BMX frame Archives – Page 23 of 94

United Bike Co. – Caveman Frame

December 4, 2016

2016 has been a year that has been good for breaking the mold when it comes to BMX frames. People were complaining that all BMX frames looked the same / were too similar, and now a few brands have stepped up. The other week we got a look at the Mike Dinello frame from Nowear, now we’re taking a look at the Mike Escamilla signature Caveman frame from United Bike Co.. This frame is what happens when you mix 2016 design with 1980’s innovation. The Caveman frame is made from full 4130 chromoly tubing with at 75-degree head tube angle, 69-degree seat tube angle, 11.8″ bottom bracket height, 8.8″ standover height and a 13.65″ chainstay length (slammed). This frame features an integrated head tube, top and down tube gussets, a down tube that wraps around the bottom bracket with a wishbone, Mid bottom bracket, a wider rear triangle with tapered seat and chain stays to fit 2.40″ tires, removable brake mounts, 5mm thick dropouts and, of course, the removable steel bash guar that attaches to the bottom of the wrap around down tube.

The Caveman frame comes in gloss metallic platinum blue only with your choice of pink or white bash guard, 20.8″ top tube length only, a weight of 6 lbs 1.7 oz. You can pre-order this frame through United Bike Co. dealers worldwide now, but expect the frame to become available around January 3rd next month.

5 BMX Innovations We Love

November 29, 2016

Over the course of the past few weeks The Merged have been putting out different Top 5 lists for different products. For example they released their Top 5 Pegs today that was pretty interesting. Looking at those lists, it got us thinking about all of the different innovations that we have seen in BMX over the past 15ish years that we really love. There is no denying that there has been A LOT of innovation making bikes lighter, stronger and look a hell of a lot better over the years. There has also been a lot of things done to simplify the process of working on your bike, which is always a perk. You can pretty much build a bike up with a allen key and a 17mm socket these days. That wasn’t always the case. With that, we decided to take a look at a few items in particular we have a lot of appreciation for.

Integrated Head Tube and Press Fit Bottom Brackets

If you have been riding BMX for more than 10 years, there’s no doubt that you have a great appreciation for the Integrated head tube and press fit bottom brackets. Prior to that, you had to pound in your own headset cups and bottom bracket bearing cups, which usually also used unsealed bearings. This was a pain in the ass and an extra unnecessary step. We’re sure some of you are having a flashback of a cracked headset cup, followed by 100 little silver ball bearings bouncing around on the floor. Once S&M Bikes introduced the Integrated headtube and brands ditched the American bottom bracket bearings for Mid and Spanish sizes, life got a whole lot easier. Drop the headset in place and tighten it down or give the bottom bracket bearing a push into the frame and you’re good to go. Less work, cleaner look and overall more reliable product. That is why we love this innovation.

Thanks to integrated head tubes, we have far fewer parts to deal with when it comes to headsets. Bottom brackets also looked similar to the old headsets if you were wondering, too.

Integrated Chain Tensioners

Over the years we have seen A LOT of innovation in the chain tensioner department. When they were initially introduced, they were these over built, adaptors that were essentially a combination of a washer, bolt, plate and nut that pulled it together. Now days we have the integrated chain tensioner that runs directly through the dropouts. Not only is this a 100 times cleaner and lighter, it’s simple. Simply grab your allen key and adjust in and out to where you want your axle to sit in the dropout. How couldn’t you love this innovation?

Talk about simplified…. Fewer parts, less weight… So much cleaner!

Pivotal & Tripod Seats

Now, this is one of those innovations that might not necessarily appeal to everyone. We still see the railed seat and brands like Relic have even released a new railed seat recently. However, the majority of us are running Pivotal or Tripod seats, eliminating the need to battle it out with the railed seat post guts that were notorious for being a big pain in the ass to get set in place initially. Not only are they easier to install, but Pivotal and Tripod seats are lighter and look cleaner, too. Both systems use different designs, but both use one bolt to hold it all together and eliminated all the small parts that railed seats use. This is another one of those innovations that saved some time and frustration… So we love it.

The old railed seat posts essentially took two plates and one or two bolts to sandwich the rails of the seat. This is a look at the Snafu posts that came in a number of colors, but still were a whole bunch of fun to dial in.

Half-Link Chain

The Half-Link… This is one of those pieces I think there is a love / hate relationship. Some people love how it allows them to get their rear wheel in the exact spot thanks to the shorter links and others claim they are weaker and break easier (depending on the chain). However, having that shorter link has been an innovation that has made its mark on BMX and is undoubtably loved. Whether you’re using a full half-link chain or a regular size chain with one half-link to get the benefits of that adjustability, it has made life a little easier… Except working on chains are still a bit of a pain and messy.

Hub Guards

Hub guards is one of those innovations that we have seen a lot of focus on in the past few years. Once street riding and grinding really took off and people were tearing the shit out of their hubs and spokes, it was a no brainer that there needed to be a guard to help resist all the damage. Over the years we have seen a number of different styles like G-Sport’s plastic guard that you could tie to your spokes with zip ties or shoe laces to the more modern style guards that replace your hardware and slide onto the axle. Whether you’re using a plastic or full chromoly guard, there’s a good chance that little guard has saved you a lot of time, money and hassle by having less spokes to repair and extending the life of your hub.

While looking for old photos of the original G-Sport hub guards, we stumbled across an old bike check George French did from around 2004 that had some prototypes of the guards, which have been modified a bunch over the years and are still available. This bike also has the old headset and bottom bracket, railed seat and more. This also has a number of creative / concept ideas that George was working on for G-Sport at the time. Either way, bikes now days look A LOT cleaner and are a lot lighter.

That’s 5 innovations in BMX we love. Did we miss any that you love? Let us know in the comments below!

Wethepeople – Battleship Frame

November 28, 2016

The new Battleship frame from Wethepeople has arrived. This frame is made from seamless 4130 Japanese chromoly tubing with a 75.5-degree head tube angle, 71-degree seat tube angle, 11.7″ bottom bracket height, 9″ standover height and a 13.” chainstay length (12.7″ slammed). The frame starts out with a taller 127mm tall, CNC machined and heat-treated integrated head tube, Hydroformed top and down tubes, butted top and down tubes, Integrated seat post clamp, heat-treated, CNC machined Mid bottom bracket, a wide rear triangle to fit tires up to 2.50″ and 6mm thick, laser cut and heat-treated dropouts with plenty of hub guard and peg clearance. The Battleship frame is a BRAKELESS frame with no mounts, comes in top tube lengths of 20.5″, 20.75″ and 21″, colors of translucent purple and matte black and weighs in at 5.125 lbs. (20.5″). The Battleship frame is available for $289.99 – $296.99 through BMX shops and mail-orders that carry Wethepeople worldwide now.

Hydroformed top and down tubes for increased strength in the front end.

Extra wide back end to fit 2.50″ tires.

6mm thick, laser cut and heat-treated dropouts with plenty of clearance for pegs and hub guards.

Wethepeople – Message Frame

November 28, 2016

Here’s one we spotted at Interbike 2016 back in September. Here’s a look at the brand new Message frame from Wethepeople that has an interesting paint job that should have caught your attention by now. The Message frame is made from seamless 4130 Japanese chromoly tubing with a 75.5-degree head tube angle, 71-degree seat tube angle, 11.5″ bottom bracket height, 8″ standover height and a 13.2″ chainstay length (13″ slammed). This frame features butted tubing, integrated and heat-treated head tube, gussets on the top and down tubes, extruded top tube with integrated removable brake cable guides, an integrated seat post clamp, heat-treated, CNC machined Mid bottom bracket, a wide rear triangle for 2.40″ tires, removable brake mounts (Note: Brake mounts NOT included) and 6mm thick, laser cut and heat-treated dropouts with removable chain tensioners,

The Message frame comes in Holomatic Spectral Silver and Gloss Black for those of you who prefer something a little less flashy, 20.3″ and 20.6″ top tube lengths and a weight of 5.08 lbs. (20.6″). This frame is designed for the technical ramp rider and is hitting BMX shops and mail-orders that carry Wethepeople worldwide for $296.99 – $319.95 depending on your color choice.

Tall Order – 215 Frame

November 19, 2016

The first batch of Tall Order frames have arrived and they’re looking clean. The 215 Frame is made from full Sanko Japanese 4130 chromoly tubing with a 75-degree head tube angle, 71-degree seat tube angle, 11.6″ bottom bracket height, 8.5″ standover height and a 13.5″ chainstay length. You can find an integrated heat tube, gusset on the down tube, integrated seat post clamp, Mid bottom bracket, curved seat and chain stay bridges for 2.40″ tire clearance and removable brake mounts.

The 215 Frame comes in 20.6″, 21″ and 21.5″ top tube lengths with colors of Gloss Black and Gloss White and a weight of 5 lbs. 2.4 oz. (21″). This frame is available through BMX shops and mail-orders that carry Tall Order worldwide now for £289.99.

Check out more BMX Frames.

Check out more from Tall Order.

Sneak Peek: Flybikes – 2017 Montaña Frame

November 17, 2016

The crew over at Flybikes have released another sneak preview of their 2017 products. This time around we get a look at Stefan Lantschner‘s signature Montaña frame in this new Gloss Metallic Orange color. Beyond the new paint, it looks like they kept the same geometry and features, plus added an external down tube gusset for some additional strength.

The 2017 Montana frame is made from full 4130 chromoly tubing with a 75-degree head tube angle, 69-degree seat tube angle, 9″ stand over height, 11.75″ bottom bracket height and a 13.5″ chainstay length. You can find an offset thickness Integrated head tube, internal top and down tube gussets, an external down tube gusset, multi-butted and tapered top and down tube, multi-butted down tube, Mid bottom bracket, Investment Cast seat post clamp, tapered seat and chain stays, removable brake mounts and Investment Cast dropouts with a removable chain tensioner.

The 2017 version comes with a 20.8″ and 21″ top tube lengths and will be available starting this month. The Montaña frame will come in this Gloss Metallic Orange color and one other color yet to be announced.

Offset thickness Integrated head tube with internal top and down tube gussets and a new external gusset on the downtube for additional strength.

Removable Dylan style brake mounts for a clean look if you ride brakeless.

Investment Cast dropouts.

Terrible One – 2017 SFA Frame Pre-Order

November 16, 2016

It’s that time of the year again! As some of you may know, Terrible One do one big order every year on their SFA frame and unless you get a pre-order in or happen to get lucky enough to pick one of the limited amount of frames through a shop, you will end up waiting another year to get one. Joe Rich just put out the word that he’s taking pre-orders until Tuesday, November 22nd, so that gives you a week to make your move!

The SFA frame is made right here in the U.S.A by S&M Bikes from full 4130 chromoly with a 74.5-degree head tube angle, 71-degree seat tube angle, 8.5″ standover height, 11.75″ bottom bracket height and a 13.75″ – 14.125″ chainstay length. The frame features an integrated head tube, gussets on the top and down tubes, a Mid bottom bracket, integrated seat post clamp, a custom seat stay bridge and heat-treated 3/16″ thick 14mm dropouts.

You have your choice of 20.75″, 21″, 21.25″ and 21.5″ top tube lengths, colors of gloss clear coat raw, gloss black, Dark Roast brown or Deep Sea Blue / Green. You can also choose between brakeless, welded or removable chainstay brake mounts.

Here’s the details on orders / pricing and shipping.

“These should take roughly 8-10 weeks from the time I place the order for the batch. I will require a $200 deposit to hold your order. Frame cost is $395 plus $25-$30 for shipping if you live in the US, but international will be anywhere from $60-$80 depending on where you live. Once again, these deposits are going to help pay for the order, so I can’t thank you enough. The cut off date for pre-ordering a frame will be the end of the day of Tuesday, Nov. 22nd.

We accept Credit card, money order or Paypal. If you choose Paypal, then please include your choice of brake option, top tube size and color in the notes/memo/message part you can add to the payment process. Also, our Paypal address is: info@terribleone.com . And if possible, send via “friends & family” as then we won’t get socked by the fees that come with the other purchase option.” – Joe Rich

Please contact Info@TerribleOne.com for any questions or concerns or to dial in your order!

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.