

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I was thinking the other day, how simple can you make your bike? How few bolts can you use to hold the whole thing together? (Excluding the spokes and hubs and stuff.) A wedge Pivotal post would take care of seat and post and clamp with one bolt (not that it's SPRFLS approved, mind you). An Elementary stem would do the same for the front end. That's two. (Whoops, compression bolt. Three.) Four for the wheels, two for the pedals. That's nine. Cranks were where I was unsure. I don't think there's a two-piece crank out there that allows for the use of a spline-drive sprocket. So I'm pretty sure you need two bolts there no matter what. So that's 11. Is that as low as you can go right now? Regardless, pretty impressive, given that a typical stem alone has six bolts. With the right parts, you could take your entire bike apart with a set of allen keys.

(I want to say a company—Bullseye, maybe—once made a hub where the axle was a nut and bolt, so loosening one side would loosen the entire thing. Anyone?)

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Someone sent me the link to this photo off a different messageboard. It's the bathroom at Max Fish on Ludlow between Houston and Stanton. I put the sticker up (check the center of the lid), but didn't take the picture. Sums things up quite nicely.



P.S. Carlos Sastre, congrats.

S&M Next Generation, Holmes

So.

The other day—July 18th, to be exact—S&M posted a news item with four new projects they were working on: seat guts to run a railed seat on a Pivotal post, a closed dropout, a super-wide bottom bracket shell for Shimano external BB cranks, and a clear plastic one-piece sprocket/guard. None, save for the seat guts, appeared particularly close to going into production, and I wasn't entirely sure whether any of it was serious at all.

You see, once upon a time when BMX wasn't so deadly serious, S&M used to run ads that openly mocked their alleged competition. One, which featured a cobbled-together two-piece frame, ridiculed Auburn. Then they came out with the PBR Model which was a jab at Standard and their R-Models. So part of me expected all of this "new" stuff to be some sort of elaborate joke. Seeing that he put his address at the bottom, I e-mailed Chris Moeller. He got back to me yesterday, assuring that it all—while still in the developmental stages—is indeed legit.

So let's go through this stuff one by one. I'm not gonna go through the trouble of swiping the photos from S&M's Flash-based site, so it's gonna be text only. Go there and check the photos if you must. For each, I'll run their original text, the questions I had, and the answers Chris gave me. Cool? Let's go.


1. Pivotal to railed seat guts.

The first one is a regular railed seat that works with a Pivotal seatpost with the use of our new guts. We like the single bolt assembly of the Pivotal system but really like railed seats for 3 reasons: the look, the flex, and the ability to adjust front to back. these guts have passed the testing stage and are being made now. We are also making a seat for this system but any railed seat will work after you cut a small slot in it for the Allen wrench. We also like to peel the padding and cover off first but you don't have to.

There were a few things I didn't get about this. I mean, if you want to run a railed seat, there are plenty of seatpost options already—the Odyssey Intac even has a single bolt. And the idea of cutting up a perfectly good seat seems a bit ridiculous too, even if it is good for your reproductive organs (assuming you actually sit down ever). The only real benefit I could see would be that this guy could move his seat forward and finally slam his seatpost. When I first saw the Pivotal concept, I thought the lack of front-to-back adjustment would be annoying. Then I got one and realized it didn't really matter. And I even sit on my seat sometimes!

Moeller's response: "Some people like to adjust their seats front to back….so it’s a bonus for them. Other people like the flex and look or a normal railed seat (like me) so that’s also a bonus. It just gives people the option of using either style of seat on a Pivotal post." Fair enough.

2. Closed dropout.

This rear drop out uses a hub with a hollow axle and bolt. This drop hasn't had the taper machined into it yet but when it does it fits the bolt perfectly. We are testing this now and it's working out great. The drop out never closes up and you can slam your wheel and have it tighten the chain automatically due to the tapered bolt. We call this the "Black Hole". This thing is awesome and it's super clean.

I had four main questions about this. 1) People still pinch dropouts? Maybe they do, but it's hard to believe it happens often, given how short most of them are. 2) What hubs would this work with? Profile, I suppose. And the new G-Sport hubs will have a female axle. But it sure doesn't help the zillions of riders who have conventional hubs. 3) Who wants to fully unbolt their whole rear axle anytime they want to take their rear wheel off? 4) How does it work with pegs?

Moeller's response: "People do close drop-outs up and they do bend so this one would be a lot stronger in every direction. Hubs wouldn’t be available right out of the gate but parts for new systems never are at first i.e. Aheadset, removable 990 posts, Hiddensets, Mid BB’s etc. If it caught on the hubs would be around for sure. As far as pegs go you could make a peg with a taper on the base, or use a flat one and tapered washer under it."

I'm still not sold. But it's not like it'll be replacing all conventional dropouts next year or anything.

3. Bottom bracket for Shimano cranks.

Shimano DX cranks used to have thread-in cups that sat on the outside of the Euro BB shell. Now they are working on a plastic BB system that presses in. It works great but requires a new BB from the frame manufacturers that is asymetrical...we are riding them now and they work really good. This might also allow street riders to use Shimano cranks without fear of grinding down the outside of the cups. It also makes putting your bike together way easier. No need for a special tool for instance.

It's a racer thing, and I don't understand. I mean, for race bikes, sure. Go ahead. But it seems to me that using this BB shell would limit you to JUST using Shimano cranks. And since they use a spider/chainring setup, I can't imagine why street riders would ever run them. Weight savings isn't everything, is it? (And honestly, I'm not sure what's so bad about external bearings in the first place?)

Moeller's response: "The BB is a Shimano thing…we just built them a frame for it. They are doing it already in MTB. It would probably be race only but who knows the cranks are real light and if they offered a regular sprocket it might catch on…they are so light."

Race bikes, OK, I suppose I get it. Street bikes? No. At least, I hope not.

4. Clear sprocket/guard.

Last up is a Lexan sprocket with guard. This thing is light but expensive and we're not having the best of luck with it yet. Not only is it breaking but the teeth are getting mangled pretty eaisily. This may go the way of the original plastic Addicks sprocket but we're not done yet. The idea was to make a guard sprocket that slid really good. We're still working on it.

I believe the word I'm looking for is "yuck." The Addicks sprocket that Chris mentions was a '70s product that was more or less an epic failure. Vintage BMX types may use them on era-correct show builds, but that's about it. More recently, there was the Seawright sprocket, which didn't last long either. As for plastic guards, some bashguard bikes had them, and later there was the Masterguard and the Havok (later Odyssey) Sprocket Pocket. This has been tried before. And even with all the advances in composites, it's hard to believe that a plastic 22-28t sprocket could be made strong enough. Honestly, it's hard to believe a company like S&M is even trying something like this. Especially since their last one-piece sprocket/guard was so rad.

Moeller's response: "The plastic sprocket isn’t real hot…but we are always making weird shit and testing it. We just thought for once we’d show people a few things. 99% of the stuff we make and test never comes out. But the stuff we have pioneered has changed a lot of how people look at BMX bikes."

Hey, I'm a sucker for honesty. Keep playing around, guys. S&M bikes have come a long way in 10 years. Who knows what they'll look like 10 years from now?

Comin' Straight From The Underground

It all started with a flyer. A few weeks ago, Ride (US) posted this on their website:


I looked at it, noted that they were the same UGP seats I'd seen already, and went to close out.

But wait.

At the very bottom, a name and phone number, with the notation "for samples, please contact."

Hm. Very interesting.

And I got to thinking. Do I have a BMX website? Yes. Do I get a fair amount of traffic? Um, sort of. And while the URL is a blogspot, and it the site isn't exactly kind to products, hey, why not send an e-mail? If nothing else it would be a good way to see whether anyone there would actually look at the site before agreeing to send me anything.

Seemed like a good idea at the time. So I sent the following, asking for the model that looked like it was designed for an episode of Schoolhouse Rock:

Dawn,

My name is Russ Bengtson. I run a BMX blog called SPRFLS that focuses primarily on componentry. It's been getting quite a bit of attention of late. You can check it out at:

http://sprfls.blogspot.com

I'd like to get a sample of the SHOKS1 seat (Pivotal) for inclusion, if at all possible. Please let me know. (If that model isn't available, the SPLASH would be my second choice.

Thanks much,
--Russ

Within minutes, I had not one, but two responses.

One was from Dawn, the PR person I had initially e-mailed:

Hi Russ,
Thanks for your request! We will get you a seat out this week. We really appreciate the support.

Best,
Dawn

Excellent.

The other was from Sebastian Surroca, the creative director and lead apparel designer at UGP. As it turned out, he was already familiar with the site. Go figure. His response was a bit more detailed. Basically, I wasn't putting one over on anybody:

Hey Russ, my name is Sebastian I’m the Creative Director here at UGP. I’m familiar with your site, especially the Alienation controversy. Classic. Anyway just wanted to give you the scoop on our seats. In no way are we looking to push the technology boundaries with our seats. Everybody knows that Velo makes all the Pivotal seats in the world. Our approach is just to offer seats as accessories to our collection. We’re a clothing company not a parts and components company. So don’t expect to see any innovative parts from us, just a new approach. Which in and of itself could be considered innovation. If your into it, we’ll definitely send you a seat. You can give your honest opinion. Don’t worry we can take it, we post on thecomeup regularly. Kids are brutal. Talk to you soon.

I'll admit the sheer honesty of it all put me off my game a little. Hey, they're just making seats. They know they're not changing the world. They're treating seats just like another fashion accessory—like hats or t-shirts—and what's wrong with that? (Well, besides the fact that most people stick to one seat and one seat only, and that there are already 500 other designs out there built on the same platform.)

But hell, I'd gone this far. Might as well go the rest of the way.

So yesterday afternoon, a box showed up at my door:



I had to get it on my bike immediately—a Sunday that has now been declared the official SPRFLS test steed. (It's also got a first-gen Shadow chain on there, and I might have to throw plastic pedals on, too. Maybe some big bars. Anyone wanna send me some Kevlar tires and a stump post?)


Couldn't help but notice after I bolted it up that it was twisted to the side a little bit, like a brand New Era. Guess the post isn't in there straight. But it seemed appropriate enough. If the seat had come with a sticker on it, I would have left it. And, like a fitted (not a FitEd), once a Pivotal seat gets bent, it's more or less finished.

It's by far the brightest part on my bike—I should never lose track of it. There's not much to say about it, really. Either you'll like it or you won't. At heart it's just another Capital, so if you're one of those weird people who actually SIT on their seats, it'll feel familiar enough. About the only thing I could critique is the graphics, and all I can really say about those is a) it would be cool if the logos faced every which way instead of exclusively to the left, and b) please please PLEASE do NOT put them on an all-over print hoodie.

(Also, please re-release Face Value on DVD as soon as humanly possible.)

According to Sebastian:

I don’t know where we fit in or if we fit in at all, which is just how I like it. I guess our stuff could be categorized as many things. At the end of the day we like making things that we like.

And is there really anything wrong with that? If they're truly doing what they like, why should I say otherwise? Man, I keep thinking like that, this site is in trouble. (But man, enough with the seats already. If anyone else out there is thinking about introducing their own line of Pivotals, please don't. Pool's full.)

Anyways, had to shoot one more flick to prove I actually rode it outside. I ain't scared:


Is it true? Can SPRFLS be bought? You're all welcome to go ahead and find out.

Colonization

Amazing news! Now the only CNCed BMX-specific brake lever in existence comes in more colors (some limited!) than you can shake a stick at. Because if your brake lever doesn't match your hubs and stem, you're just not trying hard enough. Apparently they're half the weight of any other brake lever on the market, which they'd damn well better be since they're also quadruple the price. Pass the Tech 77, please.


Also, Colony decided to make a contribution to the Jay Miron Beer Fund by coming out with their own incredibly innovative lineup of Pivotal seats. (At least they're not nearly as horrific looking as the UGP ones, which make Alienation's designs look downright sophisticated. If you just looked at current Pivotal designs, you'd think the average BMX consumer was either a blind six-year old or a trend-obsessed hypebeast. Not that there's much difference.) Of course Colony's seats won't be out until '09, so until then you'll just have to make do with your choice of the 50 or so similar Pivotal seats that are already available. How utterly inconvenient.