Alex Magallan EX bike – Specs
For some reason, every time I see a complete bike these days, my jaw hits the floor. I think anyone who started riding at least 8 years ago gets the same feeling. Complete bikes then weighed 40 pounds from the the full steel frame and parts. The bikes had these one-piece cranks that would bend as soon as you were about a foot off the ground and that’s just the start of the problems. Now days, bikes come stock closer to 20 pounds with aftermarket parts that the the pros actually ride. It’s amazing. A few weeks back, Sunday announced their new limited edition “Bonus Bikes”. These bikes are collaboration projects with riders, artists, brands and more. Needless to say, they turned out real nice and sold faster than you could say “What is a Bonus Bike?”. I got ahold of the man in charge, Jim Cielencki, to find out a little bit more about these bikes. So, let’s take a closer look at these bikes…
For this Insight we have decided to talk about Sunday’s new Bonus Bikes. You guys just dropped Alex Magallan’s and Aaron Ross’ signature bikes for the project. When did the original idea for this happen? Who all had input on this?
Well, the original idea arose from owning the Sunday Skate Shop in Buffalo, we had so many unique shoes on the wall all the time. To be able to offer something that unique was really exciting to me. We tried this concept with frames, but this only worked a little bit. It wasn’t until we started to do complete bikes that the idea seemed like it could work way better. We get to offer something to the shop that is very unique and limited. The shops get to have something on their floor that not many people will be able to get. Plus after enough come out, you get this extensive archive of really cool bikes.
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What’s the difference between the bonus bikes and your other bikes in the complete line? Is it more of a colorway, or are there other features like frame geometry and such that are part of this?
The general concept is to take a current model bike and do a theme to it. However, we aren’t going to limit the bike to just changing the color around. If we want to do a Bonus bike that is a different size, frame dimension or whatever then we will do it. It all just depends on the idea.
What were some of the ideas Alex brought to the table when you guys started working on this project? Did he have anything that didn’t work out in the final production model?
We originally had the idea because of our other monster truck themed bikes. We approached Alex with the concept and he was into it. The goal of the bikes is not only to do cool bikes, but also be able to take care of the riders more. Riders always get signature parts and this is no different. The only thing is that these will change often.
From start to finish, how long did it take to get Alex’s bike out?
It probably took about 5-7 months. We were throwing the idea around in the fall then had designs by December. The winter is long, so we took some time getting the bikes over here. It should take anywhere between 4-6 months to do it.
Care to take us through the parts and features that can be found on the bike? What kind of a rider is this designed for? Could you pop the bike out of the box and not have to change much for a guy who’s been in the game for 10 years?
Well, we plan on offering the Bonus bikes at different levels in our line up. So, each bike caters to a specific rider. Alex’s bike is for a kid who has been into riding for a little bit and is looking for a second bike. He’s not quite ready to build a bike, but he’s beyond his entry level bike.
For a guy who has been riding for 10 years, they would probably want to go the Sunday PRO or Signature route. These bikes are great for guys who do not want to spend the time or money piecing together a bike. Right out of the box, the bikes are ready to ride. There’s been a stigma with complete bikes. It’s been assumed that really good riders have no use for complete bikes, but this is starting to change especially since we released of the 2010 Funday PRO. You get a complete bike with all the aftermarket parts you would buy for the same price as just the aftermarket parts if they were bought separately. The same applies to the Signature bikes as well. A rider can just get the a Sunday and roll.
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IMG Distribution dropped this sneak peek of the Catty Woods inspired Bonus Bike.
Where did the “Maximum Destruction” name come from?
Well, we did 2 bikes in our 2011 EX line up that are themed after monster trucks. Gary Young’s Big Blue has a Bigfoot theme, while Aaron Ross’ Grave Green is a Grave Digger theme. For Alex’s bike, we continued the monster truck theme and modeled it after Maximum Destruction which was the first monster truck to do a backflip.
How many of these did you guys have made? Are they available all over the world or are only select distributors and shops getting them in stock?
We didn’t make too many. Just wanted to keep it unique by not flooding the market. So, far they are only available in the USA, Australia, Canada and the UK. As we do more then other countries will be able to carry them.
You guys mentioned that you would be doing more of these with riders, artists and runs for charity events. Can you hint at a few of the people you are working on Bonus Bikes with right now?
Well, a few new bikes should be announced right around the time these are released, so I can say something. The next Bonus bike we are doing is a PRO version of Aaron Ross’ Watermelon bike. This bike is so amazing! So close to his original bike, you get the pink Odyssey Twombolts and all. It came out so well. There will be another one right after this one too. You’ll have to wait and see.
Aaron Ross PRO – Specs
How has the reaction been to the bikes so far? Are you guys sold out of the bike yet?
The bikes are almost sold out already. It was well received. Maybe a little under the radar because something like this really hadn’t been done before. The colors look really good and it was sort of a colorway that we hadn’t done, so it added to our line up. Plus the Odyssey Twisted PC colorway is so good.
How much can you pick this bike up for?
The price for the Alex EX is $569.99, the Aaron Watermelon Pro is $774.99 and the Catty Woods Scout is $609.99.
What else do you have in the works for Sunday? Can you give us some hints at products, video projects, team trips, etc. that you have cooking down there in Austin.
There is always something brewing and it wouldn’t be our way if we started talking about it now. More info coming soon though.
Anything I missed you want to say?
I think that’s pretty good. Thanks for the interview and thanks to everyone who has ever helped us out or have bought a Sunday. There’s more interesting things to come.
Find out more about Sunday on their website – SUNDAYBIKES.COM
See that Watermelon! from Sunday Bikes
