Signal BMX

howdy all, i missed the deadline set by myself for the friday freebies. was it intentional? to play on the fact that bmx racing the olympics kept getting delayed from rain… or it could have been the fact that i didn’t have computer access in portland and 50/50 eddie was buying too many drinks from the bar??? either way final decision tomorrow.
the dirt comp was pretty sweet, the old guys are coming back! nastazio kicked ass! he’s really one of my favorites, personality for miles and he’s got wild moves that seem to just work out… anyway there is probably footage of the comp on the internet somewhere.
wahoo !

my brother sent over some pics from fredonia daves wedding that was a few weeks ago. as you can tell we had a fine time!

there are some good comments on the friday freebie page concerning bmx and the olympics, it’s ending on august 22nd so have a peek and put in your 2cents worth… enjoy

i thought i would make this one a 2 week ordeal in order to span the event in question, the olympics!

here is a listing of the times to check it out.

and this is the topic of discussion:

since this is the first year of bmx in the olympics and since it will essentially expose millions of people to bmx racing what are the pros and cons of the event as you see it? and do you think it will affect your daily interaction with joe public?
and to go along with that do you think any other form of bmx will make it into the olympics?

yes it’s a broad and sweeping question but i’m curious nonetheless.

and this is what’s up for grabs:

these were powdercoat samples of the first batch of pedals. with cork caps (or silver caps)

i’ve got a couple of links that are somewhat pertinent i suppose.
there is a nice write up on some parts we made for kris over on the 44bikes blog

jeremy, who i’ve been pow-wowing (is that even a word?) with about some interesting things that i’ll continue to be vague on until the right time, has a good thing going with bmxroots
a blurb about a contest in topeka on the hottest day of the year, the freestylin’ book giveaway from dans comp, and a schedule for bmx racing at the olympics! i know next to nothing about bmx racing in the modern day but they did have the bmx supercourse setup at the dewtour in san jose a year or two ago. and it looked pretty freakin cool! i’m curious to see how it’s presented and more so how it is recieved.

then there is a post on fbm
with a vintage pic of yours truly! stoked to see that. incidentally, the red night train frame in the pic is back in my possession after a stint with the person responsible for that photo, steve hebert. as i’m looking at the bike i realized that was one of my favorite bikes i ever had. hubs that i had made, the rear one using a “clutch” or sometimes called a one-way bearing, which incidentally i’ve been talking about bringing back for along time, one of these days it’ll just show up! custom gyro tabs courtesy of big dave t-1 bars with a standard stem. it was a hot combo for sure. and i find it funny that crandall mentions how much that frame weighs since it was probably a pound lighter than the previous bike i had been riding, a k-2 frame that dennis hooked me up with. and it was one of the nice k-2 frames that were made in the usa, i believe by kastan? not sure about that detail though. but i’ve still got that one as well, in the archives known as my basement…

friday freebies are in full effect, random topics, free stuff what more can i say. i missed last weeks but am posting up a new one for everyone to check out.

and if you’ve never seen the namesake of the shop here are some pics of a 1974 hodaka super rat! jared pablis sent over these pics after attending the san diego auto museums “motocross america” exhibit.

so, i thought the first one went well! this weeks prize, your choice on color (though purple is no longer available) :

and the question:

if your bike was an animal what would it be and why?

We’ll start this out with one of our 7075 t-6 bottle openers as the prize. since courtney and i are heading to fredonia this afternoon for fredonia dave’s wedding! this question seems appropriate:

what is the best remedy for a hangover?

Check back soon for details.

i’ve seen alot of stuff with our buddy DMC in the internets lately! which is awesome. first up, a classic pic poached from the bmx roots blog

then there is the rooftop interview:

there is a quick pic in that interview at 2:03 that needs to be paused and appreciated… a few years ago i saw dennis doing a quarter pipe air while viewing some of his old footy of an AFA comp, him scramblin across the floor of this auditorium full speed at an 8′ tall 8′ wide quarter-pipe, subsequently doing the highest air i think i’ve ever seen on a similar ramp! it was amazing. now, i don’t think this is a still from the same footy but it’s from the same period and in my eyes is impressive.

There is a nice bike check from what looks to be the mega-ramp redbull thing in central park here
dennis kicks ass!

i’m terrible at blogging, this much is obvious. i’m trying to get better though! i am thoroughly impressed with amount of content over at SPRFLS and the resulting comments. anyhoo it’s a good morning read while the machine warms up.
we’ve been making stuff. finally got bottle openers stocked up again. (and out the door to those who have been patiently waiting!)
we’re making a few minor tweaks to the pedals for the next batch. adding a couple more holes for those that need more pins and some adjustments to the o-ring/washer setup. the plastic pins have had varying results, some people have had good luck with them some not so much but at $.03 ea. i’ll still include them and let you decide! the cork caps are still badass! and look tough in black pedals. which will be available in the coming weeks as part of pedals version 3.1-round I.

wedding rings have been a hot item, last month my good buddy casey made his wedding ring here. this month we’ve got 2 weddings. last weekend we had fredonia dave in for the ring treatment, for his wedding on the 19th of this month and we’ll be whittling on one this evening for a wedding this saturday! there will be another wedding at the end of the summer so we’ve got all kinds of time for that one…. congrats fellas. and of course i made my wedding ring last october, a full 5 days before the wedding. leave it to the guys that are getting married to wait until the last possible minute to complete the process!

summer is in full effect and i hope everyone is getting out and living it. canoe trip on the agenda for us this weekend. last year i suffered an injury while opening wet cans with wet hands, apparently i was a little anxious in getting them open and pulled my fingernail away from my finger, it was not pleasant. not this year though, i’ll be armed with the right tool for the job. i will be modifying one of our bottle openers for can use. double duty…