Covet thy neighbour’s bike …
December 2017
Covet thy neighbour’s bike …
December 2017
Our 10 favourite bikes of 2017 … how did we get here you ask, well it wasn’t easy! The short list had over 20, the long list had double that but we came to our senses, eventually, and decided that in order to pick one, we actually had to have been close enough to one to drool on it, you know, pick it up, sit on it … rub it (ok, we broke that rule once but only because we may never get to see this bike). Unfortunately, that meant we had to reluctantly let go of the Envy RS7, the Wiawis and a few others until next year … how nice is that RS7 though!
Let’s be clear, this is not a list declaring ‘these are the best bikes in the universe’, although we could make that argument for a lot of them … these are the bikes at the top of our love list which is, no doubt, different to yours. Hit that comment button below and let us know which ones you’d swap out with your pick.
Oh, you’re going to notice a trend here … any colour is good, once it’s black … or raw metal (so to speak) …
So, in no particular order …
CHASE ACT 1.0 | Lux bmx
The carbon Chase ‘ACT 1.0’ has been consistently the fastest bike this year with both Joris Daudet and Connor Fields dominating the USA BMX Pro Series on it … so it’s got that going for it! We love that Chase kept the same design language as it’s alloy sibling … visually it’s got muscles in all the right places and when built up with the Box X5 forks (like our pick below) it soars to new visual heights. If Chase Bicycles made a ‘black on black’ version and fit it with their soon to be released disk brake we’d sit and stare endlessly! This stunning version was built by Lux BMX for a very lucky Australian!
Check out Chase Bicycles and Lux BMX for more on the ACT 1.0.
SUPERCROSS ENVY BLK | Maris Strombergs
The greatest racer of all time, Maris Strombergs, chose to ride the carbon Supercross ‘Envy BLK‘ and has called it the ‘baddest bike I️ have ever owned’ … that’s pretty much all you need to know but if you’re really going to be picky, the Envy BLK has all the technological bells and whistles and then some … nano alloy resins, high modulus weaves, steel compression moulds, yada yada yada … but Strombergs wants to ride one and now so do we! Maris’s current build (see more HERE), in stealth mode with all its Tangent parts is just preaching to the converted!
Find out more about the Envy BLK on the Supercross BMX site.
PURE BICYCLES | Kyle Evans
Ok, so Kyle Evans’s Olympic Pure build is not necessarily a 2017 bike but he rode it just enough this year to make us happy with our decision to include it. Probably, well maybe our favourite ‘Olympic’ bike, this custom Pure is simple, clean and … well, pure! It literally looks fast standing still.
We took a closer look at Kyle’s bike earlier this year, check it out HERE and then jump over to the Pure Bicycle Company site for all the details.
DAVID GRAF | Custom
David Graf decided he wanted to ride a carbon frame but couldn’t find exactly what he was looking for so he went on a quest to turn a Haro Citizen into his ultimate custom race machine, or as close as he could get. Everything on this bike is there for a reason, custom machined drop outs, the MTB rear hub, the lack of paint … he sanded it off to save weight! We love this bike because of the commitment it took, it has to be the most tweaked bike on the BMX circuit … and it’s black, ALL black!
Delve deep into Graf’s bike and his ‘Pursuit of Mechanical Advantage’ HERE…
URP | Moto v1
UK brand URP (Urban Race Parts) burst onto the frame market this year with the completely unique ‘Moto v1’. While it may well be the thing of nightmares for those clinging to the past, we love the effort it took to look to the future. The Moto v1 fame is disc brake specific and, impressively, has solved the issue of frame design in relation to belt drives with its clever ‘mobius dropout system’. We’re still intrigued by the belt drive and are holding our final opinion until we’ve taken one around the track.
We recently had a closer look at URP’s Chloe Foster’s bike HERE. Go check out the URP site for more information but we believe the Moto v1 frames go on general sale early in the new year.
SPEED CO VELOX | Rico Bearman
Speed Co. have made the black on black, raw carbon look their own … which hugely contributed to our bout of love sickness the first time we laid eyes on the ‘Velox’. Love the beautiful tube design, love the unique drop outs and we especially love the way it feels on the track … we’re pretty sure your street cred gets bumped a couple of notches when you’re on it.
New Zealand native, Rico Bearman, latest build, loaded with carbon rims, carbon forks and a crank set all from Speed Co.’s parts brand, Avian, makes us just a little jealous.
Jump to the Speed Co. site for all the technical info and sizes available.
CRISP BROS. CBR-01 | Jordan Kinghorn
We’ve been stalking Jordan Kinghorn’s Crisp ‘CBR-01’ on Instagram since early January this year, we were instantly drawn to the clean graphic look that Crisp Bros. Racing do so well. There is something slightly retro, in a cool way, that we love about the brand … they have been around since the early 80’s to be fair. We had a hard time picking between Jordan’s and Leanna Curtis’s bike (see hers HERE) but ultimately, lets be honest, we’d take either …
Details of the CBR-01 on the Crisp Bros. Racing site.
ICE F-118 | Black Pearl
Love it or hate it you’ll have to admit that the ICE ‘F-118’ has gotten a LOT of attention since its birth. While we’ve quietly admired the design ambition we’ve been somewhere in the middle, near the fence, depending on our mood … but then just before St. Etienne, ICE unveiled the ‘Black Pearl’ edition which dragged us firmly into the ‘love’ camp! The bike that showed up at the French event, decked out with Ice Fast carbon rims and the prototype carbon disc was pretty special.
The ‘Black Pearl’ is about to be available in all sizes, keep an eye on the ICE site for up-to-date information. One thing we noticed from the newly release photos, and we hope it’s not a permanent feature, is that the v-brake mounts are no longer removable … hopefully the detachable ones return to keep the sleek rear end if you want a disc.
DAYLIGHT | Arc c1
If the devil is in the details then this thing is pure evil! From the head tube badge to the beautifully designed drop outs, we love the drop outs, this ‘Arc c1’ is expensively stunning from every angle. Matt black ceramic finish, disc brake, black DXR’s … we’ve already said enough …
Find out more about the bike the current world champion, Corben Sharrah, rides over on the Daylight Cycle Co. site.
COLONY GTi | Bruce Morris
We love it when ‘freestyle’ brands get into the race frame market and Colony BMX have done just that with the release of the beautiful, chromoly ‘GTi’. While giving a nod to old school BMX the GTi is equipped with full on modern race day geometry, meaning the owner of this machine, Bruce Morris, can confidently shred the tracks of today and feel young doing it (we’re not saying he’s old!). As Bruce once said … ‘if it feels right, then it is right’ … we assume he was taking about the bike.
Get a closer look at Bruce’s GTi HERE but get in touch with Colony BMX or Lux BMX if you want one!
