Wednesday 26 March 2008

Wethepeople announces premium parts line



From the Wethepeople press release- Introducing Éclat, a fresh new component brand from the creative forces behind wethepeople bike company. Based at wethepeople’s international headquarters in Cologne, Germany, Éclat will exist as a separate entity, manufacturing an innovative collection of seats, brakes, grips, hubs, rims, tires, pedals and brake levers, with plans to expand coming further this year. To begin, Éclat will be represented by Portland, Oregon’s Chester Blacksmith and the UK’s Ashley Charles, with the initial collection of components arriving to retailers by late summer of 2008.
“In a time when the majority of BMX company’s components are becoming more identical by the day, we believed it was time to create a brand that manufactures unique components based on function and simplicity,” says Éclat owner/art director Klaus Dyba.
In regards to the brand name, “Éclat” (?-klä’, ?’klä’) is a French term, which, roughly translated means “excellence.” Éclat’s first foray into the component market is marked by a brand new patented seat and post design, which is remarkably simple and lightweight without sacrificing strength. Using 3D Torsion techniques, the seat material has been reduced to the fullest, with the final seat and post combo being ready for sale by late summer of 2008.
“I’m really exited about the new Éclat line. They’ve put a lot of thought into the new products and the people at Éclat have done a great job designing the finished product. I know riders won’t be disappointed with the line,” says Éclat rider Chester Blacksmith, currently on a European trek and testing a few products from Éclat’s line. Additionally joining the Éclat brand is Brian Tunney, who will serve as Éclat team manager.
A list of international distributors will be announced soon.
For more info on Éclat, plus team and product updates, check out the brand new, constantly evolving Web site here: eclatbmx.com








I personally think the line looks really good, most of Wethepeople's stuff is good anyway and its nice to see a parts company trying something new rather than just copying the flavour the month and sticking their own logo on it. Its getting harder and harder these days to find original stuff and hopefully Éclat will be a positive addition to the rather stagnant BMX parts market.

Wednesday 19 March 2008

Tomorrow We Work Newcastle Premiere

£3 Entry which is entry into REVENGE afterwards, video probably be shown at about 10pm sharp so get down early folks. Over 18 only, sorry kids!

Saturday 15 March 2008

Just a photo

A load of us went over to South Sheilds Skatepark yesterday for a bit of a session, Scott Taylor was his usual energetic self and must have down loaded a healthy tricklist on to his I-pod playlist because he was non stop all day. Not much else to report apart from there was a kid there who must have been no older than 10 years old whose nick name was Terminator. When I asked the young whipper snapper how he was given this impressive alias he replied "because I gave someone 6 bullets". Class.


Scott Taylor flat as a pancake at height.

Tuesday 11 March 2008

Summer days and travel notes

The summer is only around the corner and I’m sure you will be excited as I am for those long lazy summer days and months of t-shirt and shorts weather. The summer is also the time that most people travel and organise road trips around the county or further a field. Last year I went Interrailing for just under a month, this year I plan to do it again but this time stay in Germany for the duration and visit all the amazing cities there, less time travelling and more time exploring sounds like a better idea than cramming 6 countries into 4 weeks like we did last year. Berlin is the best place I have visited but felt I only scratched the surface last year; I’m keen to take in what the rest of Germany has to offer. I also plan to go to Melt festival again; we had the best weekend there last year.

above: Melt Festival 2007
I kept a note pad while travelling last year and scribbled down a few observations from time to time, here are some of them...

Everyone in Amsterdam was really friendly, always offering help or directions if we looked lost. A kid at the skate park who didn’t even speak English gave us all marshmallow cakes. How cool is that?

Dogs don’t like being bunnyhopped, but it is so much fun!

When you are travelling by train for long periods you get a lot of time to think... Its also makes short distances in the UK like Newcastle to London feel like 2 stops on the Metro. The best thing about travelling by train is that you get to take in all the scenery and sights, travelling through Switzerland or along the coast of the Mediterranean by is something that can only be fully appreciated by rail.

It is always interesting to see how relationships between the travelling group can be strained over the course of the trip. Spending 24 hours a day with the same faces you start to notice annoying habits about one another, for example snoring, excessive wind or having exceptionally bad foot odour. Sometimes it’s best to duck out for a couple of hours and have some time to yourself, otherwise you might end up killing someone you actually like!

above: Can't wait to find more spots like this! Berlin..

Its quite embarrassing sometimes when you are abroad as nearly everyone can speak English whereas we as a nation don’t really embrace learning a second language, next time I travel I plan to brush up and at least learn the basics so I don’t look like the an ignorant English twat!

There was a clear contrast when we travelled to Spain and France from Germany with regards to the people we met. We noticed straight away that people were generally less helpful and rude compared to the friendly folks of Berlin or Amsterdam. People in Prague also were not as helpful and would try and rip us off if they could. I guess it comes down to cultural differences (or distain for the English).

Interrailing is a good concept but we discovered a lot of hidden charges for high speed and night trains. At times it was a bit of a bitch handing over 10-15 Euros to book a seat after spending £300 on your Interrail ticket already. All in all though it is good value and if you are travelling in one county only it is far cheaper. Travelling with bikes can also be difficult especially if there is a group of you, another fee is sometimes charged for bikes. We found it best to dismantle the bike and stick it under the seat, avoiding the extra charge.
Roll on the summer!!

Sunday 2 March 2008

Flat banks revisited

Myself, H Man, Tom Finch, Rob and Joe went back up to the flatbank spot in Benton on thursday, this time the wind wasnt so bad and we got a decent session in. We lifted up the top flatstones and put bricks underneath them so one section is a bit like a quarter now, really good. Tom got a short video of me riding the banks and you can view that over on Tom's blog. I also fell off about a million times and done myself and my bike in a bit, still a good day though.