He Shoots, He Scores, With the Contour 1080 HD

Video is finding its game in BMX Racing, with homegrown rider edits popping up all over YouTube and, and the super-slick pro flicks produced by the likes Clay Porter and Corrine Walder’s Shanaze Reade series.

Freestyle has had the video thing wired tight for more than a few years, with companies, riders and fans all releasing their own “edits” to tell the world about their favorite scene, brand, rider, cause and undiscovered street spot.

As the name implies, Contour’s 1080P HD captures your action in 1080p HD video. It’s 135-degree wide-angle lens is great for placing strategically next to a jump, or on a first-turn hay bail to grab the pack thundering through in the main.

Of course, what would the sights be without the sounds? The Contour features an integrated, multi-direction microphone, to capture all ambient audio.

All this sounds spendy, right? Well, Contour says “CUT!” to that kind of thinking. The 1080 is only $249, and includes Camera, helmet mount, 2GB SD card, USB cable and rechargeable battery all in the box.

And if you’re thinking “outside the box,” then Contour has a ton of specialty mounts and accessories for your new cam, which will get your electronic eye in places your still camera could never creep.

Hit up J&R Bicycles for more info, and to get your 1080 on the road to your door.

Product Spotlight is Presented by:

VSI Serves Up Some New Haul-Axle Hardware

The rubber meets the dirt on two new frame incarnations from the folks behind Intense BMX and Speed Bicycles.

The “Intense Podium LTD” (above) brings the 20mm axle craze to the Intense BMX product line for the first time, with a run of modified frames (Pro-size-and-higher, including the Pro Cruiser (21″ TT) and Pro Cruiser + (21.5″ TT) frames). The LTD will tip the scales six-ounces lighter than the current mojito, and be dressed up in a special black, red and chrome paint scheme. Yes, you read that right…”chrome” paint. Coolness…just like those Vodafone F1 rockets! The one above is a pearl white paint-up done for Arielle Martin, and was seen today in the OTC bike rack chatting with the “old-new” AMV15 ride that we saw at the Chula Vista National, nine days ago. No word on which ride gets “top bunk” privileges, but we’re betting “newer is better.”

On the Speed side of the hizzouse, Marc Willers & ‘mates will be eyeballin’ what News is callin’ the “Black Speed” limited-edition of the M520 (Pro), M533 (Pro XL) and M546 (Pro XXL) on the 20″ line, and M534 Cruiser (21″ TT) and a new, larger M547 (21.5″ TT) among the big bikes. This Speed sports the same spiffy geometry and style points of the original recipe, but with the six-ounce subtraction also found in its first cousin, above (and, of course the 20mm axle we have seen before with the traditional Speed livery).

Each nameplate will get about 225 of these limited-edition lookers, and they’ll be ready to roll off your local dealer’s showroom floor, or hit the UPS jetstream from your favorite mail order in early June (just in time for the shank of the summer season).

MSRP will hold the line at $399, but due to increased manufacturing and materials costs, a headset will no longer be included. Both the Intense and Speed versions will come with necessary adapters to run a 10mm or 20mm axle in the frame.

In addition to the frame-only option, you can open up the throttle of coolness to full, and pick up one of their “Pro-Build” kits. The kits include a full range of THE, ITS and Sinz Elite items, like the new iHub straight-pull spoke wheels (used by David Herman, among others), Sinz Elite Pro Carbon CFC forks (10- or 20-Mil) or Sinz Elite XXX cranks. You can also get the DXR (crank) option.

Check out www.intensebmx.com and www.speedbicycles.com for a dealer near you. You’ll want to get yours reserved before Mayday.

Sneak Peek at Redline’s 2011 Race Completes

On June 8, BMXNEWS reported an early spy photo of the 2011 Flight paint scheme, from the ABA Summer Nationals in Roseville, CA. Yesterday, Redline posted a video preview of their 2011 Flight Pro XXL complete bike on their Facebook page. Awesome specs by the Seattle set!

Today, News brings you some static images of the Flight Pro XXL in the video (above), as well as the micro and the 24. Also, for those flying economy class, here is a shot of the Proline Pro XL, Micro and for those from-and-now-in the golden years of BMX racing, the gold-parts-laden Proline Pro 24.

Nothing in the way of detailed specs just yet, but you can bet your bottom bracket we’ll bring them to you once available.

2011 Redline Flight Pro Micro

2011 Redline Flight Pro 24

2011 Redline Proline Pro XL

2011 Redline Proline Micro

2011 Redline Proline Pro 24

Speedline Has the Silver Billet

Having the trickest scoot in staging is not always about maxing out your Centurion Card to get those depleted-plutonium brake studs. Lots of times, it is as simple as finding the “limited edition” runs of the products you already know and love. Back in February, BMXNEWS reported on some new-gen Speedline cranks which were being cranked out in black-only. Well, you know how that goes, as soon as you put black on the street, someone wants white (or, in this case “natural”).

Never one to overlook the wants and desires of the customer, smilin’ Bill Ryan whipped up a small batch of the natural “silver billet” edition. What these also have that moves the trickness meter ever further to the right is black-laser etching. Of the process, Bill says:

“It is a very costly and time-consuming process to do (black laser etching) on billet aluminum, so this may be the only run… or the price will be significantly higher to cover the extra steps to do the black laser.”

So if you like the look, now is the time to get them. They are available at all local Supercross BMX Dealers and of course J&R Bicycles the exclusive Mail Order Source for the Speedline Mini SX cranks in this Polished finish. And all of the Polished/Black Speedline Mini Cranks all come with a five-bolt spider. Sizes are from 140-170mm, in 5mm increments.

Speed Gets Speedier

When you’re rollin’, you’re rollin’. Only a calendar page or so has gone by since Toby Henderson’s “Speed” brand name hit the stores and tracks of America. Many thought we’d see some kind of news from Speed come next season, as the “2.0″ gets booted up. Well, BMXNEWS got wind of this exclusive, which will be danced in front of dealers at the upcoming Interbike trade show.

Toby took some tips from MTB tech to bring to BMX what they are calling the Speed “Rolling Chassis.” The centerpiece of this innovation is the hollow 20-millimeter axle (check it out in the photo…dramatic) and related hardware built specifically to accept the burly hub. The larger axle brings a heretofore unseen stiffness to the chassis. Toby explained it this way in a release prepped for News:

“This is the first, real, significant evolution in BMX frame design since the chromoly unicrown fork. Our testing indicates that a racer will have a significant speed advantage out of the gate, down the straight and while cornering over other racers on frames with traditional axle configurations.

With (the Rolling Chassis), you don’t lose valuable power through flex. We’ve had people testing this for the past few months and one thing they all agree on is that the bike accelerates fast. Because more of your power goes into propelling the bike forward, you can go down the track faster using the same or less energy as you would on a normal bike.”

In addition to the revolutionary axle system, the Rolling Chassis “iHub” also features straight-pull spokes, further boosting torsional rigidity, making for stronger wheels. Straight-pull spokes are approximately 30 percent stronger than J-bend spokes and there are no hub flanges to break. The six-double pawl cassette body fits Shimano-compatible cogs.

So, the inevitable question, whenever talking about “future-tech:” How soon, and how much? Well, let’s just say it looks like you’d be able to gate up at the ABA Grands aboard one. As for the how much, MSRP for the whole shootin match will be $1495. But remember that you’re getting frame, fork, stem, headset and wheels in the bargain.

Speed will offer the Rolling Chassis in five sizes including M 408 (Expert XL), M 520 (Pro), M 533 (Pro XL), M 546 (Pro XXL) and M 534 (24” Pro Cruiser). Here’s a little 007 for ya: the numeric names represent the length of the top tube, in millimeters (Pro XL is darn-near 21″).

More information will be available on the Speed Website (http://www.speed-bicycles.com/) in the coming weeks (Interbike is September 22-24 in Las Vegas), but News felt you’d want this info as soon as we got our hot little hands on it.

It’s All A Blur

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

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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Update: SX Stem Goes “Splat”

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

Speed Gets Traction With ABA Rollout!

Back on March 1, BMX News reported on the newest brand to come out of the secret labs at Toby Henderson’s VSI Products (home of other marquis names such as Intense BMX, T.H.E., Sinz* Products, ITS and Vigor helmets). This week, Speed Bicycles announced they were ready for the starter to hit the cadence button and get the race started: building a brand new BMX brand from scratch.

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.”

Tioga D-Spyder S-Spec: Classified Op or First Class Seating?

Carbonite O₂ sounds like something that a dude in a white lab coat would talk about with his buddies in the lunchroom of Los Alamos, or other top secret nuclear facility we’re not supposed to know about. And maybe it is (but that’s, undoubtedly, classified). In the world of BMX trickery, it’s no secret that Tioga has a thick file full of the tastiest tech around. Well, if you’ve been a fan of the D-Spyder saddle, seen on the scoots of some of the scene’s fastest and most fashion-forward factory stars, get ready for something clearly cool.

The D-Spyder S-Spec is arriving at dealers today (no doubt delivered by Men In Black-types driving Black Suburbans with DC plates). The new model has a translucent shell made from…wait for it…Carbonite O₂. Tipping the scales at only 145 grams, the S-Spec is 20% lighter than it’s elder brother, and is engineered to provide 30% more base flex to take care of tush trouble after those long rides from the pits to staging.

The new rump rest doesn’t come cheap, but the tops in trickness never does. MSRP on the S-Spec is $75—hardly a bank breaker, all things considered.

Tioga had the following to say about the D-Spyder Original line:

Next up is the D-Spyder ‘Original’, a more durable and economical version of the previous D-Spyder. Just like the S-Spec above, the ‘Original’ retains the same proven shape but utilizes the more durable Carbonite composite shell matched to a stronger but less exotic hollow Chromoly rail. At 175g, the D-Spyder ‘Original’ is still one of the lightest BMX saddle on the market, and now, it’s also the most affordable D-Spyder saddle ever! Whereas the D-Spyder S-Spec is designed for performance at the expense of some durability, the ‘Original’ is built strong and can take on the rigors of any BMX action without issue! The D-Spyder ‘Original’ is available in white, black, green, and chocolate.

Check out the D-Spyder line, and other Tioga tidbits at www.tiogausa.com

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