-Frame: T/T length 20.8” top tube length / aftermarket frame / full heat-treated Sanko / Japan Crmo w/ S.B. & D.B. tubing w/ MID BB shell, integrated head tube & 4mm thick dropouts, removable brake bosses and cable stop / guide
-Fork: full Crmo w/ alloy CNC cap
-Wheels: alloy Black Label DW rims, 36h, powder coat front & rear, w/ alloy sealed bearing hubs: front 3/8” Crmo axle & rear cassette w/ 14mm hollow axle

The BMX stem market has become a bloodthirsty battleground, with well over 50 players sparring for a piece of a very small pie. Several stem makers offer some really innovative products, but there are plenty of others that are downright silly. Our own contributions to the evolution of the BMX stem have been incremental, but important nevertheless. The removable top cable plate, for instance, was an idea we popularized ten years ago, and now it’s a standard of the industry. Some of our ideas met with less fanfare or success. Today we offer a few different stems based on the same proven architecture, and all of them bring a different style and technical flavor to the dance. 

Last issue's RIDE cover was epic, but this one is worthy too. Paul Ryan had to pedal like crazy to clear this 14 stepper but not only that, he took off his hands too. All that at 11pm in Liverpool's darkness. Nice. This issue is bringing back the bike tests. 10 bikes go head to head and who's the winner? Find your issue and read it for yourself. The 6.0 Tunnel event took place weeks ago but finds its coverage in the new issue. Londoners make it to Israel to ride. Sounds pretty crazy and of course makes for a good story. To be honest I'd never heard of Andy Martinez before but he gets a proper

The Blink is a new model in the 2010 Mirra Bike Co program. It comes in Earthtone and White/Cyan. Check the spec. Then check for a dealer.
-Frame: T/T length 20.8”, full Crmo w/ integrated head tube, MID BB shell & welded seat-clamp
-Fork: full Crmo
-Wheels: Alex DM-22 front / DM-24 rear, DW 36h, painted front & rear, w/ alloy loose ball 

New Era took fitted caps to the next level. Thousands of different designs have hit the market and over at Vans they've got their own models too. Once you know your size, you can start looking around. But Vans didn't stop at New Era, they allowed FlexFit into their hat program too. The 210Fitted by Flexfit has a good feel as well but the sizing is a little different. So before you have to cut your hair off to make it fit, try one on before you mailorder it.

B-Rad Pivotal seat is offered in a 2 versions slim padding and a mid padded style. Both styles come with a Durable Kevlar cover with Brad's flight plan embroidered with Gold Stitch. So take a load off and have a seat or work on your mad hops.. Not sure if the seat will help, but it will look good on your bike.

Brad Simms Signature Pivotal Seat Spec: Kevlar Cover with Gold Stitch, SL Slim Padded Version, SL Mid Padded Versio.

BLACK LABEL "Slimfast" bars
-Material: 7/8" CRMO tubing with 13 butted sections
-Treatment: post weld heat treatment
-Crossbar: 3/4" diameter
-Height: 8.25” rise
-Weight: 1.5lbs / 685gms

The new 6.0 collection info has been released and it looks like they're going Outer Space for Spring 2010. Galaxy hoodies, backpacks, beanies, T-shirts, the whole nine yards. There are new colours on their Mavrk Mid 2's, Zoom Oncore 2's, Mogan Mids, Zoom Cush, and the Oncore highs. We got some pics here for you:

The 2010 RL5.1 features a chromoly frame, fork, crank and bar. Also features Odyssey tires and pedals, and a Hollowpoint Pro stem. Key Features:
* FRAME Chromoly frame w/Mid BB and Integrated headtube
* FORK Chromoly fork
* CRANK Chromoly Monster crank w/sealed Mid BB and Device chainwheel
* COLOR Grey
* WEIGHT 28.5lbs w/pegs 

Brian Scura invented the Gyro in the ‘80s, reinvented it as the Oryg when his Odyssey contract expired in the ‘90s, and he’s been tweaking it ever since. Odyssey tried their hand at improving the detangler seven or eight years ago, but early models were stiff, heavy and expensive. Brian has never believed his spinner needed refinement, but we did, and in 2003 we decided to fix it. The SNAFU Mobeus is the realization of that effort, and a random survey of all the pros that use brakes would prove we succeeded. 

The new issue of Cream is back to the non-riding cover theme with Alex Baret reading some mag at a laundrymat while washing his bike. Here's a list of what's inside the upcoming issue:
-Vans Kill The Line
-Ron Wilkerson-2HIP
-FISE Experience final
-Brighton Jam
-Riding on Fire
-Steve van Doren
-Robert Williams
-Field Control
-Isaac Hoefling
-Adrenalin Games
-Interbike
-Costa Rica jam

Here's one of Mirra Bike Co's complete bikes in the Street line: The Chocolate. Ridden, designed and endorsed by Nigel Sylvester. It's got the full heat treated aftermarket frame and the complete bike weighes in at 24.3 lbs. Now read the spec list to see if this one would fit your type of riding.
-T/T length:    21" top tube length
-Color:     Flat Black
-Frame:    "aftermarket frame / full heat-treated Sanko / Japanese Crmo w/ S.B. & D.B. tubing w/ MID BB shell, integrated head tube & 

-Polycarbonate (PC) or reinforced Nylon material
-Crmo axle
-Loose ball bearings
-Low profile design
-Knurled central surface for grip
-Molded pins -6.3 oz. / 180 grams per pedal,
-Colors: Milk Jug (Trans White), Solid Black, Monster Green, Amber & Trans Red

Over at Federal they're calling it a "Winter Drop". New products have arrived and they need to give the puppie a name to build some hype around it and to let everyone know that they sent their riders Ty Morrow and Dan Lacey to Barcelona to film a clip. They're tying this into this product release so maybe you're getting curious right now on what they've got to offer for this winter. Check one-two.

Today we received some DK product info from Catfish who, when he's not on the road, works at DK Bicycles in Ohio. Check them out:
DK Random Wrench V.2 • Refined version of the first Random Wrench • New backpack-friendly form • Integrated spoke wrench cap • 15mm pedal wrench • 5mm allen• 6mm allen • 15mm socket• 17mm socket • Extension Now available in Chrome and Gold

Sometimes I feel like a jerk for not getting back to people in time. In this case I've slacked on getting back in touch with the Spanish people who run BMX A Tope! magazine. They inserted another full page FATBMX ad but I had taken down their banner in the media section and failed to put it back up. But I'll get to that later today but first I'll have to make a new one for them as the last one looked terrible. So if you want to learn more about the Spanish mag, that has both BMX racing and freestyle in it (but is in Spanish), just hit their banner in the media section and it will take you there. Also BMX A Tope! has a report about the 2009 UCI BMX World's in Australia, and an interview with Cristian Becerine. They've got some Spanish old school BMX pages, lots of race reports and when it comes down to the freestyle side of things issue number 12 brings the Festi Bike event in Las Rozas that Naran won and where Sergio Layos ended second. They're both from Spain you know. The FATBMX ad can be found on page 74. Thanks for that and sorry about not getting back to you any sooner.

Just when you think you know about all the BMX magazines that exist on the planet I got surprised by the existence of  Fastlane BMX racing magazine. In fact, I got a copy from Mark at the Cycle Show in London. It had a 4X photo on the cover but the new issue has a BMX racing picture on the front. I rather use that one before you think that Fastlane is a mountain bike magazine. But as Mark put it, it's all bikes isn't it? Well, maybe for some, but not for all. If you can't handle an MTB photo in a BMX mag than Fastlane is not for you, but most of the content is about BMX, or rather BMX RACING! With Ride UK not covering the race scene any longer the UK needed an alternative. They're at issue number 4 now (the Marcus Bloomfield cover) and this issue has interviews with Roy van den Berg, Marcus Bloomfield, Andy Ruffell and Clarke & Kent. Next to that they've got a report from the BMX race world's in Australia, the Cheddar European series, nationals reports from Peterborough, Manchester and Bournemouth and a write-up about the Deluxe road trip. 

This year United Bike Co have added the RN2 into the Recruit line up, longer top tube, integrated headtube, United parts and a host of other features. Check the spec:

FRAME
-UNITED 2010 DESIGN, w/INTEGRATED SEAT CLAMP
-TOP TUBE LENGTH:    21"
-CHAIN STAY LENGTH:    13.75"

Got a DVD in the mail this morning. It's Saturday and it's raining like crazy so I popped it in. Nik Ford from the UK sent it over and I'm sure he put a lot of time into this project. With all the bonus sections it's a full on production. But I believe there's a big difference between a video produced of top pro riders by companies like Nike, Levi's, etnies and FIT and the video of Nik and his friends. Nothing against it and I'm sure the buddies are stoked to have a part, but it's hard to compete with the big boys in DVD land. DVD sales in general are tough and I hope these productions don't disappear but with tons of daily web clips I'm not sure how many people are waiting for a less than top notch DVD they can buy at their local shop.

Loads of riders made a presence in the video. Some with just a few tricks, others with a bigger section. Ben Sutor's section is up to par for sure and also these people show up: The Forte brothers, Simon

-Frame: Eastern Journey 20.5”
-Forks: Eastern Hawkeye
-Headset: Eastern
-Stem: FBM Crown Royal
-Bars: Sunday Triumph
-Grips: Eastern ID
-Bar ends: Plastic
-Brake lever: My feet

Kaboom. 2 issues of Zwanzig Zoll arrived today. Quality full colour magazine for only € 3,50. Includes a pin-up spread too so all good. The contents:
-BMX Worlds
-IFA BMX Challenge
-DISCOstar LISA
-Berlin Bike Bäng
-Fixed Gear in Hong Kong
-Local Support Darmstadt
-Gallery
-Gypsy Caravan Tour
-Josh Betley Interview
-Big in Bavaria
Not thrilled on the fixie stuff in the mag. I've said it before and I'll say it again; fuck the fixies! Just not my thing, that's all. Keep it Zwanzig Zoll.

Issue # 62 arrived of Soul BMX experience, one of the main BMX publications in France. And yes, the mag is in French so it's hard for me to read the pro interview with Garrett Reynolds (10 pages + cover) and the articles about the Kill The Line dirt comp, the Geneve Jam, the Brian Yeagle interview, the Proper Trio article and also the interviews with Waldemar FATkin and Kiki Granier are in French. The layout has changed but isn't quite on the level of Rebelyell yet. The number of ads don't make it easy to go that way but the mag needs them to survive. For me it's enjoying the pics and work on my French.

The other day we received 2 VHS tapes in the mail. VHS!? Yes, I was suprised too. But then, when I slid out the tape, a T-shirt came out. The WE ARE LEVEL people got me fooled. I like original stuff so we're off to a good start here. And the WE ARE LEVEL crew recently did a cool photo shoot too with girls and BMX bikes and stuff. Here's what the company is about, they know better than I do:

WE ARE LEVEL is a small UK company, set up from the frustration 

-Video: Stompin’ Stu
-No Homo – We're all gay. And it's alright like that.
-Roadtrip: Red Bull Das Boot
-Interview: The Müllheim-Duo Dennis Erhardt and Fabian Röthlisberger
-Red Bull Flow Combo – Alles im Fluss?
-Nike 6.0 Tunnel Jam - Top Secret and Schweinegeil (horny pigs?)
-Schlachtfest Bremen – This is BMX
-Dew Tour Salt Lake City – Boyscouts and Decades
-T-Mobile Extreme Playgrounds Pinneberg – Endboss Mark Webb
-Vans Kill the Line – Contest at the best trails of the world
-Interbike 2009 – More Blingbling for your bike
-Perspektive: Axel Reichertz
-Hello my name is: Fabian Fleig & David Nienaber
-Tricktime: 360

-Frame: Amity bikes Russo
-Forks: Amity bikes jesus fork
-Headset: FSA impact
-Stem: Colony with white front
-Bars: Amity bars
-Grips: Amity Ben Wallace signature grips
-Bar ends: Amity plain
-Brake lever: Odyssey medium lever