Wednesday, September 23, 2009

GT BMX in the UK

If you haven't already, check out Leon Perkins in his latest web edit.

Leon represents GT over in the UK, and based on this video, it looks like he's doing a hell of a job doing so.


Leon Perkins - Entrance and Exit from Leon Perkins on Vimeo.

If you can't see the video, check out http://www.vimeo.com/6679845

As they say on the other side of the pond, Cheers!

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

The Rest...of the Kamikaze Story

Anyone who follows the action at Mountain Bike Action may have seen the big ring setup that EC used to take the Mammoth Kamikaze win. We'll call it the Mood Ring, since I know EC was in a damn good mood after winning!

Just like Paul Harvey, we have a "Rest of the Story" from EC's win. Here's some "inside the pits" info that you may not have heard about...

After surveying the course, EC knew that it was going to take something special to win it. Horsepower isn't the issue, as the Electric Catfish has been known to hold over 1700 watts in training. The right gearing was the topic of discussion during practice. EC had an old (I'm pretty sure it had sideburns from the 70's) 56-tooth (that's not a typo) chainring laying around and thankfully for EC, his mechanic John, "Sniper" Canepa was ready to Frankengear EC's Fury to give him every advantage he needed.
Why the Frankengear? A couple of reasons. First, our boys at e*thirteen make some kick ass chainguides, but they only fit up to a 40-tooth ring. Second, the bolt diameter of current DH cranks doesn't jive with the bolt diameter of EC's Mood Ring.

According to Sniper, all it took was a bunch of e*thirteen parts, an old drill, a dull drill bit, some misc. nuts and bolts to hold it all together, and a couple of hours to build.


The result, as you can see is that something special that EC needed.

Spot-on effort Sniper! Here's a comparison shot so you can see just how big this thing really was. And for reference, Sniper's got a melon on him that would make a roadside produce vendor jealous. (I kid because I love, Snipe!)

Got a crazy gearing pic or story to share? Send it over! For anyone out at Interbike ODD, Sniper is working the Demo booth. Be sure to stop by and give him a pat on the back for a job well done.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

The Ugly Duckling has Become the Swan

Greetings from the other side of the world (well, for some at least). We're getting started on another gorgeous day here in the 'Shafen. It's officially Day 1 of Eurobike and we are planning for a LONG day. The good news is that GT is hosting it's annual beer party in the booth tonight and Hans will be there to sign autographs. Maybe we'll see if we can't get a few more volunteers to put on their best Hans face. Be on the lookout.

For those of you not in Germany, don't worry. You can still check out all the new stuff. How? Well, the all new, totally improved gtbicycles.com went live today and it is awesome.

Some of the exciting new features include:

Links to all of GT's social networking sites
Close-ups and 360 shots of our key platforms
Bike comparisons
Updated team rider info
a user interface that is actually usable

But don't just take my word for it. Head over to gtbicycles.com and see for yourself.

Setup is Complete and a Teaser

We finished getting the GT booth set up for the big show today. It was a long day, but we fought through. THe 2010 stuff looks TIGHT, and we were even able to bring a couple of new bikes to the show. Our big reveal is tomorrow, but here's a couple of teasers for you





It's always really stressful getting set up for the biggest bike trade show in the world. One thing that's really important is to keep a good sense of humor. Things were getting a little dicey around lunch so we decided to have a contest to see who could make the greatest Hans face. Here's MDL and GT's Mark (our GM) doing their best Hans Rey imitations.




So we are off to Austria tonight for a big comapany-wide opening dinner. I'm looking forward to some shrimp on the barbie.
More updates to come.
BTW, for anyone reading this on Facebook, be sure to click over to the actual blog site. You're missing out on some excellent links!