News
Haimona repping as always
Haimona Ngata, our man in Auckland, New Zealand is shown below repping Colony as always. Ho, as we all know him, is a living legend in the NZ riding scene, whether he likes it or not.
I remember the first time I ever met him was in Brisbane in 1999. He was there with a good selection of my favourite New Zealand riders for the Planet X Gaymes. I remember him & Shoe-G from Japan getting on top of the wall ride on the street course after the finals swinging their male apendages around. I also kinda recall drinking a bottle of Black Sambucca on my back porch while talking about mowing the lawn in my Hoffman Boks shoes, haha. Priceless. Ho rules.
Thanks to Mike from Zombie BMX for the photo. Check out his website HERE.
Yo yo !!
Web Video Mix Section
I have decided to release some of the bonus material from our ‘A Month In The Life Of’ DVD here for all those that haven’t been able to get a copy themselves.
This week we have the ‘Mix 2’ section featuring Nick Richardson, Benny Paulsen, Haimona Ngata, Pete Radivo & Tim Wood.
Click HERE to check it out yourself.
If you wanna see the full length DVD contact your favourite BMX shop now.
Yo yo !!
Happy Birthday Liam !!
Hey everyone, it’s Liam’s 23rd birthday today… hip hip, hooray !! Happy birthday Liam & hope you had a great weekend of celebrations & am not feeling it too much at work today. Thanks for being a part of Colony & I look forward to having a few drinks with you in the near future.
I am sure Liam will have many nights like this ahead on the piss. Happy birthday mate.
Yo yo !!
Mick Bayzand is in town
Yo… Mick Bayzand is in Brisbane for the first time in almost ten years. He is staying at my place & we will be hitting up what B-town has to offer in the way of street, parks & what not. Should be a good week. Look out for a possible web video from the weeks adventures. In fact, were off to start filming this afternoon.
Yo yo !!
20Twenty Store
There is a cool BMX store called 20Twenty located in Aberdeen, Scotland ran by a rider by the name of Mike Ellington. Mike carries an extensive range of Colony products & we appreciate his support. Mike also hooks up local rider Lewis Watson with Colony with the help of Shindig Distributions.
I visited the store back in 2004 & Mike let myself & James Hitchcox stay at his place for the night. If you’re ever in the area drop in and say G’Day (or what ever they say up there? Maybe I should’ve asked Scottish John for what they say up there?)
An upcoming advert in DIG Mag for Mikes store.
Yeah Lewis is pretty good on his bike.
Yo yo !!
Kenny Raggett advert
I have known Kenny for around 12 years now & he can still manage to impress me with his riding abilities. Take this 360 table for instance… I love this shot. Thanks to Steve Morrisey for the pic by the way.
This is our latest advert that you will see in the latest issue of Ride as well as future issues of DIG, 2020 BMX & Focalpoint magazines. So go out now & buy an Endeavor complete bike & reward yourself with one of the best value complete bikes out there today.
Yo yo !!
James Steele & winter in Canada
James Steele, our flow team rider from Canada, sent me an email recently about what he has been up to of late dealing with the Canadian winter. Read on…
I’ve just been working and riding as much as I can. The weather here is pretty bad right now. We’ve got about 2 and a half feet of snow on the ground right now and it’s not looking like it’s going anywhere fast.
So I’ve been riding the few indoor parks that we’ve got around here, which has been OK. Not the most fun thing to do that’s for sure. Can’t wait for some nice weather. I did get a photo shot that is OK. It’s indoors so its nothing I’m too stoked on, either way I’ll send it along with this email.
Other then that, not to much new happening over here. I just got some flights booked up for May. I’m gonna be going to Vancouver for a month and a bit to chill and ride. So I’ve got something to look forward too! – James.
Yo yo !!
Some say artwork…
… Others say just well designed BMX parts that meet & exceed todays riders demands.Like our Transformer Levers for instance.
Or perhaps the Official Stem.
What about the Official Forks?
Even our Headsets are considered a desirable part to any bike.
Ryan’s sprocket has been refered to as one of the best looking sprockets out today.
Yo yo !!
Benny Paulsen bike check
Achim from Fastpace Distribution in Germany just sent me this bike check on our German flow team rider, Benny Paulsen. Check out his sweet new ride below. Word.
Name: Benny Paulsen
Age: 26
Hometown: Moers, Germany.
Sponsors: Colony, Odyssey, Carhartt, Vans, Fuse.
Frame: Colony Bloody Oath 21″ TT
Fork: Official Forks V3
Headseat: FSA
Crankset: Odyssey Wom-bolt
BB Set: Odyssey
Gyro: Odyssey Alu
Sprocket: Odyssey Vermont 28t
Chain: A Chain
Pedals: Odyssey Jim C.Trail mix
Handlebar: Colony Unlucky13 7.9 rise
Stem: Colony Official Stem
Grips: Odyssey Matt Beringer
Saddle: Colony Mid Pivotal Seat
Seat Post: Colony Pivotal Seatpost
Seat Clamp: Built-in seat clamp
Front Hub: Odyssey Vandero 2
Rear Hub: Odyssey Cassette mit 10t driver ?
Rims: Odyssey 7K
Spokes: Odyssey
Front Tire: Odyssey Dirt Path Plyte 2.1
Rear Tire: Odyssey Path Plyte 1.85
Pegs: Colony One Way Park Peg – only left side
Brakes: Odyssey Evo 2
Brake Lever: Colony Transformer Lever
Yo yo !!
Colony US trip web video #1…
Wanna see Liam’s amazing PSI rail ride as on the cover of the current issue of Ride BMX magazine? Then click HERE to see this & a bunch of other riding from the Colony team. This footage was filmed all in one day in Athens, GA late last year. Enjoy.Check back in the next week or two for the next in a series of web videos from the rest of our US trip & others filmed here in Australia. Hope you like my filming & editing…
Yo yo !!
Liam Fahy-Hampton gets the cover of Ride BMX.
Check it out… Liam & Colony both get their first cover of Ride BMX & we get a full blown story within the pages of the magazine. The story is based around our US trip late last year with the team.
Check back really soon in the next week for the release of the web videos from the trip & others we have been filming for.
This cover is huge for us & I am so stoked for Liam. Truely deserved for sure with an epic PSI ride down 16 stairs. Fuck yeah Liam.
Yo yo !!
Angela’s new 2008 Sect frame…
Angela Dobbie just sent me some pics of her new bike she has just built up. A 2008 model Sect frame in 20.5 in Metallic Bloody Red. These frames along with our entire 2008 range of frames will be available early April.
The Sect is Kenny Ragget’s signature frame & like all our 2008 frames is full post heat treated giving it superior strength at an incredible weight of 4.5lbs.
Kenny doing what some say he does best, talking on the mic.
Yo yo !!
Sect Limited Edition Complete Bike
Our Sect Limited Edition Complete bike has to be one of the best value high end bikes to ever come out of a box ready to ride. It’s packed with every high end part we make & parts from other companies like wethepeople & Primo. Check the products section for full details on the spec.
These very special bikes are produced in a limited run of 75 for the year for the entire world. So you know you’re lucky if you happen to score yourself one. Word.
Yo yo !!
Pete Radivo bike check
Pete Radivo is back in action after a long 8 months off his bike due to a knee reconstruction. He was at the recent BMX Games killing it & looking like he never took a day off from riding. Pete rules.
I got a couple pics of his new bike here & it looks great. Pete still rides for our friends at wethepeople for frames & Colony for parts.
FRAME: WTP Elektro – Glow Lime Green
FORKS: Colony MVP V2
BARS: Colony Unlucky13 Tall
BAR ENDS: Colony Konka
STEM: Colony Official
GRIPS: WTP Slapshot
BRAKES: Fly CNC Brake
LEVER: Colony Transformer CNC Lever
GYRO: SST
FRONT WHEEL: WTP Supreme Front Wheel
REAR WHEEL: Colony Clone cassette with ceramic bearing 9t driver with Demolition Rim
SPROCKET: Colony Official 25T
CHAIN: KMC K710SL
CRANKS: WTP Royal Cranks
PEDALS: Wellgo MG-1
SEAT POST: Macneil Pivotal
SEAT: Macneil Imperial Pivotal
TYRES: Shadow Tyres
PEGS: Colony Oneway
WEIGHT: 10.7kgs or 23.5lbs
Yo yo !!
Clone Hubs… How are they made?
Ever wondered how a BMX hub is made? Well wonder no more !! 99% of high end BMX hubs are made the following way…
Start with a solid rod of alloy material & place it in the 20,000 tonne cold press.
Press the ‘go’ button & within 2 seconds you have the basic shape of a cassette hub.
The hub shell is then machined down to its finished shape & the axle & hardware assembled into the shell.
Done, easy as that. Well, not that easily done. Cassette hubs have so many intricate parts & need to be made to exacting tolerances that they are actually a difficult part to make. But worth all that extra work in the end for our bikes & how they ride.
Yo yo !!
Clone Hubs are getting closer…
Finally, after a year of testing & development we have arrived at our final design for our highly anticipated Clone Hubs.
The front hub features a 7075T6 bolt style axle with 10mm bolts & special hardware. It has a very small shell design & will only come in 36 hole. The front hub weighs in at a mere 223 grams (0.49lbs)
The cassette hub features a ceramic bush inside the 9T driver. This design is much stronger & eliminates the failures caused by bearings exploding. We will offer an exclusive ONE YEAR WARRANTY on the driver. This kind of warranty is an industry first.
The axle is CrMo & is hollowed out & accepts an 8mm allen key for easy maintenance. The hub shell itself is as small as possible & will only be available in 36 hole. Left or Right hand drive versions will be offered & it has no titanium to be found, yet weighs in at an impressive 394grams (0.866lbs)
The Clone Hubs will be available worldwide late June 2008 in Black, Red or Purple.
Yo yo !!
Zac Miner / Colony / Backbone BMX
What do all of the above have in common? Well, besides all living & breathing BMX, all of the above have now teamed up. Zac Miner is now officially a Backbone / Colony flow rider. He just today put together his new ride & is now Bloody Oath mounted with a slew of our fine parts.
Zac at the Civic park in Canberra. Pic courtesy of Nick Gascoine.
Check out Backbone BMX for some info’s about Zac’s recent crash & injury at Cam’s Jam in Canberra last weekend. Get better soon Zac & thanks for being a part of the Colony family.
Interesting piece of useless information # 243… According to Backbone’s 5 Bestsellers, 3 of these are Colony products… Our Konka Bar Ends, Bloody Bath Bars & Official Stem. Nice.
Yo yo !!
BMX Games update
First up… Happy Australia Day everyone !! Yo…well the first day of the BMX Games as almost come to an end.
Vert was this first up this morning & our own Tim Wood won, with an amazing array of tricks, capped off by yet another amazing 900, as only Tim can do so well.
The Colony BMX Mini Ramp Batle just finished & some amazing riding was seen by all. Both the amatuer & pro classes were amazing to watch & I have to say the level of riding in Australia is so high right now. I wont go into the whole ‘who did what’ as I am sure you check other sites soon for that. Plus it’s time for me to go down & have a few drinks with the boys.
I will report after tomorrow’s activities & hopefully I will be more forthcoming with news for you all.
Ryan Guettler with a No Hander over the spine before Pro finals.
Ryan just moments before the No Hander above.
Some kids that helped me remove the Colony stickers from the ramp. Thanks !!
Yo yo !!
Laser Green Limited Colour available now.
Our limited Laser Green colour is now available at all good BMX shops. You can get Official V3 Forks, MVP V2 Forks, Unlucky13 Bars, Bloody Oath Bars, Official Stems, Transformer Levers, Konka Bar Ends, Official Sprockets, Pivotal Seatposts, Oneway Pegs & our Headsets are all available in the Laser Green.
Get them while they last. Word.
Yo yo !!
Roadtrip…
It’s roadtrip time !! Myself & Richo are heading off to Sydney for the BMX Games in the morning… should be an awesome time.
If you’re in Sydney this weekend you should come & hang out at Olympic Park for the 2008 BMX Games
Make sure you come & check out the Colony BMX Mini Ramp Jam on the 26th January… what a way to celebrate Australia Day. Word.
Yo yo !!
BMX Games 2008 this coming weekend.
The biggest annual comp is set to go down in Sydney this coming Australia Day weekend. You can expect to see pretty much the whole of Australia’s riding population there hanging out, riding, drinking or any combination of all of the above. Should be good times as always.
The vast majority of the Colony team will be there in full effect. Especially for the Colony BMX Mini Ramp Battle set to go down on Australia Day, the 26th January.
Hope to see you all there & look out for the Colony BMX booth on the Sunday with our range on display as well as some of the 2009 stuff like the Liam Fahy-Hampton’s Hell Stallion frame, our Clone Hubs & 2 piece cranks.
We will even have some random giveaway’s through out the weekend including some Colony G-Strings for any hot girls that want to show their Colony pride.
Yo yo !!
Random stuff from Taiwan
Here are a bunch of random pics from the trip in Taiwan here so far. It’s been pretty productive & fun at the same time. We will release information on some of the 2009 products over the coming months. So stay tuned.
Anyone who has been to Taiwan will know these two sights well.
My room here in Taipei with personal Jacuzzi.
Ever wonder how an Official stem gets machined? Well, here are some of the steps in the machining process. There are a total of 9 processes using 20 different machining tools.
Yo yo !!
Report from Taiwan
We have been here in Taiwan the last few days working on the 2009 range of products. All is progressing to plan & I am very happy with the new products we have in the works.
For 2009 we will have a plastic pedal out which will be very light & inexpensive, our 2 piece cranks, CrMo Oneway pegs, front bolt style hub, cassette hub with ceramic bearing in the driver which we will offer a ONE year warranty. (This kind of warranty is an industry first) We also have a freecoaster coming out as well.
Add all these to the Hell Stallion frame & fork, Mick Bayzand ‘Teddy Bars’, The Cube flatland frame as well as a whole flatland range. Things are looking good for 2009 & Colony. More on all these in the coming weeks/months.
I am over here with Mark Matthews-Frederick, who is my right hand man when it comes to designing the parts you see from Colony. Read on below to get the low down on Mark & his job within Colony.
Mark at his family trails back in Stanthorpe.
* So what’s your age and how long have you been riding for?
I’m 24 and have been riding pretty much all my life but BMX became an addiction for me in ’96.
* What got you into riding?
My brother and watching Jay Miron shred the King of Dirt on the old Wide World of Sports when I was about 11.
* What is your normal job?
I am an Industrial Designer for a train manufacturer, which means I design interior and exteriors of trains taking care of things like function, safety, comfort, looks, manufacturing and assembly.
* How did you get involved with the design side of things with Colony?
Well I have done a bit of bike design stuff in the past and Clint saw some of my work on the web, got in touch when he needed a hand with some more technical stuff and I’ve been working with Colony now for nearly 2 years.
* Has that always been something that you’ve wanted to work towards?
Yeah, for sure! I have always loved product design, so to combine it with something I have a real passion for is awesome.
* Please explain exactly what you do within Colony?
I work with Clint and Chris and the team guys in thinking up new parts, then detail the concept to maximise strength, function, looks, lightweight, etc. until we have a part that we are happy with, then I do the drawings so our manufacturers can create the part.
* What qualifications do you have for designing?
I have a Graduate Diploma in Industrial Design, which is a four year University course. Hard work but good fun.
* I believe this is your first trip over-seas? How do you like it so far?
Yeah its been awesome to learn the finer details of how all of our parts are made, and great talking engineering with the manufacturers over here, even though the language barrier hasn’t made it easy at times. Oh yeah and the food and beers here are pretty tops…
* Have you got the travel bug now?
Yeah a trip like this really opens up your eyes to what actually happens in other parts of the world. Our agent over here has really taken care of us so I have really enjoyed it.
* Any thanks?
My parents & family for all the good times, Clint and Chris for being cool, giving me the opportunity to do something I love and be part of the BMX industry; our agent here for helping us to make the best products we can and all the great experiences in the past few days; thanks to David from Fly Bikes for helping me to get to where I am today and everyone for supporting quality BMX companies like Colony.
Mark over seeing the production of Bloody Oath frames.
Unlucky13 bars half made & Bloody Oath bars ready & packed to go get painted.
Bloody Oath frames getting made.
Yo yo !!
Alex Hiam video & I am off to Taiwan.
Click here to see an awesome little video of 12 year old Alex Hiam who we hook up on flow through Crossley Cycles. This was made before he got his custom 19.8″ Bloody Oath frame. Alex has skills.
I am also off to Taiwan today to work on the 2009 product range for a week. I will post some news from there about new products throughout the week. So keep posted.
Yo yo !!
Damn emails…
I have just found that we have over 4,000 un-read emails that have been floating around in cyber space now for the past 6 months !!
So, if you have sent an email to us at info@colonybmx.com.au & not had a reply in the past 6 months then that is the reason. We’re very sorry for this & want you to know we haven’t been ignoring your emails !!
Please send through your email again & we will get onto it ASAP. As you can understand with 4,000 emails to reply to it may take a while… guess I better get the coffee brewing hey?
Yo yo !!