Another Mother City Ride!

Yep. I got some messages about when the next Cape Town street ride will be and with the fact that The Riot bothers are in town, to film for the shop DVD, we might as well make it this Sat. Start the new year with a bang, hey? So anyone who's down for some street riding in the mother city, meet at H- street again, AT 2pm, and lets do it.

Check the previous post below for a map to H-steet.

Giant 2010 Sneak Peak!

Here is a sneak peak at some of the Giant BMX Parts that are coming into SA yearly next year. I've eluded to prices in some previous posts but will let you know the final pricing closer to the arrival time. They will be very competative. We'll also have the "Fade" slim Pivotal seat and "Team" sealed bearing pedals and the new Sole-O Grips in Green and Blue. Check some of the parts on Chris Arriaga's bike check here. These are true quality parts made in the same factory as all the other top brands so you know you'll be getting good value and parts you can trust.



Forks, Bars and Stems will be availible in Black or Maroon only.

Keeping kids on bikes!

When I first started working at Dragons Sports I wanted to use our overseas contacts to get in some good quality and yet still affordable bike parts. I'm glad to say that our first shipment of these parts is on the water and due early Jan 2010.

We realised that most kids, who buy an entry or mid level bike, will need to upgrade their parts within the first year and cranks and BB's tend to be high on the list. However, buying a R2500 bike and then having to spend R1500 on cranks in the first year is a serious problem for most riders. Most kids/parents can't afford or justify spending this amount on kids bike and most will just sell the bike and never ride again.

Dragons Sports will be filling the mid range void and bringing in these cranks and BB sets. These should retail around the R599 for a set and will come with either USA, Mid or Spanish bearings.

There will also be 25t and 28t sprockets in Anodized green and Anodized red. These will be around the R260 range. (Photos of these when they arrive.)

Here are images of the Unsealed mid bb, USA, Mid and Spanish sealed bearing bb's as well as the 13d Cranks. Cranks will include arms and spindle with bolts for sprocket and axle. BB's sold with all spacers. These are only avialible in 19mm spindle and bearing sizes.














-Chromoly Seamless Tube Made
-One Piece Enhance Forged Head with Pinch Bolt
-For 8T-19mm Spline Spindle Interface
-Heat Treated
-For American, Euro, Mid, Spanish Bottom Bracket
-175 mm Length

Stay tuned because tomorrow I'll be posting the news on the Giant Parts also arriving in Jan.

Town mission a big success.

Well if you weren't there you missed out. No footage was taken on the day as everyone was riding. Good stuff went down and some great spots were sessioned. About 25 riders came through from all over Cape Town and I think everyone had a good time. Standouts were (in no order) Clemi, Savage, Killian, Scott, Josh, Grant, Zane, Kim, Brandon, Ruan, Eddie, Jacque and some others who names I don't know/remember.

We all met at H-street and were glad to fine that the fence around the red statue has gone and made for a good warm up spot with a dual level manual pad setup. Of coarse the stairs got a work out too. Around the corner someone found some knee high jersey barriers that got a good beating too. 360's, 180's and grinds were in effect.

Next we hit the Artscape opera house and got a good 15 min session on the stairs and ledges there. Security was good and only asked us to leave once someone with a mic in his hand complained that the people inside were watching us and not him. Killian did an ace Icepick across the flat ledge.

Sharks is always a fun spot and the usual tricks went down there too, as well as Tibault Square. Savage nailed a great nollie 360 down the "big four" before we got ask to leave there too.

Then we headed of to CapeTech to the "Drop that Eddie Tailwhipped". So little people know about this spot but they've seen the photo on my FB and were glad to finally see/ride it in person. It got a heavy session from everyone but Scott shut it down with Tuck nohander, Tire grab, Toboggan, nofooted cancan and a turndown. Grant and Savage 360'ed it and Eddie barspun off the side. Best spot of the day?

We finished off with a session at the CapeTech ledge across the road. Killian did a good febble and Zane double pegged it after a few crashes. Big up to both of them.

Thanks to the 20 or so guys that came through for the ride. I think the next one will be even bigger and there are loads of spots that we didn't get too this time. I've already started planning for the next ride and it will be the first week of Jan, when everyone has recovered from New Years. Spread the word and lets make this one even better.

Here is a map to the meeting spot for Saturday's street ride. We'll be meeting at Hertzog Blvd (H-street) at 2pm and will be adventuring from there. Make sure some of you bring tubes, pump and some spanners, as we will be doing some heavy pedaling around the CBD. The weather is going to be great so bring your friends, see some good riding and have some fun.

Stuff 2

We'll, I got a new frame from Giant during the week and I am having a great time on it. It really feels good. The geometry is perfect for me. I send in this photo of me doing this hop to smith on an angled bank, to Giant's BMX division and Chris Arriage ran it on the blog. Click to see the full image. Photo: Donovan.



We also had a mini premier of the new "Via the backroads" dvd at my place this week. Real good DVD which is centered around a month long roadtrip through SA, Swaziland and Mozambique all via the backroads and searching for spots and things that have never been skated or ridden by bikes before. Lots of good skating and BMX trickery in this one.


This morning a whole bunch of riders came through to the Gen-X park in Parklands. This is a realy fun, laid back park with a bit of stuff for every type of rider. The bowls are busy getting repaired but still saw some action. With guys like Savage, Clemie, Scott, Josh, Zane and returning riders like Donovan and Grant in the mix, you know it's going to be fun. Here's some shots by James (me) and Josh.

Scott - Photo: James

Savage - Photo: Josh

Oscar Hirschfeld - Photo: James

James - Photo: Josh

Clemie - Photo: James

4 pegs for life!

I just got my new Giant Method frame, which kicks ass and I put it to some use this weekend. He's an oversmith grind at the Gen-X park shot by my long lost sidekick, Donovan. He's back on his bike and learning new things too.

There's a big street ride going down in Cape Town CBD on Saterday the 19th. We'll be shooting photos and getting some filming done. Check my Facebook status for details later in the week and see you ALL there! (notice, there's no question mark - JUST BE THERE).

Son Skate BMX Photo's.

Once again, I forgot to chage my camera. Here's a couple shots.

Werner Mathee - on form again. I hope he gets hooked up soon because he's got the drive and really wants to be good. I look forward to great things from this kid.

Malcolm is always a treat to watch. Here's a nice table out of the new vert quarter and also a footjam on the thing too.
Savage was doing these on the vert quarter too. I've tried handplants in the Gen-X bowl but could never get it. After watching Stephen abit, i think I know how they work.

ToeFu's (Toe Fufanu) look good and Savage has them on lock.

I don't know who won the comp. Malcom left straight away and Wayne, Savage, Brendan and myself went riding down the road. I left just before Best Trick started but heard that Wayne did a giant 180 wallride to 180 in over the spox. He always delivers. If anyone does know the results leave them in the comments.

Son Skate Nationals.

Don't forget the Son Skate Nationals this weekend at The Shed in Stellies. Pratice is on Friday, Prelims on Sat and Finals on Sunday. I'll be shooting photos on Sunday, so see you there.

Re-up Giant Method bmx now availible

These bikes are now in SA and are the best value for money bikes on the market. Made by Giant, who makes many other brands like Colony, MirraCo, etc so you know the frames are good. Great parts too. Click the link for the photos.

http://wcbmx.blogspot.com/2009/11/giant-bmx-arriving-soon.html

Get your Purp on!

Here is the new colour of the Avalanche Domin8 bmx bikes. These should be in most cycle stores by the weekend. There are only 200 availible! Light race/jump bike (11.5kg) with a slimmed down frame with good rear V-brake. Perfect bike for jumping and shredding the local pavements. R 1090.00. Also in Black.

Racing is rising!

Theres been some good racing going on at the developmetn tracks across Cape Town over the past few months and the biggest will be the Canal Walk Foundation Reconciliation Cup to be held at the Velokhaya track on the 16 Dec. Click the image for a bigger picture.

Although the Gen-X youth centre has closed down the Gen-X park is still the place to be for some great riding. Click the link on the left panel for a map of where the park is. Come on down and get your grind on. R20.

Me (James Brawn) Underside Icepick - photo Scott Owen

Scott Owen - Switch handed peg grab - Photo James Brawn.

Don't forget the Son Skate nationals on the 11th, 12th and 13th Dec at The Shed in Stellenbosch. Click here for a map.

I told you!

Like I said the other day, The Riot has been filming and here is an edit of some riding they got done last week. I like it when edits get put together so fast. Keep it up guys. There's some great riding in this.

Giant Team cut.

As some of you know, I work for Dragons Sports, importers of Giant Bicycles and some of you might have seen a discussion on my FB status a couple weeks back about Giant cutting the bmx team and yep, it's true. I found out just over a week ago but couldn't talk till it was official.

Basically Giant doesn't make any money from their BMX programme but never intended too either. Giant makes BMX bikes because they are passionate about covering all the bases of all types of bikes and that's what makes Giant such a great company. They make top end, high quality BMX bikes and parts even though they don't make any money from it.

With that said, they were spending large amounts of money on a team that wasn't really getting any exposure. Not making any money from a BMX programme is one thing, needlessly pouring money down the drain, is another story all together.

The only rider who is going out of his way to promote his sponsor is Tony Cherry , who will be staying on and he will be joined by a new team of hungry riders.

Giant has some great parts dropping soon and they'll be in South Africa early Jan 2010. Quality high end parts at really good prices. Parts include: PC pedals, slim sealed alloy pedals, 11butted 8x27 bars, light butted full cromo forks w/built in race, Piv Saddles, Frontload stems, coloured grips and more. I've got photos but can't release them yet (stay tuned).

Change is good and with Chris Arriaga at the helm I think things are just going to get better. Check Chris's interview at EXPN.com

The Riot gets Savage!

Yep, Stephen Savage is riding for The Riot. There's some big things coming from The Riot with new stock coming in at great prices as well as some heavy filming sessions going down. Team DVD coming soon? Check Sunday! bikes for Savages 2 part interview.

From Giant BMX - Tony Cherry, Troy Merkle and a bunch of other locals put together a little jam at their local trails to take advantage of the good weather. Looks like it turned out to be a super fun time. Be sure to go on over to PERSPECTIVESBMX to check out some more pics from the jam

This is my type of trails.

Into The Woods - BMX Trails Montage from Brian Dickman on Vimeo.

If you want to see something good.......

goto TheRiot. They just got in a whole range of Odyssey and Sunday stock and the prices are really good. R3200 for Sunday Funday or Ian Schwarts frames. Free postage and a frame that can handle anything you can do.

Do you trust the frame you are on right now or are you checking welds after every session? Just get a Sunday! and stop messing around!

There's also a vid from their team rider and crowd pleaser, Wayne. Check it!

Giant BMX arriving soon.

These should be arriving before the end of the month (give or take a week), so I thought I'd just give you some info.

These bikes will be available from any quality bike shop that stocks Giant Bicycles across SA.

Giant is renowned for its quality, highend MTB and Road bikes and they put the same effort and attention to detail into the BMX range.


First is the awesome Method 00. (Retail around R3799.00)



Features:
— Complete 21" 4130 Cr-Mo frame w/CNC machined head
tube & spanish BB
— 3 piece tubular Cr-Mo cranks
— Cassette rear hub
— Sun Rhyno Lite rims
— Digital 2 Cr-Mo 8” rise bar




Next is the Method 01 - (Retail around R3100.00)

Features:

— 20.5" Cr-Mo main frame w/CNC machined head tube &spanish BB
— 3 piece tubular Cr-Mo cranks
— Digital 2 8” rise bar
— KENDA K-Rad / Kiniption tyres
— FSA integrated headset

Finaly we have the Method 02 - (retail around R2600.00)

Features:

— Full 20" Hi-Ten frame w/removeable rotor tabs

— 3 piece digital tubular Cr-Mo cranks

— Digital Jr. 6.6” rise bar

— KENDA K-Rad/Kiniption tyres

— SST Gyro

If you have any questions on these bikes or where to buy them, drop me an email and I'll fill you in.

We will also be introducing the Giant range of BMX parts before the new year incl, Stems, Bars, Forks, PC pedals, Grips and Piv seats. All at really awesome prices.

I've also got other parts in the works that should keep most mid-level riders happy but more info on that, later.

Halloween Jam edit!

Halloween Jam from The Riot on Vimeo.

The Riot has a great writeup and photos from the Halloween Jam. They also mentioned on FB that they'll be getting in the Odyssey and Sunday order soon. I know they are Getting Fundays and Ian Frames for sure. Get your hands on the strongest frames in BMX right now, RIGHT NOW.

Halloween Jam!!

Well the Halloween Dirt Jam has come and gone and if you weren't there, I hope you have nightmares.
Quite a few guys dressed to impress and a Malcolm Peters took the cake there. At least two people that I spoke to though this happened earlier in the day while he was riding.

Rupert is back from Scotland and is still wearing the same clothes he left SA in 2 years ago. Stephen Savage was seen hiding in the tall grass a couple of times during the day and jumping out at people.Buddy Chelan and Pieter Retief trying to deceide who's going to pull the knife out.

The Road Masters are a regular feature at Gum Trails and can do swipes and G-turns better than you.

This event had the biggest turn out of any event this year (the power of Facebook?). Here's half the crowd.

Check my new tent. It's Giant!

This kid is coming up. Werner Mathee. Look back over the hip.

Malcolm with a Turndown. Always clicked.

Wayne "shovel hands" Rieche is reponsable for 70% of the work put into building Gum Trials. Along with the Twins, Jason Hood. Boet and a few other locals, they got the place into perfect order for the day. Here Wayne celabrates the day and takes the win. Frontflip.

Judging was taken care of by having the top 7 riders all getting their names put on a cup each, then all the riders who took place in the event got given a smaller cup of dirt and got to put it into the cups of the finalists who they thought rode the best. The guy with the most dirt in this cup won. Simple and effective.

Top three were 3rd Colin Loudon, First Wayne Rieche and 2nd Greg Illingworth.

Thanks to Markus at OSP for the running and organizing the sponsors for this event. Great job.

Preview pics on TheRiot

Wayen sent TheRiot some preview pics of Gum Trails. This is the premier BMX jumps in Cape Town and this Sat is going to be awesome. Click for below for some older pics of Gums.

Halloween Jam!