Thursday 26 February 2009

TGM sevisual vid!

Great riding from all the crew, enjoy!


TGM 200901 by Sevisual from sevisual on Vimeo.

Wednesday 25 February 2009

Yet another KGB edit

The edits keep coming from KGB, this time from Viki Gomez in Chile.


VIKI GOMEZ EN EL CIRCULO CHILE 2008 from PSYCHOSTUDIO on Vimeo.

Monday 23 February 2009

Dan Rigby Interview



What's to say about Dan? I would say Dan Rigby was and is underrated, he was one of the riders who however stood out more than anyone else in my mind during my time competing in the X games/X trials period. His links were so complex, that offten I thought his riding was misunderstood, and he always brought new mind blowing tricks to each event, and now when you look back, he was so far ahead of the time. His section on Props Groundworks, is one of the best in flatland history. I'm sure Dan doesnt realise it, but he pushed the sport and influenced a new generation. Check out the vimeo video he sent me (check that last dump truck 360 pivot round to death truck!!), that stuff was done in 2003!!! Amazing!! Can't give this guy enough respect.

Photos and video by Dan Rigby.

What are you up to these days Dan? Are you still riding? I know you had pretty bad knee injury...

I'm living with my wife in Calgary, Alberta working for a small design firm doing interactive design and yes I’m still riding when I can. Mostly snowboarding on weekends right now since it's winter but come spring I'll be back on the bike.
I had a bad knee injury in 2002 and was out for 3 months. I did physio but never really got it taken care of properly. I injured my MCL and most likely my ACL as well. It was strong for the most part but I had a few minor incidents after that. Then I went back to school in 2004 and started working a desk job after that.
I was still riding but definitely not in the best shape. A few years passed, I was out riding one evening doing some whiplash combo really fast and got tangled up and finished my knee off. Complete ACL tear and MCL damage. In Jan 2007 I got surgery for both ACL and MCL and started the 6 months physio recovery. Now I’m all good. This last summer was the first full summer of riding in a couple years. I even learned a couple new tricks!



halfpacker to flapjack combo..


Your section on Props Groundworks is one the best of all time for sure, what do you remember about that time period of your riding? Wasn’t it at that time you were renting a warehouse with Andrew Faris?

Wow! thanks. That means a lot to hear that. I never really liked the song props chose for it but i was really happy with how the section turned out. I was just happy to be a part of that project.
That was a really good time for me in my riding guess. I was living with Andrew Faris the winter before that one and we rented a warehouse for 5 months. We both wanted to have a regular spot to ride for the winter and the warehouse just made sense. There was a lot of great riding that went down in there. Andrew came up with all his tailwhip stuff then and a lot of the tricks I did for groundworks started then too. After the winter, Andrew moved back to Vancouver and I ended up working in a grocery warehouse and saved enough money to go to California for the next winter. I had been talking to Andrew Arroyo a bit and he said he had room at his place so I packed everything I had in my car and headed south to the San Francisco area (Walnut Creek). Kerry Gatt was living there at the time too, working for Drew at his shop. It was probably one of the best winters of riding I’ve ever had and it had a huge influence on me both riding and personally. The weather that year was awesome. I rode almost everyday with Kerry, Drew, and/or Ross Smith. Of course Mutt was around too. That winter Kerry and I got a call from Chris Rye and he said they were doing this flatland only video and asked if we both wanted to do something for it. Kerry didn't have any tricks ready so I met up with Chris in Huntington Beach on my own and we filmed the part in about 4 days.



Rigby signature move, dump truck walkaround to death truck..

Was it around that time you started doing the 360 bike pivots on the back wheel that are your section/bonus section on the ten pack DVD? Those pivots seem to take your riding in a whole new direction.

I think I started playing around with that a year or so later on my 2nd winter with Kerry and Drew. Then kept trying variations over the next couple years or so. I was trying to link them into different combos, forwards, backwards. Just thinking of different ways to link tricks on the back wheel. I always try to have a good balance of front and back wheel tricks.

You always did well competing in the big contests, (Metro, X-trials, X games etc), do you miss competing at all?

Yes and no. I miss the traveling and meeting new people and the experience. There was a lot of great stories I have from those times and amazing places i was able to see. But i don't miss the stress of trying to make some money so I could pay some bills or practicing the same tricks all the time or worrying about how I’m gonna get somewhere or places to stay. That's all part of the fun too but after awhile it just gets old.
I think the whole flatland scene was starting to bum me out a bit too. Partly the contests but also what was happening to flatland itself. At the time I dropped out of the contest circuit, there was a certain style and approach that I wasn't really into. Not just a riding style but an elitist attitude towards really keeping flatland separate from the rest of bmx too. Flatland is unique and deserves respect on it's own level but also as part of the bmx community. I agree with it being separate to an extent but that can also be harmful. More can be done as a community. There were also some people that just ended up behaving like spoiled brats. Being rude to contest organizers just because the flatland area wasn't perfect or flatland deserves this and that. Deal with it!! Vert riders deal with shitty ramps too. Be appreciative and work with the organizers. There were people that went out on a limb to do flat only contest or to include flatland in their comps out of respect and they didn't the respect in return from riders.
There was a lot of shit talking that bummed me out too. Some of the flatland forums online just got out of hand with rumors and little kids that talked crap about everyone. I never paid direct attention to that stuff but when I’d meet up with some local kids or meet someone traveling, they had heard some story or rumor about me or someone I rode with. It's stupid. It's just bad for the sport.



Dan at the Red Bull COB.

Did your riding style change when you stopped competing?

For sure. I stopped doing set links over and over again. I got way more inconsistent. haha. I just started doing links until I pulled them once then moved on. Some stuff I would practice til it was semi consistent or for a video. Other things were just to see if I could do it. I wish I would have filmed some more of that stuff but whatever. There are some days where I go to the parking lot and just do goofy tricks or rollbacks and whiplashes. I think riding kinda just went back to be just for fun again. It's cliché’ to say it but it's true.
I also started riding a bit of street and ramps again as well. That contributed to my initial knee injury. I've always ridden street and ramps a bit but some days I just was bored with flatland or wanted a change of pace. Basically I just like riding bikes. Even just going out jumping curbs is fun. There is so much good street stuff where I live now.

Top five riders of all time Dan?

This is a tough to narrow down to just five:

Kevin Jones
Chase Gouin
Chad Degroot
Steve Roy
Andrew Arroyo

And close behind those guys:

Kerry Gatt
Alexis Dosolneaux
Paul Osicka
Andrew Faris
Stephane Royer
Jamie McIntosh

What bike set up are you running these days?

My bike is kinda dated by today’s standards, but I like it:

Old custom Federal Fraction frame 19.5 top tube
1664 forks
Solid stem
Macneil 5 bars
FBM Leif Valin Pegs
Primo powerbite cranks w/titanium spindle
Ukai rims – dk front hub – nankai with profile shell
Macneil sproket
Primo 1.85 tires
Tech 77 levers & 990’s
ODI longnecks
Primo seat post drilled out w/ old primo plastic seat

I’d like to do some upgrades this year maybe. We’ll see what happens.


Do you keep an eye on what’s going on in flatland these days?

Sorta but not really. I still have my subscription to Dig, pick magazines at the bookstore and pay attention to some stuff on the web but I'm really pretty out of the loop. I see some videos from time to time and there is some amazing riding going on. I still look out for stuff from a lot of the older pro's who ride that I'm familiar with and whose style i like.

I'd like to get involved with flatland and bmx again a bit on the industry side. Just to keep that connection and contribute in some way. It's been such a big part of my life for so long and there are so many good people.

I look forward to that Dan, thanks a lot for your time in this interview, been awesome catching up with you.


Riding Edit 2003 from Dan Rigby on Vimeo.


Related links:
Dan's personal graphic design website, (catch a video or two on there also.
http://www.themovement.ca/

Friday 20 February 2009

Terry Adams Soccer team?


Just received news from Terry, that one of his sponsors "Canes" has sponsored a local soccer team, that will be sporting Terry Adams Canes t shirts for the whole season.

Thursday 19 February 2009

Aki:backwards halfpacker pumping

Experimental vid, very progressive..

Takahiro Ikeda UGP edit

Just came across this on Vimeo, not sure how many have seen this, I rode with this kid at the kog finals, so much energy, great to see, enjoy!!


Flatland Japanese rider Takahiro Ikeda for UGP from chad degroot on Vimeo.

More KGB video, Martti in Thailand


KGB Martti Kuoppa Freestyle 2007 Thailand 1 from inTRIKat on Vimeo.

Wednesday 18 February 2009

Tuesday 17 February 2009

Terry Adams Bike check on Odyssey site

Odyssey are pushing the Flatware line pretty good, check Terry's bike check, so many new prototype parts. Nice!



ODYSSEYBMX.COM | DAILY WORD | DIRECT LINK

Monday 16 February 2009

Sevisual edit of Circle Cow


Circle Cow 10 by Sevisual from sevisual on Vimeo.

Ciaran Perry edit

I've been bit slow putting this up, been on Vimeo almost a month now, some of you may have already seen it, for those of you that havent, enjoy....


bristol riding last year from ciaran perry on Vimeo.

Wednesday 11 February 2009

Tech! New Mark Webb video

Check this,tech like flatland!

Monday 9 February 2009

Welcome Shinde jam edit

The japanese love a jam, any excuse, check the footage of Moto Sasaki in this edit, super nice style!!


Mr.SHINDE WELCOME JAM!! from jimalog1985 on Vimeo.

Sunday 8 February 2009

Matthias Dandois wins Circle Cow 10

Results just in from Andy Wood, thanks!!!

8- John Kramer
7-Thomas Noyer
6-Alex Jumelin
5-Chris Bohm
4-Martin Drazil
3-Peter Szabolcsi
2-Raphael Chiquet
1-Matthias Dandois

Good news also was that Alexis Desolneux was riding again...

Saturday 7 February 2009

OSG West Coast edit + James Smith interview on Digs site

Old School George just posted up this rad video today of West Coast legends Pete B, Jesse P, and Chad J busting, check it out!!



-Also James Smith has a nice lil interview on Dig's website, heres the link: http://digbmx.com//digthis/rapid-response-james-smith/.
-Yours truly has just started a weekly flatland round up column on global flat.

Friday 6 February 2009

Pete Hollinger Bikecheck





Frame- Sick Child Metropolitan 18.25.
“I’m not the tallest guy in the world and wanted to try something a bit shorter than the regular Sick Child frames. So Ed created the 18.25” TT version. The frame is simple, super high quality, light and responsive without being twitchy. I’m so stoked to have one”

Forks- Inertia
“This is my second set of these forks; they are light, simple and strong.”

Handlebars- Sick Child Metal Years 7.2” Zero.
“When I saw the prototype of these bars a couple of years ago I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a pair. Now I have them they have lived up to my expectations, I put bars through hell and these have held up time and time again.”

Grips- Animal Edwins
“Tried these last year for the first time and haven’t went back. They are really soft and pretty thin, but they seem to last forever.”

Barends- Camacura steel
“Never really used anything else. I have a small stash of new ones for the future.”

Stem- Bizhouse Dialyser
“The old faithful”

Headset- Campagnolo.
“What’s to say really? Been riding it for over 4 years.”

Front wheel- Gsport Marmoset, Proper rim cross laced with double butted spokes.
“Been using GSport hubs for 6 years, they last with no hassle. I fancied a coloured rim to be fashionable, so I bought a red Proper one. I should really change it, coloured rims are so 2008. (laughs)”

Tyres- KHE Mac 1.5
“Have been using KHE tyres since 2005. I had one on the back for a while before that, with a Chase tyre up front. But when I put the KHE on I couldn’t go back.”

Pegs- Tree 1.5”
“I’ve been having a hard time with pegs recently. I fractured my foot last year and it has never really healed properly. I switch pegs regularly; I got hold of a set of Ares Silencers which I use when my foot gets sore. I find it easier to kickflip with the smaller pegs though.”

Seat- Various bits of Macneil seats
“I have the best seat around right now. It’s the pad and hollow bolt from the Macneil flatland seat and the base from the Macneil O.G. The underside of the seat is totally grinded out. No supports, nothing. I tried the Macneil flatland seat, but the grip sucks.”

Seatpost- Ceneca
“I have a 330 post, just prefer the original”

Seatclamp- Animal
“It clamps my seatpost”

Cranks- Ares Ill Blend 152
“When I saw these for the first time they reminded me of Primo Powerbites, which are my favourite cranks of all time. So after riding tubular cranks for a year or two I thought id go back to alloy. I’m pleased to say im more than happy with them.”

Chainwheel- Ares Peace 18t
“You can’t see it so it doesn’t matter what I run, as long as it works”

Pedals- Animal Hamilton
“Perfect size, flat and they seem to hold up better than the other plastic pedals ive used.”

Chain- KHE
“It’s light and works; it’s a chain, so im not too fussy.”

Rear Wheel- Geshia Light hub, Sun Chinook rim, cross laced using double butted spokes.
“I heard good reports about the KHE hub and decided to sell my pimped out Nankai. I don’t regret the move, but I will say this, the KHE has never failed to work as a freecoaster. It’s reliable. If only the quality was a tad higher, as much the hub seems to be made of cheese.
The Chinook rim works but perhaps a bit to narrow for hardcore use. It needs trued quite a bit.”

Weight- As it sits in the picture: 19.4LBS

Shouts - Ed Nussbaum and Ralph @ Animal.

Sam Foakes Zion "Focus" Signature Frame!









The word from Mislav.

What to say when pictures say it all. Frame is so clean and simple and colors Sam chose are just beautiful. You see the big influence that Luna and LowKee frames had in making Focus.
Sam used all details that he loved about those 2 frames and combined them with the shape of frame that he had in mind. Now that prototypes are done, we finished the first part of this project and we're starting with the second stage, Sam's hardcore abuse of the frame.
We want to make sure that we got all the design details right and strong and durable as we wanted it. There is no other way to see that but to ride it. All of you know Sam got some mad skills and will really put it to a test.
We made these prototypes in 3 different tube thickness versions so there will be 3 different weights of it. Sam really uses the weight of the frame (bike) in his tricks so he will test different frame weights to see which one suits him best.
Here are some specs of this frame :
TT length : 19.22"
CS length : 12.75"
HT angle : 74.5 degrees
ST angle : 70 degrees
14mm laser cut droupouts
Spanish BB
Integrated headset

I told you that there were 3 weights to it:
- heaviest one is 2070 g ( 4.56 lbs )
- middle one is 1935 g (4.27 lbs)
- and we made the 3rd one in lightweight version just to see how it would turn out. This one is 1790 g ( 3.95 lbs )

- Other news are that Sam recently moved from his home town Cambridge to Manchester cause he got a great new job there and the best thing about this is that he found a great indoor place where he can ride. All of are familiar with English weather so you know what indoor place will mean to him, even though he is known for riding all his trick in heavy rain, hehe.

Thursday 5 February 2009

Its not flat but its mental, 3 whip to foot jam

Yesterday at Southsea, Mark dropped this!

Hand scuffing with Roman Schiaverelli

Anyone remember this guy from Mixt, originality!! Good to see people take flatland in different ways.

Tuesday 3 February 2009

Effraim Catlow's FAT Favourites Online

Just did FAT Favourites for Bart over at fatbmx, check out the link.

http://www.fatbmx.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=6494&com_id=2582&com_rootid=2578&com_mode=flat&com_order=0#comment2582/

Heres the two videos I put down as my favourites:

KOG Finals edit: http://bmxboze.fc2web.com/



Voodoo jam 2008 prejam edit.


Voodoo Pre Jam 2008 from Erik Otto on Vimeo.

Battle in the Gallery

TGM local "Griff" has been busy organising this contest in a South London Art Gallery, heres the flyer, interesting concept!

Monday 2 February 2009

Hiro Morizaki Commercial plus Ares 2009 York Uno edit

The japanese are always ahead of the game! Check this commercial, tight!




ARESBYKES 09 from YORK UNO on Vimeo.

Snowing in Southsea!!


Somewhat of a rarity that it snows in Southsea, the media are labelling this "the worst snow in 18 years"... and just a light covering. Mad how this lil bit of snow, has caused so much havok, what a fragile world we live in...

Final with Flight final battle video Terry vs Wilhelm

Rad dad's website http://www.bmxfreestyler.com/ has tons of good stuff on it, just caught this.Check out this battle footage as well as his website..

New Aki video

New video Aki just posted online, great footage of Aki and the young Takahiro Ikeda busting out at a small jam in Chiba. Enjoy.

Sunday 1 February 2009

Jason Forde's 2009 St Martin Eiffel Bike Check









Frame: STM Eiffel 18.2''
Forks: STM Mikado
Bars: STM Eien 8''
Grips: Big Cheese
Bar-ends: A-Bike Co, Plastic
Stem: STM X-26
Headset: FSA
Cranks: STM Holloflat 145mm
Chainring: STM Ringo 18T
BB: Spanish
Pedals: A-Bike Co Hamilton, Plastic
Chain: YBN Hollow
Seatclamp: M-part
Seatpost: Thomson Elite
Seat: KHE Watanabe MK1
Pegs: STM Hollopegs Griptape
Front Wheel: STM Domino 36h
Rear Rim:: Atomlab Pimprim 36h
Freecoaster: KHE Geisha Light 36h
Spokes: Primo
Tyres: Oddy Chase G P-Lyte 175's
Tubes: Schwalbe

I did not think I would get on with a 18.2 frame, because it's so short but after my first ride on it I must say I loved it and got used to it right away, it felt good on front and back wheels.
I'm not sure about the weight of it, but I'm not fussed about it anyway, let's just say it feels just about right, I've had St Martin frames in all sizes from 19.3 to 18.2 and I could ride all of them with no worries, this one feels like a toy and after a long winter it's good to go out and play again.
Big thanks to the guys at St Martin, Edwardes Ltd and TGM, and not to forget FLATMATTERS.

Photos provided by Jason Forde.

What do people think of his ride? Post a comment below...

Terry Adams wins Red Bull Fight with Flight final

1- Terry Adams
2- Matt Wilhelm
3- Dane Beardsley

The first big US contest of the year is taking place this weekend in Indianapolis USA, in a aeroplane hanger, Steve Mulder and Kip Williamson reported that the contest has been going great, big crowds, and lots of riders all into it.

Thanks to Kip williamson for updating me, bit of confusion on prelims and finals, this was the final top 3. Congrats Terry for the win!!

The byke project are updating their site pretty fast, photos, video, check out http://www.thebykeproject.com/, good work guys!!