Intense BMX Makes 2012 Pros Official

Ever hear a rumor so many times, that by the time it is officially announced, you are compelled to tell the messenger “I heard that weeks ago?” Late 2011 had its share of those, but we are now putting the “confirmed” stamp on one of the “myths and rumors” posted on the BMX Newsroom walls.

We have heard grumblings about Brian Kirkham joining the Intense Factory team for a few weeks, at least within industry circles. Today, the news is out to the rest of the world, confirmed by the company. Brian takes over the pit chair previously filled by David Herman, and will be racing the USA BMX pro series events in the Intense BMX jersey. Through a sponsorship deal with Cycling Australia, Brian has been riding a Podium frame and other VSI products for a while now. This expands that relationship to a factory ride.

On the Elite Women’s roster, Arielle Martin will be staying aboard her Podium frame, and in the Factory Intense colors for the 2012 USA BMX season.

Of course both Brian and Arielle are also strong Olympic contenders for Australia and the USA, respectively, and the VSI guys definitely have hopes of seeing a Podium on the podium this August.

Look for the debut of the 2012 Intense BMX Pro squad at the USA BMX Gator Nationals in Oldsmar, FL next month.

The official release follows:

VSI Products Inc. is pleased to announce their 2012 Factory Intense Pro roster

Flying under the Intense Factory flag will be:

Brian Kirkham – AA Pro/ Elite Men – Brian an Australian native is incredibly fast and smooth and had an amazing year in 2011. Brian is eager to come to the states and race the USABMX National Series as well as UCI and Olympic events. Its a sure bet that he will be winning more often than not. A few words from Brian “I’m really happy to have VSI’s support for a busy upcoming season and I can’t wait to represent Intense all around the world. I have been using VSI products for the past 3 years and I can honestly say its the best bike and equipment I have ever ridden. I’m really looking forward to the year ahead.”

VSI COO, Gregorio de Haro, noted “We are so pleased to have Brian join forces with Intense BMX for the 2012 season. He has an amazing race record to date and has great ambition that will no doubt keep him winning.”

Arielle Martin will continue her Elite Women’s domination racing for Intense during the new 2012 season. Her primary goal is to earn the USA Olympic spot for the Elite Women and we are pleased to have Arielle sign on for another year and continue to support us as she strives to make the Olympic team. Arielle stated “2011 was an awesome year with team Intense, landing my first SX WC victory on home turf followed by a Silver at the PanAmerican Games was an amazing experience and I couldn’t have done it without the great support from the guys at VSI. I am thrilled to be staying with the company for 2012 as I make my run for the Olympics in August and chase down some domestic wins here in the states. A little forced time off to let a nagging injury in my hand heal after PanAms has me feeling fresh, re-charged, and ready for the season to start. My Intense rides have been the sexiest and fastest bikes I have ever owned and I’m looking forward to another great year on them.”

Adding to his comments on Kirkhma’s addition to the team, Gregorio de Haro said of Arielle: “We are incredibly fortunate to have an athlete like Arielle representing Intense BMX. In addition to the interest she generates on and off the track, she is a wonderful person to work with and a valuable partner in our product development process.”

Boomerang BMXer: Danny Caluag Back at VSI

We last saw Danny C in Intense colors at the 2010 ABA Grands. Following the “spin cycle” between Grands 2010 and Reno 2011, Danny got a new deal with Dance Factory Racing out of the Midwest, Marc Willers moved over to Speed, and David Herman stayed as-is.

For 2012, the board looks different. Danny C is going back to VSI joining Kory Cook and Caroline Buchanan in Speedco Colors. Marc Willers will still run the Speedco frame, but do it in the colors of Toby Henderson’s new “Box Components” brand. The Hermanator wheeled his duffle bag over to the Free Agent pit to rock the house with Dale and Maris.

Danny looked good at the 2011 ABA Grands, racing a “one-race-only” deal with Yess BMX. We’re anxious to see how the new support charges his batteries for 2012. Word is that Danny will still ride for Lindsey Wilson College in the Collegiate portion of the USAC BMX National Championships at the end of March. Congrats to all involved.

Gamstetter and Enriquez Leave VSI for Team Toby

Some industry scuttlebut this weekend has it that VSI Marketing Chief, Michael Gamstetter and Sales Manager, Michelle Enriquez gave notice to management that they would be leaving–destination: Toby Henderson’s new company, “The Cycling Group.” It was decided internally that this past Friday should be their last day, and official word should be coming from both companies on their respective go-forward plans, sometime Monday.

Check in with News throughout the day for updates on this story, as they become available.

Photos pinched gently borrowed from Facebook

Lee Lewis Goes for the Steak Knives at VSI

We are always stoked when riders make the jump from the track to the “front office” of an industry stalwart. Lee Lewis has been on the road with Burlin Harris and the Supercamp posse for the past year or two, replacing Karl Clark (who’s back and making A Pro mains again, by the way).

Lee is a great instructor, very patient with the kids, and knowledgeable enough to talk turkey with the “gear chart dads” (like me) who are on his jock from the moment he sets foot out of the van, asking about optimizing gear inches, which frame has the shortest back end, and “should my bars be this wide?” (Note: in Gear Chart Dad parlance, when you say “my bars,” or “my” anything, related to the bike, it is universally understood that you are referring to your seven year old’s bike).

Back to Lee…it takes a certain kind of guy to coach kids, handhold BMX parents, and still train to make a splash in the A Pro ranks. So when VSI was looking to add some bench strength to the sales force, Lee’s talents in the above were all over their radar.

Lee joins Sales Manager Michelle Enriquez (NAG 1 Cruiser), Erik Engstrom (pro freestyler), Robert Burgos and fellow A-Pro Brian Schrimpf on the sales floor.

No word if VSI has “Glengarry Glen Ross” style sales contests…but remember the golden rules of sales, Lee:
 
1). Monster is for Closers Only
2). Second Prize is a set of steak knives…third prize is “you’re fired!”
3). Always Be Closing
4). It’s a sin to say “SINS” (esp. if Toby or Michelle are in earshot)
5). Never take out a rider who’s sponsor you have to call for an order on Monday

Speaking of Glengarry, we are reminded of this educational video clip, which Lee can use to stoke his motivation (CAUTION: Contains adult language, turn sound down if other sales reps are closing deals in the next cube, or if young ears are nearby).

Lee with be racing what he sells at the upcoming ABA US Nationals in Bakersfield. Watch for him in the lead aboard a Speed M-Series 20″ bolted up with the full catalog of Sinz Elite, Sinz, THE and ITS SKUs.

Congrats to both parties on getting together!

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.

Cycling Australia Stays Intense for 2011

VSI products, the always-moving-forward makers of Intense BMX, Speed Bicycles, T.H.E. products and Sinz parts, came out of the holiday haze in classic “big bang” form this week, with an announcement that four of the always-in-the-mix Cycling Australia team will be rockin VSI gear through 2011, and into the 2012 dash for the podium in London.

Speaking of podiums, the Podium frame the team will be aboard has some awesomely-Aussie flash, with personalized Team graphics for each rider (Caroline Buchanan’s mount pictured above).

Brian Kirkham

Rachel Bracken

Lauren Reynolds

Here is the full release:

Intense, Sinz, THE Named Official Product Supplier to Cycling Australia

CERRITOS, CA—Intense BMX, Sinz and THE have signed a deal that makes the U.S. BMX frame, bicycle and components supplier the Official Product Supplier to Australia’s top BMX professionals. The agreement with Cycling Australia is an extension of a less-formal deal in 2010 where the company supplied members of the powerful BMX Australia Elite High Performance Program with frames, forks, components, helmets and protective gear.

“We’re really excited to continue working with Wade and the Australian riders. Last year, they proved to be one of the strongest national teams. The women made many, if not all of, the Supercross mains and Brian Kirkham came on strong at the end of the year with a great ride in Frejus. We expect big things from them next year and through the Olympics,” said Toby Henderson, VSI’s founding partner. VSI is the parent company of Intense BMX, Sinz and THE.

The sponsorship covers Elite High Performance riders Rachel Bracken, Lauren Reynolds, Brian Kirkham and new addition, Caroline Buchanan.

As it did last year, VSI will provide support in the form of product, including frames, components and accessories from Intense BMX, SINZ Elite and SINZ and helmets, padding and clothing from THE Products. Each member of the team will ride custom painted Intense BMX Podium frames.

“I rode the new bike at the local BMX track in Alabama and did some sprints on it. It feels awesome. I noticed that it’s super stiff, more responsive than my Ti frame and acceleration was noticeably better. I am excited to race it,” Buchanan said a few days after she got her new Podium frame and Sinz Elite Carbon forks.
 
In 2010, the young Australian riders showed they have the skills and speed to compete with the world’s best BMX racers. Buchanan is currently ranked fifth by the UCI, while Reynolds and Bracken ended the year ranked ten and eleven, respectively. Kirkham moved up from 27 in 2009 to 19th last year. The team is currently ranked third in the world behind Latvia and the United States.

“Toby and VSI have been a great support in my cycling career and now having them continue this into our National Elite HP BMX Program is an exciting time. This gives our riders the confidence and opportunity to use the products they want to use to help them be competitive on the international circuit,” said former World Champion Wade Bootes, who is head coach of the Cycling Australia/BMX Australia BMX High Performance Program.

The Elite HP riders will compete in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, South Africa and the United States with a focus on the UCI Supercross World Cup Series and World Championships in 2011.

The addition of the Australian program sponsorship further bolsters VSI’s commitment to supporting the world’s best BMX racers. VSI, through Intense BMX, Speed Bicycles, THE, Sinz Elite, Sinz and ITS, sponsors the UCI Supercross Series, World Championships and 2012 London Olympic Games, the USA Cycling Junior Development Camps and the ABA.

In addition to these organizations and events, the company also supports the Factory Intense and Factory Speed Teams, Rennen/Intense, Intense/Spinnz, J&R Racing, Delux Racing, SE Racing, the S&M Team, Intense Europe, Team Little Dudes Racing, Atomlab and more than a dozen individual racers. VSI also offers a contingency program to professional/elite and junior elite riders who use its products.
 
Visit www.vsiproducts.com to learn more about Intense, SINZ Elite, Sinz, THE, ITS and other VSI brands.

 

VSI Ponies Up $125K in 2011 to Pros With Ponies

News got an early peep at a VSI release hitting the streets tomorrow. The makers of T.H.E., Intense, Sinz and Speed products are bringing back an old favorite of the pro class for 2011: the per-race, open-to-all contingency payout.

Wildly popular in the ABA of the early 1980s, and commonplace in the MX world, riders who run specified gear, and podium at certain high-profile races get paid a tasty bonus for each product on the list according to how they finish.

In the case of the new VSI contingency, it’s “Podium-plus-one,” for the AAs, as the program pays down to fourth place, the other classes pay the podium.

The cool thing about this program is that it is open to all in the Elite/Jr Elite classes (except salaried VSI riders..but VSI co-sponsored riders will be eligible)–no stalking Michael Gamstetter at his regular morning Starbucks for a contract required.

Details are still being finalized, but News wanted to get this info in front of you fast, as those post-Grands plans are still taking shape.

The way it will probably work is that you, as the rider, will have a voucher on which you will check off all the qualified products you are running that day (download the PDF for the qualified products and their respective payouts).

A designated official at each race will be authorized to verify you are running what you say you are, and will sign off on the voucher. When you place first through third (fourth for AAs), you’ll send the voucher in, and get paid.

VSI is paying out equally for ABA and NBL NationsTour races, and slightly more for UCI Class 2 SX races. The UCI worlds sees the highest payouts, with $1750 in contingency cash available to the Elite World Champ who has all qualified products on board.

The official release follows:

CERRITOS, CA—VSI Products, Inc. is proud to announce that it will launch an ambitious contingency program that could result in payouts of more than $125,000 to professional and junior elite racers who use VSI products and get on the podium at ABA, NBL and UCI races in 2011.

Starting with the ABA Silver Dollar Nationals in Reno, Nevada, January 16, VSI will pay bonuses to racers
using Intense, Speed, Sinz Elite, Sinz and THE products who finish in the top three or four at each of the eight UCI/ABA weekends (16 races total), four NBL National Tour races, UCI Supercross events and the World Championships.

“We can’t afford to support every racer we’d like to, or every racer who wants to ride our stuff. This is a
way for us to give back to the sport and support all the riders who really like and prefer to use our products,” said Toby Henderson, VSI’s founding partner.

All professional men and women and junior elite men and women qualify for the contingencies, which
range from $3 for a junior rider who wins using smaller VSI items like Sinz Elite grips at an ABA National to $750 for a male professional winning the Worlds on an Intense or Speed frame. Riders who use all the qualified VSI products and win would get $190 to $1,750, depending on the race and the rider’s level.
Juniors and A Pros will be eligible for the higher AA Pro payout amounts when they race against them in
events like UCI Supercross races or combined ABA races.

“We’re following the motocross model for this program. I’m a big fan of motocross. Both sports are similar
and we’re trying to elevate BMX to that level of professionalism. I see this as a great way to give back to the sport, especially the younger riders, women and A pros who typically aren’t funded well, if at all,” Henderson said.

All riders must have their bikes inspected by an approved race official before racing to be eligible and
must submit reimbursement forms to be paid. More info on which races are in the program, the process and procedures will be announced soon.

Big props to Toby and Michael for their big-class-buck-bonanza brainstorm.

Download the Payout PDF

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.

Interview: Toby Henderson is Still Intense!

Toby Henderson’s products touch just about every BMXer on the track. Whether you’re riding an Intense frame, using one of the hundreds of Sinz products, running ITS inner tubes, rockin a T.H.E. helmet on your noggin, or waiting in line for one of the new Speed framesets, staging is never without his hardware. Since BMXNEWS ran a piece earlier this week, talking about Speed’s new sponsorship deal with the ABA, we wanted to catch up with Toby to talk about the new brand, and how it will fit in to the VSI family of products. We also talk about Toby’s vision for BMX Racing in the future, and how his old nickname “The Coca-Cola Cowboy” came about.

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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.”