FATBMX Your Online BMX News Resource Since 1998

We've been slacking on BMX and DVD reviews but sometimes there is simply not enough time available. This BBN review comes from England. The photo was taken in London and the white background is from the Ibis bath tub. The business mag was read on the plane ride and while taking a bath this morning. It's not too much of a read but interesting indeed. Dennis McCoy showed up this morning and had not seen the issue yet, in fact, he does not receive the magazine himself after trying multiple times to get on the list. Can anyone at Transworld take care of that please? Anyway, back to the mag. The cover news is about Shimano getting back into BMX with a BMX specific DXR component line. Blame the Olympics for that one. The other cover story covers the Olympics with Doug Martin being interviewed on the latest race situation. Next page has a story on Intense entering the complete bike market for 2007. Tim Gallant (QBP) writes this issue's editorial.

The 69th issue of FreedomBMX arrived and it's got a new format. The bigger pages and a stronger cover are a good change. Kay's ultra sharp pictures have a bigger canvas now. Gregor Podlesny went to Lisbon and scored the cover of issue 69. The issue isn't short of news (P.8 - P.12) and has got the summer dates on page 14 (FAT-JAM: 19 August!). The crew collected a whole bunch of DVD's and the reviews include Transcend, animal, SquareOne, Mutiny, Sentenced to Life, Props, Soul and ManMade. BoySetsFire were on the Deconstruction tour last year and the band gets some love in the Media section. The article about Contests is interesting. They ask riders why they compete and what it means to them. G&S traveled to Lisbon and Freedom was there. Mark Koenig had been around for ages and finally gets his interview in Freedom (page 30-35). Flatland is pretty strong in Germany and the Battle in da Club report shows that. Gallery 69 has cool pics from many photographers. 

The suns has been out lately and you have been riding loads. Your hat has suffered from the sweating you've done and it's starting to stink. The inside turned yellow and when you tried to wash the hat in the washing machine, it didn't stink any longer but the shape was gone. You've now got a problem because you want a new hat.

Without a chain, your bike would be worthless. You might not worry too much about what chain you run but you should check out KMC, they makes some good [url=http://www.kmcchain.nl/kettingen/01c1e496f31360c10/index.html]BMX chains[/url]. With weight being an issue these days, KMC have listened and manufactured a SL (Super Light) version of the K710 Kool Chain. This saves almost 20% (365 grams against 420 grams for the K710 version). It's got a Pin Power of 250 kilograms and a Breakload (min) of 950 kg. They come in both Gold and Silver and have a length of 100 links that fits anything from a 48-16 or less.

Wowwow wooow what's up with this cover? We'll see if a portrait of Kevin "I'll be back" Robinson will get the magazine off the racks. He's got a cool 10 page interview in this 40 page mag making his sponsors proud. The remaining BMX pages cover the Metro Jam in Toronto, a No Bikes Allowed article, a Vegetarianism article by [url=//fatbmx.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=1505]Tom Haugen[/url] and a story by Brian "Yella" Gavigan talking about being a dad, handle the kids and do some riding. Sophisticated Rider is more than BMX alone so expect to see some FMX ( Air & Style event), The Tampa AM (Skateboarding) and a Chris Gentry interview. If you hate flipping through magazines with too many ads, Soph Rider is for you. More content than ads (for a change).

Jared Souney recently rebuilt the website. You can check it out at [url=http://www.sophisticatedrider.com]Soph Rider[/url] to find out how to subscribe to the magazine.

The new Tantra frames arrived! It’s a special design by KHE flatland rider Wolfgang Sauter. The Tantra will also be available as a complete bike in 2007. Here are some details on the frame:
- 1-1/8“ internal headset or F-SET integrated rotor
- Euro Bottom Bracket
- Head tube angle 75.0°
- RC: 12“
- the 1-1/8” internal headset frame can be equipped with detangler rotor
- 100% Japanese SANKO 4130 CrMo
- TT length: 18.79“
- Weight: 1.98 kg | 4.36 lbs (non F-SET)
- Double Butted top-, down- and seattube, U-Pivots
- Heat Treated 3/8” Dropouts, Bottom Bracket and Headtube

Wolfgang is testing this frame now – after giving us feedback, the Tantra will be ready for production and sales. Also, this frame has a special geometry...

Zwanzig #15 sports a super fresh cover with flatlander Chris Boehm busting a move underneath some structure in Bitterfeld (Germany). Dan Hennig and Chris Boehm get a duo interview that starts on page 16. Also the Muenster jam gets a report. The No More Jokes tour takes you from Basel (Switzerland) to Rome (Italy) with 8 guys doing their thing hitting everything on their path. Rampenbau means something like building ramps. That's actually a good feature in any mag. Kids, find some wood, grab a hammer and start building. Maybe you need some extra tools to make something rideable... Tobias Herzfeld reports from the Australian BMX Games and Benn Pigot gets a 5 page interview. Zwanzig's Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n Roll poster with Kathi would have fit nicely in the FATBMX pin-up section. Berlin Marzahn hosted the ROOF JAM, ramps 'n shit you know. Braunschweig hosts a new hall that goes by the name of Walhalla. Zwanzig Zoll checked it out. The PopSession in Tallin gets a 6 page report as well. 7 pages Ralf Schiefer (interview) fill page 70-76 with some great pics. Product photos and info cover the next few pages and then it's time out for Zwanzig. 

We first watched this video sitting on the couch with Robert de Wilde and Henrik Baltzersen. Watching any TV with the Wildman can be pretty chaotic. Afro Bob was the man in control with the remote in hand and fast forwarded to any race that he participated in and rewinded those races that he won. That's one way to watch Transit Race 6. The DVD has become pretty unique in the way that race footage is hard to come by. No more Crank TV these days to watch all the latest nationals on TV and Props hasn't used race footage for years. It's up to race enthusiast Colin Stiles to keep the ball rolling through Transit. If you race BMX and want to get better, buy this DVD. It's not a how-to but you are the man in control just like Robert de Wilde. You can follow your favorite pros with the remote in hand and learn from their moves.

Transit Race 6 has some old(ish) footage but where else are you going to find a good selection of USA nationals on one disc? Here's a rundown of races that got filmed by Stileman and his posse: