The bitter battle of the Plegs continues to be waged on SPRFLS. People hate 'em, people love 'em. And George from G-Sport has defended them. He made a long and interesting comment that's worth reading and he also talks a bit about the curse of the colourway - saying that basically to make a dollar in bmx you've got to keep up with demand for endless colour variations.
I would have said that making parts that change colour in sunlight would be taking it too far, but...
There used to be a cool old site called BMX Test that looked like shit, but was really useful. It was basically a database of loads of parts, their specs and reviews by people that had ridden them. Even if there still is an optimistic listing in the links on BikeGuide's homepage, BMX Test is long dead.
But it's still a good idea, so someone had to come along and pick it up... and they have.
There's a newish site called CrashTest BMX where you can read and write reviews of parts on a site that even looks good. The guy that runs it - Ronaldo - has also added in a whole bunch of other stuff too. Here's what he's got to say about the site:
"CrashTest BMX was created for riders to have a place to give their thoughts about the bike parts that they have ridden. Pictures can be submitted along with their personal experience with certain parts, rating it based how long the part lasted with their riding style. They can also submit their experience with local skateparks and provide basic information such as the parks location, price, and if bikes are allowed.
There is also a "How-To's" where any special instructions can be given on basic bike maintenance or custom work can be submitted. CrashTest BMX also has a message board for users to discuss anything within the BMX community. With the hope of growth of the site in the near future, hopefully we can get some video reviews up soon.
Check out the site and let me know if you have any feedback. Thanks guys."
There you go. Like I said it's pretty new, so if you like it, support it.
You could for example put up a review of Wellgo magnesium pedals.
You could tell everyone out there that in an attempt to save around 100 grams of pedals you ran a pair until one of them unexplainedly shattered as you dropped in one day and ended up reducing the weight of your kneecap by about 10 grams. You know, an unbiased review, let them make their own minds up, maybe add a pic.
Fit's got a lookbook up to highlight some of their remarkably un-innovative new parts. I don't know if they've struck some kind of a deal with odyssey or if their PCP pivotal seat is just a ruthlessly shameless bite on the Odyssey Senior 2 pivotal or what but...
If Nuno from Odyssey's tweets are anything to go by, it's a bite.
If you compare the ribbing on the underside of the two seats you'll see that there actually are some differences. And the molding around the pivotal bolt is slightly different. I think that legally, to avoid a law suit, you have to make seven changes to the design of something for it to not be considered a copy. It's something like that. But basically, it's damn difficult and too expensive to enforce anyway.
But back to Fit. There is also their new PCP pedals. Yep plastic pedals that are the love child of Animal Hamiltons and Odyssey JCs. Apparently they were "Developed from team rider input", but you can't really imagine any of their team specifying reflector mounts on their pedals.
Makes you wonder what a that product designer that Fit was advertising for a while back is going to do there. He'll be sitting in a room with a bunch of catalouges.
Anyway, enough negativity and cynicism. Let this be a lesson: If you want the dirty street kids to buy your dirty street stuff, give it a dirty street name. Them PCPs is dope.
Well InterBike's out of the way and I managed to get through about 1/100th of stuff that was on show, but you can bet your titanium Ratchet axle that there'll be a flood of re-caps and reviews, reminders and re-launches coming up - so it ain't over yet.
I never did get round to saying anything about the morsels on offer at the Fly booth at InterBike and they've already posted up their re-cap. So you could check that here, or bear with me while I pick out the tasty bits:
So that's basically how it all looked - flat colours on white, simple graphics. Translated, the names of the frames and forks are Moon, Lakes, Mountains, Earth and Water. All very minimal and zen. But then, of course, there's the Pantera, which is more metal and death, but hey, you gotta stick with the classics.
That said, the Pantera forks are no more. And neither are the Tierras. Instead Fly'll only be making the Agua forks - the ones with the investment cast dropouts. And speaking of discontinued models, there was no sign of the Campillo frame on their stand either. I'm not sure whether or not this means my current ride is now officially an antique, but since it was one of the lighter frames going around (4.3 lbs) it'd be interesting in that it would be another manufacturer joining WeThePeople in moving away from lighter weight frames. Yeah, sounds doubtful.
Another fairly doubtful scenario is the mass re-emergence of brakes and that's just not going to happen until Fit's street kids put 'em back on. Regardless, Fly just keep pumping out brake related stuff - which is admirably untrendy:
Just a bunch of brake pads? Yeah, I suppose so, but apparently they're a different compound and are a bit fatter so you've got more rubber on rim, and they use a female bolt system to keep them looking tidy. Also the curved adjustment surfaces are integrated into the bolt and the pad so you've got a couple of less washers to faff about with. Incidentally Odyssey have just posted up some new pads and cables and are saying that the clear pads work the best for painted rims. So there you go.
Rigid straddle cable = less flex and easier set up.
Possibly the most boring photo I have ever posted, but anyway, it's a close up of their Spanish removable mount set up that Sergio explained in a web vid not long ago.
They dropped a new sprocket at InterBike as well - The Circulo. What did I tell you ... Zen.
The red stem pictured is a new topload stem. And like superstar they seem to be suggesting that you should run it upside down. Bottom load stems are officially hot right now.
And lastly, but definitely not least, a chance to have a decent look at the PC Ruben pedals. Fly are pretty much the last to jump on board with PCs, but at least they're not just hijacking a Wellgo and calling it Sliced Bread.
So in homage to the pedal, to the man, to the middle name of my first born, to no-footer to flatty wall rides (@1:11) and to Built to Spill:
