On The Ground at Interbike 2011 – Part II

Continuing on from the first installment of things seen at Interbike 2011. But first, let’s take a brief pause to say Wazzup to Bill Allen, “Cru Jones” from the movie “RAD” who ambled up to the Hyper booth, just as we were finishing up our media tour. A perfect mix of show-biz and go-biz in this shot: Bill can say “I play a fast guy in the movies” and Jud Ciancio can say “I play a fast guy on the track.” Great to see both of youze guys.

FREE AGENT

Headlining an island booth chock full of new hardware from parent company, KHS, Free Agent BMX had their new Team Limo completes on display. In observance of the London Olympic Games, and in support of their resident Olympic Gold Medalist, FA’s paint scheme for 2012 goes for the gold…black & gold. Available in Team Limo 20″ and Team Limo 24, this is the ride that Maris, Kyle and Cristian use to make it happen in main events.

Free Agent Team Manager and world-champ-in-his-own-right, Dale Holmes said this of the 2012 Limo line:

“We are very excited about our line of bikes for 2012 — we’ve really switched it up, with a move to gold with an influence from Maris and the Olympic Games on the horizon. The specs are even more impressive and the frame is race-proven. After the overwhelmingly positive response here at the show, we’re just getting started on all that’s to come in 2012″

The line makes use of U6 Alloy with ovalized seat and chainstays, an integrated headset and CNC’d dropouts. The Limo has lots of name-brand parts on board too, such as the Sinz Carbon forks, Sun Envy rims and Kenda Konversion tires. A carbon seatpost and Free Agent housebrand Crankset are also legit for a complete. Take your pick of the 20 or the 24″ Team Limo for a suggested retail of $899.

DK BICYCLES

Yesterday, we told you a little about the forthcoming Strength Magnesium frame. Well, there was one other BMX race frame made from old number 12. DK Bicycles was showing their Magnesium “team replica” frame, which will hit the streets in seven sizes, when it’s all said and done. The Mini, Junior and Expert will be shipping in time for you to stage one up at the ABA Grands, and the Pro, Pro XL, Pro XXL and Cruiser will follow soon after. On magnesium, as a material for race bikes, Jason Jewell, who was doing the honors vis a vis our questions, said “it has the stiffness of aluminum and the forgiving properties of chromoly…kind of all mixed into one. First straights feel great on it…lots of power to the wheels… and in the turns, even if it’s a little bumpy like at one of our local tracks, the mag frame forgives a lot of that chop.” Price point for this baby will be around $500, and while the exact weights of all the models were not available at the show, our BMXNEWS best guess is that it will be in-line with the Strength frame, at around 2lbs for the largest pro size. You can see the DK magnesium Team Replica under 9x terror, Spencer Cole at a national near you, and likely Tommy Zula as well, but no confirmation if he’ll be piloting it in Chula Vista next week. We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that green, black and white paint scheme!

FLY RACING

Ray Hudson and his posse were in the house with the 2012 Fly Racing lineup. Too much to list here in the way of colorways and variations, but suffice it to say you’ll soon be seeing the 2012 factory uniforms that make use of the pants, helmets and gloves nicely accenting a factory-fresh custom jersey.

One product we did want to highlight with a photo is their new “Default” BMX helmet. Available in youth sizes (SM, Med, Large) and Adult (Sm, Md, Lg, XL), the Default is incredibly approachable as the first lid after you graduate up from a loaner helmet at the track, or the hockey helmet with goalie mask bolted to it. With an MSRP of $99.99, a factory look, and well-preserved brains are yours “by Default” (har, har, har). Four color combos match it up with practically any jersey you can pair with it (blue and red, black and red, black and white and “voodoo” purple/yellow/black). The Default has got TLD-esque (our words) fin-shaping out back and air vents where they need to be. Definitely a solid offering as a starter skid lid.

Also in the above photo, not included with the helmet, but a great pairing, nonetheless is the new “Zone Pro” goggle. Sick-slick graphics on the band and the frame make the Zone Pro just the ticket for looking the part, as well as keeping out that which you want to keep out. The Zone Pro is also mindful of the “factory look” by coming stock with a chrome lens to put just as much mental distance between you and your comp as you plan to put once the gate drops. And get this…the Zone Pro Retails at $29.95. At that price, you can have a Friday, Saturday and Sunday set to match your mood.

INTENSE BMX

The design and geometry of the Intense Podium line is rockin solid and steady for 2012. Why try a mohawk on the Mona Lisa, afterall? Still, there will be some freshening up of paint and badging to separate those with the shiny new from those with the…shiny old. Also look for more news coming down the pike on the “Flying Circus” models they have been doing up for sponsored pros. No immediate glimmer as to what that’s all about, but we’re going to keep our inbox open and our ear to the rails.

T.H.E.

A fair amount of new helmet paint on the THE side of things for 2012. We focused in on the sexy carbon sizzle, bringing four new looks: Impression II (a black, grey and white), Monday (a sort of “Mondrian ala moto” motif), Koi (which will put you swimmingly into a deep blue sea, see and be seen scene), and finally the red orange and black “Tiki Torch” (ooga-booga…pass the mai-tai-flavored Monster). We always love the THE stuff, and guys like Maris and Willers solidly back up the brand’s bad-assness. Truth be told, we forgot to ask on the MSRP on these, but a quick check of J&R and Dan’s Comp has the 2011 designs at $296-and-change, so our chips would be on the new model being in that ‘hood, monetarily speaking.

SPEED

Speed’s first year blazed by pretty quick, didn’t it? Seems like just yesterday that we told tale of a twinkle of a new idea coming from the drawing boards over at VSI. Well, that was March 1, 2010. Since then, they have made major moves on the team front, with hotshots like Willers and Mariana Pajon winning world cups and world championships, respectively on them…and Felicia Stancil winning twin W1 titles on the Am side. For 2012, the “limited edition” frame we saw this year, which sported slightly different tubing, making the frame much lighter than the stock mamma, will be the new, improved in-stock-and-shipping-to-your-zip-code model. The black and red “Ferrari” paint will be retired in favor of a livery that riders went ga-ga over when they saw something similar painted up as Marc’s “New Zealand” team ride for the worlds. VSI riffed off the UCI Rainbow with some commemorative touches of color to celebrate Mariana’s worlds win on the brand.

MCS

Modernized metal is making its way to market from MCS as well in 2012. The “Tracer” frame will be the platform for a new line of complete bikes that will retail for about $429. Available around April 2012, the Tracer will be available in sizes ranging from mini to cruiser, all at the same price point. Down-range, they’ll be offering the Tracer as a frame-only, with some up-market upgrades like integrated headset and like that. Talk around the campfire is that the new-fangled frame is 3/4 of a pound lighter than the stuff currently in service.

BEYOND TODAY

Since there is so much more to the BMX Racing industry than the companies who attended the show, BMXNEWS.COM will be hosting a “virtual BMX Racing trade show,” here on our site, the week of November 14. From the comfort of your own home, office or starting hill, you’ll get the latest info on all the new stuff debuting at the ABA Grands and for the holidays. Watch for more info on this the last week of October.

If you missed part one of this article, check it out now

Last Chance: Free Agent/ Rockstar Clinic at OTC

Got an email from Dale Holmes this morning with info on a “Last Chance Before the National” clinic they are running this Saturday at Future BMX. Located on the grounds of the Olympic Training Center, this is the very dirt you’ll be diggin into next week, and presents a prime opportunity to get that first turn and second straight 100% dialed (the third straight rhythm too, for thatmatter). You’ll also do gates and first straights, ad hang out like factory dudes always do, after the ridin is done.

If we know Dale (and we do), the van will be packed full of Free Agent / Rockstar giveaway goodies and some of the fastest hombres known to man or beast.

All of the 411 is on the link below, but just take our word for it and truck on down to Chula this Saturday from 2-5PM and get this totally-awesome tutelage taken care of. Pre-register for $30, or just show up and pay $35.

Download the clinic flyer now

Dr. Dale is In at the Free Agent Clinic

Looking for something constructive-yet-decidedly-BMX to do this weekend? Well, if you’re in range of So. Cal, we thinks you should get on down to Bellflower BMX for the Free Agent Clinic. Led by Dale Holmes, Cristian Becerine and Maris Strombergs, this bunch has more stripes than a zebra convention.

A mere $30 if you act today, sometimes you gotta strike while the iron is hot…and sometimes you need to make the iron hot BY striking. We read that in a Zig Ziglar motivational book once, and it was oh-so-true. Thus, get your bones over to Bellflower on Saturday, 1-4 PM.

Download the Clinic Flyer.

Free Agent Gives Peek Into FA Life in Video Short

An interesting observation made by Pat Nugent on ESPN.COM: While rider videos are all over the place on the freestyle side of the house, BMX Racing has not yet caught the video bug. Free Agent is showing symptoms with the release of a two-and-a-half minute compilation of clips from the ABA Lancaster and Disney Cup races.

In the vid, you get footage of KB, Maris, Connor and Cristian, as well as some innovative chops in the editing suite. It is definitely one of those “watch x 3″ shorts, and we’re anxious to see more out of the red and black set.