In a couple days I'll have a big edit posted here with a lot of footage from my Colorado trip. Ramps and flatland too. If you pay really close attention during it and are first to find where I "photoshop" Hector Garcia into it, he's gonna hook you up with some really tight shirts*. In other news, TEXAS TOAST / TEXAS FLATLAND ROUNDUP is less than 3 weeks away! See you there!
I recently traveled from Texas to Colorado, where I met up with James McGraw and had the time of my life! I don't think I have ever been to as many events in such a small time period as I did in my 5 days there.
Everywhere we went, I felt like a rock star being with him. We did a Keith King show on a closed street in downtown Denver during the USA Pro Challenge cycling race, rode at a private ramp park, did all day shows at the huge Colorado Springs Flea Market, sessioned a local park- including James riding on a dirt baseball diamond! We visited his practice spot, rode a couple random places, spent an evening at the absolutely breathtaking Memorial Skatepark, filmed a solo-wheel part on a mountain road, sessioned with Yella and the Yellow Designs Stunt Team (awesome!), went to a Jane's Addiction / Big Black Delta concert, and if that wasn't enough, spent an entire day riding, filming, and having a blast at the Prequel Contest (at which he got first place)! In fact I had so much fun I'm sure I'm forgetting some things!
The general vibe of the Colorado riders was incredible. I felt at home right away, and it really felt like I was among friends. Everyone was having a blast. I was very impressed with the riding scene there! It was a memorable trip for sure, and I'm really stoked to show you this new video of James at Home. He pulled some bangers, and seems to always be having a great time. It's inspiring. I hope to go back there one day!
Stay tuned for an upcoming Colorado Scene edit that shows a bit more from this amazing place.
James is cool. He has a lot of enthusiasm for riding, and it shows. I had the pleasure of filming him recently during his stay here in Austin, by way of Colorado.
Thanks to Scott O'Brien and Terry Adams for having this contest, and thanks to Freegun USA for sponsoring it.
please visit www.freegun-underwear.com for great gear!
camera | edit | jm mckay
music | die antwoord | $0$
purity ring | fineshrine
jai paul | jasmine
silent rider | i was a bomb
Sorry for the lack of posts on here lately. Have been working around the clock on projects. Here's the latest completed one; much more riding coming soon!
just a tiny taste of what's to come soon in the full edit, full of incredible links, and good moments.
i hope you enjoy this footage from the return of the greatest flatland contest in north america.
if you'd like your brand|company|site added to the list of sponsors, please contact me.
cheers
jm
camera | cut | jm mckay
music | fineshrine | purity ring
Moto is an iconic and original front wheel rider from Japan; winner of the prestigious Nora Cup, twice. He has competed and won Ground Tactics with possibly the best flatland link ever filmed, at over 3 minutes in length, and numerous other wins. These are some of the completed links I captured on his way to podium at JoMoPro this year.
3rd Place Pro 2012 JoMoPro flatland contest Joplin, Missouri, USA
Really great people at this year's event. It was a pleasure to be there. I hope you enjoy the photos. Feel free to share them.
You can visit the set on Flickr to see the full size slideshow and images by
Just a little clip from this year's practice before the contest. Buddha's riding is incredible, so calm, like putting socks in the drawer or walking the dog when he rides. More soon.
stay tuned~
If you came here to find out who this Josh Hansen fella' is, hopefully this will shed some light. I met up with him almost a year ago at Jomopro where he made a big impression on me, by riding extremely well in the jam circle outside of the contest. I saw a lot of flavor and depth in his riding, as well as consistency. and yeah, I felt the same way you may be feeling right now - "who the hell is this guy?!"As I see it, he's a good rider on the rise, and you will no doubt be seeing more from him in the future. Let's get this puppy going!
first question, who are you and what brought you here?
My name is Josh Hansen, I am 23 years young, and I live in Champaign, IL. I grew up in a small town called Two Rivers, WI and moved to IL in 2009. I was summoned by Jm McKay for this interview.
a question that's asked a lot is 'what made you want to ride flatland?’ -
I had an accident riding ramps in 2008, I was doing an ice pick and missed the transition of the ramp completely and fell to the pavement shattering my elbow. I couldn't ride for awhile and was kinda shook up after the fall. I could do hang 5s and bar hops before I made flat an all time thing. I always had an interest in flat riding by riding with my two good friends Clancy Burke and Andy Musil. I also rode with Mark Hilson (of Baco and Jerry Springer fame) who did some weird flat shit while riding ramps. In the middle of 2009 I started focusing more on flat and riding a little less street and ramps. I still love and ride street and ramps but flat is on the top of riding priorities.
what keeps you from quitting?
I guess its the fact the I have a strive to want to learn new things and meet people. Its something that is always there, and will always be there. People need things like that.
do you have a favorite color?
Purple is pretty legit. Black and White is pretty legit too.
if a doctor told you that you had, at best, one month to live, what things would you need to do to feel like you fully lived your life?
Keep doing what i've always been doing. Also learn hitchhiker kickflips.
i ran into you last year at the Jomopro contest there in Joplin, MO. what did you think of it? have you been to other contests? if so, how does it rate?
Contests are a good time I have been to quite a few and they are always a great time. The Indy contests have always been my favorite. I enjoy competing even if I ride like shit or ride awesome. I guess I really just like being part of it all. However, I never "train" for contests. I hate that word. If you are gonna train, don't train for a contest, train for life, train to do things all the time, not one particualr event.
Overall though the Am circuit, despite some of its flaws are a really good time and guys like Steve Lapsley are trying to make something that works. If all works out I will be at most of the AMFLT contests this year, Jomopro and the Anderson In contest. I am most likely not going to be at voodoo, due to cost. (sadface)
some riders primarily tailor and develop their riding for themselves, some push for web edits, documenting new ideas without the constraints of time, pressure and live audience, and others ride so that they perform well at contests and events. what do you ride for?
Progression, and see how much I can meld some of my street stuff with my flat stuff, and really just trying to see and develop new ideas and concepts. I love making edits as well, despite not making too many. There will be a really nice edit or two coming out in the future, so stay tuned on that.
at Jomopro i couldn't help but notice that you ride a PiR frame, made by master craftsman Malo. Can you say a few words about it?
Malo did a wonderful job on my frame. Basically I wanted to have the frame 19.5 (im tall 6"2), low top tube (6.15 standover),12.9 rearend, double diamond (no bends for me) 75ht/71st, high BB and some other features like the closed dropouts. I really love the frame, Ive been on it for a year and have no desire to ride anything else. You want something good, go with PiR.
when i watch you ride, i can't help but notice a heavy street-ish influence. how long have you been riding street or other genres of bmx?
I started riding BMX in 2003 and I really rode alot more park then street up until i started riding flat in mid 2009. I rode alot of stuff like banks and miniramps, doing coping tech and stuff like that.. I also enjoy alot of freecoaster fakie style stuff.
how do you stay sane during these long winters when there is snow everywhere and the weather is inhospitable?
In Wisconsin you paid money to ride skateparks or you pissed and moaned how much the winter sucks. But since I live in Illinois now, I am lucky because I have a warm indoor parking garage I can ride and I know people who have their own indoor spots too.
your favorite web edit or flatland video?
Akira Okamura - Soul 53# is my fav. The atmosphere of that particular edit is pretty close to me just riding around random places and doing whatever.
favorite food?
Spicy food. and seafood
do you have any hobbies outside of riding?
I don't have hobbies, I have interests. Hobbies cost money. Mostly I just work and go to school and ride. Pretty much just chill when I am not riding.
do you have a girlfriend, wife?
I have a wife actually.
would you accept a sponsorship from a company if they approached you? if yes, top 3 companies (or types of companies) and why.
I would take a sponsorship from any company who I can represent and they can represent me.Also Any Shoes, Tires or Clothing company I will take with open arms haha.
where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Hopefully riding and having a job that makes good money.
if modern flatland was a song, what song would it be?
I know it wouldn't be a dubstep song.
do you have a favorite rider?
Akira Okamura, Travis Collier, Marrti Kouppa are my top 3.
do you watch sports on tv?
I watch NFL football, and Pro Wrestling is pretty entertaining at times.
vegetarian or omnivore?
Meat eating Vegetarian.
what is the next new trend in flatland?
Hopefully jumping tricks. Most people say more street influenced flat riding, but that has been going on longer than people think.
nicki minaj: tramp or too cool?
too much of a tramp to be cool.
we touched on your custom frame earlier, but are there any other special things about your bike?
I have a modified Nankai Bamboo convered to female axle with bluesix ti bolts and ti lock nuts. I also have a counterbored colony stem and a custom made Bottom bracket spacer. All made in the USA by Zodiac Eng. It also weighs 19.6 pounds.
are there any parts you ride that you will want to stay with till the end?
Hopefully all my parts will last. My coaster and my frame I defiantly have a soft spot for however.
favorite band?
I listen to alot of music, so its hard to pick a favorite, but I enjoy Opeth,The New Pornographers,and Autechre as of late. Quite the sporadic list.
favorite snack?
Anything spicy.
how would you describe the ultimate flatland jam? we've talked about doing it here in austin, but for the uninitiated, your thoughts:
The Super Happy Fun Austin Mega BMX Flatland Jam of the Eternal Riders World United Jam will hopefully happen someday. Seems like a good time.
SHFAMBMXFJERWUJ for short.
(try and post a jpeg image of the long facebook discussion we had on this im sure people will laugh at it) fs: i would if i could, but it is simply too long- between 100-150 comments if i recall.
at this point i'd like to just thank you for putting up with this random onslaught of questions. now the mic is all yours. shoutouts, thoughts, anything at all you'd like to add:
-Clancy Burke and Andy Musil for getting me hooked on flatland.
-Mark Hilson for all the fun sessions, hope all is well wherever your at.
-Wisconsin riders who have been good to me over the years.
-The nice people at 217bmx.com for all the great edits and trips.
-Chris, Paul,Jake (Indy crew)
-Chicago area riders
-Chad and Brandon @ juggahoe bikes/milwaukee flatland crew
-And My family for their love and support with this unusual hobby.
Well shit, now it sounds like im giving a speech. Time for some cheap plugs.
Go get a something made by PiR products, Go buy something from Zodiaceng, check out 217bmx.com, watch all the great videos on flatstyle. add me on twitter @hashcab217. stalk me on facebook. And ride your bike.
Yesterday's session was very chill, very fun. I shot some video of Mark, rode some bikes, and then took some pictures. Looking forward to next Saturday, already.
I filmed Mark doing this month's trick of the month- a way for people learning to bond together and share tips and experiences.
Adam's bike shows as much attention to detail as his riding does, so it's a real treat to help out with his latest bike check. The frame and handlebars were designed by Adam, and made by Will at London Bikes; right here in Texas. I got to briefly ride it, and was instantly impressed with how dialed it felt.
FRAME:
London Bikes Custom made by Will Redd, my design, (Will did some genius tweaks) 75 degree Head Tube, 73 Degree Seat Tube, 18.5” Top Tube, 12.5” Chain Stay (Middle of bottom bracket to back axle center), 13.75” Bottom Bracket Height. The frame has a Euro Bottom Bracket and Internal headset cups. The frame weighs in at 4 lbs. Some special things about the frame are that the seat tube has an overlapping tube that allows the top tube and top wishbone to hit evenly on the seat tube of a similar size. This adds support and looks tricked out.
And I designed the seat stays and the chain stays to hit the wishbone on the outer edges so my foot would hit flush when foot stalling on the frame and tire. The top right seat stay is a little more squeezed together than the other three stays to help on spacing since my chain runs so close to the stay. (You can literally put just a piece of paper between the chain and the seat stay it’s so close) The color is bare steel that is buffed and polished, then baked to give it a gold/bronze tint color, then clear coated. The welds on the frame are gorgeous. Will is a true artist and frame building master.
The reason I did the frame the way I did is I want total space, less to get caught on, more maneuverability and to add more control to some of my tricks. My bars are designed the same way. Reasons for the high bottom bracket: I've been practicing pedaling mega-spins under the bike. I feel very crunched trying to pedal, so by raising the bottom bracket it becomes lower when the bike is upside down, which allows you to extend your legs more, which should give me more comfort and more control while cranking the spins. Raising the bottom bracket also allows for more space in Stick B position. Instead of having to step on the tire in front of the frame in a stick B, the tire would be right under your foot allowing more surface area on the tire to allow better controlled scuffing, pivoting on the tire, and tire stall tricks. Raising the bottom bracket should put the cranks directly under you in a time machine/blender, so it will feel more like a unicycle, again giving more control.
Raising the bottom bracket will allow your crank arms to be more in line with the frame when sitting horizontal and farther away when vertical while you’re doing jugglers, allowing more space to go under the frame without hitting cranks or pedals. Raising the bottom bracket allows the down tube to rise giving more space to get your leg through to the other peg or tire above the front wheel/tire. Raising the bottom bracket will bring your body higher up while standing on the pedals, so when pushing forward into a nose wheelie position, your body would have to travel a shorter distance allowing you to get to the position faster and it would be easier to stabilize (less of a distance to travel means less force, which means it will be easier to stop the foreword momentum on the way to the balance point).
HANDLEBARS:
London Bikes Custom made by Will, my design again with Will’s input and tweaks to make them better. The Height is roughly 9” tall (from bottom of clamp to top of grip tubes), 24” wide, 4 degree upsweep and back sweep, 26 mm reach and 2 degree forward tilt. Powder coated gloss black.
I made these again with space in mind. I always loved the KHE Swissmiss bars, so I started with that design and pushed everything together. These are currently my second handlebar design, and now I’m working on a third. The new ones will have a little more reach and a small separation in the rise tubes to have a brake cable go through, along with a lower crossbar and a special new clamp piece.
FORKS: Odyssey Flatware Forks, zero offset, with removable brake mounts, powder coated gloss black.
BAR ENDS:
Sequence Titanamighty Bar Ends (Titanium) I always make sure the set screws face directly down to the ground because that is the only spot where it won’t get ground down from scratching the ground, and they won’t interfere with my palms when I’m hand pivoting.
GRIPS:
Odyssey Chase Hawk with the flanges cut off. I like the feel of grips that don’t allow your hand to squeeze into them too much. I feel ring grips like ODI and Thumbtack styles cause your hand to “rock” back and forth from where you intend to squeeze and it throws my hand angle/pressure off. I know, it’s a little ridiculous, but I feel a difference.
GRIP STOPPER:
This is custom made grip stopper that is held on with a set screw like a bar end, but is very low profile, and it came out of a mountain bike geared hub. I think one of those internal shifting ones. I’m not positive the local shop Clown Dog Bikes handed it to me and said they make great grip stoppers. They were right. I filed down the outside edges and around the set screws to remove all the sharp edges.
BRAKE LEVER:
Odyssey Monolever medium size in black. I run it only on the right hand side as a front brake only. I filed down all the sharp edges and any point that has a bad angle into my hand.
BRAKE CABLE:
Odyssey Slic Cable, black. I run the Slic cable because linear cables have too much soft plastic on the inside which makes the brakes feel squishy when the pads hit the rim. I like my brakes to feel solid.
HEADSET CAP:
Tree Front Brake Headset Cap H24 in purple.
HEADSET SPACERS:
Mutiny Carbon Fiber. I run four all together, two on top of the clamp and two below. I have the top two filed down to fit between the fork steer tube and the two rise tubes of my handlebars.
HEADSET:
Odyssey Integrated Headset in black.
FRONT BRAKE:
Fly Front Brake in black. I went over the entire brake and took every sharp edge that could get caught on my legs and feet off. I filed down the edges of the spring plates to be rounded. When I adjust my tension, I make the brakes so they have hardly any tension at all so they are super easy to pull.
BRAKE PADS:
Odyssey Slim by 4 in black. I replaced the long allen key nuts with small regular nuts and cut the long excess threaded brake studs off so they are flush with the outside of the nut. It’s much more comfortable when I lean on the front wheel now that the brakes don’t stab me in my calves.
PEGS:
Sequence Titanamighty Pegs on the front and back. They have a titanium insert cap on the ends of the pegs along with a hard anodized black duranotic finish on the knurling so they wear down very slowly.
SEAT:
KHE Watanabe in black.
SEATPOST:
KHE Prismatic in black. I filed down the sharp clamping pieces in the seat post guts.
SEATPOST CLAMP:
Odyssey Mr. Clampy2 in black. PEDALS: Welgo Nano pedals in black. 9/16”
CRANK ARMS:
Profile Flatland 150mm in black.
SPINDLE:
Profile Titanium
SPINDLE BOLTS: Bluesix Titanium SAE Bolts in blue.
SPROCKET: Profile Imperial Nano 18 tooth 3/32” in silver.
SPROCKET BOLT: Harley Davidson chrome plated Nano size allen bolt. It happened to be the only bolt that would fit at my local hardware store.
CHAIN: KHE Half link Hollow Pin 3/32” in chrome. I run my chain tight so when I set my cranks, they stay . BOTTOM BRACKET: Odyssey Euro Bottom bracket with the drive side cup replaced with an Ares plastic bottom bracket cup. My chain was rubbing the frame with a regular cup so I filed down the Ares plastic cup as small as it could go and made it flush with the diameter of the bottom bracket diameter.
CHAIN TENSIONER:
London Bikes. They are as light weight and simple as you could go. A thin washer welded to a small threaded post. I cut the posts to be flush on the back of the tightening nuts and rounded off all the sharp edges.
TIRES:
KHE Mac foldable 20”x1.75” black for the front and back. I make sure the arrows point forward when I put them on my rim, and I make the writing on the sides of the tires line up with the tube valve stems. I run them at 120 psi when I’m riding and I remove the air down to 90 psi when I’m done so they don’t blow up in my car while I’m driving or when I’m sleeping in the middle of the night.
TUBES:
No Specific brand, just the regular 20” tubes from Clown Dog Bikes. I leave the valve caps off so I don’t get my fingers caught on them and since I’m constantly changing pressure, there is no reason to leave them on. I also cut old tubes to make a small valve stem base cover so the valve doesn’t get pinched on the sharp edge of the rim valve stem hole.
STEM PAD:
Chadwick (AKA Sickwick) gave this to me as a hand me down. It was originally a mountain bike stem pad that was flipped upside down, then I believe his mom sewed on the crown and diamond design for him. I cherish it and it works and fits perfectly.
WHEELSETS:
FRONT HUB:
KHE Geisha 36 Hole in Purple. I removed all the bearings, removed their dust covers, and greased them with a mix of regular grease and Triflow stirred up into a thin cream. Without the dust covers the wheels roll forever although I have to constantly keep them clean and free of dirt. It’s worth it for how much increase I got in performance.
BACK HUB:
KHE Geisha Light 9 tooth, 36 Hole in silver/purple hardware. I did the same thing with these bearings and the wheel rolls amazingly. On the non drive side I run a titanium axle stud, the other titanium stud got worn out, so I’m running just a regular stud on the drive side. RIMS:
Odyssey Birdcage Rims 36 Hole Chrome plated. These rims are curved so they are very comfortable to hold. The valve stem sticks out at angle so you can easily access it with a pump. I made sure to have both wheels laced with the valve stems pointed the same direction and angled away from my dominant hand so it doesn’t stab into me. NIPPLES:
DT Swiss ProLock brass nipples in black. These nipples keep their tension so there is less truing that has to be done.
SPOKES:
DT Swiss Stainless Steel Strait Gage in silver/polished.
SHOES:
Adidas Supermod ST size 10. These shoes are light, very padded, shell toes for protection and have stiff bottoms. I use heel risers and therapeutic insoles that have raised arches.
Things that I have with me when I ride (in my car):
·A small IPod Player stereo that gets surprisingly loud for how small it is. I run it off of 4 rechargeable batteries. It blasts at the OG at most sessions.
·A Lawn chair for when I need to rest and take a seat for meals.
·A Stihl Leaf blower. Works great for cleaning the riding area spotless before every session.
·A foam roller. My back gets cramped up and aches unless I roll it out throughout the sessions.
·A floor air pad for stretching.
·A high pressure air pump.
·A tool box with all my tools.
·My flatland journal that has tons of link ideas and tricks to learn.
·Lunch Box with freezer ice blocks and some meals/snacks/water/Gatorade.
·Backpack with all my bike specific tools, cell phone, wristbands, headbands, towels, and bandanas, (it gets hot and sweaty In Texas), my IPod, nail clippers, Air Pressure reader, deodorant, video camera with tripod, WESC headphones, chap stick, ibuprofen, and protein powder with shaker.
Oh and not that it matters, but I was curious to know how much my bike would cost if you bought it brand new. I estimated roughly $2,420.00 for those of you who are curious also. (I know, a little ridiculous) Ah…I think that’s it…Thanks for reading! - Adam
photoset on flickr: here 