The latest BMX Videos, Products and News!
It’s always a good day when some Steven Hamilton footage finds its way into the inbox! Here’s a video Brant Moore put together from some of the sessions he caught with Steven between 2012 and 2014. The footage might be a few years old, but when it comes to Steven’s riding, the footage is always creative and original. Hit play and take it all in!
“From 2012-2014, this is the unused and previously unseen footage I filmed of Steven Hamilton during our daily street riding missions.”
Brant Moore just sent through his latest video which is a recap from last years Apple Creek Trails Jam that went down. This gives you a look at all the action that went down throughout the day with plenty of dialed riding mixed in, a good amount of laughs and more “Wooo”‘s than Rick Flair could produce in a given day.
“July 15th is this years jam!!
Last years jam was so insane it had to have been the best one yet!
I’m always super late with these, but that’s only because I like posting them with the following years date to get everyone excited!
A huge shoutout to everyone who had their hands on a camera for this. Matt Poteet, Brenden Wargo, Brian Horecky, Tim Doerfler“
Have you ever wondered why there is a spacer in your bottom bracket? There’s a good chance some of you have chose not to use one or completely forgot to install it and just left it off once you already had the bearings in your frame. Well, it turns out that little tube is more important than you might think. Brant Moore decided to put together a little video explaining the importance of a bottom bracket spacer and what happens if you don’t install one.
“There’s one part that a lot of people make the mistake of not using when building their bikes.
This one part will make your bike smoother and less creaky and can even help with a trick or two!
Watch the video to find out and make your bike better!
Full text from the video below courtesy of Brant Moore!
“So what exactly is a bottom bracket spacer and what does it do?
It is a spacer that goes between bottom bracket bearings to reduce bearing strain by giving the bearings something to always tighten or push against.
To start, what is a bottom bracket bearing composed of?
It is an, Inner race, steel balls and an outer race.
The outer race is what touches the frame, the inner race is what goes around the spindle. Its worth mentioning too that the bearing is only meant to spin around one axis.
Since the bearings can only be pushed into the frame so far before the outer race is stopped, having no spacer means that tightening the cranks pushes the inner bearing races toward the center of the frame and each other.
Basically the outer race cannot move so the force on the inner race is constantly trying to separate the bearing.
This is called side loading.
As bearings start to wear, the tolerances between steel balls and the races grow, allowing them to move independently of each other. If there is any movement between the bearing parts you will most likely hear it when you pedal.
On top of this, having no spacer allows pedaling to put other forces on the bearings.
Each rotation of the cranks puts both forward and backward force on each bearing during the entire rotation and tries to make the inner bearing races wobble off axis. In general this makes for unnecessary drag on the bearings when pedaling.
With cranks getting beefier and spindles growing, bearing size has had to shrink and there is less flex in the cranks or spindle. Less flex equals more stress on these smaller bearings when pedaling. Unless you have a bottom bracket spacer between the bearings.
Bottom bracket spacers remove the different forces on the bearings by placing something between the inner bearing races. This means that when the cranks are tightened, there is something to tighten against. Rather than constantly pushing the inner races toward each other with nothing to tighten against, the force is distributed evenly, and the bearings are not as stressed by tightening or pedaling.
Imagine it like this, if you have just an axle in your fork dropouts with no hub and you tighten axle nuts against the dropouts, the dropouts would have nothing to tighten against and would bend toward each other. Add in the hub and that empty space is filled, giving the dropouts something to tighten against.
So not only will having a spacer eliminate side load and quiet your creaky bottom bracket, it will also make for a smoother pedaling experience.
Another thing this can be good for is the ability to have tight cranks and still be able to crank flip.
With the inner bearing races in alignment with the outer races and tight against something on both sides, the tightness of the cranks doesn’t have an affect on how they spin.
So if you’ve ever wondered why your cranks wont spin with a loose chain and without loosening your cranks, this is probably the reason.
Some frames have different width bottom bracket shells that will need different spacers, however if you buy a complete bottom bracket set up it should come with everything you need for the different width shells.
Common widths are 68 and 73mm.
My profile bottom bracket came with both a 68mm spacer as well as a 5mm spacer to make 73mm.
To know what width your bottom bracket is, simply measure the tube from end to end as shown.
Another side note, Odyssey has a great write up from 2004 about this topic on their site that I will link below.
So what do you think?
Are bottom bracket spacers important? Is it worth the trouble of taking out your bearings? Or do you not care?
I will say that it was absolutely worth it for me and only took about 15 minutes. By putting the spacer in my frame and oiling the chain, all creaking was completely removed, pedaling became smoother and crank flips spun much easier, all within a matter of seconds.“
Haha, this is pretty good. As some of you might have heard over the weekend, we finally found out who The Man Behind Rodeo Peanut was after a few years of hilarious Instagram posts. Brant Moore decided to have some fun with the “breaking story” and put together this news report for “Faux BMX News”. We’re 69% sure this isn’t fake news, but who the hell knows anymore.
Let’s take a look at all of the different BMX Multi-Tool options out there…
The other day Brant Moore put together a video giving you a look at the different BMX Multi-Tool options there are available to riders these days. The Multi-Tool originally started when DK Bicycles released their Random Wrench, at fit all the key tools you needed to work on a BMX bike into a compact, small tube with a few different attachments. Since then brands like The Shadow Conspiracy, Eclat, Animal Bikes, Odyssey, Merritt and Tall Order have come up with their own Multi-Tools that use some what of the same concept, but some what different designs. After checking out Brant’s video above we decided to take a look at these different options so you could easily see all the different BMX Multi-Tool options and compare them. Let’s get into this.
– $59.99
Let’s start out with The Shadow Conspiracy’s Multi-Tool. This tool was designed after the DK Random Wrench, but includes a few items not found on that tool to give it a few more options.
This Multi-Tool has an Investment Cast, forged and CNC machined steel construction that includes these tools.
– Chain Breaker
– 17mm Deep Socket
– Pedal Wrench
– 10mm wrench
– Spoke wrench
– Tire levers
– 8mm, 6mm, 5mm, 1/4″ and 7/32″ Hexs
– Hammer (built into the frame)
– Bottle opener (important)
The Shadow Conspiracy’s Multi-Tool fits all of the parts inside the tube with a magnetic cap to keep the small pieces in place.
Available in black, copper and chrome colors with a $59.99 price tag and a weight of 33.6 oz.
All the parts the Multi-Tool has inside.
A detailed look at the cap that holds all of the small parts in place.
– $29.99
The newest tool that is hitting BMX shops and mail-orders in March of 2017 is the Travel Tool from Odyssey. This tool is more simplistic than the Shadow Conspiracy, DK Bicycles and Eclat tools, but still has all the key pieces.
The Travel Tool includes:
– 15mm and 17mm Pedal Wrenches
– 4mm, 5mm, 6mm and 8mm allen keys
– 17mm Deep Socket with a full-length arm for extra leverage.
This one also features a lighter weight body and you could basically call it a Swiss Army Knife for BMX.
The Travel Tool will be available in Black with an affordable $29.99 price tag that is a perk for sure.
Really like the clean, simplistic look for the Travel Tool.
– $39.99
Let’s take a look at the tool that started it all… Well, the 3rd version of the tool that started it all. The DK Random Wrench V3. This version was designed to be slimmer than its predecessors, but still pack all the tools needed.
You can find these tools inside the Random Wrench V3:
– 6mm, 8mm and 10mm wrenches
– 5mm and 6mm allen sockets
– 15mm pedal wrench
– 3/8″ socket driver
– 3/8″ extension
– 15mm and 17mm deep well sockets
– Tire lever
– Universal spoke wrench
All of the parts fit cleanly inside the tube, giving it a clean look.
The Random Wrench V3 comes in black, chrome and gold with a price tag of $39.99, which is not bad at all. Just as a note, most places only carry the black version these days.
Similar to some of the other BMX Multi-Tool options, Vocal BMX offer their own tool that does have it’s own unique twist on it. The tool has a similar tube design with the socket attachment, spanner and hex head fittings. However, this tool also comes with an optional extension that you can also purchase…
The main part of the V-Tool features…
– Pedal spanner 15mm with extra 6mm 8mm 10mm hex or added extras.
– tire lever built into the top next to the pedal spanner.
– 17mm socket and extension bar to fit inside pegs.
– 8mm allen key
– 6mm allen key
– 5mm allen key
– 3 size spoke key built into the cap
The V-Tool Extension adds a few more tool options, additional storage space and can be connected to the original tool.
– Tube for storage
– Top Cap with chain tool connection, comes out the tube and attaches to the cap
– Bottom caps to connect to our main V tool (supplied separately)
– HD 1 1/8 single speed chain tool with pin guide.
– 10mm spanner with tire lever
The Vocal V-Tool is another solid option for a tool that has it all. The design is a little different and not quite as compact when it’s connected to the extension, but it does get the job done for offering everytihng.
The Vocal V-Tool comes in Black only with a price tag of £29.99 (on sale at the time of writing this) with the extension being an additional £23.99. It’s not the most affordable option, but has more than the less expensive basic options.
– $17.99
Another one of the new options that are available, plus the most simplistic would be Tall Order’s new Pocket Socket that eliminates pretty much everything and only has the very minimal for tools you would use regularly.
The Pocket Socket features:
– 6mm and 8mm allen keys
– 17mm socket
– Knurling on the handle for grip
The Pocket socket comes in black and chrome, weighs in at a very light 4 oz., is 210mm in length so it does indeed fit in your pocket and has a price tag of $17.99.
This is a great option for people that don’t want to carry around a big tool, but obviously it only has a few of the tools you may end up needing during a session.
Another very simple tool that cuts things back to the minimal neccesities would be the Merritt Trifecta Tool. This tool, similar to the Pocket Socket above is a small, compact tool that folds out with a few configurations to dial your bike in with.
The Trifecta Tool includes:
– 17mm socket
– 6mm and 8mm allen keys
– Velcro strap to attach it to your bike if you want.
The Trifecta tool has 3 of the key tools that you would use to dial your bike in with. Obviously that leaves out a lot of features some of the other tools offer, but it’s small, compact and lightweight (7.4 oz.) which is a perk. The Trifecta Tool is available in black only with a price tag of $34.99 through BMX shops and mail-orders that carry Merritt.
– $54.99
Another tool that was based off the Random Wrench would be the Animal Bikes Kotulak Tool. This tool, similar to DK and Shadow’s tool is designed to pack everything you need into one tool with plenty of features to make sure you can keep rolling. This one comes with a unique shape and it also offers that swivel head which is a perk when it comes to cranking your wheel down.
The Kotulak Tool includes:
– 15mm Crows Foot Pedal Wrench
– 3/8″ Swiveling Socket Driver
– 3/8″ to 1/2″ Extension
– 17mm Deep Well Socket with 1/2″ Drive
– Allen Socket with 7/32″, 1/4″, 5mm, 6mm and 8mm allen bits
– Chain Breaker
– Spoke Wrench
– Hammer (Threaded End Cap)
Like the others, everything fits inside the tube to keep everything secured tightly into place. This is another great option for somebody that wants everything packed into one.
The Kotulak Tool comes in black only with a price tag of $54.99.
– $64.99
Last but not least, the E-Tool from Eclat. Once again, were’ looking a tool that utilizes a tube design, but this one works a little different than the others and has a super clean design. Those German’s always have a unique approach to things, and we’re definitely a fan of the look they gave for this one.
The E-Tool Includes:
– 8mm and 10mm wrench
– 15mm pedal wrench
– Spoke wrench
– 10mm and 19mm U-Brake wrench
– 3mm, 4mm, 5mm,6mm and 8mm hex bits
– 17mm socket
The E-Tool measures in at 188mm long with a 30mm diameter, weighs in at 19.10 oz. and comes in black only. Everything packs neatly into it’s proper place for a compact storage. This one does come with a $64.99 price tag, which is higher than the rest so that’s a downfall.
Looking at each tool, they all offer the same tools essentially, with some offering more like chain breakers and tire levers and others taking the minimalist approach with only focusing on the main tools you will use more frequently. Things to consider with this are what tools do you absolutely NEED (I mean, you need all of them at some point) during a session or a trip, if you want something that slips into your pocket or something that might be a little bulkier but have more options, price and colors. Regardless, it’s always a good idea to have the right tools for the job. Make sure you check out our BMX TOOL GUIDE for a full list of tools that you could use as well.
That wraps things up with this BMX Multi-Tool Guide. We hope this helped you compare the different BMX Multi-Tool options available, so you can figure out which one you prefer to have. Everything you see here can be picked up through BMX shops and mail-orders worldwide.
Have you used any of these tools? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
If you have been following Scotty Cranmer‘s Youtube channel, you have undoubtedly watched Big Boy chug something or eat something in one shot. It’s pretty impressive when you see him slam an entire Monster that’s super carbonated in one go. Brant Moore decided to give Big Boy a little challenge, and instead of calling him out in the comments of a video or on Instagram, he decided to take on the challenge himself and see if Big Boy can beat it. Hit play to watch Brant put his insane icepick stall balance to work as he chugs a bottle of water (not nearly as fast as Big Boy would)… Whoever said you can’t do two things at once won’t know what to think about this one. Apparently this whole chugging water thing isn’t as easy as it looks, either!
Anyone who has ever been bored and had a note pad to work with has probably drawn a flipbook before. Brant Moore was going through an old drawer and came across one that he drew back in 2009 of a rider on some quarterpipes and a spine. He put together this quick video giving you a look at the drawing. Take a look since this is pretty cool, haha.
“A bmx flipbook I made in 2009.
He cased the last trick, thats how people did it in 2009! haha”
The Midwest is finally starting to see some signs of warmer weather now that Spring isn’t officially too far off. Brant Moore wanted to take advantage of the unseasonably warm weather that rolled through last week by spending a day riding 5 different skateparks and a little bit of street around Ohio. This isn’t filled the craziest riding, but there’s definitely some solid clips throughout this between Brant, Brian and even a few Zack Gerber clips. Take a peek!
Side note.. Apparently Ohio has a couple really nice cement parks!
“Five Different Skateparks and street riding all in one day!
Brian and I went on a Ohio Skatepark tour from Wooster to Columbus, hitting a bunch of parks along the way. We met up with Zack Gerber and had a ton of fun.
Hope you enjoy the video that came of it!”
