Reviews of BMX Bikes, parts, frames, videos, clothing and more

Insight: Volume & Demolition March 2014 Drop

February 21, 2014

It’s that time of the year when brands are starting to finally release their latest and greatest products that we got a sneak peek look at during Interbike 2013 back in September. If you recall our coverage from the event, Volume Bikes and Demolition had a handful of new product on display that was looking nothing short of dialed. With their new product just about ready to hit distributors, shops and mail-orders world wide, we decided to chase down Brian Castillo to get photos and all the specs on all of the new product him and the rest of the crew have been hard at work on for the past year or so. We are fortunate enough to give you guys the first in-depth look at their full range of new frames and parts that we undoubtably know you guys will be stoked on. Let’s take a closer look!

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Insight: Shadow Conspiracy – Corvus Rim

January 27, 2014

Let’s face it, there are A LOT of options for BMX parts these days. You can go into trying to pick something out and end up confused and unsure because there are so many options that all have a similar look or materials that might all sound like good options. What a lot of people don’t realize is that there are a lot of factors beyond size, color and weight that can be a determining factor for something when it comes down to comparing two, three or four different brands products that all appear to be similar.

When it comes down to picking out a new rim or wheel for your bike, what are some of the factors that come to mind? Color, weight, style of hub or rim might be some of the things that come to mind right off the bat. What about things like the number of walls? How about the width or height of the rim? Do you consider a welded seam versus a pinned seam? How about the stance width of the spokes? Believe it or not there are A LOT of things you can do to a rim that will improve it.

When it came time to create a new, stronger rim for The Shadow Conspiracy, they started out with what they knew worked and improved on it! After months of testing and trying new ideas, they finally found a winning design they were proud to release as their new Corvus rim.

Want to know what makes this rim unique? Keep reading!

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Review: Coppin’ It Sweet DVD

December 5, 2013

Over the last two years or so, our friend Stewart Munro has been busy working on his latest film project that we have come to know as “Coppin’ It Sweet”. Stewart has been the guy behind the lens for a handful of film projects out of Australia with full length videos like the “These Days” video and Colony‘s DVD they released about 2 years back. Needless to say, going into this I was very familiar with Stewart’s work and had a good idea of just what would make up his newest video.
I recently got my hands on a copy and figured it would be a good idea to put together a little review for you guys that are out there looking for a new video to keep on replay in your DVD player. So what do I think of this one? Let’s get into it…

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Review: The Chocolate Truck DVD

August 27, 2013

Over the past few years or so, I’ve seen a handful of the Chocolate Truck videos they dropped online and I was always really impressed. I didn’t know a whole lot about the crew other than it was a pretty heavy crew of street riders from the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area.
A while back, they announced that they were in the process of filming for a DVD and needless to say, thanks to their videos they dropped online, A LOT of people were excited to see what they were working on. I’m not sure exactly how long the video took to get done, but I believe the trailer they dropped back in 2011 was part of this project… Either way, I recently got my hands on a copy thanks to Matt Miller and figured it would be a good idea to toss up a quick review for you guys. Let’s take a look!

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Insight: Fit – 24mm Indent Cranks

August 22, 2013

BMX cranks are one of the most important parts on your bike. Not only because they allow you to pedal, which is key, but they are where a lot of the force from impacts end up when you land. Cranks have gone from one-piece designs that you could bend by just starring at them to traditional 3-piece style we see today. You can’t forget the 2-piece and 2.5-piece versions that have surfaced over the years as well. Either way, there are a lot of things that have been done to improve the quality of cranks to hold up the the level or riding that goes on these days from dropping off roofs, sending it over 30 foot doubles to blasting a box jump or grinding down a rail.
About two years ago, Fit Bike Co. introduced their 19mm Indent cranks which utilized the 3-piece design with a 19mm, 48-spline spindle and indents on the arms to improve strength. The cranks are clean and built to stand up to some heavy riding… Except they there were ways to get an even stronger design. Recently, Fit released another version of the cranks that feature a larger 24mm spindle that ultimately makes for a stronger design without excessive weight additions to your bike.
I was pretty curious what lead them to stepping outside the box so to speak from the traditional 19mm and 22mm spindle designs, so I got ahold of Chris Moeller to talk a little bit about what lead to the design. Let’s take a closer look!

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Review: Props – Road Fools Box Set

August 3, 2013

A few months ago, Chris Rye announced that he was in the process of putting together a collectors edition box set that would include all of the Road Fools videos that Props produced in its time along with some bonus footage and extra features that would help show its legendary history to the fullest. For those of you who have been riding BMX for years, you most likely have some good memories from the hours you spent watching the videos, getting stoked, remembering the lines and riding that has pushed BMX to new levels like myself.
A few weeks back, the box set was finally completed and recently released for riders from around the world to relive all of the miles that were racked up in its nearly 15 year history. I was fortunate enough to get my hands on a copy to check out and figured I would put together this review for you to check out.

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Insight: Shadow Conspiracy – Multi-Tool

August 2, 2013

One thing that I think most riders need to pick up on over time is how to work on their own bike. Growing up, my older brother and I used to hit up garage sales and pick up bikes just to fix them up. I learned a lot about how a bike works just by simply taking things apart and figuring out how to put it all back together. Back then, things were a little more complicated and 9 times out of 10 I found myself regretting pulling a set of cranks or a headset out when I was stuck chasing ball bearings around on the floor (I can only imagine how many of you older guys just started laughing). Now days, BMX bikes have become easier to work on with pretty standard sizes and sealed bearings. Along with that, tools have been developed to simplify the task even more. One of those tools would be the Multi-Tool from The Shadow Conspiracy. Whether you’re just a beginner learning how to avoid stripping out all your bolts or a mechanic that’s turned plenty of wrenches at a shop, this is one tool that will make your life a little easier. Let’s take a closer look!

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Review: Compression BMX “Septembre”

July 20, 2013

Compression_BMX_Septembre_DVD

The other day, I had received a package in the mail from Jon Saunders over at Can You Dig It. Inside was a copy of the new Compression BMX DVD “Septembre”. Anyone who checks this site knows I get really excited about anything trails, so as you can imagine I was more than stoked to check out this video! I figured since it’s out now and available worldwide that it might be a good idea to do a quick review to give you guys some Insight into what this video has to offer and if it’s worth checking out. Let’s see what this one is all about…

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