Sunday Matinee

Sick of it All.

July 9th, 1988.

The Anthrax.

Norwalk, Connecticut.

Sick

Please disregard the fact that the music is about as awful as awful can get, and appreciate the fact that contests were way better back when they weren't overrun by corporate sponsors and Woodward-trained trick ferrets. Or disagree. That's OK, too.




If you can name all the riders, you're smarter than I am. Heck, if you can name half the riders you're smarter than I am. Of course you should also get out more.

E-Mail of the Year

Maybe I should just turn the whole blog over to this guy:

"Hey since you are somewhat of an important member of the industry, I thought i would let you be one of the first to know about my new company, Popcycle BMX.


Our first product will be this innovative new frame. It has pretty standard geometry, so i want bore you with any of that. What is important is what you cant see in the picture. It is actually a lugged frame similar to what you would see in high end steel road bikes. what this allows us to do is bond the tubing together with our proprietary "cold weld", fiber reinfarced, epoxy. Not only does this allow for weight savings, but it also creates a frame that has fully customizable geometry. With a torch, the rider will be ably to heat the epoxy to soften i and loosen the hold. Toptube length, headtube angle, seat tube angle, and chainstay length will be fully adjustable using this technique. AS an added bonus, each frame comes with extra epoxy, so that in the rare event of breakage, the rider will be able to do the necessary repairs in minutes with out even needing a welder!

The attached file is an image of our frame.

Although this frame is highly advanced, our target price is around 250 to 300 dollars, which is a great deal in the current market.

Keep an eye out for our seats, streetwear, and eventually a series of web edits!

Let me know if you have any questions.


Popcycle BMX"


Best idea I've ever heard. My wallet—and my torch—are ready.

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Framework

Three frames in three minutes.

1. The Subrosa Alameda:

FACTS: Rich Hirsch's signature ride. Super-steep 76 degree headtube and a somewhat sensical but awkward-looking laid-back seat tube. Removable mounts and guides, low standover, butted e'rything, lower wishbone, 13.5-13.75" stays, micro-AOD dropouts. 4.8 pounds.


OPINIONS: Hey, another laser-cut brake bridge. But what is it? How much weight, exactly, does cutting holes in the stay caps save? Because it ALWAYS looks stupid. I guess the steep head tube and the Fat Joe seat tube is supposed to make for a shorter bike that feels longer. I don't get it. Seat position doesn't make a bit of difference if you're just gonna slam it anyway, does it? (This frame does not appear to be compatible with 330mm seatposts.) Toptube length becomes more or less irrelevant. I feel like it matters more where the BB is in relation to the headtube, not the seat.




2. Hoffman B-Rad:


FACTS: Just what you see here, pal. Nothing about angles or anything. Seatstay brakes, integrated seat clamp (with captured nut), Guiri tab drilling, small (but not microscopic) dropouts, no headtube/downtube gusset, what appears to be somewhat standard geometry. Keep in mind it's a prototype.



OPINIONS: There don't appear to be any crazy holes drilled in it, and aside from the lack of headtube gusset it could be Anyframe. Although if it can hold up to Brad, I don't see there being a problem for mere mortals. I'm just happy there's an '09 Condor.




3. Tree Bikes Lil Buddy:


FACTS: Full post-weld heat-treated, 21" or 20.5", 74.5/71, 11.5" BB, 13.75" rear end, mid BB, Guiri tab drillings, seatstay mounts or none, internally-gussetted downtube, built-in SPC and chain tensioners, clearance for monster truck tires.

OPINIONS: It's hard not to love these goofy, bike-obsessed bastards. They've done things the right way, starting small and working their way up. No Taiwanese catalog parts here, just new ideas from a rider-owned and rider-run company. Some things have caught on (spline-drive sprockets) others haven't (thread-in barends), but their products all appear to be well thought-out and tested. The Lil Buddy looks fairly traditional, but you can bet that every aspect has been obsessed over—just look at all the renderings. Wish it used a regular seatclamp (you bastards!), but I guess you can't have everything.

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*guzzles Jack Daniel's*

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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Situation Normal, All Fucked Up

After a holiday weekend where I posted not once, but TWICE, I don't think I should have to work that hard today. Maybe that's the kind of lazy attitude that's destroying this country, but you know what? I don't care.

So instead of reading my drivel, head over to Snafu and read their 10th anniversary blog entry. If you can figure out what the hell it is McGoo is going on about, let me know. "We keep doing our thing, even when that thing isn’t the trendiest or most popular." That's for sure. I don't think I know anyone with a Snafu part. OK, I do know one dude who runs a Mobius. But that's it, though. And considering their new stuff, like their seats:


I'm not sure if that's gonna change any time soon. Is there some kind of contest going on to see which company can make the ugliest seat? Will there be an award presentation at Interbike? There has to be a reason behind all this.

(A few other suggestions for the new Snafu: spell your rider's names correctly, particularly when they're in big purple type, and you may want to give bar specs other than 'medium' and 'tall'. And just the thought of a 26" Rim Job—blech.)

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Why do shops insist on building up bikes that would make even Stevie Wonder squint?


Maybe those Snafu seats'll catch on after all.

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The argument for "best BMX video not yet available on DVD" would be a long one. The video this is from might not be the ultimate winner, but it would sure as hell be in the conversation.

Sunday Matinee

Maybe I should make this a regular feature too, now that CBGB has been turned into a john varvatos boutique. I mean, I actually like john varvatos stuff, and I know they kept some of the CBGB character, but come on. It's like turning St. Patrick's Cathedral into a Walmart. OK, not quite like that, but you get my point.

Anyway.


Gorilla Biscuits's first show at CBs. August 31, 1986...




And their last, nearly 20 years to the day later. September 3, 2006.



Rest in peace, Hilly.