Back on March 16, BMXNEWS reported a scoop on the new Supercross frame which was just moving from designer’s table to actual metal. Today, we received the first photo of the final product, ready to ship. The first run of the new Supercross Blur frame sold out before the proverbial paint was dry, but the next shipment (the one containing your frame) is about 30 days out.

Some curious specification geeks asked: “What’s the difference between the blur, and it’s upmarket cousin, the Envy?” Bill Ryan brings us the following at-a-glance comparison. First the Blur specs:

Full 6061 T-6 Seamless Tubeset
Full Ovalized Top Tube
Bi-Ovalized Down Tube
Double T-4/T-6 Heat Treating
Full CNC’d Campy Integrated Headtube
Full CNC’d Euro BB shell
3-D CNC’d Dropouts

Weight is 3lbs 5 ounces for a Pro XL in Matte Black

Painted Colors are – Matte Black, Pearl White, Racing Red, Gun Metal Grey, Matte Blue and Pearl Pink.

MSRP for Painted models is $279.95

And now for the Envy specs:
Custom-Butted and Shaped Easton ULR Ultra Lite Racing 7005 Tubeset
Custom-Shaped Downtube
Flipped Tear Drop Top Tube
Tapered Rear Stays
Double T-4/T-6 Heat Treating
Full CNC’d Campy Integrated Headtube
Full CNC’d Euro BB shell
3-D CNC’d Dropouts with back-side CNC releavement

Weight is 2lbs 13 ounces for a Pro XL in Polish or Custom Anodized colors

Stock Colors are: Gloss Black, Matte Black, Pearl White, New Limited Edition Purple, Mirror Polish and endless custom anodized variations.

MSRP for Painted models is $479.95

So, eight ounces heavier in the weight, $200 lighter on the price. We’re looking forward to seeing the first Blurs on the track…oh wait, we may not even see them—they’ll be a blur.

Check out additional photos and more info at supercrossbmx.com

Like many things SE does, you can see a hint of history in the newest goodies, and that’s what makes the products so popular among old-timers and fast-flyin aces alike. This time, it’s grips, with the release of the S1-E. At a highly-approachable MSRP of $12, you can buy a couple pair for your race and street machine, and maybe a pair to trick out your little bro’s razor all at once.

Contrary to popular belief, Kraton is not a comic book character. It is the rubber compound that takes grips from callous to comfy.

Available in three color combos, check ‘em out now at the buySEstuff.com website.

BMXNEWS has been following the progress of Speed Bicycles’ “M” line of racing frames, from the concept phase, through prototypes and into the launch, with the announcement that Speed would be coming on as an ABA National Series sponsor (BMX NEWS April 27). The first frames started hitting shelves in the past couple weeks, so we wanted to check in with a couple in-the-know sources to see how things were going for the new red ride.

Seems that “speed” is an apt name for the line, as it is moving well off shelves, and is also the chosen whip for some of the top am talent on today’s national tracks (namely Nick Koehler, Jesse Day and Shelby Stacy).

BMXNEWS contacted our pals at J&R Bicycles, to see how things were looking for the Speed product from their P.O.V. J&R Marketing man, Bert Morrison had this to say when asked if they had product in stock, and how interest was in the line:

We have them in stock, and they are selling well.

The frame looks great! The tubing design is out-of-this-world and the frame
looks super stiff. It’s a little on the heavier side (for the pro model) but that isn’t an
issue for the bigger guys….if you want an aluminum frame but always
worried about it breaking…..well, the Speed frame is the one you should be
on. Solid ride.

Great to hear from Bert, as J&R is a key retail point for BMX Racers looking for reliable stock at a competitive price.

Check out the speed line of BMX Race frames at http://www.speed-bicycles.com. Or, if you have your mind made up, and are ready to move on a Speed today, hit up J&R bicycles for the quick ship.

You can be your beagle that we will be keeping our eyes on motoboards and main event gates in the coming months, watching for more and more “Speed Red” out in the lead.

In the interview, Matt talks about how athletes can expect to get more performance out of the watts they are laying down to the pedals, due to the lower resistance offered by the rounder (by a factor of five) ceramic ball bearings, versus steel. You may remember that “watts” were a measure we discussed in a previous episode of AT, when we were joined by George Costa of Rennen Design Group. In that discussion, George talked about how G-Cog measures watts and allows trainers and athletes to make comparisons. Sounds like a marriage made in heaven.

Link

We have been a little off the pace the past week or so on updating the Product Spotlight Section. Well, that break is over. Right out of the gate, we have some new hardware from the Crupi camp. The release trumpeted the arrival of this new stuff to get your swivel on.

Crupi’s headsets are built to be both smooth and durable. Our sealed cartridge bearings are press in (not dropped in) so the fit is precise. Our stainless fork race also adds strength where it is needed. Our headsets also come complete with a full set of machined spacers so that when you get this headset, you will have everything you need to set it up! Another quality product from Crupi Parts!

Features:
1. Shipping now!
2. CNC 6061 T6 Aluminum cups, spacers and top cap
3. Custom laser-etched Crupi graphics
4. High quality sealed cartridge bearings
5. Stainless fork race
6. Comes complete with full set of matching color spacers (3mm, 5mm & 10mm)
7. Seven colors to choose from (silver, black, red, gold, blue, white and green)
8. 1″ headset just 126grams, 1-1/8″ headset just 138grams
9. Suggested list price including the spacer kit is $79.99

Go to crupibmx.com for more details!

Usually, there’s a half-life to coverage of the same product, ‘least that’s what it says in the thick-as-a-phone-book BMXNEWS Editorial Code, Bylaws and BMX Alchemy Cookbook. But in sniffing around Facebook for some scoop this morning, we happened upon these new “Limited Edition” puppies posted on the Supercross BMX page. Now, we just profiled the Eraserhead back on April 13, so the cookbook would say “no coverage of the Eraserhead for at least 20,000 years. But we made it 20,000 minutes instead (one of the virtues of rollin your own rulebook).

It’s the same ol’ Eraserhead (top or front-load), but dig on the new gunmetal-over-splatter-ano-finish.

The coolest part of all? The limited edition hardware carries no “limited edition” price pinch. Get the splatter stem for the same $59.95 as the nude version.

Available at your Local Supercross Dealer, or from top Mail Order joints like J&R Bicycles

But all this tidily-packaged tech is not for the casual BMX tourist. G-Cog has three options available: the “Basic” at $500, the “Expert” at $1000 and the “Coach” at $1500. We could go in to what each of those models gets you for that kind of coin, but then we would have nothing to chat with G-Cog inventor, George Costa about this afternoon when he is our guest on this week’s episode of the Announcers Tower podcast.

Today’s big news centers around the introduction of a payment plan for people who want to get G-Cog installed in time to have it do its thing as the season hits full throttle, but may not have a chunk of cash to plunk down for one today.

Quoting the upcoming news release on the subject:

Rennen Design Group is pleased to announce that it has created an affordable monthly payment plan option for its BMX powermeter product, G-Cog.  We realize that the initial upfront cost of a G-Cog powermeter may be out of reach for many in these tough economic times.  We have aggressively sought out a solution and have partnered with PaySimple.com, a payment solution company based out of Colorado, to create a secure and reliable payment plan option.  Now customers can opt to make an initial down payment (fixed based on the G-Cog package level) and then split the remaining balance over the next 11 months.  Funds are automatically deducted from their bank account making the transaction hassle free for the customer.

The following are the monthly payments based on package level:

                                                               Basic ($37.18), Expert ($74.00), Coach ($110.82) 

Allowing customers to have this payment plan option enables them to justify the purchase of the G-Cog BMX powermeter by making their purchase more like what a typical gym membership costs.  Considering how much individuals spend traveling to nationals this payment plan allows BMX’ers to know if they’re ready instead of guessing and could potentially help them save thousands over the course of a year and truly maximize their performance.

In the coming months we have some really cool things we are doing behind the scenes that the BMX community will benifit from.  As always it is our number one priority to take care of our customers and answer any questions they may have regarding any Rennen Design Group product.  Check out www.RennenDesignGroup.com and www.G-Cog.com and let us know what you think.

Be sure to watch for this week’s episode of Announcers Tower tomorrow morning.

A release said:

The Speed “M Series” frames are constructed from custom-drawn, 6061 alloy, triple-butted, hydroformed tubes, with integrated head tubes. Lightweight and strong, Speed frames offer the perfect blend of engineering and design for BMX racing.

The Speed M Series Frames will be offered in 7 sizes –Mini XL, Junior XL, Expert XL, Pro, Pro XL, Pro XXL, and Pro 24”. MSRP is $399.99 and each frame includes a headset.

Bikes will begin shipping within the next few weeks, and the web site should be up & running by the time you read this (or very soon thereafter)

As part of the rollout (to continue with our starting gate analogy), Speed is kicking its promotional machine into hyperdrive by joining as an ABA National Series Sponsor. Quoting, again, from the press release:

“As it has been for over 30 years, the American Bicycle Association is the leader in BMX Racing.” said Toby Henderson, CEO of VSI. He continued: “When we decided to launch Speed Bicycles, of course our first contact was with the ABA. They have been a key partner in marketing VSI brands for many years now, and we are very happy the relationship focuses on the growth of BMX Racing. This Team effort makes us, again, proud to be an official sponsor of the ABA with the new Speed line of bicycles.”

We assume the debut of the Speed/ABA partnership will be at this weekend’s US Nationals in Bakersfield, CA.

Check out the line of Speed Bicycles at speed-bicycles.com

*You did know, of course, that Sinz is properly pronounced like “Signs,” not as in “acts forbidden by God.”

The Mission: Redesign the Supercross Racerhead Stem to match the Racerhead FL stem. Make it stronger and lighter. Bring it in three lengths, 45mm, 55mm and 65mm all with a 1 1/8″ clamping bore. Colors: Black, Red, Blue and Gold with limited edition
custom color runs coming soon after launch. The 65mm weighs in at 10 ounces with all 6 grade 8 solid bolts.

How: CNC machined from 6061 T-6 Billet Aluminum right here on Nomwaket Rd in Apple Valley, CA

How Much: $59.95 (MSRP), available now in the USA and Canada at your favorite Supercross BMX dealer or mailorder.

Promo Talk: Light enough for the track, strong enough for the trails. All excess weight that could be safely trimmed has.

Perfect for all of the riders that still prefer the top load stems and the top cap is interchangeable with our Racerhead FL front load stem.

As noted in the dossier, check it at your local dealer or mail order, including J&R Bicycles

Available in adult Small through XL, at an MSRP for $24, click on through and get your fade on at BikeThreads.com or J&R Bicycles