Review: Props – Megatour 10

The past few weeks there’s been plenty of hype about the release of Props Megatour 10. The video that features the FBM, Sunday, BSD and Dude Bird teams. I had the chance to pick up a copy courtesy of Dude Bird’s Brett Rohlfing to check out. Here’s what I thought of the video…

Like the past 9 Megatour’s, the video is broken down into the teams so I’ll start out by mentioning who was on each team…

FBM – Steve Crandall (team manager), Garrett Guilliams, Adam Guilliams, Darryl Nau, Tom Blyth, Eric Hennessey, Kenny Horton, Joel Barnett and Evan Vendetitti.

Sunday – Jim Cielencki (Team Manager), Alex Magallan, Eric Lichtenberger, Garrett Reeves, Jake Seeley, Mike Gonzales, Gary Young, Aaron Ross (Assisting Team Manager?).

BSD – Grant Smith (Owner / Team Manager), Tony Malouf, Kriss Kyle, Mike “Jersey” Taylor, Antony Lille, Reed Stark and Chris Brown.

Dude Bird – Brett Rohlfing (Team Manager), Spencer Foresman, Cabe Crisler, Zack Gerber, Dave Mahoney, Jordan Pope and Paul Radosevich

Looking at the teams you already know there’s a real solid mix of styles and personalities. If you ever wondered why some brands say they are looking for riders to sponsor that mix well with their team but you couldn’t exactly understand what they meant… All you have to do is watch a video like this and you will be able to see it.

The locations that the teams travelled to were all based around the starting point of Allen, Texas. After that, each team had free reign to go wherever they wanted to go. Most of the teams stuck around the Austin, Dallas and Fort Worth areas (except for the Dude Bird who made their way up to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma for a day) shredding the endless amounts of good street spots, trails and cement parks. Which makes plenty of sense to me since when they filmed this gas prices were around $4.00 a gallon. If there’s one way to eat into a budget fast, it’s high gas prices. The teams sticking around a tighter proximity allowed for more riding time, less driving and sticking to that infamous low-budget BMX lifestyle. That’s a little economics lesson for you kids.

With that being said, you know you can expect some real good stuff from the Allen skatepark, Austin / Dallas / Ft. Worth street, Morgan Wade’s warehouse, 9th street, East Side Trails and more. This video has a real solid mix of spots to keep pretty much anyone happy.

The FBM team’s section ran around 30 minutes long with Sunday, BSD and Dude Bird’s all right around 15 minutes for length not including a few of the commercials that you may have already seen online.
If I had to pick a personal favorite section it would be a toss up between Sunday and BSD. I liked Sunday’s because they’ve got Alex Magallan’s style, Garrett Reeves – enough said, Gary Young’s endless line finding abilities and Aaron Ross’ humor / ability to pull some wild stuff…. Then BSD has Reed Stark (who if you haven’t noticed constantly keeps getting better and better. He’s probably 200% better than he was a year ago. Minnesota represent.), Tony Malouf who actually had time to ride and set down the camera. I’m a fan of Tony’s style. Kriss Kyle who can throw down on everything and the beast Mike Taylor, who even with a destroyed ankle still had some of the biggest bangers of the section.

That’s not to say FBM and Dude Bird’s sections were bad. I love the vibe of the FBM crew. They spent a lot of time riding trails which is a bonus and there was a lot of antics. Dude Bird consisted of a lot of lesser known guys with unique styles. Definitely entertaining. The one thing that still blows my mind is how Zack Gerber isn’t dead yet. He does so much crazy shit in their section. You will have to watch it to understand, but somebody needs to legitimately sponsor this guy with a life insurance policy.

The filming was primarily handled by Stewart Johnson (BSD), Terrell Gordy (FBM), Devon Hutchins (Dude Bird) and Francis Delapena (Sunday) with the help of Jim Cielencki, Brett Rohlfing and Tazz Hernandez.
I’m a fan of Stew, Terrell, Devon and Francis’ work. They’ve all been guys behind the lens creating some of the best videos and edits that have dropped over the years. I really don’t feel I need to explain that the film work was handled well and there wasn’t anything I could complain about. It’s got that good Props vibe.

The editing was primarily handled by Stewart Johnson (Sunday, BSD) and Terrell Gordy (FBM, Dude Bird) with a real clean look. No over the top editing. Just the way I like it. Clean shots don’t need extra lens flares and over the top goofy graphics (the graphics were handled by Chris Rye incase you were wondering).

The music in the video was consistent with a solid mix of artists like Eagle Claw, Vivian Girls, Akron/Family, Shugo Tokumaru, Parts & Labor, Chuck Ragan, Whiskey & Co., Explosions in the Sky, Headlights, Carol Bui, Hoots and Hellmouth, Gods and Queens, Little Brown Bike, Ambition, Yesterdays Ring, Cittay, Okkerville River and The Measure. Nice non-mainstream choices with a good vibe. I like it.

Overall, I’d say that Props did a real good job of producing yet another Megatour. The riding was good, there was a positive vibe and they did a good job of getting a good mix for all of the different tastes (except for the flatland and vert guys – well, there’s a little vert in this…) for this one. Do I think it’s worth picking up? I think so. There’s something for pretty much everyone in it. It’s got a good vibe. The sections are broken down into short sections that you can check one or two out quick to get you pumped to go ride. Plus, it’s Props so you know it’s going to be a quality video that you can look back on in a few years and still be into it.

You can currently pick up a copy on the Props site for $19.99 and Dan’s Comp for $22.99. I’m sure if you gave Albe’s, Empire or your local shop a call or visit they could get you the video as well.

You can find out more information at these websites… PROPSBMX.TV | PROPSVISUAL.COM

Check out a few trailer and commercials below.

Go to PropsBMX.tv for more videos.