I'm sorry to do this to you, but I'm going to embed this. You have my sincere apologies for any skating or skaters that you might see, but this is something:
The S&M WTF. Being over here on the other side of the world I don't have that patriotic little piece of DNA that genetically pre-disposes me to loving everything that S&M do. But I like this. Sure all these ideas aren't going to work. Maybe even none of them will end up as practical, but it's a whole lot of radically different ideas packed into one bike. It'd be cool to ride the thing and see how it feels.
In case you didn't watch the video, here's the run down: The S&M WTF is a complete bike that weighs in at 20lbs without a piece of titanium in sight (and at a guess I'd say without any post-weld heat treatment either). The fork legs are shorter by 1/2". Wtf? To save weight. And the head tube is 5/8" shorter than a standard frame. That's got to really change the geometry of the frame - have they adjusted the BB height and head angle to compensate? Don't know.
Then there's the shorter pitch chain and the sprocket with little miniature teeth to fit the chain! Wtf? Apparently this allows for even smaller drive trains than what's around now. Read: 7 tooth rear driver. It's an interesting idea, but it's going to have to do some serious self-promotion before everyone rushes out for new sprockets, drivers and chains.
Next: The Black hole dropouts on fork and frame. Clearly it'll work on the fork, though I think people will need a little convincing as to the point of it, but on the back end? Wtf? How's that going to work? Really small drive trains with no chain adjustment sounds like chain slap hell to me.
And just for the record, not only does the hub have brass bushings replacing the driver bearings, but there are also little holes drilled in each of the driver teeth. It's all getting very cute.
Showing posts with label hubs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hubs. Show all posts
New Profile Hubs
New hubs from Profile is big news. So here's the big news:
At this stage they're being called "Elite" hubs, which apparently isn't their final name and although these look to be racing specific, there is a 14mm version with a 9t driver. I don't have any details on what's actually inside these hubs, but they do bring up a few questions. The name "Elite" would suggest that these are a step up from Profile Mini cassettes - could bmx hubs really get any more elite / expensive than the Mini? It's either that or Profile are getting all marketing-speak on your ass and calling a cheaper model a more expensive name, but since Madera is locked in as being their affordable product line that seems unlikely. So the question remains - what makes these hubs the elite of the elite?
Anyway, they're looking nice and clean and there is definitely a saving in machine time on the hub shell that might allow them to put in a few more internal features - Different bearings? More pawls? New materials? According to Profile all will be revealed officially some time after InterBike. But for now, that matte green anodising is looking the goods and is definitely a step away from the techni-colour of the current Profile range.
Edit: Check the comments for official news from Christian at Profile.
They've got a new spline drive sprocket (Demolition have actually also gone that road - if you take a good hard look here) that looks interesting:
And they've I suppose you'd say it makes sense for them to do an 7075 aluminium peg. So they have:
At this stage they're being called "Elite" hubs, which apparently isn't their final name and although these look to be racing specific, there is a 14mm version with a 9t driver. I don't have any details on what's actually inside these hubs, but they do bring up a few questions. The name "Elite" would suggest that these are a step up from Profile Mini cassettes - could bmx hubs really get any more elite / expensive than the Mini? It's either that or Profile are getting all marketing-speak on your ass and calling a cheaper model a more expensive name, but since Madera is locked in as being their affordable product line that seems unlikely. So the question remains - what makes these hubs the elite of the elite?
Anyway, they're looking nice and clean and there is definitely a saving in machine time on the hub shell that might allow them to put in a few more internal features - Different bearings? More pawls? New materials? According to Profile all will be revealed officially some time after InterBike. But for now, that matte green anodising is looking the goods and is definitely a step away from the techni-colour of the current Profile range.
Edit: Check the comments for official news from Christian at Profile.
They've got a new spline drive sprocket (Demolition have actually also gone that road - if you take a good hard look here) that looks interesting:
And they've I suppose you'd say it makes sense for them to do an 7075 aluminium peg. So they have:
WeThePeople 2010 Parts
Yep another flippin' WeThePeople book. This time it's the 2010 parts catalogue:
Probably the most noteworthy bit would be the new cassette - the Supreme Switch. It uses the Q-lite like the old Supreme, but you can switch the pawls around in driver so that like the Ratchet you can run it left or right drive. That's pretty much a win for the shops and distros, but the win for the kid who's going to ride it comes with the fact that there is a total of six bearings in there and 4 in the driver alone and that's got to equal longer bearing life. Doesn't it?. Despite the fact that there's a lot of bearings in a little driver, the weight is still down to a very respectable 16oz.
The Supreme Switch: Six pawls, six bearings, two drive sides, 16 ounces.
So they've got five frames all up and not a single mandatory sub 4.5 lb trend whore in sight. In fact non of them are even sub 4.8 which is admirably modest, but the Elektro has gone full born-again-virgin and covered up with an extra ounce or two. That said all bar the Elektro have a 13.22 rear end - and that is kind of slutty.
There are plenty of investment cast parts welded into the various frames and forks in the form of drop outs, bridges and seat clamps. But with the Mike Brennan / Max Gaertig Warriors frame not only do you get two pros for the price of one, but you get all the tricky bits including those dropouts which you would have seen already:
I'm loving the way the back end of this frame looks. The smooth curve made by the inside of the dropout and the curved bridges gives it a kind of old school looptail look, while at the same time using a technology which is new to bmx and an innovation in frame design.
If you were to say to me:
"This ain't no innovation, just a useless bit of fashion!"
I would probably say to you:
"But bro, they're creating 3D forms that are inherently stronger than a 2D cnc'd or lasercut design and moving the weld away from the stress point at the tip of the rear triangle. What's more they allow for tighter fit between the dropout and stay tubing that allows for a neater and stronger weld. If you'd pull your head out of your ass and you might smell the innovation!"
Then we'd have a punch up.
Klaus from WTP / Eclat actually has different things to say about them and you can listen to them here. But first you'll have to drink a warm glass of corporate milk.
According to a couple of little guys that I've had words with the set up costs for investment casting makes it an option only for the big guys, which is a shame, cause it would be interesting to see what other variations on shape and form would come up. There is definitely a lot of potentially to subtly change the look of a bmx frame by adding in some more interesting "designed" shapes or logo details for people to hate on. But remember... hate is great.
Probably the most noteworthy bit would be the new cassette - the Supreme Switch. It uses the Q-lite like the old Supreme, but you can switch the pawls around in driver so that like the Ratchet you can run it left or right drive. That's pretty much a win for the shops and distros, but the win for the kid who's going to ride it comes with the fact that there is a total of six bearings in there and 4 in the driver alone and that's got to equal longer bearing life. Doesn't it?. Despite the fact that there's a lot of bearings in a little driver, the weight is still down to a very respectable 16oz.
The Supreme Switch: Six pawls, six bearings, two drive sides, 16 ounces.
So they've got five frames all up and not a single mandatory sub 4.5 lb trend whore in sight. In fact non of them are even sub 4.8 which is admirably modest, but the Elektro has gone full born-again-virgin and covered up with an extra ounce or two. That said all bar the Elektro have a 13.22 rear end - and that is kind of slutty.
There are plenty of investment cast parts welded into the various frames and forks in the form of drop outs, bridges and seat clamps. But with the Mike Brennan / Max Gaertig Warriors frame not only do you get two pros for the price of one, but you get all the tricky bits including those dropouts which you would have seen already:
I'm loving the way the back end of this frame looks. The smooth curve made by the inside of the dropout and the curved bridges gives it a kind of old school looptail look, while at the same time using a technology which is new to bmx and an innovation in frame design.
If you were to say to me:
"This ain't no innovation, just a useless bit of fashion!"
I would probably say to you:
"But bro, they're creating 3D forms that are inherently stronger than a 2D cnc'd or lasercut design and moving the weld away from the stress point at the tip of the rear triangle. What's more they allow for tighter fit between the dropout and stay tubing that allows for a neater and stronger weld. If you'd pull your head out of your ass and you might smell the innovation!"
Then we'd have a punch up.
Klaus from WTP / Eclat actually has different things to say about them and you can listen to them here. But first you'll have to drink a warm glass of corporate milk.
According to a couple of little guys that I've had words with the set up costs for investment casting makes it an option only for the big guys, which is a shame, cause it would be interesting to see what other variations on shape and form would come up. There is definitely a lot of potentially to subtly change the look of a bmx frame by adding in some more interesting "designed" shapes or logo details for people to hate on. But remember... hate is great.
Volume and Demolition 2010
I knew that Volume / Demolition had dabbled a little in the fixed gear world with their Cutter frame and Fu Manchu fork, but I'd just put that down to a case of fixie-curious, but it may be more serious. Their 2010 flip book that came out recently is all in all a very pro package, but as I was flip bookin' through I realised that I was staring at a page of fixed gear specific handlebars of various rises depending on how much of a barspinner you are. To be honest I thought the whole fixed gear freestyle thing was a phenomenon that would eventually fade away. Apparently it's not, but anyway, here's the book:
There's also a new cassette hub in there called the Rolls, which is a simple male axle set up. It's got a polymer bushing in the driver, is available in 8 and 9 tooth only and compatible with Demolition's screw on hub guard. For the record it's 14.3 oz's light and looks like this:
Demolition is now officially yet another late entry into the 2009/2010 PC pedal spectacular, with a fetching pedal that has been spat from a mold kinda different, but kinda the same as half the other entrants:
Lasty and leasty, let's round up this wrap-up with the newest of photographs of the undisputed yard-stick of bmx creativity:
There's also a new cassette hub in there called the Rolls, which is a simple male axle set up. It's got a polymer bushing in the driver, is available in 8 and 9 tooth only and compatible with Demolition's screw on hub guard. For the record it's 14.3 oz's light and looks like this:
Demolition is now officially yet another late entry into the 2009/2010 PC pedal spectacular, with a fetching pedal that has been spat from a mold kinda different, but kinda the same as half the other entrants:
Lasty and leasty, let's round up this wrap-up with the newest of photographs of the undisputed yard-stick of bmx creativity:
Infectious Hub Love
Infect BMX is a new company coming out of Russia (that is without website) and distributed by Underground and these photos of their hubs that have been getting a bit of attention recently:
The X-tra LITE front hub
The Transformer front hub
Those photos are nice but there are some digi scale ones that shed the light on why they've been getting the attention that they have. The X-tra LITE (see how they got creative there and dropped the "E" from extra, added a dash, spelt "light" lite and put it all in capitals - you know there's something special going on there) weighs 5.3 oz (150 g) and the Transformer hub is a bloated 6.4 oz (181 g). Personally, if I were looking to get infected I'd sacrifice the 31 gram difference, go for the Transformer and run a nice simple looking hub, rather than one that obnoxiously shouts "LITE!"
There's also the question of why they've used the titanium sleeve in the hub body - Titanium is heavier than alloy so...?
Anyway now they've clarified details of the hubs by posting up some blurred photos.
Seats are pretty much the T-shirts of bmx. They're all more or less the same, but you can try and choose one that broadcasts a reflection of your personality to the world. They're sometimes rad, sometimes bad. These ones are new from UGP and I'll leave the rad/bad catagorisation up to you:
UGP pivotals
There's also some new stuff from UGP themselves, the like sprockets and bar ends, up on their site and you can check them here.
The X-tra LITE front hub
The Transformer front hub
Those photos are nice but there are some digi scale ones that shed the light on why they've been getting the attention that they have. The X-tra LITE (see how they got creative there and dropped the "E" from extra, added a dash, spelt "light" lite and put it all in capitals - you know there's something special going on there) weighs 5.3 oz (150 g) and the Transformer hub is a bloated 6.4 oz (181 g). Personally, if I were looking to get infected I'd sacrifice the 31 gram difference, go for the Transformer and run a nice simple looking hub, rather than one that obnoxiously shouts "LITE!"
There's also the question of why they've used the titanium sleeve in the hub body - Titanium is heavier than alloy so...?
Anyway now they've clarified details of the hubs by posting up some blurred photos.
Seats are pretty much the T-shirts of bmx. They're all more or less the same, but you can try and choose one that broadcasts a reflection of your personality to the world. They're sometimes rad, sometimes bad. These ones are new from UGP and I'll leave the rad/bad catagorisation up to you:
UGP pivotals
There's also some new stuff from UGP themselves, the like sprockets and bar ends, up on their site and you can check them here.
Cheese, Wine and Meth
Melbourne just had a weekend of wind and rain and general anti-bike-riding weather that leaves you back to work on Monday feeling unsatisfied. But it does make for good AusBike weather. AusBike is like Australia's little version of what I imagine InterBike to be, but since there was some BMX stuff on show so I dutifully attened.
Along with the Australian distros like Triplesix, Kick Ass BMX and Elite Cycle Imports, Colony also had a stand showing off all their 2010 stuff like the Descendent completes and the new Phantom frame all built up and looking fine.
The Phantom is Liam Fahy-Hampton's new signature frame and I'll tell you something about him that you wouldn't know unless you've done the same exhaustive research that I have, unturned every stone and even read his team page on the Colony site. And that is that he enjoys fine wine and cheeses. That's a 100kg street ape that drinks shiraz and manipulates cheese with one of those upturned fork-knife things. That's cool, I like cheese. I wonder if Mike Hoder likes cheese? I always thought of him as more of a Meth kind of guy, but maybe he's just a Merlot man. Either way check this edit and you'll have to agree that he is in some way altered.
So back to Colony... Here's a few photos of new stuff and modified stuff for 2010:
Pivotals that look like... pivotals. Nuts.
New graphics everywhere and a little extra machining on their hub shells. Why? Why not?
Colony cranks now have an extra little hole on the crank bolt boss. Interesting eh?
Pretty sure the rest is business as usual. Like I said, AusBike is pretty small but I'll post up a couple more photos in the next day or two. Until then, just sit back and try to keep your excitment in check.
Along with the Australian distros like Triplesix, Kick Ass BMX and Elite Cycle Imports, Colony also had a stand showing off all their 2010 stuff like the Descendent completes and the new Phantom frame all built up and looking fine.
The Phantom is Liam Fahy-Hampton's new signature frame and I'll tell you something about him that you wouldn't know unless you've done the same exhaustive research that I have, unturned every stone and even read his team page on the Colony site. And that is that he enjoys fine wine and cheeses. That's a 100kg street ape that drinks shiraz and manipulates cheese with one of those upturned fork-knife things. That's cool, I like cheese. I wonder if Mike Hoder likes cheese? I always thought of him as more of a Meth kind of guy, but maybe he's just a Merlot man. Either way check this edit and you'll have to agree that he is in some way altered.
So back to Colony... Here's a few photos of new stuff and modified stuff for 2010:
Pivotals that look like... pivotals. Nuts.
New graphics everywhere and a little extra machining on their hub shells. Why? Why not?
Colony cranks now have an extra little hole on the crank bolt boss. Interesting eh?
Pretty sure the rest is business as usual. Like I said, AusBike is pretty small but I'll post up a couple more photos in the next day or two. Until then, just sit back and try to keep your excitment in check.
Negative Space
New 2010 bits and pieces are coming thick and fast:
Superstar have put up some new shots of their Overdrive cassette hub that has a female 3/8 axle system and uses the Q-lite system, which basically means the pawls are mounted in the hub shell and the "teeth" are on the driver. The first photos I saw had it looking a bit agricultural, but the new colours and the matte finish seem to make a big difference. And maybe the shape makes more sense when you see it with the front hub.
If you look at that photo at it's full size and take a look at the stems in the background you'll see that Superstar are also doing what looks like a heavily re-worked version of their Elect stem from 2008. Of course with extra and improved negative space (read: bigger fuckin' holes), plus bigger chamfers all over for 2010 credibility.
Shola also have a seat and post combo out, which looks pretty similar to the Deluxe one, which looks similar the the Gusset one, which looks similar to the KHE one. Can you see the picture that I am subtly painting for you?
And Animal have finalised their entry for the most adjectives required to describe a bmx product with their wedge, stump, pivotal, seat post. Now they just need to do a "lite" version like their pegs and it's in the bag.
Superstar have put up some new shots of their Overdrive cassette hub that has a female 3/8 axle system and uses the Q-lite system, which basically means the pawls are mounted in the hub shell and the "teeth" are on the driver. The first photos I saw had it looking a bit agricultural, but the new colours and the matte finish seem to make a big difference. And maybe the shape makes more sense when you see it with the front hub.
If you look at that photo at it's full size and take a look at the stems in the background you'll see that Superstar are also doing what looks like a heavily re-worked version of their Elect stem from 2008. Of course with extra and improved negative space (read: bigger fuckin' holes), plus bigger chamfers all over for 2010 credibility.
Shola also have a seat and post combo out, which looks pretty similar to the Deluxe one, which looks similar the the Gusset one, which looks similar to the KHE one. Can you see the picture that I am subtly painting for you?
And Animal have finalised their entry for the most adjectives required to describe a bmx product with their wedge, stump, pivotal, seat post. Now they just need to do a "lite" version like their pegs and it's in the bag.
Salty Females
There was just a little unfinished business from my WeThePros post the other day about the 2010 WeThePeople completes.
Klaus, who takes care of design for the WTP, Eclat, Salt and Fuse brands and obviously has plenty of more important things to do than email me, was good enough to clear things up. The spec on the Trust and the Zodiac included an "engineered polymer bb". That's actually a machined PVC cone spacer on the cranks, that apparantly works perfectly and has the added bonus of being a touch lighter than aluminium. And then there was the "sealed bearing / polymer bearing" on the rear hub of the Envy, which turns out to be a pretty much a Salt version of the Eclat Teck Cassette hub that uses both a sealed bearing and a polymer bushing.
Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to identify the polymer bushing
Just as a little bonus round, here's some pics of some of the 2010 Salt components that comes on their completes, but are also available aftermarket. They're new and improved for 2010, designed in-house by WeThePeople and are one of the things that really lift their completes above those that use generic catalogue parts:
The Salt 9t cassette is depressed. He trys his best and by normal standards does really well, but it's hard living in the shadow of an older and more talented brother
Let's face it, not everyone gets to have a first rate female. Some are just lucky to have one
Designing your own rubber is officially putting in work
And finally, here is the man that has played a big hand in bringing all this bmx style to your screens. Don't blame me it's Tunney's fault:
Klaus, who takes care of design for the WTP, Eclat, Salt and Fuse brands and obviously has plenty of more important things to do than email me, was good enough to clear things up. The spec on the Trust and the Zodiac included an "engineered polymer bb". That's actually a machined PVC cone spacer on the cranks, that apparantly works perfectly and has the added bonus of being a touch lighter than aluminium. And then there was the "sealed bearing / polymer bearing" on the rear hub of the Envy, which turns out to be a pretty much a Salt version of the Eclat Teck Cassette hub that uses both a sealed bearing and a polymer bushing.
Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to identify the polymer bushing
Just as a little bonus round, here's some pics of some of the 2010 Salt components that comes on their completes, but are also available aftermarket. They're new and improved for 2010, designed in-house by WeThePeople and are one of the things that really lift their completes above those that use generic catalogue parts:
The Salt 9t cassette is depressed. He trys his best and by normal standards does really well, but it's hard living in the shadow of an older and more talented brother
Let's face it, not everyone gets to have a first rate female. Some are just lucky to have one
Designing your own rubber is officially putting in work
And finally, here is the man that has played a big hand in bringing all this bmx style to your screens. Don't blame me it's Tunney's fault:
Viridian is the New Black
Tony Hamlin bike check up on the Transworld site and Kink have snuck a few prototype bits on his ride.
There's a little black pivotal, which is, of course, a must have item for any bmxer about town. Run it high or run it low, they're just so versatile! So it's black. And kind of textured. And looks like it's covered with the same stuff as this one. It could just be me, but it might also be a little smaller than a stock standard "slim" pivotal moulding. At least that would mean that it's actually worth mentioning and these six lines that I've typed hadn't been wasted.
Looks like Kink now have female front hub. And if you look at the pic you'll see that it seems to be called Viridian, which is the name of a greeny-blue-type colour that my grandmother uses in her water colour paintings, but obviously Tony prefers black:
And now for the interesting part - well relatively speaking. There's a proto stem called the Bold. (sorry, couldn't resist that) It's not revolutionary in that it's a run-of-the-mill front load with the sides machined out, but the shape and proportions of the cut looks pretty good. And if you want proof of that, you've only got to compare it to the recent Subrosa prototype. Although you'll still need to be an above average hacksaw technician to ensure that the steerer on your fork is cut to precisely the right length. Oh yeah... and it comes in this lovely shade of really, really, really dark grey:
There's a little black pivotal, which is, of course, a must have item for any bmxer about town. Run it high or run it low, they're just so versatile! So it's black. And kind of textured. And looks like it's covered with the same stuff as this one. It could just be me, but it might also be a little smaller than a stock standard "slim" pivotal moulding. At least that would mean that it's actually worth mentioning and these six lines that I've typed hadn't been wasted.
Looks like Kink now have female front hub. And if you look at the pic you'll see that it seems to be called Viridian, which is the name of a greeny-blue-type colour that my grandmother uses in her water colour paintings, but obviously Tony prefers black:
And now for the interesting part - well relatively speaking. There's a proto stem called the Bold. (sorry, couldn't resist that) It's not revolutionary in that it's a run-of-the-mill front load with the sides machined out, but the shape and proportions of the cut looks pretty good. And if you want proof of that, you've only got to compare it to the recent Subrosa prototype. Although you'll still need to be an above average hacksaw technician to ensure that the steerer on your fork is cut to precisely the right length. Oh yeah... and it comes in this lovely shade of really, really, really dark grey:
Now do it Properly!
You hear a fair bit of old school reminiscing online. You know: That today's frames are too light, top tubes too low, spokes too few. But it's always struck me as backward - like you want your riding to progress, your life to progress and the world to progress, but for your bike to stay the same? It's kind of like your grandfather complaining that the internet is ruining the world and stubbornly writing letters to anyone that'll listen. That horse has bolted.
Heat treated frames, butted tubing, low top tubes, small drive trains, 36 spoke wheels ,small bb's, integrated headsets, cnc'd bridges, micro dropouts, 14 oz cassettes, offset machining, slammed pivotals and integrated seat clamps - There are loads of companies pushing design and new technology to make bikes lighter and easier to handle. Big stuff is still getting thrown down and they're not blowing up left, right and centre.
Anyway, if you still really want a 35 lb bike, 48 spoke wheels, a 44 tooth sprocket and a big padded seat, just go out and treat yourself to a Diamondback Joker - they're cheap too.
Out with the old and in with the new I say.
Proper Bike Co have been around for a few years now. They don't have a massive range of parts, but it's all designed in-house and they've got their own style going - kind of plain, no frills, but with a tech machined look that doesn't go overboard. And lots of colour of course to feed the machine.
They've also got a team of new school high flyers like Mike Miller and Max Wood who know how to tuck and spin their way round just about anything and I'm sure ain't complaining that their set ups are too light.
Proper's hubs in particular are crazy light. They've got a 369 gram (13 oz) rear cassette that's available with regular or female axle set up. I think it was the original version of this hub that had some problems with the bearings in the driver, but they've solved that by using a ceramic bushing instead. Which, correct me if I'm wrong, I think is a first for bmx. You know that I know that you know what a bushing is, but in case you don't - it's basically just a porous cylinder that's impregnated with a lubricant and so offers a smooth bearing surface. There's more friction than when using ball bearings, but no moving parts and for this reason Proper are saying that for this application it all but eliminates the possibility of failure.
They've got just one frame at the moment, the TTL which is Miller's sig frame and another street prototype on the way. The TTL weighs in at a respectable 4 lbs 7 oz and features most of the details of a modern all purpose frame that seem to get those internet lurkers fired up - butted tubing, removable brake mounts, integrated seat clamp, some cut outs here and there. But if you check this Miller clip out you'll see that there doesn't seems to be any problems with a quick three down a ten set - maybe it's just that he's got about 5kg less jeans than he would have had riding in the 90s.
Their most recent product release is the Microlite stem, which is a particularly nice bit of kit. It's machined out of 6061 t6 aluminium, has a 52mm reach and weighs in at 249 grams (8.8 oz). A range of little details contribute to an original, light weight take on a classic six bolt stem without having it looking like a space ship. I'll let Dave Lombard from Proper do the talking. This is lifted from an ESPN interview with him:
...and BMXtec - Keeping closing sentences corny.
Heat treated frames, butted tubing, low top tubes, small drive trains, 36 spoke wheels ,small bb's, integrated headsets, cnc'd bridges, micro dropouts, 14 oz cassettes, offset machining, slammed pivotals and integrated seat clamps - There are loads of companies pushing design and new technology to make bikes lighter and easier to handle. Big stuff is still getting thrown down and they're not blowing up left, right and centre.
Anyway, if you still really want a 35 lb bike, 48 spoke wheels, a 44 tooth sprocket and a big padded seat, just go out and treat yourself to a Diamondback Joker - they're cheap too.
Out with the old and in with the new I say.
Proper Bike Co have been around for a few years now. They don't have a massive range of parts, but it's all designed in-house and they've got their own style going - kind of plain, no frills, but with a tech machined look that doesn't go overboard. And lots of colour of course to feed the machine.
They've also got a team of new school high flyers like Mike Miller and Max Wood who know how to tuck and spin their way round just about anything and I'm sure ain't complaining that their set ups are too light.
Proper's hubs in particular are crazy light. They've got a 369 gram (13 oz) rear cassette that's available with regular or female axle set up. I think it was the original version of this hub that had some problems with the bearings in the driver, but they've solved that by using a ceramic bushing instead. Which, correct me if I'm wrong, I think is a first for bmx. You know that I know that you know what a bushing is, but in case you don't - it's basically just a porous cylinder that's impregnated with a lubricant and so offers a smooth bearing surface. There's more friction than when using ball bearings, but no moving parts and for this reason Proper are saying that for this application it all but eliminates the possibility of failure.
They've got just one frame at the moment, the TTL which is Miller's sig frame and another street prototype on the way. The TTL weighs in at a respectable 4 lbs 7 oz and features most of the details of a modern all purpose frame that seem to get those internet lurkers fired up - butted tubing, removable brake mounts, integrated seat clamp, some cut outs here and there. But if you check this Miller clip out you'll see that there doesn't seems to be any problems with a quick three down a ten set - maybe it's just that he's got about 5kg less jeans than he would have had riding in the 90s.
Their most recent product release is the Microlite stem, which is a particularly nice bit of kit. It's machined out of 6061 t6 aluminium, has a 52mm reach and weighs in at 249 grams (8.8 oz). A range of little details contribute to an original, light weight take on a classic six bolt stem without having it looking like a space ship. I'll let Dave Lombard from Proper do the talking. This is lifted from an ESPN interview with him:
I think it would be a stretch to say that this stem is particularly unique. We tried all sort of unique ideas with pistons and ultimately decided that unique doesn't always equate to better. We ended up with a traditional 6 bolt front load stem with 52mm reach and all the features we liked. It's smaller than most stems, so we increased the clamping area a little with virtually no additional weight. There is a vertical shaft down the centre. We've seen a lot of stems with horizontal shafts in a similar area but we found the vertical option to be stronger. It has a recessed area around the fork compression bolt that allows the top cap to fit flush with all modern forks. It's much lighter than most stems without looking (or being) particularly crazy.So there you go - Proper Bike Co - Not reinventing the wheel, but keeping it rolling.
...and BMXtec - Keeping closing sentences corny.
Living the Technicolour Dream
Ben Ward is a product designer at Odyssey and according to them he's "one of the main dudes behind our R&D". If you take a look at his blog you'll see that he's not only working his dream job like a maniac, but he also lives and breathes bmx.
Anyway, he's got a bike check up on the Odyssey site. Of course you'd expect no less than a top shelf Odyssey / GSport / Sunday decked out whip - and that's exactly what you get.
There's a whole bunch of new shit - gold Ribcages, spokes and nipples, the new Four:four bars, a prototype 9t driver and titanium hardware for the Ratchet hub. And the JC PCs in half black, half white.
I'm really waiting on those pedals. Without having actually ridden them, they seem to combine all the good things about plastics with the grip of a pinned ali pedal. And the black/white combos adds another little function in that you can run pins one side, pedal grind the other side and know which is which at a glance.
I'm wondering how they'll be available. They'll be coming as a full set only ie. four pieces fully assembled, but will you also be able to buy a full set of mouldings only ie. no spindles, or even individual mouldings?
Either way there'll be more colour combos than a pile of clothes at a clown orgy. Definitely not a bad sales ploy when you consider how many kids will be buying two or four sets at once to in order to be living the technicolour dream.
I've said before that I'm an Odyssey fan and it's not because they have endless variants of fruity colourways, but because they keep raising the bar and making improvements to the parts that we put on our bikes. Simple concept, hard to do.
Anyway, he's got a bike check up on the Odyssey site. Of course you'd expect no less than a top shelf Odyssey / GSport / Sunday decked out whip - and that's exactly what you get.
There's a whole bunch of new shit - gold Ribcages, spokes and nipples, the new Four:four bars, a prototype 9t driver and titanium hardware for the Ratchet hub. And the JC PCs in half black, half white.
I'm really waiting on those pedals. Without having actually ridden them, they seem to combine all the good things about plastics with the grip of a pinned ali pedal. And the black/white combos adds another little function in that you can run pins one side, pedal grind the other side and know which is which at a glance.
I'm wondering how they'll be available. They'll be coming as a full set only ie. four pieces fully assembled, but will you also be able to buy a full set of mouldings only ie. no spindles, or even individual mouldings?
Either way there'll be more colour combos than a pile of clothes at a clown orgy. Definitely not a bad sales ploy when you consider how many kids will be buying two or four sets at once to in order to be living the technicolour dream.
I've said before that I'm an Odyssey fan and it's not because they have endless variants of fruity colourways, but because they keep raising the bar and making improvements to the parts that we put on our bikes. Simple concept, hard to do.
For better or for worse
Proper's female front hub is officially out. That is, IMG distro got them today.
For better or for worst Proper has pretty much held the "light weight bmx hub crown" for the last few years, but the weight of these things - ridiculous.
184 grams apparently.
To put that in perspective, a Shimano 6500 Ultegra front road bike hub weighs in at an obese 198 grams. If you think about it a pair of lycra bike pants must weigh at least a couple of hundred grams less than a pair of jeans - you see where I'm going with this?
For better or for worst Proper has pretty much held the "light weight bmx hub crown" for the last few years, but the weight of these things - ridiculous.
184 grams apparently.
To put that in perspective, a Shimano 6500 Ultegra front road bike hub weighs in at an obese 198 grams. If you think about it a pair of lycra bike pants must weigh at least a couple of hundred grams less than a pair of jeans - you see where I'm going with this?
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