New Answer Rennen Team Rips in Reno

Submitted by George Costa

Answer/Rennen rolled into Reno for the first time as a New Factory team for the 2012 USABMX season opener. Even though the much of the team is familiar with one another it was still a great opportunity for some team bonding and breaking in a few new riders…..Literally!

Nine riders made the trip from the all over the USA to Reno to show off our new FLY/Crit Uniform kits while aboard our SSquared frames and Answer Dagger Forks. For many (7/9) riders only six weeks prior were riding totally different frame/fork/parts combos. All adjusted quickly to the ultra stiff/responsive setups that they now are on.

Here is how your favorite riders finished on the weekend

9X/Cru Nate Coyman This freshly turned nine year old was determined more than ever to come to Reno and show everyone what hes got. Back to back main cruiser appearances shows that hes got what it takes to beat most of the older kids that he doesn’t even race at the grands. 

10G/cru Bailey Brannen Bailey wins the toughest Answer/Rennen rider award for crashing in her 10 girls main on Saturday while going for the lead on the second straight, then getting run over by a few other girls…Literally. On Sunday she came came back with a pair of podium finishes in class/cruiser. She never even hinted at being hurt back in the pits. Shes 10 and probably weighs 50lbs soaking wet but shes tough as nails.

12G Abbie Macleod This was Abbies first big west coast race and making 4 out 4 mains I’d say she handled it perfectly fine despite having some personal mechanic issues we’ll see in Oldsmar if she keeps him under contract.

16X Cody Simson Cody was our first casualty of  the season. Coming up from sunny Daytona FL he was ready to handle the 16X class before a unfortunate crash in practice resulted in two broken vertebrae. Hes now on the road to recovery and will be ready in a few months to redeem himself. 

17-27G Shelby Stacy Reno fever struck Shelby quickly as we could see in the pits her losing her voice and getting sick. This didnt stop her from two podium finishes on the weekend.

17-18X Austin Loebe Austin was looking faster than ever on this season opener (hmmm…..Is his IT wheel training working? Or is it cause of his trainer Shawn Diprete? Probably both). Lap after lap on the weekend Austin was out at the front of the pack and in Saturdays main he went from the holeshot to 6th back to 3rd all in two straights. 

28-35X Justin Wike Wikeout was demolishing his class all weekend long in the races which he actually participated in. In 17 and over open Justin showed the youngins whats up when a 29yr old podiums both days.

36-40X/Cru Shawn Diprete Shawn went on to score the only double-double for the team on the weekend, never losing a lap even after his near main miss on Saturday check it out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNhy81e28zg  (video credit Rob Riofrio). Diprete and Wikeout were out in the parking lot attempting to dead lift parked cars trying to peak before their mains when the new USABMX run format caught them by surprise and Shawn nearly missed his.

A-Pro Max Egdorf Max impressed us all on the weekend in his rookie pro debut. His confidence and ability to get the job done on the track is amazing he’s calm and collected and even found time to mentor many of the new riders on the team throughout the weekend. He finished with a 2nd on Friday and 6th on Sunday but could be found all weekend leading many laps from gate 8. 

New Answer-Rennen Team Roster and Colors

Team transition season marches on, with a graphical peek at the new Answer-Rennen Team jersey design.

This jersey will replace the Rennen-Intense Jersey at the front on many of the heaviest classes in BMX Racing…so we thought you’d like a gander. On the Sleeves, we’re seeing Team co-sponsors Ssquared Bicycles and Tioga, as well as G-Cog, Profile and others.

Team Owner/Manager George Costa also slipped us the team roster along with the eye candy:

(2012 grands ages)

9X/Cr – Nate Coyman (NAG 7 and NAG 2)
10X – Gavin Freewalt (NBL Nat #1)
11X – Zach Von Bergen (NAG 5)
11G Bailey Brannen – (NAG 5, NAG 2)
13X – Erik Meyer (NBL Nat #1, NAG  5)
13G Abagayle McLeod - (NBL Nat #1, NAG 3 both both bikes)
14X – Cam Moore (NAG 1, NBL 2)
16X – Justin Knapper (NBL Nat #1)
17-18X – Cody Simson
17-27G Shelby Stacy – (Jr Women and NAG 2)
19-27X – Austin Loebe (NAG 5)
28-35X – Justin Wike (NAG 3)
41+X/41-45/Cr – Shawn Diprete (NAG 1 both bikes)
A-Pro – Max Egdorf (NBL Nat #1 19-25X )
A-Pro – Phil Delizia

TM – George Costa
Emotional Support – Ryan Birk
Party Coordinator – John Sawyer

Did you happen to see Shelby Stacy in there? Wow, that’s news we had not caught before now.

First outing for the new squad is the ABA Silver Dollar Nationals in Reno mid-January…if you’re not making the trip, watch for the Ssquared-mounted Answer-Rennen crew at a USA BMX National near you.

—Mike Carruth

Podcast: Rennen “Project 187″ Is “IT”

In a self-admitted tip of the visor to Redline for their masterful job promoting their “Project 79″ carbon frame this spring, George Costa whipped some frenzy this fall with another numbered notion.

Project 187 starred in a YouTube video, shot in Chula Vista during the Supercross. That video raised viewers’ ire by not actually revealing what it was…and (most importantly) got them talking. Two of the most vocal viewers from Vintage even got a plug on the follow-up video that was posted on YouTube this past Friday.

With that video, Project 187 was introduced to the world as the Rennen Inertia Training System (the “IT Wheel” as we’ll be calling it from here on in).

From the dimly-lit inner sanctum of the Rennen manufactory, George gave his reveal…but we wanted a little more in the way of details, and he agreed to join us for a Podcast this weekend. Looking at the Announcers Tower episode list, it so happens that it was almost one year to the day that George was on the show to introduce last year’s major Rennen innovation, Decimal Gearing.

During the 28-Minute show, GC also spits some scoop on the status of the Rennen team for 2012. That is not to be missed, so be sure to listen all the way.

Listen Now

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IT Wheel on the Rennen Website

Discussion on VintageBMX.com

IT Wheel Intro Video

Podcast: Rennen Revolutionizes BMX Gearing

Gearing…Revolution…get it? All puns aside, this is an innovation we have been DYING to tell you about since we heard about it at the Chula Vista SX in September (see…we CAN keep secrets). Over the past few days, we have been practically giddy with excitement at the opportunity to post today’s first episode of Announcers Tower in two months (we took a little break after the NBL Grands, but are back on a schedule now).

On today’s show, George Costa, President of Rennen Design Group gives News an exclusive first look at the “Rennen Decimal Gearing System.” This system is a series of incremental gear sizes literally between the whole-number gears you have been running all your life. Ever want to go down a tad in Nashville to compensate for the famously-shallow starting hill? Well, now you can drop that 44/16 to a 43.8/16 without having to whip out your chain whip and monkey with the back cog.

The Decimal Gearing System allows you to get way more specific in dialing in the perfect gear for your needs at any given time. Simple-sounding enough, but it harkens back to that old commercial that says “so advanced…it’s simple.” All of the math and machine magic to make the gears so precise and the requisite gear charts to compare apples to apples has all been crunched for you.

All of this tremendous tech will be available for purchase right when you need it most–at the ABA Grands. A limited inventory of Decimal Gears will be available at the Rennen tent, and through J&R Bicycles at the race. Watch the Product Spotlight section tomorrow for information on placing a pre-order with J&R for your favorite sizes. No doubt they are going to go fast, so get your pre-order in.

Give the Podcast a listen, then come on over to Vintage, where we’re sure the fires of discussion will be burning bright.

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Also, download the Decimal Gearing Gear Chart for a front-row look at how it all works

Interview: George Costa Gets Granular on G-Cog

Last week, BMXNEWS brought you an article about G-Cog, and how Rennen was making it more accessible to the masses through a payment plan that allows customers to pay over a year’s time. We distilled some good info out of the advance copy of the release, but we wanted to do a deeper dive with GC on G-C.

One thing that struck us since day one with G-Cog was that, in addition to being an integral part of the training program for top pros and Olympic-eyed ams, it could also be a miracle tool to help dial in the bikes and riding habits of the youngest riders our there. These young guns — say five through eight years of age, sometimes don’t know enough to say “this gear is too easy,” or “These cranks are feeling too short now.” Parents and coaches have to find out through lots of almost-wins, and spending plenty of time punching REW and Pause buttons on a remote. With G-Cog, all the data you need to make those calls is right there, if you know how to read it.

More on that concept in a future article, but we wanted to hear more about the inner workings of G-Cog, and how it can work for different groups of BMX racers. George takes us through G-Cog’s application and use from the Elite ranks, to top experts, to underperforming riders using the device to kick it up a notch.

George joined us for a taping of “Announcers Tower,” just prior to pulling out of town for the NBL Freedom Nationals in Woodbridge, VA. There, the Rennen-Intense Factory Team landed a first and a second in the two-day team sheet throwdown.

We will have more from George on a future episode of AT, so enjoy this “first installment.”

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Dig the BMXNEWS.COM sticker on the console of the CNC machine. Cool to see that every Rennen gear has a little of that “News” magic built right in.

G-Cog Sprints Into Bigger Market, Payment Plan

It’s kind of a mysterious device, one you’d expect to find under a shroud, guarded by burly bouncer-types in a NASCAR pit. G-Cog (never “The G-Cog”) has been quietly finding its way in to the training programs of our sport’s top riders for nearly two years. As a “powermeter,” G-Cog is a physical, hardware cog you install on your bike, coupled with software you install on your computer to capture and analyze dozens of datapoints on your riding style, how much torque you are applying to the pedals, what kind of “zero-to-twenty” acceleration you are achieving and more. This data helps the rider (and their coach in many circumstances) learn about their riding from a “scientific” point of view instead of freeze-framing videos, trying to figure out what’s what.

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.

Rennen Gets Third “G” With Romero

Rennen Design Group has their share of “Gs” around the shop. There is the “Original G,” founder George Costa. And of course, their wildly-popular innovation, the G-Cog. And now, word from the coast is that another G is coming aboard. In a BMXNEWS scoop, George tells us that Coach Greg Romero will join Rennen Design Group as the head of sales and marketing for the G-Cog product line. An advance copy of the press release says:

Rennen Design Group is pleased to announce that highly-decorated BMX pro and coach, Greg Romero (Coach G) will join the company to specifically head up Sales and Marketing of G-Cog “The world’s first true BMX powermeter.” Greg brings over 28 years of BMX experience to the table, including an impressive pro racing and coaching resume. Most notable was his coaching of Team USA Olympic Medalists Mike Day and Jill Kintner. “Coach G” was hired by Kintner and Day (through Red Bull North America) to manage their performance programs and goals of qualifying for the Olympic games, and ultimately earning medals in Beijing. 

George: “Coach G has a way to think laterally and his vast experience in racing and coaching at the highest level is unparalleled. We’re looking forward to plugging Greg into areas of the company where he can enhance the brand, the product, and the awareness of the G-Cog power meter. Specifically, one of Greg’s tasks will be creating an educational video series showing users not only how to install/use the device but also how it enhances and can quantify their training.”

Greg: “I am looking forward to being a part of such an innovative company and am very excited to help bring to light the usefulness of the G-Cog powermeter. As you may know, many top countries and BMX athletes are using powermeters to quantify and test their training and equipment. In the road and MTB industry, powermeters are the standard over heart rate monitoring systems and traditional speedometers. Having personal experience using other powermeter systems such as the SRM and Powertap, I believe that the G-Cog and the data that it renders is second to none. Rennen/G-Cog wants to grow and I am looking forward to not only being a part of the growth but to enhance key areas to make sure the growth plan is executed.”

Rennen Design Group will have a better west coast presence this year and individuals can find Greg at our booth at select races. He can also be reached directly at his email Greg@G-Cog.com

We at Rennen Design Group are excited about the addition of Coach G and we look forward to working with him to bring innovation and technology to BMX racing.

Congratulations to both parties for joining forces. BMXNEWS has the highest regard for both George, and his products, and for Coach G. We wish them the best in their new partnership.

As for his on-track colors, Greg will be rockin his Sun Brü colors for the foreseeable future, but capped off with the G-Cog helmet (just like the above shot from the ABA Grands).