A few months back we were tipped off about a brand from Russia called “Brotherhood” that was producing a few different BMX sprockets and small parts. The reason we were so interested is because of a two-piece sprocket they had developed called the Oyster which is similar to an actual oyster was hollow and has two parts that come together to make a solid piece. The other day we received a package in the mail and would you know, there was an Oyster ready for us to get a closer look at. Curious what this thing is all about and how it works? Let’s talk about it…
Fit Bike Co. – Dan Conway “Holy Fit”
Have you ever wondered why Dan Conway‘s signature frame and bars from Fit Bike Co. are titled “Savage”… Well, Dan’s section in the “Holy Fit” video should clear up any misunderstanding or misconception because he is indeed, a SAVAGE. This part is an absolute MUST SEE BMX video! Hit play and watch the grind destruction.
“Dan Conway, one of Philly’s finest, goes in. Four years of blood, sweat and grinds edited into four and a half minutes of street savagery.
Filmed/Edited: Stew Johnson”
Pusher BMX – Welcome Enarson, Jordan & Klinger To Pro Mail-Order Team
Pusher BMX have added Dennis Enarson, Ryan “Biz” Jordan and Seth Klinger to their Pro team! They dropped the news with this BANGER of a welcome BMX video that features all three absolutely crushing it on street spots and skateparks. Everything from the riding to the filming and editing for this one kicks ass, so get on that play button and enjoy!
Filmed and edited by Christian Rigal
Volume Bikes – Alex Platt “The Finer Things”
If there’s one dude that absolute kicked their own ass to produce one of the craziest sections for the Volume Bikes “The Finer Things” DVD, it’s without a doubt Alex Platt! This section is loaded with heavy slams and some CRAZY riding that he got back up and pulled after crashing. This is a brutal one to watch, but damn is it amazing. This is a MUST SEE BMX video.
“Alex Platt’s section from The Finer Things, A full length video by Mike Mastroni featuring sections from Jason Enns, Broc Raiford, Drew Hosselton, Daniel Martinez, Alex Raban, Josh Clemens, Eric Bahlman, Alex Platt, Mike Mastroni, Tate Roskelley, Zach Krejmas, and DeMarcus Paul. ”
Photogallery: Wethepeople at Wooden Wheels
The Wethepeople team recently spent some time cruising along the east coast hitting up shops and skateparks along the way. One of the stops was at Wooden Wheels in Newark, Delaware where the crew met up with some of the locals to hang out and catch a session at the skatepark down the road. Our friend and photographer, Brandon Bermudez, was there with his camera snapping photos throughout the visit. We posted up a new photogallery with a few photos from the session for you to check out!
Check out the full photogallery here!
Kink – Travis Hughes 2015 Video
Wow. Kink Bikes just sent through their latest video featuring Travis Hughes that is jam packed with banger after banger out on the streets. Travis has quickly been climbing the ranks and it’s safe to say that he is on absolute FIRE as of late. Must see BMX video for sure!
“Travis has been repping Kink for a few years now, and has made the move from unknown Flow rider, to next big thing! Travis and Francis Castro have been compiling footage in-between the travel schedules, and turned out this awesome part featuring Travis taking to SoCal street spots. We hope you enjoy this small look into how talented Travis really is. More to come!
Filmed and edited by Francis Castro ”
Fit Bike Co. – SF-It
Have you ever watched a BMX video that really made you feel like you’re in an older generation of riders than what’s going on right now? This video Fit Bike Co. released from the trip that their young guns Justin Spriet, Matt Nordstrom and Ethan Corriere took to San Francisco did that exact thing for us, haha. Not to say that we don’t love this video.. We’re just wondering how the hell these guys are old enough to get a rental van now, haha. It’s also clear these guys are the future of BMX as well. Either way, this BMX video is over 9 minutes of pure GOLD from the trip. It’s broken down into sections with Ethan up first, followed by Matt and then wrapped up with Justin. This is a MUST See video for sure..
“A few weeks ago, Fit youngbloods Justin Spriet, Matt Nordstrom and Ethan Corriere, along with filmer/editor Francis Castro, commandeered the new 15-passenger van, christened it the Fiteen and motored north to San Francisco.
A few days in the ‘City by the Bay’ later, the boys had amassed this montage of radness we’re delighted to share with you today. SF-it. Enjoy.
Filmed/Edited by: Francis Castro
Music:
“Blue Suede” by Vince Staples
“Eskimo Blue Day” by Jefferson Airplane
“You Are Gone” by The Delfonics”
BMX Tubing Terminology
There’s a lot of funny words that get thrown around when it comes to BMX tubing terminology! Here is what they all mean!
While we were on the topic of What 4130 Chromoly and Heat-Treating Is, we got thinking about a handful of the terms that you might see in the descriptions of BMX frames and parts like forks, bars and cranks that might be leaving some of you young guns not quite sure what those small details really mean. We decided to compile a handful of these terms and explain what it means like butting, tapering, machining, Investment Casting and Swaging. Let’s get into this!
BMX Tubing Terminology
Butted
Butted is a term that we see very frequently in BMX products. A butted tube means that the outside of the tube is a constant diameter and the wall thickness varies. For example on BMX frames, top and down tubes are frequently double butted. Double butted means that the thickness of the tubing on the ends is thicker than in the center. So there are two “butted” sides. The reason for doing this is because the ends of the tubes are joined with other tubing and welded. The thicker tubing helps increase the strength and allows for a better weld in high stress points. The tubing can be thinner in the middle because it takes less stress than the ends and typically you will find most breaks or cracks on frames and parts on the ends versus the middle. This helps to reduce weight in low stress points and bulk up where there needs to be more material. A single butted tube would mean that it is only butted on one end and a constant throughout the rest of the tube. A lot of seat-tubes are single butted for example. Some handle bars are 9-butted or even 11-butted because of all of the bends that require extra material. This extra butting puts material only where it’s necessary and reduces material in low stress points similar to tubing for a frame.
Straight Gauge
Straight Guage tubing is similar to Butted tubing in a sense that it is just a tube that has a constant inside and outside diameter throughout the tube. This means that it is as thick on the ends of the tube as it is in the middle. Straight Gauge tubing is stronger because of its thicker tubing, but typically a double butted tube is just as strong on a BMX frame as a straight gauge tube because the most stress is put on the ends where the extra material is necessary. Straight Gauge tubing is however stiffer which helps reduce flex and is more resistant to denting.
Tapered
Tapered tubing is another common term we find on a lot of BMX frames and forks these days. Tapered tubing is when a tubes overall diameter decreases (or increases) from one end of the tube to the other. A lot of chain and seat stays utilize tapered tubing to give extra clearance for tires and give a cleaner look. A tighter overall diameter can also make tubing stronger which is important in high stress points like the stays that take the majority of impacts from landing.
Ovalized
Ovalized tubing is a technique that we have seen make appearances on BMX frames quite frequently over the years. Ovalized tubing is traditionally utilized on down tubes and chain stays which are more likely to take an impact from grinding or landing on something and helps to resist denting because the surface area is more likely to deflect to a side than to take a direct hit from it like wider round tubing can take. A dent in the down tube can structurally damage tubing to the point of cracking and / or breaking. Since most frames use butted tubing, the middle of the down tube is easier to dent than the thicker ends. This is a reason as to why straight gauge tubing is sometimes utilized on tubing as well.
Sunday Bikes also utilize their “Wave” tubing which also helps resist denting. This tubing essentially takes a round tube and adds multiple ovalized lines down the tube which is stronger than a round tube. Although it’s still possible to dent the wave tubing, in most cases the dent only applies to one or two of the waves versus a traditional tube that would have the dent spread across the whole tube. Back in 2009, Sunday explained exactly how the wave tubing works. Check that out right here.
Gusset
The gusset is a staple in BMX frames and is very commonly found on the top and down tubes of most BMX frames. Gussets are essentially extra material that is added to high stress junctions to increase the overall strength to resist cracking and breaking. Gussets traditionally are welded on connecting the head tube to the top and down tubes making for a strong joint. Some frames also utilize Internal Integrated gussets which are similar to butted tubing except they have thicker tubing similar to what an additional external gusset would add to the junction between the top or down tube and the head tube. If you look at the graphic above tapered tubing showing the different features of the Flybikes Fuego frame, you can see they utilize Internal Integrated gussets and an offset thickness head tube giving plenty of material to create a strong junction. It’s rare to find an aftermarket BMX frame that doesn’t have a gusset of some sort on the top or down tubes.
Flybikes put out these graphics showing you how their internal integrated gussets and multi-butted and tapered tubing looks cut in half.
Investment Cast
Investment Casting has quickly become a common addition to most BMX brands frames and forks. Investment Casting essentially takes a cast molded piece and joins it with other tubing through a weld. The reason why Investment Casting is so beneficial is because it allows you to more the weld to a point where there is less stress than at the junction where tubing traditionally meets which creates a stronger product. Another positive to Investment Cast tubing is that it allows brands to be more creative with their tubing since it’s molded versus CNC machined. Above is a look at Wethepeople’s Scorpio fork where you can clearly see where the weld has been moved to and below is an example of casted drop outs from Division Brand. Most products utilizing Investment Casting are able to completely hide their welds giving it a smooth and flush look from top to bottom which is a great aesthetic touch. We have found Investment Casting all over frames and forks from drop outs to seat and chain stay bridges, seat post clamps and head tube junctions. Wethepeople actually released Andrew Jackson’s C.R.E.A.M frame with Investment Casting in almost every place possible which was interesting, but not ideal.
Internally and Externally Machined
Internally and Externally Machining is a process that is done through CNC which allows tubing shave off additional material where it is unnecessary to help reduce weight and can give tubing a butted look externally. They also use Internal and External machining post heat-treatment to ensure that tubing like the Integrated Head Tube or Bottom Bracket has not been warped from the process making sure that bearings fit properly.
Internally and Externally Relieved
Internally and Externally Relieved is another term that is used in reference to tubing. This is the same as Internal and External Machining which helps to reduce excess material to help save weight.
Extruded
Extruded tubing is a term we don’t see as frequently, but it’s still a process that is utilized on some BMX products. Extruding is a process that takes a block of material and presses it through a die to give the material a specific shape. This process can be done hot or cold and essentially forces the material to take the shape of the die through pressure. We found a video on Youtube that can give you a better idea of the extrusion process. We find the extruded process used on parts like stems, seat posts and pedals.
Swage
Not to be confused with “swag” or swagger… Swaging is a process that is similar to Extrusion where a die is used to form the shape of the tubing. Swaging expands tubing to a wider size through pressure that can give it a tapered look without the machining. We find Swaging commonly on tubular chromoly BMX cranks because they’re often a tapered shape that are wider where the arm meets the spindle boss and smaller where the arm meets the pedal boss.
Alright, so that just about wraps up different BMX tubing terminology used on your bike. Let us know if we missed anything in the comments below or if you have any questions!
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