Eric Effinger... now in Perth!!

Canadian traveller/nomad/dope rider, Eric Effinger is now spending the next few months chillin' & riding with the crew in Perth, Western Australia.

Plenty of things happening including a photo shoot he's already had with Chris Polack & the Rebelyell BMX magazine crew - keep an eye out in upcoming issues. Check out the Freestyle Now! site for the full down low...

Image courtesy of Freestyle Now!

Ucchie vs. Shintaro - Voodoo Jam '09

Great battle between Ucchie & Shintaro at the recent Voodoo Jam 2009 in New Orleans, USA with Shintaro finishing in 6th place. Full placings can be found here.

Video thanks to TNM Group.

Voodoo Jam Pro Battle 4 from T/n/m/ Group on Vimeo.

The Hour Glass Blog

Infamous Australia flatland identity & Cutting Room Floor media spearhead, Stewart Munro has recently launched his new blog for all things BMX & beyond.

Some great videos already up, take a look at the site by clicking here.

Wireless Headphone reviews

Nearly every rider out there runs some type of personal music setup. Whether it's a stereo next to their practice spot or headphones running off an MP3 player, there's many ways to get the job done. Here we take a look at the Monster iFreeplay Shuffle wireless headphone & Sony's NWZ -W202 model.

Ben (Ginny) McGinnes & Shane Badman have put together reviews on both models....

NWZ-W202 Cordless Walkman review

Who's a fan of riding bikes here?

Cool.., I thought so!

And who else is a fan of listening to their favourite tunes while throwing down some wicked turbines?

Excellent...

So then, is it safe to assume that all of us here at some point have had our earphones ripped from our ears, and felt the blinding, white-hot rage that comes along with it?

Sony, having heard everyone's girlish tantrums have nailed it here with their new release 'wearable and cordless' Walkman.

Having worn these pretty much every day since getting them over 3months ago, I can honestly say it's been the best $120AUD I've spent... I've been whinging my arse off for ages now (to no-one inparticular) longing for a nice set uncomplicated all-in-one mp3 player/earbuds... I've rooted around with every conceivable set up... From shuffles clipped to short corded cans and even the phallusy of hi tech/ hi annoyance bluetooth headphones.

So to start off, these are an all in one (albeit screen-less) earbud/mp3 player that simply sits over your ears.. and well, plays your selected beats. The added convenience of not having to install any extra programs as well as boasting a fairly decent memory of 2GB is always a bonus.. It will automatically sync straight up with Windows Media Player, but if you're an itunes fan... Do the work around... Make some mad playlist in itunes (or select an existing one), select it all, copy it to a new folder on your desktop, then simply drag that folder over to the 'music' folder on the Walkman... Piece-a-piss. Yeah it even plays AAC apple files.

The usual over packaged headphone jive is continued here, including a huge plastic blow mould retail blister pack, three pairs of different sized rubber ear pieces.. (awesome!), a neat little charging/data transfer stand with attached lead... along with all the usual standard, pointless paperwork. So far available in 5 different colours: white, barbie pink, green, purple and 'best in black'.

Mac-o-philes.., I can't personally tell you if these will work with Apple operating systems. I've read some reviews that they will, but I don't want to be burned at the stake for misguidance. So don't quote me on this.

The best part is that you can actually bend the connecting wire to suit your ill-shaped melon - this is where the player really dictates it's authority. It might take a few minutes, or maybe hours of subtly tweaking it to sit perfectly in your ears while staying still and efficiently executing it's job of pounding the sides of your brain... But if done right, the difference is astounding in terms of comfort, sound reproduction... and well, staying where you put them. This will give you the most advantage of it's huge 13.5mm speakers, (trust me, that's a massive driver when it actually lives inside your ear).. It really has a wicked amount of bass when seated properly.

The controls all sit on the right side.. volume, play/pause, even the always open (therefore slightly worrying) USB port... It is a standard 'mini' USB connector, so I suppose that's a muffled hurrah. Another handy point is that there is no on/off button.. Weird hey?

For automatic power-off just connect both earpieces together via the inbuilt magnet. Disconnect the two earpieces (to put it on and,) power it on. Wow, leave it to the Japanese.

A new and bizarrely useful feature I've yet to see on any other DAP (digital audio player), is the ZAPPIN function... Instead of constantly hitting the fast foward clicker to find a suitable 'flat-esque' rythm. You simply hold the play/pause button in for just over a second and let go, then a sultry English... Yes, a sexy, brunette, blue eyed, female voice, informs you that she is 'zappin in' with a 3 second sample of random tracks, when you hear the track you want to roll with, press the clicker again.. Even if just to hear her voice one more time... 'zappin out'...

She'll be back...

In a perfect world I wouldn't hesitate in giving this Walkman 5 skyward thumbs.. But I'm not perfect, I sweat.. Alot. I just find the open USB connector a worrying point. Electrical power ports and moisture weren't meant to co-exist peacefully, but the silent war rages on with my imitation sideburn acting as some sort passive buffer.

Just wipe it over after a good ride, It's lasted me this long, so that's a start. I'm happy, and I really hope this player battles on.. I love it.

Hit it up here.

Ginny.


Monster iFreeplay Cordless Headphones for iPod Shuffle

iPod Shuffles are a popular MP3 player. Their clip on design, decent memory (available in 1GB & 2GB) & ability to take hard crashes all give them strong appeal to any flatlander. And not to mention they also have the marketing juggernaut of Apple behind them & a legion of devotees that would make Osama proud & you have a product that is hot on anyones wish list regardless of whether they know how to work iTunes or not.

Yet even using a Shuffle, there has still been the age old problem of wires. They're annoying, distracting & often waaay to long. If you're a person you rides shirtless then they tend to get even more distracting always flinging about & getting caught on things.

Monster have taken care of this little dilemma by creating a headphone that allows the Shuffle to sit in the left earpiece. Ingenious concept with much potential, but does it actually work?

In short, yes. The Shuffle sits neatly in its little dock that is cleverly moulded to allow total access to all the switches & buttons. My initial concern was the Shuffle would jump out of the dock with all the constant movement, but the design has provided an incredibly snug fit that sees it sit firmly in place until you choose to remove it.


The pin that the Shuffle docks to is gold meaning the best possible conductor for sound. The headphone unit is sturdily built & folds down to a convenient travelling piece when necessary. Weather proof to some degree the speakers have are covered in a soft fabric liner common to all street-style headphones.

The Monster comes in a one-size-fits-all model but found to fit better if you have a larger head. It sits comfortably over your ears with the thin piece bridging the two speakers going unobtrusively behind your noggin & unfortunately like the Sony model reviewed, there is no adjustability. One concern I had before buying it was that the headphone would become heavy on the left earpiece (where the Shuffle sits). While noticeable, I personally didn't find it unbearable even after several hours of constant wearing.

Photos thanks to Andras @ OG Bikes

Though it has some great points, there are also a few negatives. I found the sound quality to be ok – it wasn't bad, just wasn't great was all. I guess when you're used to using ear buds then move to speakers you'll notice the difference. Also being a lad who tends to sweat a hell of a lot, I often had to squeeze the fabric covering the ear pieces dry. I've had these headphones roughly a month & no problems from sweat so far, but I'm sure that much moisture so close to electronics can't be good? Also the left ear piece with the Shuffle can jump about on your ear if your riding style is a little energetic. Not a problem per se, but annoying when you're mid-combo & your wondering if the headphone is going to jump off (which it hasn't so far).

You can find the headphones here.

I would give these a 3/5 rating.

Badman.

Tasmanian Scene Report

It's been a long time overdue for the tight scene down in Tasmania. It was great to catch up with a few of the fellas so big thanks to Matthew Wootton & Chris Letchford for getting this piece together & out there!

Introducing..
My name is Matthew Wootton or (Wooto) for short and have been riding since I was about 15 years old (now 26) but went cold turkey for about four years in the middle of that due to the love of bodyboarding and a bit of travelling. I was born in Adelaide but moved to Tas when I was five and grew up in a small country town with about three or four riders. Now reside in Launceston, I didn't get seriously into flat until about five years ago when Twaff pulled me up at video ezy and saw I had a semi flat bike . After hookin up with him, Lenny and Dame I haven't looked back. As for what makes me tick Id have to say travelling, bodyboarding, mates, Coopers Pale Ale, My Girlfriend Brogan and of course Flatland!

Chris "Lenny" Letchford gives the down low on the scene...

It's well known that the overall BMX scene in Tasmania is strong. How does flatland compare to all this?

Flatland is already well known to be an individual sport, but in the land of Tas there is only a small handful of us here, compared to other disciplines its harder for young people to start probably because its not he cool thing to do or the difficulty and dedication or a bit of both.

How is the relationship between flatland & the other BMX disciplines?

The whole BMX community in Tas is still real close regardless if you are a dirt, street, park or a flatlander rider, we often have sessions down the park just to get some other riders involved and to take some interest in the other side of bmx, there is a few guys down there learning some basic moves like hang fives so they can link up some park riding and make it a bit more tech. But there are still some people who just don’t understand it all, I (Lenny) got teased for having pegs on my bike ha ha and been called an old school rider and shit like that but all you can do is just laugh it off.

Would you consider Tassie one big scene or made up of many smaller ones?

Up until maybe 10 years ago BMX was just one scene: everyone rode flat, jumped the local jumps, rode some vert and terrorised security guards with riding something somewhere you shouldn’t be. At the moment I think it’s made up of a few little scenes. There are the guys that are hardcore/dedicated to riding street/park and absolutely rip it up and don’t give a shit what anyone think and just love to ride, then there are the guys on the most expensive bikes with least skills. Then there is the older guys who rip by doin' there own thang, Then there are us the flatlanders who keep to their own little car park in suburbia hiding from the publics eye rarely seen.

Who are the key riders/players in the scenes?

In my eyes everyone is playing there part in maintaining BMX for the future and hopefully being role models for the next generation of rippers.

Considering Tasmania is somewhat separated from the rest of Australia to a degree, do you feel this has some impact on the local scenes?

In my experience I have seen a lot of people come in and out of the riding scene but there has only been a few who really take it to that next level, I think that isolation is a big key with companies not wanting to invest any money into riders that live on an island, therefore these riders aren’t getting pushed hard enough to meet there potential.

Tell us a little about your video project? When can we expect to see it?
The Camera has been put down for a while at the moment and I (Matt Wootton) have just been focusing on riding and getting new tricks down but It should be all finished by Christmas time. The Vid is really all about getting not just the Tassie scene out there, but hopefully Flatland in general because there are not many (pretty much no) young riders paying any attention to this side of BMX. Apart from that we do want to show off a bit of this beautiful state we reside in because it has heaps to offer and check out if anyone is up for a holiday down south.

Where would you like to see flatland going in Tasmania?
I’d like to see a new generation of younger guys take it on and help push the scene to that next level, and to realise that it is actually sillier than it looks and more frustrating, but that’s why we love it

How would you go about getting the flatland scene to that point?

Just hanging out down the local skate park encourages some of the younger guys to start trying some easy tricks which is a good start, whether they keep practising more and more tricks is up to them, I’d like to try and organise a jam/comp here at some stage very soon and get some of the mainland crew over for a visit to our island. It would definitely open some of the younger guy’s eyes.

Any final words or thanks?
I’d like to thank mongoose for my first bike, diamond back for my second and Haro for my 3rd 4th 5th 6th and so on and my wife for loving smashed up shins. I’d also like to thank the support from our local bike shop in the past and to High Roller BMX just for being the one and only soul BMX shop in a Tassie. And thanks to flatlandfuel for having parts at our fingertips. Also like to thank Back bone BMX, Colony BMX, Freestyle Now and all the other kind hearted companies that have noticed flatland in the past few years, Cheers to ya all, Peace!

Shane Badman & Simon O'brien bars & forks update!

Simon O'brien & Shane Badman have their signature bars available through Colony. While Simon's is already available, Shane's will be dropping September & available somewhere near you.

Simon's Deja Vu bar...

*Flatland specific 4 piece design.
*6.8” rise with 23.25” width.
*6º back sweep.
*1º up sweep.
*Weight: TBA.
*Available in Black, White and Assorted Limited Edition Colours.


Shane's Cube bar


*Flatland specific.
*7.9" rise.
*24.4" wide.
*2.5 degrees up sweep.
*2.5 degrees back sweep.
*Weight: TBA.
*Available in Matt Black, White, Candy Red & Candy Blue.


And here's a sneak peak at the new forks available shortly....

Deja Vu fork (offset)



Cube fork (zero offset)

Sequence Hook stem & pegs - reviewed by Ali

So I get this phone call a few months back, it was a flatlander asking me to review some pegs and a stem that Sequence had set him up with as part of some shady contra deal.

This flatlander also tells me to get some good photos taken of the products to go with the review.

‘Sure’ I say, ‘send ‘em on down’.

They arrived a few days later and I ripped into the package with all the excitement of anyone who loves getting free BMX parts in the mail.

After looking them over I paused thought to myself ‘humm, they seem to have been used quite a bit’.

Now used is okay for a written review, dings and missing grip tape don’t generally matter when no one can see them. What’s more if you’re unimportant like me, you’re often at the bottom of the list so it’s not uncommon to get a trashed review copies.

But really, how was I supposed to get good photos out of products that I’d sell for less than half price due wholly to visible wear and tear?

I jumped on the phone to the flatlander, ‘what’s the deal with these parts?’ I said, ‘they look like they have been used for ages’.

‘Yeah’ comes the reply, ‘sure have, I rode them for about six months’.

‘So why didn't you write the review?’ I asked.

‘Couldn’t be bothered’ he said.

There was a pause, perhaps even an uncomfortable silence.

‘Oh’ I said, ‘well, what did you think of them then?’

‘Honestly, the stem didn’t slip once and pegs are pegs’ was his evaluation.

Never have more profound words been spoken about BMX products. I’d suggest that at a minimum, when deciding which stem to buy, one that does not slip would be a great place to start.

I too ran the stem for a few months and sure enough, I can confirm that it didn’t slip once and I had no remarkable issue with it, indeed when installing it, it went together like Lego.

Which surprises me considering that the top part of the stem only had about 5mm of steer tube to grab hold of.

You see I run forks with a 165mm steer tube which I’m convinced were designed back when things like ridiculously long head tubes with oversized novelty internal cups were the domain of guys who wore cleats and shaved their nut sack.

As such, I don’t have a huge amount of slack in my steer tube, I don’t use spacers and the Brickhouse stem I’ve been running forever (which has a lower height than the Sequence Hook), grabbed hold of the whole tube. The Sequence did not. If I was going to run this stem over the long term I’d make sure there was sufficient room for it to fit to my forks.

Which would piss me off had I paid money for it – having to buy new forks that is. But it’s all a trade off, the stem is light because its had all sorts of bits cut out of it, so it has to be big to compensate for the missing material that would have provided contact and in turn grip.

I guess the law is: the more you remove of something means whatever is left behind is all the more important.

According to the Sequence website, the stems come black only and have 26mm and 50mm reach options, Flatlandfuel has them in other colours for some reason.

The pegs? Well, pegs are pegs aren’t they. I’m not a fan of grip tape, even the softer rubberised type used on this product. One of my main gripes is that the adhesive melts in the hot summers we get here in Australia. I personally think knurled is the way to go with pegs, if a little bit of knurling is hurting you hands then perhaps you should harden up.

Each peg is made from two different materials, I think its aluminium with a steel cap insert. I’m not sure how they get the cap to stay in (and I have seen it fall out on other models). They come in 1.5 and 1.65 inch diameter options and black only.

The thing about both these products is they are very flatlandy. By that I mean they are really trying to place themselves on the leading edge of flatland products.

The stem and the pegs both scream ‘I’m up with the latest in flatland products (or trends) and I care about weight’. This is not a bad thing, Sequence are clearly trying capture a part of the market but these products exist in the domain of pretzel top tubes and tiny chainrings.

Will I run the Hook stem and self titled pegs after reviewing them? No, but that’s not because they are bad products, it’s because they are not to my taste. I’m a wedge bolt skeptic and prefer knurled pegs.

You can’t buy Sequence products in Australia, so no supporting your local with this purchase, check out Sequence for more info.

Ends.