mysticnegro.com Kranky v3.0

Got this from Jake, who I think got it from D. Lang.  Much, MUCH better at making the point than the Hitler video thing.

Grand re-opening is Saturday, August 1st.  there are rumblings of a Gnar-B-Q on August 7th.  Sounds like fun to me.

I’m semi in the market for a frame.  I don’t need one, but I have half a bike in my garage and I want to make something, it seems that a frame would be helpful.  I could just buy the Eastern Dragon 1 that’s been on the wall at Mama’s for like four years, but I decided I’d explore my options.  So, I went to Dan’s and just for a laugh I decided to see how much FBM frames would run me.  I actually kinda like the Exodus, it seems like an old man frame and FBM guys read this stuff, so it seemed like a good thing.  But then I noticed something weird.

If you sort the frames in price descending order, well, it’s chock full of overseas made frames at the high end.  While I realize that country of origin isn’t the be all end all of pricing, that was always the draw of import frames, no?  Cheaper, but similar quality of domestic frames?  I, honestly, wasn’t expecting that.  So, now I have to wonder, why would I buy a Taiwanese frame for what I could probably get a custom American made frame for.  Not that I have anything against Taiwanese frames, I even ride one, but the mild custom stuff I’d want (hey, can you give me an extra quarter inch up front?) wouldn’t be that ’spensive, I wouldn’t think.

I dunno, I guess in a world where a $40K Hyundai makese sense this isn’t that odd.  No, no, it’s still odd.  BMX makes my brain hurt sometimes.

That Hitler video on TCU almost makes me want to go out and buy a fixie, and I don’t even like fixies.  I’m not going to link to it, you’ve probably seen it and as you all know, nothing makes your position seem more reasonable than coming from the mouth of Hitler, he who was known for thoroughly reasonable ideas.

I won’t get into the massive logic holes in it, but I will point out this wacky fact.

Twenty inch bicycles are not for adults.

Oh, I mean, adults ride them, I’m rather fond of them.  But, the 20″ BMX bike was always meant to be for children.  In fact the 26 and 24 inch cruiser was designed specifically to keep older kids around and to give parents something to do.  Which is why I find it a little odd that among the other things that get fetishized by BMXers (being broke, “real” BMX, etc.) wheel size is on the list.  If it ain’t 20″ it doesn’t count for whatever reason.

OK, that’s fine, but since the 20″ wheel was for children making it the defining element of a “real” BMX bike pretty much means it will suck as adult transportation, at least it will for anyone larger than a child.  Worse, with the steepening head tubes and lowering top tubes are actually making them even less suitable for anything other than doing tricks on.

“But I ride my Killorado to school 30 miles, uphill, both ways…in the snow,” I hear you say.  Yeah, and I’m morbidly obese and I had ice cream last night.  Both of us did things that we probably shouldn’t have.  It goes without saying that just because you can do it doesn’t make it right. 

On a related note.  I’m thinking about a 21.24″ FBM Exodus frame.  It looks like a frame that a grown man can ride.  Now if I can only find a decently padded seat…

I’m sure a lot of you have seen the pictures of Dizz Hicks on a Sunday! Funday.  If you haven’t, check them, it’s pretty f’ing awesome.  I’m reminded of something Dizz once said about how he became a kick-turn master.  He was afraid of vert. Ceppie Maes said that his entire flatland style grew out of the fact that he couldn’t do the most basic of then current tricks, so he had to figure out what he could do.

Given that everything today seems to be the same tricks just done bigger, maybe it’s time for someone who’s completely inept (and, Ceppie specifically said he couldn’t do a ROCK WALK, which pretty much defined inept in 80’s flatland) to come and blow minds.

Also, coaster brake, high seat post, isn’t that how everyone expected Krt to set up his Sunday?

Jason Williams did a quick interview with Nick Jenks about the changes at Factory that’s up on the Ride site.  While I call BS on some of Nick’s assertions (I don’t think anyone really thinks that, say, Bay Creek, Mountain and Athens would represent “a lack of diversity.” And if I’m a “local” anywhere it’d have to be Duncan Creek) it’s a good bit that gives you some information about what’s in store for Factory.  Since I’ve always loved Factory, I love that it looks like it’s going to be in good hands.

Normally I wouldn’t post this to Kranky, but…OK, Top Gear is the best car show ever and that asshole who said that Ken Block was too old to be a rally driver (that would be me) is eating his words.

I still won’t wear DC shoes, though.

Pictures from the Because I Grind demo are up.  Here you can see Ratkid buying Nowhere Fast.

I really need to clean my scanner bed.

The Because I Grind tour hit up B&B in Buford today.  I took a metric shite tonne of pictures (as usual).  I’ll post up a proper gallery tomorrow or Sunday (depending on if I have to work/run out for building supplies/etc.)  But I figured I wanted to put some stuff out there tonight.

First off, can I say that Nigel Sylvester was wearing possibly the single most inappropriate piece of headgear ever in the history of man?

The Mama of Mama’s B&B talking to Mssr. Sylvester

It’s JULY, in GEORGIA and dude’s wearing a BLACK LEATHER BASEBALL CAP.  It could only be more weather inappropriate if it were an Elmer Fudd style hunting cap. Still, it’s easy to see why people are standing in line to give Nigel money.  Kid is the definition of hustle and he presents himself as both professional and relateable to his target audience.  The old saying is that “it’s called the music BUSINESS for a reason, a lot of people forget that.”  That goes for BMX, too.  A lot of people ride well enough to be “pro,” not nearly as many can sell themselves.

Other than that, some quick hits.

• At 4:55 everyone started asking “where are they?”  Beat me, but I pointed out that you were dealing with a group of BMXers, at least one who was Black.  So, you had BMXers legendary punctuality, mixed with the possibility of CP Time.  Then I had to explain to Chuck what “CP Time” is.
• Ratkid was rechristened Ratman at some point.  He does not own a VCR and yet had to buy Head First (I think) on VHS, because it was there.  Vern Smillie then spent like 20 minutes trying to get him into the system.  You can tell she doesn’t spend much time in the store anymore.  Also, I think Ratkid was flirting with her.  Ratkid also broke his chain after his first hit.  I did offer to buy him a new one as he was having a bit of a breakdown, but he said he had a spare, he mostly just hated his bad luck.  Oh yeah, dude was a block from a bike shop fixing his bike by slamming it into stuff.  Old habits die hard.
• Dave Belcher cannot ride a unicycle.
• The cops were confused
  
  No, seriously cop rolled by at like 3 miles an hour looked at the set up, looked at the crowd.  Looked at the setup again.  Looked at the crowd again.  Drove away.
• This is where I note that it is, in fact, illegal to ride a bike on the sidewalk in Buford, GA and that the owner of the barber shop next door to Mama’s hates, with an undying passion, the fact that people test ride their bikes past his shop, occasionally on the sidewalk.  He probably would have been even less happy that there was a bike demo set up in the parking spaces in front of his shop.
• The demo did seem to do it’s job as I saw several kids leave with new parts on their bikes.  Devon should get an extra sheckle in his allowance this week for setting this up.
• The box was built to specs, the specs where just a little…ambitious.  It took a while for everyone to get used to it, but once they did (and once they put a kicker in front of it, it was all good.)
  (This shot, pre-kicker)
• No, he really does talk like that, but he’s also a nice guy.
  
  I just spent a second talking to Glenn about Factory (I love Factory, but for the love of all that’s holy, can someone film something some place else.  Just once) and the half gajillion skateparks in Gwinnett County and how that’s getting a lot of old people back into riding and skating just as weekend warriors.
• The line of the day, “I just went to Best Buy yesterday and said ‘give me one of those digital joints.’”
• 
  This is a smith to table.  I managed not to capture the smith or the table.  I think it takes talent to do that.
• Wait, Vern has a tattoo?
• “Doesn’t Devon have an exploded knee?” Yes, he also managed to win the impromptu long jump competition with an ACL that’s more “ACL pieces.” It’s notable that in this picture, the ramp you see is not the kicker he hit, which was about three feet to the right of it and that, had he gone in a straight line…
  Also, maybe I shouldn’t have shot this from behind a stop sign.  Either way, a dude in the crowed walked it off, 28 feet.
• You know, you’d think that a Chocolate would be brown….
  That would be Ride Bikes’ Robert Ashton pointing and shooting at Nigel’s double peg to 180 bar.
• You know how I complained about DJ Metrognome at Twilight a couple of years ago?  If not, it went something like this.  After showing up late (due to traffic) there was a miscommunication as to what he was supposed to do, so after packing up his gear Mister Metrognome found out that he was being paid to still DJ, so he did what any self respecting DJ would do.  He connected his iPod to the PA and blasted a series of songs who’s lyrical content was “Nigganigganigganigganigganiggafuckshitfuckfuckdamnshitnigganigga” to an audience filled with 3 year olds.Today, realizing that music might help the demo, Katy grabbed the Mama’s PA and Eric Miller volunteered his iPhone after everyone else basically was like “nahhh” when asked to pull out their iPods  Eric then gave me his iPhone and said, “here, pick some rap.”  This was like giving a three year old a loaded .45.  The hell do I know about rap?  I know, I know, it’s hard to believe, but as a Black man I have absolutely, positively no interest in hip-hop.  Still, going through Eric’s iPhone I saw Birdman & Lil’ Wayne, which I figured was probably not a good choice.  Then I saw Jay-Z, which I was rolling the dice on.  On the one hand probably bad, on the other hand enough radio hits that it’s possible that Eric, who I think works or worked at a church, might have the clean version.

  “Nigganigganigganigganigganigganigganigganigganigganigganigganigganigganigganigga.”

  I was in Buford, GA.  Someone was screaming the “n” word over a P.A.  I should have been mortified, and I was, for exactly the opposite reasons.  I’m pretty sure I saw a 7 year old, White girl burst into flames.  The Mrs. was like “can’t you change that?”  No, I live an “i” free life, even touching an iPhone made my skin crawl, I have no idea how to use it and no desire to learn.  So, yeah at some point “Let Me Feel Your Tounge Ring” came on, but that was NOT my fault.

Anyway, it is late and I have a long day of something or other tomorrow.  More pictures coming soon.