Simon O’Brien is unfortunately not a name we here often enough. Perhaps maybe thats a good thing. What is for certain, is that Simon is one of the best riders of all time! The man has a trick bag bigger than anyone I have ever seen face to face. He recently was invited to the 2012 Red Bull Circle of Balance in Japan! Whilst he was over in the land of rising sun recently I caught up with him for a lil’ bikecheck!

Frame: colony dejavu
Fork: colony dejavu
Handlebars: colony dejavu
Barends: colony
Stem: colony flatland stem
Aheadset: colony
Grips: colony
Griplocks: not sure what they are, levers? colony levers.
Brakes: dia compe hombre
Tyres: odyssey gouin
Tubes: normal
Pegs: old ones off a WTP setup
Seatpost: colony long post
Seatclamp: clamp is part of the frame
Seat: colony dejavu
Chain adjustor: none
Chain: normal cheap one
Cranks: colony flatland cranks
Chainring: colony flatland 22 tooth
Pedals: colony
Rims: colony
Front hub: colony
Freecoaster: nankai
Spokes: radial, whatever brand I could get,hard to get.

Any modifications: not really, I have all the parts I like,set my brakes up as the double front brake, it’s fun.

Anything specific to you that you must have on your own ride:
I like the look of radial spokes, double front brakes are fun, colony cranks are awesome, I like the mid set dropouts on the forks.

Sponsors: colony , etnies , 430

Advice to beginners on bike set ups?
experiment with certain parts, but also take advice from the good riders
on what good parts are, it does help. make sure your set up is comfy and suites the style of riding you want to
pursue.

Intro: Effraim.
Photos: Provided by Matti.

Many of you might not know the face behind DeepBMX, Autum Bikes and the new Bloody Shins Webstore. The guy that brought flatland back to the annual Masters/Worlds contest! That face is Matti Rose! Matti burst on the flatland scene around 1998/99 on a blue GT Show. Matti is perhaps best known riding wise for his signature backwards timemachine flip to upside down megaspin.
As always I try to cover a large spectrum of riders and styles to keep things fresh. Nowadays Matti is well overdue some coverage, peep his pimped out Autum ride right here! Thanks for all you do for flatland Matti!

Mattis straight 90s setup:

Frame: AUTUM “the Blitz”
Fork: AUTUM “Bent” fork
Handlebars: AUTUM “Escobar”
Barends: AUTUM;
Stem: Flybikes Suelo
Headset: deepBMX
Gyro: Odyssey GTX-R
Grips: Odyssey Gary Young
Griplocks: None. I am not afraid of that someone will steal my grips
Brakes: Dia Compe HombresBrake levers: Odyssey Monolevers
Tyres: Odyssey Frequency G 1.75″
Tubes: Yes
Pegs: AUTUM “Bamos” pegs
Seatpost: deepBMX
Seatclamp: Primo
Seat: deepBMX
Chain adjustor: AUTUM Blitz integrated
Chain: Yes
Cranks: Odyssey Flatware
Chainring: Odyssey Flatware
Pedals: Odyssey Twisted PC
Rims: Odyssey Hazard Lite
Front hub: G-Sport Marmoset
Freecoaster: KHE Geisha
Spokes: Yes …and they are black

Any modifications:
I put some air in the tires and some BLOODY SHINS stickers on my frame.

Anything specific to you that you must have on your own ride:
Some air in the tires…

Sponsors:
deepBMX, AUTUM Bicycles, BLOODY SHINS, G-SHOCK

Advice to beginners on bike set ups?
All this discussions about brakes or no brakes do not excist in Japan – and I have a lot of respect for Japan and Japanese ridersss… BMXALOT!

Matti killing it at the Flatland Fury contest in 2002!

Related Links:

www.deepbmx.com
www.autumbikes.com
www.bloodyshins.com

Intro: Effraim
Photos: Darin Wright

Sometimes I feel like dudes are overlooked in the flatland scene, and I am guilty of it myself. Case in point right now, I’ve seen Shayne Khajehnoori quietly going about his business over the last ten or so years. Of course many of you will know Shayne for his videos under the Neon Media label. Nowadays Shayne is killing the back wheel over in Nor Cal. This bikecheck is well overdue!

Frame: S&M Intrikat 19″ raw, classic version
Fork: OG Bikes
Handlebars: S&M Intrikat 8″
Barends: Quamen Steel
Stem: DK 45mm
Aheadset: Animal
Grips: Revenge Industries “Dakine”
Griplocks: n/a
Brakes: Primo E-Brake
Tyres: Primo Comet 1.5″ front, Ares 1.75″ rear
Tubes: the ones from Tip-Plus
Pegs: Sequence
Seatpost: laidback pivotal flipped to move seat forward
Seatclamp: built-in
Seat: Colony plastic
Chain adjustor: Quamen
Chain: Regular 1/8″ KMC
Cranks: Profile Magnutanium, Ti Spindle
Chainring: Ronin 28t
Pedals: Primo
Rims: Primo
Front hub: Primo
Freecoaster: Nankai lite, Profile shell, Quamen deco cap
Spokes: Primo

Any modifications:
Cut & slammed seat to stay out of the way, grips lining the fork dropouts to protect my hands

Anything specific to you that you must have on your own ride?:
All my bikes have Revenge Dakine grips on them so I can absorb THC through my palms while riding, far out! I also have this crazy bracelet woven by a gypsy wrapped around my rear hub which transmits power & energy into my rear wheel (mostly it keeps the Profile shell clean).

Sponsors: Flow from Primo/Tip-Plus, Revenge Industries

Advice to beginners on bike set ups?
If you’re just starting out, experiment with different setups and find what works for you. I would recommend, in the beginning, not setting your bike up in a way that would limit the types of tricks you learn. Learn a variety of tricks, so don’t be afraid to try a variety of setups. Don’t be afraid of brakes, high seats, under 9″ bars. Sometimes the trendiest bikes aren’t the easiest to ride flatland on. Whichever way you set your bike up ultimately does not matter too much; how much you ride your bike and how much fun you’re having is the most important.

Thanks: Eric Stefano @ Primo/Tip-Plus, Sean McKinney @ Revenge Industries, Chad Johnston, Matt Coplon, Flatmatters, One Love crew.

Related link:
https://www.flatmattersonline.com/shayne-khajehnoori-edit-2

Bikechecks are always interesting to me, and are even more interesting when a rider is making his own personal choices about what he’s riding rather than sponsors dictating what he or she may use. So.. lets start these bikechecks up again, with John Yull and his Fenix ride!

Frame: Fenix 18.6
Fork:Odyssey flatware zero offset
Handlebars: S&M intrikat
Barends: Sequence titanium
Stem:odyssey Flatware
Aheadset: Éclat
BB: Eastern
Grips: Adam Banton 2:
Griplocks: Sequence custom titanium
Brakes: I don’t understand this one??
Tyres: Odyssey Frequency G tan wall 20×1.75
Tubes: XLC
Pegs: front: Sequence plastic majic sticks Back: Sequence aluminum pirate peg legs with titanium inserts.
Seatpost: Thomson straight
Seatclamp: Profile
Seat: KHE Watanabe
Chain adjustor: Sequence custom
Chain: Odyssey
Cranks: Profile 150’s
Chainring: Profile 20 spline drive
Pedals: Cult
Rims: Fly front and back
Front hub: Proper female (thanks Carlo)
Freecoaster: KHE greyhound shell (don’t get me started)/ geisha light guts
Spokes: DT stainless

Photo by David Larocca.

Any modifications: This frame was ridden by Pete Brandt & Bo Wade before I got it as a warranty & Bo had cut the seat tube down.
Anything specific to you that you must have on your own ride: A Yoda sticker it never hurts to have the force on your side! & my Adidas shoe tongue stem pad. It’s saved my knees many times.
Sponsors: Empire BMX, thanks Tina & Tom.
Advice to beginners on bike set ups? Don’t fall into the trap of constantly changing your set up thinking it will improve your riding. Find a good bike and improve yourself.

Related links:

https://www.flatmattersonline.com/must-watch-john-yull-3-years