BMX Union

Game of Add-On at Pastranaland

November 11, 2016

The final video from the time Big Boy, Matty Cranmer and the rest of the crew spent at Pastranaland has arrived. This time around the whole crew play a couple games of Add-On. This one gets real interesting and this one takes some serious memory to remember everything that went down. Take a peek and see what went down!

“SCOTTY CRANMER ROAD 2 RECOVERY FUND

Scotty Cranmer

LAST DAY AT PASTRANALAND. We had an amazing time at the compound. All we wanted to do was ride a ton. The skatepark was amazing so Matty and I had the idea to play a game of add on and it ended up being super fun.”

Radio Bikes – Justin Dowell Welcome Video

November 11, 2016

The crew over at Radio Bikes hit us with some news and a new video for you guys to check out! They have added Justin Dowell to their squad over here in the United States. After watching this video, it’s easy to see just how they picked Justin for the team. He’s a ripper and isn’t scared to send it on the ramps! Check out what he cooked up for his first video for the brand!

“What a better way to kick off the weekend then a new addition to the family. Justin Dowell is 16 years old from North Carolina and is an absolute savage on a bike. Justin rides with the amplitude and ferocity of a rider twice his age, and his mix of burly tricks and technical lines really caught us off guard when we were first introduced to his riding.

Justin is the first addition to our new US squad which we will be announcing more about real soon. Check out this short teaser for his full welcome video which is in the works and we cant wait to show you.

Welcome to the team Justin!

Filmed and edited by Bradley Burnham.”

Colony BMX – Alex Hiam Bike Check

November 11, 2016

Colony coming through with a new Bike Check with Alex Hiam and his brand new 2017 Sweet Tooth setup that he is running. It looks like he has a gone with a colorful mix of colors between his frame, the Griplock tire with the swirls and Green Storm colored Contour rim. Overall, it looks like a real dialed BMX bike to us! You can check out more photos of the bike over on the Colony website — Alex Hiam’s New Setup

A $2,000 Titanium Frame By Laird Frame

November 11, 2016

It’s not every day that you see the word “Titanium” in BMX, especially when it comes to BMX frames. Years ago, Eastern Bikes offered a Titanium Grim Reaper frame that retailed for over $1,000 and Terrible One dabbled with a Titanium Barcode frame before that. There was also a brand called RNC that made Titanium cranks, pegs, bars and more that eventually went out of business as the price of this type of metal skyrocketed. You can find Titanium spokes and bolts these days, but that’s about it for what is available. The price of Titanium has come down a little bit in recent years, but it’s still spendy! Even though it’s pricey, it turns out there has been some demand for another BMX frame made from the material because it looks like there are two options available. The crew at Eastern were showing off a Titanium frame that they are doing one off custom builds of at Interbike and it looks like Mike Laird over at Laird Frame has decided to give it a go, too. If you follow Mike on Instagram you probably have been checking out the photos he has been posting giving you the look at the progress of his first go at playing around with welding on Titanium. It looks like he has it dialed in and has decided to add Titanium frames to his custom frame options.

Like we mentioned above, the cost of Titanium has come down in recent years and pricing varies quite a bit. In short, it’s still a spendy material that is tricky to work with. But, some times people have a little more money to work with and this is why this frame exists.

As you might have noticed by the title, it looks like you can have a custom Titanium frame made by Laird frame starting at $1,965.00 with your choice of geometry, brakeless or welded on brakes and color. It sounds like Mike will be offering free powder coating if you for some reason want to cover up that clean Titanium look. Add in shipping and you’ll be over that $2,000 mark.

Like we mentioned above, each frame can be customized and it looks like he’s also doing 16″, 18″, 22″, 24″ and 26″ frames for those of you looking for something other than your standard 20″ version. Above and below you can find photos of the first two frames Mike has made from Titanium and it looks like the first one weighed in at 2lb. 14oz., which is quite a bit lighter than 4130 chromoly frames that are hovering around the 5 lb. mark these days.

If you are into this, you can take a look at ordering a frame on the Laird Frame website

A look at one of the first Laird Frame Titanium frames.

You can get welded gyro tabs. Unfortunately you cannot do removable brake mounts and guides on these frames.

This is the jig setup Mike’s using to weld these frames together.

Unlike the other Laird Frames, you can’t do a custom seat stay bridge since these bridges have to be cut using water and laser jets that another company is doing prior to receiving the tubing.

Some of the tubing laid out before it gets put together.

Cult – Sean Ricany SOS Frame

November 11, 2016

Last night we took a look at the 2017 Dak frame from Cult, so we figured it was time we take a closer look at the brand new Sean Ricany SOS frame that is starting to hit BMX shops and mail-orders around the world. The Ricany SOS frame is made from revised 100% Cult classic chromoly tubing with a 75.5-degree head tube angle, 70-degree seat tube angle, 11.7″ bottom bracket height, 8.65″ standover height and a 13″ – 13.325″ chainstay length.

The frame features an integrated head tube, top and down tube gussets, a Mid bottom bracket, Investment cast seat post clamp, Cult’s new Investment Cast seat stay bridge you can find on all of their 2017 frames, tapered seat stays, S-bend chainstays to give you clearance for 2.40″ tires, heat-treated Investment Cast dropouts and removable seat stay brake mounts and guides.

The Ricany SOS frame is available in 20″, 20.5″, 20.75″, 21″ and 21.25″ top tube lengths, colors of raw and black and a price tag of $339.99 through BMX shops and mail-orders that carry Cult worldwide now.

You can find custom graphics for this frame with Sean’s personal touch.

Graphics are based off Sean’s clothing brand, Further.

The new Investment Cast seat stay bridge found on all 2017 Cult frames looks sturdy!

Heat-treated Investment Cast dropouts for strength.

Available in black and raw now.

FBM – Super 8

November 11, 2016

In a world of high definition, it’s always cool to see things from the ways of the past. No, we’re not talking about VX’s, we’re talking about something a little older. FBM dropped this short but sweet video that Kenny Horton put together from some Super 8 footage he collected over the course of the summer. This isn’t your typical BMX video and that’s okay. It has a really good vibe to it and we’re sure you won’t be disappointed with this one if you have an appreciation for the way things used to be done.

Inspired By BMX – Tom Hooper: Tattoo Artist

November 11, 2016

Sometimes BMX can kind of cause you to pigeonhole your goals and it can sometimes make you forget there are a TON of different jobs that you can do where you can take your influence from BMX and apply it to that job. We have seen a lot of talented riders over the years take their passion and move into a different direction that allows them to do something they’re really into and still catch plenty of sessions on their bike. DIG have kicked off a new series that explores a few different people who have created their own career that still has influence from BMX. Take a peek at how Tom Hooper does his thing as a tattoo artist.

“Welcome to episode 1 of DIG Alumni ‘Inspired by BMX’. This series looks at four creatives whose lives were shaped by being involved at varying levels within the BMX community. BMX not only inspired them artistically, it provided them with a worldview that encouraged risk, made them open to opportunity, and gave them the tools to come up with creative solutions to the problems life threw at them. These episodes are proof that picking up that bike can not only change the direction of your life, but also have an impact well beyond the confines of the BMX world.

Thomas Hooper emerged from the South East England trail scene. He first came to attention riding to a Snuff song in the Seventies/Backyard video “The Last Resort,” had a stint riding for Hoffman Bikes, our DIG editor’s old clothing company HLP, and was part of the Metal Bikes family. For Tom, BMX, hardcore punk, and tattooing went hand in hand. Eventually, spending all his free time at a tattoo shop while in college for photography led to a deeper interest in tattooing and the realization of a special gift. Thomas is now one of the world’s most sought after and unique tattoo artists, best known for his technical style rooted in geometric shapes and nature.” – DIG

Fit Caught Up With Austin Augie

November 11, 2016

Fit Bike Co. coming through with a new video series that will be introducing you to their team riders. They’re kicking things off with Austin Augie where he talks about how he got to where he is today and what keeps him going every day. Hit that play button and Fit to know him!

“Today we’re launching a new segment where you get to know our riders a little better. I don’t think we could have kicked it off any better than with wild man/youtube sensation Austin Aughinbaugh. Listen while Austin explains everything from how he saved up to move to Cali to modeling in New York city. Subscribe and stay tuned to Fit caught up with the rest of the team!

Riders: Austin Aughinbaugh and Morgan Long
Filmed and Edited by: Tony Malouf
Music: Bobby Raps & SinGrinch – “Wicked City”
Bobby Raps & SinGrinch – “Barely Conscious” ft. Chester Watson”