Encore Bikes is a Canadian BMX Brand (available through Brink Distribution) that offers completes that they claim “reflect the most current trends in BMX.”

In taking a look at their lineup, it really does seem like they have a finger on the pulse of what’s going on in BMX, specifically in the big-wheeled part of the sport.

Why do I say that?

Well, not only does Encore offer a new school 24″ in their lineup…but also a 22″ complete!

Let’s take a look at each one.

24″ Coda

Built around a 21.75″ top tube frame, the Coda features sealed front and rear hubs, a double-wall rear wheel, a tri-moly  frame and chromoly tapered forks.

The frame specs are as follows:

• Head Tube: 74.5°,
• Seat Tube: 71°
• Chain Stay: 15.25″
• Bottom Bracket: 13″

Check out the rest of the parts breakdown/specs here.

22″ Anthem

The 21.75″ top tube and 8.7″ bars and 22″ wheels add up to a nicely-sized riding area on the Anthem.

Like the Coda,  the Anthem features sealed front and rear hubs, a double-wall rear wheel, a tri-moly  frame and chromoly tapered forks.

The frame specs are as follows:

• Head Tube: 74.5°,
• Seat Tube: 71°
• Chain Stay: 14.25″
• Bottom Bracket: 12.25″

Check out the rest of the parts breakdown/specs here.

Pretty nice big wheel representation by Encore!*

*Now, if they add a 26-inch to the lineup…that would be the icing on the cake!

News and “sneak peek” shots of the 26″ Skyway T/A continue to show up on the various social media feeds.

Here’s a nice shot of it that I spotted earlier today (on Ed Ferri’s feed, I believe).

We’ve also got word on what the geometry is (at least for now, in the prototype stages).

At the moment, we’re looking at the following:

• Top tube: 22.69″
• Head angle: 71.5°
• Seat angle: 70.5°
• Chain stay: 17″
• Bottom bracket: 11.72″

According to this video (that also just got posted in the last day or so), this geo gives it a “race-y” feel…and also apparently, makes it quite easy to wheelie.

Even though we’ve already documented that 26″ cruisers were having a moment…and their moment in the sun seemed to have some legs…it was a bit of surprise to see that Macneil Bikes had — in a pretty low-key way — reintroduced a 26″ cruiser into their lineup.

Bike nerds (like myself ) might remember that none other than BMX legend Jay Miron used to rock a version of this before he decided to hang up his riding shoes and 540 tailwhips.

To make matters further intriguing, Macneil not only re-introduced their 26″ cruiser but they’ve also brought a 29″ to market as well. Hey now!

Based on their promo vid, I wouldn’t say they had hard-core shredding in mind with this cruiser but it’s worth noting that it does feature a full cro-mo frame, fork and bars…so it will definitely handle some abuse.

A nice choice for some mellow cruising and curb hopping.

(Click on over to the Macneil site for full specs on the 26″ and 29″ cruisers.)

Race Inc., an iconic BMX brand, was a mainstay in the BMX world back in the late 70s to the early 80s.

Now, some 40 years later, Race Inc. is back with new modern race frames…all sporting the iconic Race Inc. logo of the past.

If you were at the Grands (or caught coverage of the Grands) you might have spotted some of the new Race Inc. frames on display during the race.

This has created a bit of buzz in certain circles…no doubt driven in part by old schoolers nostalgia for the brand.

Currently, the company is racing (see what I did there?) to update their website.

What we do know is that the frames will come in a range of sizes, including Cruiser.

In the mean time, they have posted the following update to their Facebook page:

We currently have a limited number of frames in various sizes, but have planned for an additional order that should arrive in February 2016. The cost will be $495.00, plus $20.00 shipping. They will come in red, silver, blue, black and gold anodized finish. Raw frames can also be requested.

24″ frames will come in following sizes: Pro, Cruiser, Pro XL Cruiser and Pro XXL Cruiser. Specific frame specifications will be on our website update.

I’m definitely looking forward to learning more about the new frames…and their specs/geometry.

One more thing, take a look at these new head tube badges. Sweetness!

Commonground Bikes has taken a decidedly uncommon approach to spec’ing their flagship 24″ bike.

While many companies have followed the path (made famous by Sunday with the Model C) of building scaled up versions of their popular 20″ bikes.

Commonground opted to take the dimensions of a 26″ dirtjumper frame and scale it down to a 24″ package.

Along with that thinking comes a quite different handling bike.

Instead of a steep head angle and a high bottom bracket, you’ll find a slack head angle and a low bottom bracket.

We’re talking a 69 degree head angle here…which is very slack by cruiser standards. Even race cruisers stay above the 72 degree threshold (Mike Wong’s Dialled cruiser excepted).

With spec’s like this, it seems like this would be right at home in the dirt (which is what PlusSizeBMX seems to have found when they took it for a spin).

Heck, I can see how these might gain some traction (pardon the pun) in some of the older cruiser classes…given its more predictable steering and lower, more stable stance.

Not sure how it would fare for more technical street/park type riding though.

An interesting concept for sure…and with FBM manufacturing the frames and S&M helping out with the bars and forks you know these babies are built to last.

What do you think?

(All pics/images: Commonground)

So, we find ourselves here again…the end of the year.

As always, I like to take a look back at some of the top cruiser news on this, the final day of the year. (Granted, the list took a hiatus last year while I was away traveling…but it’s back now.)

So without further ado, the top ten.

10. The  refrain, “What’s old, is new again” is something that I found myself saying throughout the year. Case in point, Gary Turner’s return to the BMX world with a line of cro-mo frames…kicked off by the intro of a nice 26″cruiser frame.

9.  Redline came out with their “nod to the past” PL-26 cruiser. Aping the style of it’s iconic PL-24 cruiser, Redline capitalized on the current interest in 26″ cruisers and introduced a 26″ version.

8. As alluded to above, 26″ cruisers continued to enjoy their moment in the sun. Interbike had 26″ cruisers on display around every corner it seemed. Heck, Skyway even announced a 26″ T/A for 2016, so this trend seems like it will continue.

7. Colony surprised us with a well-spec’d new school 24″ cruiser. Nice to see another core company offering a big wheel option to riders.

6.  Summer 2015 might well go down as the Summer of the BMX movie. A surprising number of entertaining flicks were available to choose from. I caught Turbo Kid in the theater and was grinning from ear to ear the whole time.

5. After months of teasing, anticipation and finally the introduction of the 24″ Chase Hawk tire…people were stoked on this high-performance tire option. However, its swan song seemed to come way too fast (with the announcement that Odyssey was dropping Chase from its team). Whether Odyssey will continue to offer it under a different name remains to be seen.

4. Encore Bikes, an outfit out of Canada, introduced both a new school 24 and 22-inch complete to their lineup. Nice to see these models, right out of the gate, from the new face in the market.

3. BMX Plus!, the longest-running BMX magazine, announced it was shutting down. A blow for sure, especially in a year with so much focus on the old school and bikes like back in the day.

2. Stolen Bikes continued to do the big wheels right. Dialed completes, limited edition tan tires and solid components. It’s easy to see why so many folks are rollin’ on Stolen.

1.  The passing of Scot “The OM” Breithaupt shook the BMX world hard. The man who essentially wrote the template for BMX back in the day (and founded SE Bikes) was gone. News spread quickly, it trended on social media, and it had everyone reflecting on the man and his legacy. In the end, however, it seemed to remind us of how special BMX is, and what an important part Scot played in “making it happen.”

As I said in my post about Scot,

It’s up to us now to continue to make it happen…whether that’s holding a jam, piling into a car with friends for a BMX roadtrip or just getting out on a bike for some fun…we have to continue to make it happen.

BMX has done a lot of looking back this year…but on the eve of 2016, let’s look ahead to see what’s next…to that next turn, that next jump, that next pedal.

Cheers everyone…and Happy New Year!

I shared an early photo of this Curtis cruiser frame last week on the Cruiser Revolution Facebook page.

Curtis Bikes had taken an unconventional approach to this custom cruiser frame so my interest was definitely piqued.

Now, Curtis Bikes has released new pictures…and wow, this is a really cool looking frame.

It features a 22″ top tube, 14.9-15.3″ chain stays and 10 x 135 mm* dropouts set up to run  a Hope hub and Tech 3 disc brake.

*Spacing typically seen on MTBs

Check out this brake bridge.

I’m feeling this blue finish too.

Here’s the rest of the specs:

• Headtube angle: 73 degrees
• Seattube angle: 69 degrees
• Top tube length: 21, 212.5, 21.75″ and custom (like the one above)
• Chain stays: 14.9 – 15.3″
• Bottom bracket height: 12″ 
• Frame height: 8″
  

Disc brakes on cruiser frames are still a bit of a rarity…and people seem to be a bit divided on whether or not they are the way to go…but I’m kinda digging it here.

Nice job by Curtis Bikes!

(Photos: Curtis Bikes)

Ever since we got the first look at DK’s 2016 race cruisers, we’ve been waiting anxiously to get a peek at the more “freestyle-y” Cygnus cruiser.

Well, the wait is over.

The 24″ Cygnus comes in two color ways: Red/Black and Black/Gold.

What’s new this year?

The Cygnus gets an upgrade in the handlebars department.

Translation: bigger bars!

Sporting a healthy 8.25″ rise and 28″ width….these bars reflect how most folks are setting up their new school 24s these days.

Other spec is pretty much the same as previous years with the exception of the new parts brand, Wise, getting the nod for things like rims, brakes, stem, cranks, etc.

Back to the colorways

The Black/Red color way is very cool…a black fade to a dark red (You might call it “burgundy-ish“.)

Copyright DK Bicycles 2015

The Black/Gold colorway is also very cool. If you appreciate that old school vibe you’re really going to dig the gold rims (and bars) on this version.

Copyright DK Bicycles 2015

If these pictures have piqued your interest, go start bugging your DK dealer now. These should be dropping at the tail end of February.

We got the first photo tease of the new Tribute Bikes Prototype cruiser back in April.

They’ve been busy working on and testing the Prototype since then.

Today, Tribute released photos of the latest iteration of their new prototype frame.

For now, colors choices are going to be raw or black.

I’m digging this bottom bracket and chain stay junction.

Head tube drilled for a Gyro.

Removable brake mounts.

Clean welds.

Looks pretty dialed.

Did I mention that the front triangle is entirely Reynolds tubing?

No?

It is.

Nice.

The specs:

• 74 degree head tube
• 71 seat tube angle
• 21.98″ top tube
• 13″ bottom bracket
• 14 mm dropouts
• Removable brake mounts

The back end is designed to fit 2.25-2.30 tire.

And depending on the gearing you choose, you’re looking at a chain stay length of 14 to 14.125″. ( She’s got a tight rear end.)

I’m pretty stoked on this.

Can’t wait to see the final version.

A few months back, Brink Distribution (a wholesale distributor in Canada), piqued our interest when they announced that they would be carrying both 22 and 24″ complete bikes from Encore in their product lineup.

When their Instagram feed lit up our phones in the last couple days with news that the 22″ Anthem and 24″ Coda were now in their warehouse, we got pretty excited.

Then today, we got the news that Brink would also be carrying La Casa wheels in both 22 and 24″ sizes!

This is great news on a couple of fronts…first, it’s awesome to see another 24″ complete wheel option on the market and second, another 22″ option on the market is MAJOR!

With even fewer 22″ options on the market (vs. 24″) this development should see more people giving 22″ wheels a try…if only because they have the confidence that they can pick up aftermarket wheels if/when they need them.

In terms of specs, the wheel sets feature:

• sealed bearings
• double wall rims (front and back)
•  14mm male rear axles
•  3/8 front female axles (both front & back axles are solid chromoly).

They are sold in sets only.

Pretty stoked on this.

Last month, we had the good fortune of checking out the unconventional custom cruiser that Curtis Bikes had built for one of their clients.

As you’ll recall, it featured a 22″ top tube, 14.9-15.3″ chain stays and 10 x 135 mm* dropouts set up to run  a Hope hub and Tech 3 disc brake.

*Spacing typically seen on MTBs

It was definitely a tricked out frame.

The blue finish was pretty slick too.

I was looking forward to seeing what it would look like all built up.

Well, as luck would have it…I popped over to the Curtis Bikes Facebook page and found a pic of the owner, Graham Stanley, putting it through its paces at the Manchester indoor track.

Looking speedy!

Matt at STOUT Bikes has been producing great custom frames (as well as forks and handlebars) out of his Texas shop for some time now.

We’ve featured his work before…Buddy Sardenga‘s super-cool Beelzebike, The 20 666’er was the first time…and more recently…Joshua “Lurch” Gittere’s custom 26-inch.

In both cases I was blown away by the build quality and attention to detail. Both owners were both pretty stoked on their respective bikes too.

And who could blame them? They’re both great bikes (I’ve ridden both.)

So the other day, I was surfing the net — flitting between bike sites — as I’m wont to do.

And I found myself over at the STOUT Bikes website.

After spending way too much time checking out all the custom frames, forks and bars, I caught myself checking out a build simply called “Ron’s 24”.

The bike looked huge!

I don’t know the specs but that front end appears plenty roomy.

The back end looks tight though…so it definitely looks like it would be great to shred on.

According to the writeup:

Ron is like eight feet tall. He is one of the guys I met in Oregon that helps build a kickass local dirt park. I hope he’s liking this thing better than that tiny P24 that he broke.

I’m super curious about the specs/geo now! If the other STOUT Bikes I’ve ridden are anything to go on (and I think they are) this is probably a rad bike to ride.

I hope I have a chance to test ride this bike some day.

Here’s a pic of the fork and bars.

Dang…as if I’m not feeling those bars too!

If these pictures have whet your appetite for some more custom bike porn…mosey on over to the STOUT bikes website, I know you won’t be disappointed.

While the “carbon footprint” of 20″ race frames shows no signs of slowing down, people racing cruiser have had to sit along the sidelines for a long time waiting for their turn.

Granted, Prophecy BMX does (did?) offer a carbon 24 but most of the major race outfits have been slow to offer a big wheel option to riders.

If you’re one of those riders anxious to get on a carbon 24….well, you’re wait is about to come to an end.

Speedco BMX has announced that they’re working on a 24” version of their VELOX carbon frame.

Details are very preliminary at this point — hence the 3D rendering — but plans are to get these babies out to riders in the fall of this year, 2016.

Time to start saving your pennies.

It goes without saying that you should support your local bike shop whenever you can.

This is even more true if you have a cool bike shop in your area that supports BMX.

And if that shop stocks cruisers…well, then you’ve got gold my friend.

These thoughts come to mind when I came across two shops promoting the 2016 We The People Avenger cruiser in their shops.

Harvester Bikes rolled out a freshly assembled Avenger for all to see on their Instagram feed a short while back.

To build on that hype, they posted a followup “unboxing” vid of the bike being assembled.

W-Base Garage, a shop in Japan, also got into the WTP Avenger action a while back.

The folks at W-Base, of course, busted out a bar endo.

They must of known I’m a sucker for bar endos.

It’s good to see shops stocking..and promoting!…cruisers.

UK rider, Roy “Sutty” Sutton spotted our recent post on Curtis Bikes’ unconventional cruiser and decided to drop us a line about another custom frame builder in the UK that will “build anything you want”…Invictus Bikes.

Invictus just finished his custom 24″ dirt/park/race cruiser (it’s just going to paint) and he sent along some early photos to share the stoke.

• 69 degree head tube
• 72 degree seat tube
• 23″ top tube
• 14″ rear stay
• 11.2″ bottom bracket height
• 135mm dropouts to run a disc brake

Sutty’s going to provide an update when it’s painted and ready to go. The frame comes in at a tidy 4 pounds (if that sort of thing matters to you).

Looking forward to seeing this rig all built up!

Sutty says his M.O. these days is “pump tracks/dirt/park and the occasional race”…so maybe some action shots too?

Well, the cat’s out of the bag.

Todd Lyons had been dropping hints leading up to the Spring Fling in Florida (that happened this past weekend).

He had something special that he wanted to showcase.

And he brought Stu Thomsen along for the occasion.

That “something” was the reintroduction of the STR (Stu’s signature frame back in the day).

But this wasn’t just a simple re-pop…this STR has evolved!

This STR is a 29-incher!

(Hence the name – STR-29.)

That’s Stu and the STR-29 on the right (Who’s that guy on the left? He looks pretty Buff)

The frame design is pretty trick.

The double down-tubes begin at the head tube, wrap underneath the bottom bracket, continue around the looptail (!) rear dropouts and then connect again on the top tube.

When I shared the first pic of the STR-29 on the CR Facebook page, a couple people questioned the 29″ size.

I kinda wondered about it too.

Then I remembered a comment I had seen in the past (from The Mayor of Hollywood, perhaps?) that the 29″ Big Ripper was an awesome wheelie machine.

No sooner had that thought crossed my mind…this picture popped up on my feed.

Stu and DBlocks getting their wheelie on.

It appears that my suspicions that the STR-29 being an extraordinary wheelie machine were confirmed.

I’m sure we’re going to be hearing more about the SE STR-29 in the weeks and months ahead.

(Pictures: Todd Lyons/SE)

Back in December, we had a look at Commonground Bikes‘ uncommon approach to the 24.

As you might recall, rather than taking the well-trodden path of many other companies…that is, scaling up a bigger version of 20″ geometry…Commonground took a different approach.

Commonground borrowed elements of 26″ dirtjumpers (slack headtubes, low bottom brackets) and scaled it down to a 24″ version (while still retaining many familiar “BMX-y” elements).

Have a look at that previous post if you want to see how the Commonground setup compares, side-by-side, to a typical BMX cruiser.

Of course, words and images are great but it’s always nice to see how a bike works “in the field”…or in this case, at the trails.

As luck would have it, Commonground dropped a video edit today that explains a bit more about the Commonground concept along with some good riding action.

Check it out.

Bonus section: the filmer seemed to really, really like the Commonground frame.

Seemingly right on the heels of our last post on Commonground Bikes (Finding that Commonground), an industry icon has thrown his support behind the Commonground concept.

Who is this industry icon you ask?

(If the headline didn’t give it away…)

It’s none other than Harold “McGoo” McGruther.

In a pair of Instagram posts today (here and here), McGruther talks a bit about his personal history riding/racing cruisers and what impact a trails-oriented 24 like the Commonground could have on the big-wheeled BMX scene.

Here’s a couple of tidbits from his posts:

…Commonground [‘s] 24″ seeks to bridge the gap between a BMX bike’s diminutive scale and an MTB’s complexity and cost to give grown-ass men a bike they can ride like they may have ridden in their teens and 20s, before wives, kids and desk jobs set in

If Pro BMX racing hadn’t become a clipped-in gym rat’s game at the turn of last century, I’d like to believe guys like Chris Moeller, @brianfoster, @ecmtb1 and Travis @commongroundbikes would have pushed race machinery in a bigger, faster, more bulletproof direction.

I secretly pine for what might have been had guys like Mike Day, Robbie Miranda and Brian [Foster]* gotten aboard the big bike train.

IMHO there is another good argument for grown men riding bigger bikes: fewer feckless members of the peanut gallery would look down on our sport’s greatest athletes as merely “old men on kid’s bikes.” I personally despise that opinion and comparison, but sometimes perception IS reality.

This isn’t the first time that McGruther has commented on “progressive 24s.”

You might recall a post from some years back, An army of giants take over the trails, where McGruther (using a Mirraco 24 as a jumping off point) talked about the number of core companies jumping into the 24 market (this was back in ’09).

At the time, he summed the situation up quite aptly by saying,

All we know for sure is this: 24-inch BMX bikes are fun to ride, and that’s good enough for us.

Couldn’t have said it better myself.

Postscript:

This just in…Brian Foster has jumped aboard the “big bike train“…to a degree, at least…in a surprise announcement — via Instagram — BF dropped the bomb that he was experimenting with an 22″ S&M ATF…and FIT would be releasing a 22″ Brian Foster complete in the new year.

Yowza!

The Yess BMX belt drive race bike, powered by the Gates Carbon Drive system, got a lot of hype last year.

It was definitely a big departure from conventional BMX drive trains.

When I finally got a chance to give it a once-over at Interbike, I was impressed. At the same time, I thought to myself, “I doubt they’ll ever get around to making a cruiser version.”

Well, as it turns out….Yess did get around to making a cruiser version.

BMXNews.com dropped the news over the weekend.

It will be offered as a complete, kitted out with BOX components, Arisun Tires and a specially-fitted-for-Carbon Drive Onyx rear hub. (Check the full parts breakdown over at BMXNews.com)

Drivetrain Deets 

• 50-tooth Gates Carbon Drive System Ring (Aluminum)
• Rear Cog: 22-tooth Gates Carbon Drive System Pulley (Aluminum)
• Belt: 108-tooth Gates Carbon Drive
• Gear ratio 1 : 2.27 (which is similar to 41/18)

List price is $2900 ($US, I believe) with a $200 discount incentive if you purchase before May.

Great to see the latest in BMX tech (like this and the 24″ carbon Speedco frame) making its way to the cruiser class.

(All pics: BMXNews.com)

Mike Laird made a name for myself as a BMX Pro but these days he spends most of his time making high-end custom frames that bear his name.

And those frames might just end up having a bigger impact on the riding community than his pro career ever did.

Still riding at a high level but retired from the contest scene, Mike has turned his attention to building the best custom frames he can for all types of riders.

We’ve featured a couple of Lairdframes in the past and have always been blown away.

Now with the milestone of the 200th frame reached (with a special one-off for himself)…it’s a good time to check out this video Mike put together a few months ago.

It walks through the journey Mike took from getting into riding, turning Pro and transitioning into a custom frame builder.

Check it out.