Bart de Jong, www.fatbmx.com, december 2005: Raul Reez gets the cover of the January issue doing an X-up stall from a bank onto a rail. Inside Scoop gives away December B-day dates. Here are some of them: 7th: TJ Lavin and Dave Osato, 11 Sean McKinney, 19 Kevin Robinson, 29 DMC and 30 John Parker. Congrats to all of them this month. The Inside Scoop has loads of funny pictures that would not make it anywhere else in the mag. We love pics with funny captions. A lot of people seem to write in at BMX Plus! telling from the Mail Bag and Ask the BMXperts pages. Dennis McCoy (DMC) receives a well deserved pro interview. He's been a pro BMX rider for 20 years and at age 38 (he'll turn 39 later this month) he's still rocking. That great house he's living in is well deserved. Mucho Respect. The FIT Pro Complete Bike gets tested and receives a great review. A Wall tap how-to follows with Colin Mackay. BMX Plus! loves Buyer's Guides and they've got one in the January issue of 2006 Dirt/Park/Street bikes. 19 pages of bikes and info foy you to decide what to buy next. Poster = Porter. Hang it on your wall. Race fans are not fogotten with a report on the 2005 NBL Grand Nationals. Pro Bike review: Jamie Bestwick's signature GT. Tested: Josh Harrington's signature Premium Frame. Loads of Interbike pics, a show you actually should not miss out on. Terry Adams takes care of the flatland portion and Afro Bob gets a great shot from the Dew Action Sports Tour in San Jose racing his Staats. Freestyle went down there as well and the next 9 pages fill you in on everything that happened. Tech Tip: How to make your bike lighter. Cut your bars, cut your seatpost, drop one of the chain tensioners, replace the preload fork bolt with a lighter one, get rid of the valve caps and unnecessary washers and take off the pegs you're not going to use. Total weight saved by the Plus crew: 2.1 pounds without spending a penny. Find products in Product Probe and Trick Stuff and leave it to Diogo Canina to hit the eject button on a front flip in Parting shot. The sequence is nuts, take a look at picture 9. Now you better find that issue yourself.
Josh Harrington on the cover.
Bikes: Stolen Bike Test, SE Test, Super X Test
Events: ABA Winter Nationals, Red Bull Backyard Build Off, Vans Triple Crown
Features: Race Bike Buyer's Guide, Faces-Eugene Collins, Inside The Pros' Bikes-Dave Jacobs and Ty Stuyvensant, Tech Tip-Adjusting Your Chain Length, Threads-Wristbands, On The Move-Barspin To Manual with Brian Terada and More!
Bart de Jong, www.fatbmx.com, february 2006: It's February and we're reviewing the February issue of BMX Plus! Right in time, or better, way too late. The print magazines seem to put a month on the cover that is close to 5 months ahead when they start putting the mag together. The Feb issue with Josh Harrington on the cover reports about the Vans Let it Ride contest that took place in Vegas in the beginning of October, yup, that's five months ago. For some reason it's still interesting to pick up a new BMX mag even if the news is a bit dated compared to the news on the net. The mail bag (letters section) isn't really date related so you can check that out whenever. I had a letter posted once in Plus! (pre e-mail days) that resulted in a long time letter correspondence with Pat Wirz of The 'Zine. The BMXperts on the next page answer questions of the Plus! readers so if you have a question, send it to Box 958 in Valencia, CA 91380-9058. The Stolen Heist gets tested and there's BMX racing coverage too with the Fall Nationals Arizona report. Cool night pics there! If you're looking for a BMX race bike and really don't know what to get, the 2006 Race Bike Buyer's Guide shows what is available out there. BMX Plus! flew over on RedBull's tab to cover the Backyard Build-Off in The Beard's backyard. Flatland gets some attention with the Eugene Michael Collins Junior interview and the Wildman was happy to see the SE PK Ripper Team test. Dave Jacobs' Black bike gets reviewed. He runs the 25-9 set up. Have you notice how old school 44-16 looks these days? Ty Stuyvesant rides a The Take frame and you can read what parts he runs on page 62/63. With the mag running race coverage, there is a race bike test too. This issue has the Evo G6 Supercross bike. The level of the Vans Triple Crown dirt contest was unreal and Plus! has some great shots. Tech tips aren't necessary for the BMX veterans out there but are a cool feature for those who just started out. The Chain Game shows how you can shorten a chain. We used to do this with a hammer and an old nut and then use a nail to get the locking pin out. We advise to invest in a chain breaker to avoid frustration. Wrist band hunters don't need to look behind page 77. It was good to see Brian Terada in the mag. In "On The Move" he shows a manual to barspin off that gets him two pages of coverage. Moving pictures fill the next 8 pages and then Premium Cranks get tested as well as Sun Big City Lite rims. There's two pages of trick stuff before Kachinski finishes with a bail sequence in Parting Shot.
Brian Terrada tire feebles a 20-stair ledge in Santa Barbara California on the cover. Photo by Cody York.
Jarrod Allen tossed a 180 bar for the table of contents.
Bikes: 2-Hip Bizzle and Mongoose Expert.
Events: Stephen Murray's Jump Jam, ABA Grand Nationals.
Riders Of The Year: Dave Mirra, Ryan Nyquist and Bubba Harris.
R.I.P. Chenga World Skatepark in Ohio.
Inside The Pros' Bikes-Ben Snowden and Adam Banton.
Fly Paper: Nate Wessel with a crazy corner pocket air at the old L.D. warehouse.
Tech Tip.
On The Move-Crank Arm Slides.
Rack 'Em Up.
Flatland In Japan by Bobby Carter.
My Busy Life: Rick Thorne on Keeping Busy.
Moving Pictures: Nick Schwarchzenbach, Dany Hickerson, Rob Christianson, Justin Henninger.
Product Probes: Demolition stem and Animal illegal brake cable.
Parting shot: Jeremy Fanberg with a 270 whip gone wrong.
Austin Coleman superman seatgrab one hand on the cover. Photo by Jared Souney.
Events: Intrikate Flatland Jam, NBL Christmas Classic Bikes: Intense Team Issue
Features: How To Get Sponsored, Inside The Pro's Bikes-Danny Hickerson, Matt Wilhelm and Chase Hawk, Threads, One The Move-Better icepicks and pedal picks, Inside Video Magazines, Aaron Bostrom Interview, Tech Tip-Get Your Bike Ready For Wet Weather, Moving Pictures, Product Probe and more
Sergio Layos lookback at Woodward West on the cover. Photo by Cody York.
Bikes: Redline Triple X, Haro SR Race, Failure Frame Test
Events: ABA Silver Dollar National, Props Mega Tour
Features: Eric Rothenbusch's birthday, Nostalgia--Jesse Puente And The Early 90's, BMX Plus! Pros Bikes, The Art Of Crashing, Tech Tip-How To Install An Integrated Headset, Inside The Pros Bikes, Top Ten Dirt Jumping Tricks You Should Know-Stephen Murray Explains His Top Ten, Faces--Ariel Greer Spotlight, Moving Pictures, Product Probe.
Bart de Jong, www.fatbmx.com, april 2006: The June issue of BMX Plus! has Danny Hickerson on the cover doing an incredible rail ride up 6 stairs to no-hander. Damn! Chad de Groot knows how to score photos. He pulls out his flatland bike for a double page contents spread. Allan Cooke is seriously nuts. See his helicopter stunt. SE scores some good coverage with Postany getting the poster and Gerber getting an Inside the Pros Bikes article. Also Steve Cuesta gets a pro bike check and for those who forgot about Thomas Hancock, he's still around, simply read his interview. Mike Day and Bubba Harris both scored a #1 title in 2005. There's a one-on-one with the two fast racers. Kip Lekker waves to the camera for a full page shot on page 76. Also full page moving pictures go to Biz, Will Love, Brumlow, Johnny Devlin and Eddie Hernandez. Yup, Plus! likes to give coverage to those who deserve it.
Bikes: Diamondback Mr. Lucky, Black Eye Bikes The Outcast
Events: Helicopter Stunt, Boulder Dam Nationals, Flatland Jam, Puerto Rico Race
Features: Nostalgia (Todd Lyons, Fuzzy, Ryan Nyquist), 10 Most Asked Questions, On The Move-Rob Nolli Teaches You The G-Turn, Inside The Pros' Bikes-Steve Cuesta and Chris Gerber Faces-Thomas Hancock, Threads, Face Off-Mike Day and Bubba Harris Interview Each Other, Tech Tip-Tuning Unsealed Tubular Cranks, Moving Pictures, Readers Survey, Product Probe.
Mike Saavedra at Woodward West with a no handed one footer on the cover. Photo by Ben Crockett.
Bart de Jong, www.fatbmx.com, june 2006: The July issue of BMX Plus! showed up. I haven't read it cover to cover yet but I'll flip through the mag with you to tell you what's inside. On the outside (cover) is Mike Saavedra doing a nothing with one foot on the pedal. Sure, that's not a nothing so if you prefer a no-handed one-footer you can have that too. The contents photo (a spread in BMX Plus!) is usually a great photo that didn't fit in the article but needed to be shown. Rob Darden turns down at the Metro jam for maximum coverage. The Inside Scoop is the news section that's got some funny photos. Vult, Props 59 and RoadFools 6&7 make it to the DVD review section and mail at Plus! keeps coming in (and answered by the bmXperts). There's a brief history on Number Plates which actually gives some good background info for the Number Plate Art show that we're working on. Seriously. The Toronto Metro jam happened a while back and gets a 6 page (photo) report in the July issue. The article about the Redman/Yamaha Waverunner BMX racing team is interesting and gives you an idea on how this BMX team works. Bike test: DK Six Pack. Tech Tip: Keeping your wheels straight. Learn how to true and fix them. Bike test: Free Agent Crown Imperial. The On The Move flatland how to shows how to do No-handed Hang-tens. BMX Plus! always comes up with riders we haven't heard of. This month's Faces rider is Brett Walker. I'm sure he'll pop up in a video or somewhere else soon and I will remember where I read about him first. The dude gets the poster too. SE's Lance Mosley's bike gets checked and with BMX tracks becoming smooth as roads these days BMX Plus looks into the size and type of knobbies you need for your ride. The race coverage from the July issue comes in the form of the ABA Winternationals. Good tools make the job 10 times easier. You only find out when you've got access to the right ones. Plus tells you what you need. DB44's HARO SX Group 1 XL bike gets checked on page 74/75. Mickey Gaidos is a flatland rider from Metairie, Louisiana. Where else would he get an interview? BMX Plus is your friend. Moving pictures will brighten up your walls. There's different riders and tricks to choose from. Felt forks and Proper Hubs get reviewed before we move into the Trick Stuff (Product section). Houston Harmsen makes the Parting Shot with a fastplant double tailwhip gone wrong and that wraps up 100 pages of Plus!
Mat Hoffman indian air with plaid short and Play shinpads at the 2006 CFB on the cover. Photo by Ben Crockett.
Dale Holmes update.
Video reviews: Props 60, Redbull Elevation, Missing In Action, Redbull Backyard buildoff.
Bike test: '07 Specialized Fuse II and FMF Pro.
2006 CFB Oklahoma City.
Inside the Pro's bikes: Mike Saavedra's Giant and Tony Neyer's Fly Pantera 2.
Tech tip: perfecting your Profile cassette.
Faces with Jeremiah Smith.
On the move: toothpick to nosepick with Eben Fischer and footjam tailwhips with Joey Hill.
ABA Spring Nationals.
The weight of performance.Moving pictures: Anthony Napolitan, Eben Fischer, Kevin Kiraly, Alex Radan, Brett Walker, Aaron Bostrom, Josh Suhre.Parting shot with a front flip flyout by Matt Hoffman.
Mike Krnaich x-up footplant tailwhip on the cover.
Dale Holmes update.
Video reviews: Vult Aloha and B-sides, 2Hip under the radar, Shook It's on.
The Denver Dew Tour.
Bike test: Mirraco's Blend 1 and Haro Forum Counterpart.
Sneak peek 2007.
Brian Kachinsky interview.
Inside the pros' bikes: Colin MacKay's Haro.
Hang 5 to halfpacker with Simon O'Brien and No-handers with Nathan Miller.
Stars n' Stripes National.
Release the East: five days at Woodward, Pennsylvania.
Parting shot with Chris Arriaga.
Ben Brassfield tweaked undown in San Francisco. Photo by Ben Crockett.
Chase Hawk gets inverted for the table of contents.
Dale Holmes update.
Inside scoop with the Soul Bowl comp in Huntington beach, Cen Cal Ayekon-s flatland video review, birthdays and more.
2006 X-Games.
On the move: Canadian nosepicks with Adam Banton and Icepick to fakie with Ryan Devereaux.
Bike test: Volume Death Wish and DK Franklin.
Inside the pro's bikes: Ben Brassfield's Volume.
Face: Larry Alvarado.
Moto Grounforce in Singapore.
Tech tip: brake boosters.
Red Bull Elevation.
2006 NBL Grand Nationals.
Moving pictures: Simon O'Brien, Kevin Kiraly, Jay Eggleston and Dominic Trovato.
Product probe: Drive pegs and Nike 6.0 shoes.
Our top 10 products for '06.
Parting shot: Morgan Wade pocket air flair attempt at the Soul Bowl.