One of the biggest perks to working in the BMX industry is that there’s a good chance you will be riding a dialed bike with all the latest and greatest from the brands you represent. One of the perks of running your own brand is that you can ride a dialed bike with all the parts you spent months and months working on developing from idea to the final product. Ryan Sher has been riding some real nice bikes over his career and you better believe as brand manager for Subrosa he is keeping his bike running smooth with all the latest parts they’re cooking up down in Florida. Ryan just built himself up a brand new Villicus Prime II, so we figured it was more than a perfect chance to catch up and get a look at this unit he’s running these days! Let’s get to it!
Name: Ryan Woodstock Sher
Location: Orlando, Fl
Sponsors / Hook Ups: I know a couple people at Subrosa and The Shadow Conspiracy.
Years Riding: Almost all of them. My birthday is in a few weeks, and that makes it about to be 30 years since I started racing BMX.
Frame: Subrosa Hoang Tran pro model Villicus Prime II, 20.5”, this is my first Villicus and I’m in love. I picked up the limited edition Cheetah print to support Subrosa Skeleton Crew rider Raphael Jeroma- Williams. It’s his signature color way, and its looks too good.
Bars: Subrosa Hoang Tran pro model Villicus Bars, 9.5”, Chrome. It’s a funny story, but I brought Nick Bullen the wrong size bars on a trip, and when we needed a bar swap on a trip, I ended up with the 9.5’s. I took my spacers out from under my stem, and I actually don’t mind the size so I’m going to leave them for a bit.
Fork: Subrosa Battle forks. These are the real deal. I’ve never ran an invest cast fork before and these are the first for Subrosa as well. These forks are tough as hell, and look killer. They also have an oversized crown which gives you more surface area to weld the legs to, the strength of these is pretty much unmatched.
Stem: Suborsa Forever top load stem.
Grips: Subrosa Villicus V2 in the new DCR compound developed by The Shadow Conspiracy. I’m one of the lucky few who got samples, and I still have them. It’s awesome how much longer they last.
Headset: Subrosa Bitchin’ with the Subrosa Bitchin’ top cap
Cranks: Subrosa Bitchin’ 175mm. So strong, and the square shape really helps with crank arm slides.
Pedals: Shadow Conspiracy Ravager pedals, metal and sealed
Sprocket: Subrosa Magnum guard, 25t, man I love this thing. I haven’t done sprocket disasters in so long!
Chain: Shadow Conspiracy Interlock Supreme. The Shadow Conspiracy created the half-link chain, so I would never ride or trust anything else. This version is just amazing. So much thought and effort has gone into creating this chain. It will be expensive, but will also be the last chain you buy.
Seat / Post / Clamp: Shadow Conspiracy SHDW Tri-Pod seat, and post, built in clamp.
Front Wheel / Tire: Subrosa Turbo complete, Subrosa chromoly hub guard/ Subrosa Grave Digger tire with red speed wall.
Rear Wheel / Tire: Subrosa Turbo complete, 9t, Subrosa chromoly hub guard/ Subrosa Street Digger tire with red speed wall.
Pegs: 2 Shadow Conspiracy S.O.D. pegs. I was a fan of plastics before, now, I’ll never run metal again.
Brakes: Nope, white knuckle style…
Modifications: I use the built in chain tensioners, I use the E-Z cut grooves on the fork and cut the steer tube down a bit so I don’t need any spacers. I’ve been seeing people draw in the middle of the Subrosa Shield on Raph’s bike, so I added a Subrosa Is Forever sticker to mine. I think I’ll do a Jordan Jumpman next.
What’s the newest part on this bike?
I just built this bike about 2 weeks ago, so everything is fresh, except I kept my old cranks.
What’s the oldest part on this bike?
Me.
What do you usually go through the fastest?
Grips, but thats usually from getting torn on trips when bikes are all piled in the van. On occasion I lose bar ends, and on trips my bike is the spare parts bike when riders need to change stuff up.
So you just built up this new Villicus Prime II frame. What made you choose this one over let’s say the new Scott Ditchburn Thunderbeast (epic name by the way) frame?
Thanks about the name. Scott and I went back and forth for a while, until we both were stoked on Thunderbeast! It sounds awesome, but it really describes how badass Scott’s bike is. I probably would’ve built on of those, but I have been dying to use the built in chain tensioners on the Villicus Prime II.
How often do you actually get to build up a new bike? I feel like running Subrosa has a few perks…
It definitely does. Luckily I’m a bit stubborn when it comes to bikes, and I don’t like my set up to change very much. For example, before I built this bike, I was still running a Subrosa Noster sample frame from a few years ago. I’ll swap out parts, and colors fairly often. Sometimes Subrosa and Shadow do new color ways that I just can’t resist.
I’d imagine after so many years and bikes, you are pretty set in your ways of how you like your bike setup. What are a few “must have” things you need?
Yeah, I’m not too particular about it. I can’t ride anything longer than a 20.5” though. I’ve tried, and even the 20.75” didn’t feel quite as good to me. Bars usually straight up, and a short backend. If it’s close, I tend to get used to it pretty quickly, and Subrosa bikes ride so good, it’s easy to hop from one to the other.
Have you thought about experimenting with a freecoaster or will you stick to hauling ass forward?
I will not be participating in the freecoaster revolution, hahah! Mainly, because I don’t see myself rolling backwards that far. When I land fakie, I like to pull out of it pretty quickly, it’s very unlikely that I would do entire line backwards. I’ve attached a meme I made for the other reason I won’t be running a freecoaster.
Roughly… How many bikes have you had over the years?
Man, I have no idea. I’ve had so many from racing, to trading for new stuff when I was a kid, to all the samples I’ve had to test when I started getting signature stuff. I would loosely estimate somewhere between 50-100? I’ve never really thought about it, it would be cool if I could find out exactly.
Speaking of Subrosa… You guys just dropped a TON of new 2014 product. Can you take us through a few of the items you’re most stoked on?
Yeah man! All kinds of new stuff! I’m really digging all the new frames, Villicus Prime II, Noster II, Silva II, and the Thunderbeast. They’ve all got a lot a features packed into them, and we worked really hard to make them more affordable for riders. I’m in love with the Subrosa Magnum sprocket, and our Combat and Warhead locks. Gotta keep those bikes safe.
I know you have been busy planning for the year. What do you guys have cooking for the team? Any locations you know you guys will be having your way with?
Yeah man, the Subrosa Park Party Tour continues! We just have a killer stop in Albuquerque, and next up is Ray’s Cleveland and Chenga World! We’ll also be sending riders out as individuals to some more contests and events. Subrosa also wrapped up it’s annual Team Meeting, so look for a big edit from that soon. We had the entire pro team there, and it was such a kickass trip!
How many stops will you have for the Party Tour this year?
Somewhere between 7-10, hopefully including some overseas stops.
With “Get Used To It” having its one year anniversary the other week, can we expect another full-length out of you guys any time soon?
I wouldn’t attach the word “soon” to it. We’ve got a lot of riders that are on The Shadow Conspiracy, and they are all working on full sections for that, so that’s kind of the priority as of right now. The dudes are all working on solo edits and other projects for their fans to enjoy though. There will also be an edit for every Park Party stop. We will be doing another full-length in the near future #subrosasaves
What have you been getting into when you aren’t working or riding these days? Keeping the Trans Am tires smoking I’m sure?
Well the job isn’t exactly 9-5, but when there is time off my girl, dogs, and the Trans Am keep me pretty busy. Mix in a little bit of riding in there too.
How can we keep up with you these days?
Web- http://subrosabrand.com/
Facebook- Facebook.com/Subrosa.Brand.Fan.Page
Instagram- @SubrosaBrand
YouTube- Youtube.com/user/SubrosaBrand
Twitter- @SubrosaBrand
Anything I missed you want to say?
I just want to thank all the Subrosa team riders, Subrosa fans, Subrosa supporters, and Subrosa haters around the world.
