Ceramic Bearings: Peak Performance, for a Price

Long a staple in the road and mountain bike worlds, ceramic bearings are making their way from the exotic world of the BMX pros and “no-limit” deep-pocket-dads, to the slightly thicker atmosphere of rank & file racers. As BMXNEWS started to hear more and more about ceramics in the pits and cookouts of recent nationals, we felt this would be a great time to do an episode of Announcers Tower on this topic. Matt Speer, president of F1 Ceramic Bearings has been rollin’ steady in the ceramics business since 2003, and has products for BMX, skateboarding and the traditional line of MTB and Road.

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.

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Interview: Pistol Pete, Reloaded

It has been a decade and a half since Pistol Pete Loncarevich snapped a stacked national main event. Back then, of course, it was at the heights of the AA Pro class. But March 26th saw Pete’s return to staging as he lined up with the 41-Over Experts.

It was clear that the guys in his class remember clearly how fierce a competitor Pete was. We always enjoyed Pete’s easy conversational style, and firm opinions on topics he was passionate about. None of that has changed over the years, as you will witness by giving a listen to this week’s episode of “Announcers Tower.”

The interview was recorded on April 8.

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Interview: Sam Willoughby Talks Madrid and 2010

When BMXNEWS reported on Sam Willoughby’s win in Madrid last weekend, it struck us that he has been on a bit of a tear lately. He won the 2009 SX UCI BMX World Cup title, Day One in Guthrie, a muddy Day Two in Phoenix and made the podium both days in Desoto. Then, 24 hours later, hopped a big bird to Madrid, where he dispensed with 135 of his closest Elite friends to take the top of the podium there. Yes, “the one man wolfpack,” as Redman likes to call him, is on the hunt in 2010 (be thankful that we resisted all temptation to invoke Duran Duran just now and say he was “Hungry…like the wolf”).

Still, in today’s episode of “Announcers Tower,” we got to see beyond the race day face of Sam Willoughby, to meet a man who is humble, thankful, insightful, decisive and, of course, laser-focused on his goals. We enjoyed getting to know Sam a little better through the interview, and hope you have the same experience.

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*Editors Note: In the interview, we made reference to an “Tuesday’s 10″ interview that Gary Haselhorst conducted with Danny Caluag earlier this month. That interview can be found here.. Gary also did a Tuesday’s 10 with Sam the previous week. That interview can be found here.

This episode of Announcers Tower is brought to you by HRP Designs.

Interview: Connor Fields on His Madrid Podium

Just hours after stepping off a widebody from Madrid, BMXNEWS sat down with Connor Fields to talk about his podium finish at this weekend’s Madrid Supercross. We are going to try to bring you an interview with top dawg, Sam Willoughby, later in the week, but Connor’s “underdog” story was tops on our mind this week.

Few may know that Connor was unofficially the first guest on the “Announcer’s Tower” podcast, before it had a name, when we interviewed him upon his return from the injured list at the NBL Grands last September. Connor becomes the first person to be interviewed a second time on the show.

We had a great time doing the interview, and we’re sure you’ll agree, Connor is as level-headed and down-to-earth as it gets. Enjoy!

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Interview: Mike Day’s Back

We have not seen nor heard from Mike Day since the ABA Grands in November. Well, not exactly true. We have seen some twitter updates giving us a peek into what is happening with him. Car stereos being ripped from their enclosures and, most recently, a Vimeo link to a quick-cut of some footage that video impresario Clay Porter shot with Mike in SoCal recently (which is way cool, by the way). We knew he was suffering debilitating back pain, and was undergoing rigorous physical therapy for it. But, aside from that, not so much until now. So, leading up to this weekend’s ABA Winternationals, where Mike will, indeed, be back, we sat down with him for our weekly Announcers Tower Podcast.

Mike is admittedly a little over-anxious to get back on his bike. He is here in Phoenix, and was practicing in Friday’s Pro Practice…but any kind of customary results are very much up in the air. In the interview, Mike also talks about his London 2012 ambitions, his preference for Twitter over Facebook, and his advice for first-time Medalists bringing home hardware from Vancouver.

Listen Now

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Interview: The Return of Mike Kapes

It started blowing up the forums on August 28, 2008. Most of the BMX universe was in, or headed to, Louisville for the NBL Grands. As people hit their hotels, news was breaking that the then-20-year old Floridian had accepted a suspension from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, for testing positive for anabolic steroids. The suspension would effectively take Mike out of BMX racing til July 2010, as it would be recognized by the USAC and, by extension, their affiliates, the NBL and ABA.

This turned into an 80-post thread on Vintage, to be surpassed only by a bare-your-soul reply by Mike, himself (which got 151 replies). It’s a good read, so definitely check it out when you get a chance. Things are not always as they seem. Still, July 2010 seemed so far away.

Fast forward 20 months. The BMX world has marched on. 2012 Olympic fever is starting to gain tempo, and the caboose is in sight for Mike’s suspension—due to lapse on July 7. As part of his comeback, Mike has been training to get himself back up to AA form, and has brought on a brand new sponsor in Morphine Industries.

BMXNEWS sat down with Mike just before pro Practice (which he is permitted to ride in…yet he cannot compete) at the ABA Gator Nationals. Despite all that’s happened to him (the full story behind that is in the Vintage post made by him on September 2, 2008), Mike has a positive outlook, and is looking ahead to July 8 and beyond.

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Announcers Tower Podcast: Alise Post

A megaforce in the Elite Women class this year, both on and off our shores, Alise Post is gearing up for the long haul to the top of the Olympic podium in London 2012. The ink on her change of address form is not yet dry—having just moved in to the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista— and she is going full-immersion into the 24×7 commitment required to make her dream a reality. In this 15-minute “Announcers Tower” segment, the smile-in-her-voice Redline factory star talks about school, her 10-year plan, her man, Sam, how the “Dom/Alise Rivalry” is real, but not quite in the way people think, and more.

Listen to the segment using the controls below:

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Interview: News Gets the Dirt on Dirt From ABA Track Builder Billy Allen

Minutes after the final main crosses the line at an ABA indoor national, Billy Allen and his crew go to work to dismantle what was a perfect track moments before.

No matter who is king of the hill at the end of an ABA Local or National race, chances are that Billy Allen built the hill (and the jumps, and the turns to go along with it). Since Billy and his team have just about the most impact on “rider experience” as anyone else in American BMX, we thought we’d invite him to sit down with us to talk about how he goes about building new tracks, some of the trends in track design, and what might be coming next. Billy gives us all the good scoop, and more—as well as early news on his promotion to the “executive suite” in Gilbert.

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“Announcers Tower” Interview: Donny Robinson

We saw Donny riding through the parking lot on Friday afternoon in Guthrie. He had just finished the first in a series of talks at middle schools as part of the Donny Robinson “In Motion” Mentoring Program. We had been aware of the program, and the visit, by keeping up with Donny’s Twitter updates. But we wanted to know more. So, we asked him if he would be our guest on this week’s episode of “Announcers Tower.” Donny graciously agreed and, in addition to the full scoop on the mentoring program, he also tells us about the forthcoming Hyper “Donny Robinson replica” BMX Racing bike to be test marketed in Walmart stores across the US this March.

In the second half of the interview, Donny talks about his views on equity between the mens and womens Elite classes in BMX racing, his plans for the 2012 Olympics in London, married life, and his “little quirks” when it comes to cell phone use and laundry.

This is a double episode, with a running time of 31 minutes. Thus, we are offering it as a “full-track” listen, and also in two parts.

We hope you enjoy the interview.

Listen to the Full Interview

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Part One

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Part Two

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Photos:

Donny addresses an auditorium of students from the Guthrie (Oklahoma) Middle School on how to lead a clean life, in bounds and overcome challenges and setbacks through goal setting and self discipline.

The Hyper “Donny Robinson” BMX Race bike will be test marketed in 314 Walmart stores across America this March. The $99 model is, according to its namesake, a perfect starter bike for kids interested in BMX racing.

Interview: Founders of Ssquared Bicycles + 1

John Sawyer is a busy man these days. He recently became partners, with Geff Ssengoba, in the newest BMX enterprise to come out of the Sunshine State, Ssquared Bicycles…and in his spare time he has been rebuilding his baby—the Oldsmar BMX track, so it gets broken in just in time for the ABA Gator Nationals.

BMXNEWS met up with John, Geff and their main man Josh Meyers for a chat on the Ssquared product, how it differs from other frames on the market, and also some of the long-view vision for the company.

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Be sure to visit John and Josh in the Ssquared pits at the ABA Sooner nationals for a firsthand look at the goods.

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