Is it all the same?
by: Taj Mihelich | Thursday, May 18, 2006 | 42 comments
Not sure what this post is... sort of an editorial, sort of me thinking outloud...
- Granny bike with basket no-handed pocket air.
I have to admit, I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I've developed quite a collection of bikes and other wheeled objects and its fun riding all of them. BMX is my first and strongest love by far, but I wonder if a smile from my beach cruiser is worth any less then one from my BMX?
- BMX, Big Wheel, Skateboard, Beach Cruiser, Road Bike, MTB, and Moped.
Bikes are the best! I wish everyone rode a bike, and I wish the cars on the road were replaced with bikes. Unlike snowboarding, skateboarding, surfing, or any other "action sport" bikes have a very functional secondary side; transportation (well, they're all forms of transportation I guess, but if you had to travel across town bikes would be the way to go... er, unless you lived in a city that was flooded with great waves!). Although this really has nothing to do with BMX exactly, riding a bike to somewhere can save you money, creates no pollution, and keeps you in shape (well, hell, it is National Bike to Work Day on Friday).
- You can click the engine off so this thing pedals like a bike. 110lbs over the hip... or a few feet under the hip that is.
- Carbon fibular 12th gear nose pick.
Last summer I rode some 4-cross MTB and had a blast. Its just like BMX racing used to be when I was a kid. Super fast, fun jumps, big berms and laid back atmosphere. I don't know if I'll ever do it too much, but it sure was great. The track was a hell of a lot more interesting then any of the BMX tracks I've seen in years. You could ride the 4-cross track on a BMX bike, but it wasn't nearly as fun. The track was just too bumpy and you got going too fast for a suspension-less little wheeled bike. So here I was, riding a mountain bike and it felt maybe even more BMX then BMX racing did. That kind of got me thinking about how there's tons of different bikes just waiting for whatever kind of riding you might want to do. If what you're riding is bumpy, downhill and fast having suspension and bigger wheels makes sense. If what you're riding is smooth and Skatelite or if you're grinding up a handrail ride a BMX. If you're riding to the grocery store ride a bike with baskets, or get yourself a touring bike to go across the country and go camping... ect.
- Disaster shoot out... cruiser vs. MTB!
- BMX on the ramp is cool because I feel like I can be creative and learn new things... on my skateboard I just feel like I'm going to DIE!
There's a whole new world of BMX "style" mountain biking happening right now. They are starting to have their own magazines, and their whole entire own sub-culture of cycling. On first glance it seems pretty lame to me, as it looks like most of the guys are just doing old school BMX tricks on big wheeled bikes (though for sure, there are some guys pushing it). On another hand though, I wonder if the guys riding those bikes aren't just doing it because they feel alienated by the "BMX Scene". Or maybe they're afraid of the little bikes 'cause they look too small? I don't know.
- When you do a Greg Hill tuck over the spine and look down at the coping you can't tell what bike you're on.
After thinking about it all for a while my thoughts just turn back to the idea that there are simply different bikes for different applications. Sort of like how you use a different paint brush depending on what you're going to paint, you know, you use the one that fits. Looking at it that way I think its all kind of the same. BMX is about way more then just the bike and if its fun and you're enjoying it maybe it doesn't matter if its a BMX, a MTB or a skateboard?
- Clearly the wrong tool for the job...
Also, and maybe more importantly, if I wear spandex under my clothes will anyone know about it?
Thanks Sandy Carson for the photos...
dominik
May 18, 2006haha
kuko
May 18, 2006Wonderful
greg
May 19, 2006Dude, it's all about the bikes, I never cared what kind I was on as long as I was riding.
I play hockey and wear a type of spandex under the equiptment, its called CCOMPRESSION SHORTS. Keeps all the muscles warm and in place.
me
May 19, 2006Cool. It´s all about "huevos"i guess.... ha, ha.. Nice pics.
elizabeth
May 19, 2006haven't i always said this? bikes make everything better. The more i ride, the more bikes i need. One of every kind thank you!!
dave
May 19, 2006thats nuts!, jumping the spine on a road bike!! hahaha, looks sooo funny,
Alex
May 20, 2006Bicycles, are part of the solution, road, bmx, etc, whatever bike you use, the planet thanks you. (and your body) pedaling is life, the breeze in your face, the feeling of creating power, and movement! bikers are happy people. SAY HI WHEN YOU BIKE, or anytime!
cool post Taj.
Maximiliano Icasati Johanson
May 20, 2006Hola Taj:
Saludos desde Ibiza España, me impacto un poco el control que tienes con el triciclo...JJAJAJA,espero que pronto saquen al mercado un Triciclo Pro street...Jajajajja, powerBIKE bmx (www.ibizadirtairx.com) mi web.
Un gran saludo. Max-one
Tez
May 20, 2006before i scrolled down i first thought that tuck no hander was fake!
Will
May 20, 2006You couldnt have said it any better.
It just come down to a bike. I just love
them , no matter what kind it is.
BIKES ARE THE BEST!!!!!
leif
May 20, 2006Excellent feature!
on a side note an executive from GM was inspired by
your article and in a press release
stated that the Hummer H35(boulder edition)
will be human powered,getting 10 mpb(miles per bananna)
price will remain at the $40,000 mark despite the absence
of internal combustion engine.
kevin
May 20, 2006Taj, whatever you choose to ride I know you will
do it with style up the ass...as always!
Povah
May 20, 2006I hope filmed all this shit for the video?????
Johnny
May 21, 2006No hander cant be true the spokes have been cut out!;) photoshop,
funny stuff tho!
fit for life
May 21, 2006weird but dop!
t1
May 21, 2006hahaha good stuff. taj you fucking rock :D
cale
May 21, 2006The spokes have been cut out?! Are you retarded? Spokes aren't exactly a large diameter item, and when you spin a wheel quickly, you can see right through them, like they aren't even there. The spokes aren't apparent because he had to get going fast enough to air the extension. Pay attention, the T1 ramp's extension is at least 9 ft tall.
AL
May 22, 2006looks like you can rock anything that rolls good stuff.
Len Butler
May 22, 2006"The spokes have been cut out?! Are you retarded? Spokes aren't exactly a large diameter item, and when you spin a wheel quickly, you can see right through them, like they aren't even there. The spokes aren't apparent because he had to get going fast enough to air the extension. Pay attention, the T1 ramp's extension is at least 9 ft tall." - cale
Are you retarded? This is an obvious photoshop cut-out. That's easy for me to say; I work in the fashion industry and I use photoshop every single day. However, it's easy to tell just by looking at it, even if you're not a photography expert.
First of all, look at the lighting on Taj's body. Why doesn't it look like outdoor sunlight? Why doesn't it match the light elsewhere in the picture?
Then, look at the edges of Taj's arms. Why are they so jagged?
Now, look at his facial expression. Have you ever seen an expression like that on someone who's actually doing a real no-hander?
And why is his front foot not visible?
Gavin Cope
May 22, 2006Why the hell do you care if its photoshop or not. Get a life its only BMX i think your missing a huge point somewhere along the line.
Alex
May 22, 2006Damm the hate! is what keeps bmx fuck..d take tha article for what it is. dont look at the pictures kids. The photoshop debate now.....oh lordy lord.
cale
May 22, 2006alright, fair enough, it's a fake, i glanced at the photo only looking at the spokes, my apologies, i look like an ass, oh well, i'm used to it by now i guess, those arms are jagged as crap, why couldn't someone have pointed that out originally, and potentially saved me from looking foolish, on a non argument note, i thought the "rambling" of different bikes was pretty spot on, different two wheelers for different things, very true. quick question for everyone, the volume sledgehammer, can it be taken seriously?
A.J.
May 22, 2006Taj! Please don't jump the road bike anymore. We like having you for a friend (an alive friend). A.J. and Heather
dini kennedy
May 23, 2006taj u is nuts but im down for that shizzle as i own a few bikes myself...koooll
dini kennedy
May 23, 2006dodge balll
richard jones "trick"
May 23, 2006yeh taj on a race bike looks nuts !!!!
and for the photoshop dude up there check the powerlines out its not a fake !! get out on your bike !!!
bmxboard
May 23, 2006BMXBOARD OWNS EVERYTHING
joe
May 24, 2006look at the stuff taj is doing on all the other bikes...over the spine, nose pick, disaster... why the hell would he fake a no hander he can do that no problem on any bike he chooses
brandon
May 24, 2006thank the lord for taj can do anything he wants
blah
May 25, 2006my cock stinks
bc,hj,h
May 26, 2006looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool
SzeQ
May 26, 2006whooooooooah :) i like this... :) LOL
olawf
May 26, 2006OMG awsome dude rely cool tricks
Logan
May 26, 2006haha i wish i coulddo that
Richie B from The east of canada
May 26, 2006compare the lighting on the three spines.
there you find your answer, but who cares. He could do it if he wanted to risk wrecking his road bike, and so could half of us if it was so important. Photoshop is your friend, and he used it so he didnt have to wreck a bike.
Go BIKES
me
Jun 1, 2006lol
that is about the sickest thing i have ever seen
Garson
Jun 1, 2006Thank you, this just put a huge smile on my face.
ChrisFromOhio
Jun 2, 2006Well put. I think I may have been sitting somewhere nearby during that first glance you mentioned above. I ride BMX, DH, XC and Around Town. It's good to hear my own thoughts echoed by someone whose seen a lot more than I have.
-Chris (Old Section 8 Employee & Ray's Forum Mod)
Loochfrom washington
Jun 5, 2006yah dude thats sick.
I like how you put it I get a lot of crap for riding mtn bike but its all the same.
Maximilian
Jun 6, 2006Taj, you keep making me smile! Thankyou! Just that...
myles
Jun 17, 2006u r a good rider
vapor
Jul 11, 2006Hell Yeah! Photoshop? WTF it's Taj. The man don't need photoshop. Everything Taj says in his post is spot on. I'll see you at the dirt jumps on my cyclocross bike...or my downhill bike...or xc mtb. It's all good as long as it's not rollerblading.