| :::WE
HAVE MOVED:::
As of February 1st 2006 we will be
located at the following address.
Unit
11, Henwood Park, 48 Henwood Road, New Germany, KZN
Tel: 031
7057666 / Fax: 031 7057666
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We
are proud to announce that Empire will
now be distributing Shook Interactive
DVD magazine in South Africa. Shook is
a video magazine that comes out 4 times
a year and features well known and lesser
know riders from all over the USA, and
the world. Shook has been in production
for two years now and the sixth installment
is due soon, which is the first issue
that will be available through Empire.
Issue
6 is titled "IT'S ON" and features
full length parts from Jeff Klugiewicz,
Karl Poynter, Eric Holley, and Brad Simms.
The video also features Kym Grosser, Mark
Gralla, Jeff Kocsis, as well as a bunch
of other extras and bonus features. Look
for these to be hitting the shelves towards
the end of next month.
FBM
team rider Brad Illingworth also sent
through his bike check so have a look
at his profile in the team page to see
what he is running on his current ride.
Posted
by: Admin [April
27, 2006]
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More
Dope Rides:
FBM
team rider Brad Illingworth sent us this pic
of his newly painted bike. This bike looks
insane! Brad got one of the graf artists at
the Rand Show to give his bike a fresh coat
of paint and we think it turned out amazing.
Brad is also rocking the new Digital camo
Odyssey Pro dirt forks and Civilian Svelte
bars. We are just waiting for brad to send
through a few more shots of his bike and we
will have a revised bike check up in his team
page.
Brad
also let us know that the new Riot web page
is up and running. Some of the pages are still
under construction but it is looking really
good none the less. Head on over to www.theriot.co.za
and check it out. If you are looking for any
of our products and you live in the JHB area
then these are they guys you want to speak
to.
Posted
by: Admin [April
24, 2006]
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Matt
McLeod bike check:
Two
posts in one day! We were going to post this early
next week but we got it finished early so we figured
we might as well just put it up right away. As
you may have read in the news earlier this week,
Matt McLeod took a well deserved win at this years
Rand Show comp. Matt rode amazingly well and pulled
the first ever flip whip in a South African contest.
Matt isn't an official team member but we have
been helping Matt out with bikes for a while now,
and when we were up in JHB we managed to do a
bit of a bike check with him. Click on the image
below to get the run down on Matt Mcleod's 21"
Fly Pantera.
Posted
by: Admin [April
20, 2006]
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New
Blunt Mag:
We
just got a copy of the new Blunt mag and there are
some great BMX features in this Issue. FBM team rider
Brad Illingworth got a awesome pic grinding up a broken
light post. Cape Town ripper Wayne Reiche got a HUGE
poster as well. This pic was shot by Pablo Ponzone
during the Animal Premiere we had last month in Cape
town. There is also a DK ad featuring six of the new
bikes as well as a bunch of other rad features.
Posted
by: Admin [April
20, 2006]
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Rand
Show Comp:
Well
the comp went down this weekend and it was a belter! The
finals were insane, with some of the best riding I have
ever seen going down. 720's, wall ride to whips, flip
whips, double whips, huge transfers, and amazing tech
moves.... We have tons of pics to put up in the gallery
but until we get a chance here are a few pics for you
to check out.
Fly
Bikes team rider Buddy Chellan was charging all weekend
and was going super high on every obstacle. Buddy also
pulled a 720 perfect on the big box during his final run.
Here he is blasting a huge 180 over the spine ramp.
My
favorite rider to watch over the weekend was our other
Fly Bikes team rider Paul Souderland. Paul was absolutely
shredding the place, and he had his arm in a cast! Paul
was linking some of the most unbelievably tech lines together,
and was pulling everything silky smooth. It was mind blowing
watching him pull the most difficult tricks so effortlessly.
He also added some big 360 transfers, and huge airs into
the mix for good measure. Here Paul stalls a lawnmower
on the spine mid run.
Another
big stand out at this years event was Greg illingworth.
Greg was going huge! with some of the biggest transfers
of the event. This pic is of Greg doing a whip transfer
from the wall ride to the flat bank on the right hand
side. Greg didn't just launch out of the quarter in front
of the wall ride, he literally launched right out of the
top of it when he did this. It was absolutely insane,
and after a few tries he finally managed to ride away
from it.
Odyssey
team rider Colin Loudon was on fire all weekend, and was
riding with his usual fast smooth style. Colin was boosting
huge whips in the 8ft quarters, and also 360 whipped the
spine ramp. Colin also pulled and insane wall ride to
whip, landing back into the tranny of the wall ride. Here
is a pic of Colin with a huge flip over the box.
The
man who stole the show however was Matt McLeod. Matt is
better known for his amazing skills on dirt, however over
the last few years he has certainly come into his own
on the street course. Matt was going huge and pulled some
amazing stuff including, double whips, whip to ice pick's,
big tricks over the spine, and also huge flip whips to
the pedals. It was a real treat watching Matt ride and
by the end of the weekend he walked away with the win.
The
rest of the results looked like this:
1st:
Matt McLeod
2nd: Colin Loudon (Odyssey)
3rd: Chris Barnes
4th: Greg Illingworth
5th: Buddy Chellan (Fly Bikes)
6th: Paul Soderlund (Fly Bikes)
7th: Tyrone Bradley (Federal)
8th: Jimmy Reynolds (Federal)
9th: Brad Illingworth (FBM)
10th: Stuart Loudon
We
will add all the other pics to the gallery in the next
few days so check back for those. We also have some other
interesting posts for you to check out that we will be
adding in the next day or so.
Posted
by: Admin [April 18,
2006]
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We are
up in JHB at the moment for the Rand Show and we have been
hitting up some fun new spots. The whole team is here for
the comp so it has been great hanging out with everyone.
One of the first stops of the trip was the new park at Festival
Mall. These guys only recently started letting bikes in
so the park is still pretty fresh for a lot of the riders.
Fly
Bikes team rider Buddy Chellan was killing the mini
ramp! The ramp is pretty small but it has an awesome
tranny and everyone was loving it. Buddy's inverts
on this ramp were insane.
FBM
team rider Brad Illingworth is finally getting over
his broken elbow and is starting to charge once again.
He has ridden the Festival Mall park a few times before
and had lines all over the park. Here he is getting
back into the swing of things with a flip over the
spine.
After
the park session on Thursday night we spent today
at the comp venue. Some of the guys were doing demos
at the show, and the rest of them were just having
fun getting in some early practice. The course for
this years event looks super good, with a lot of lines
and a nice flow around the park. Buddy shot this pic
of Federal team rider Tyrone Bradly squeezing out
a last few minutes on the course before the sun went
down.
The
comp starts tomorrow and the event is set to be a
real good one. Keep checking back for more updates
in the coming days.
Posted
by: Admin [April 14,
2006]
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New
Odyssey & G-SPORT Goods:
We
have just had the new Odyssey shipment arrive and we have
fresh stock of a lot of popular items. There are also some
new items in this lot so here is a run down on the new goods.
FIrst
up we have the new Digi Camo Pro Dirt Forks and Civilian Svelte
Bars. These look amazing! and are only available in very limited
numbers. Because this is a limited edition colour way they
will only be available this one time only, so if you would
like to get your hands on these then now is your chance. As
with all 41 Thermal products these are guaranteed for life,
and they should be available in stores by the end of the week.
G-SPORT
Marmoset hubs are also now available. This has to be one of
the most versatile front hubs available today. It is super
light (light enough even to race!) yet incredibly strong.
It has huge bearings so they roll very smooth and also wont
blow out. The hub also features a large hollow alloy axle
with 10mm bolts that screw into it. This hollow axle has steel
helicoils so that it wont strip out, but is strong enough
to withstand the harshest street abuse. The shell is CNC machined
from 7075 alloy and has angled flanges that are as thick and
as short as possible. This makes it almost impossible to bend
or break your flanges. The end result is a feather light hub
that is stronger then an overbuilt 14mm front hub.
We
also have some new soft goods in this lot. Fresh stock of
sweat shirts just in time for winter. We have hipster hoods
in gray, Bevel hoods in chocolate, and Classic hoods in Royal
Blue. These sweat shirts are printed on the finest quality
garments with various sizes available. The Bevel hoody is
printed on the legendary "raglan" cut American Apparel
hoody, so you know its good stuff!
There
is also a new Odyssey T shirt available. Nice clean graphics
with detail on the hem and sleeve. White print on black shirts
only. All these products are shipping as we speak so you should
see them appearing in stores by the end of the week. Head
on down to your local store and check them out!
Some
of us are traveling up to JHB tomorrow for the "Rand
Easter Show" competition. This event is always a good
one and the entire Empire team will be there, so if you are
in the area try make to the comp. We are also going to be
filming a bunch of stuff for the video while we are up there
so we should have plenty of pics and news in the coming days.
Posted
by: Admin [April 12, 2006]
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Today
has been crazy around here with the first container of DK
bikes arriving. The lower floor of the warehouse is now packed
with bikes and we should begin shipping bikes to stores early
next week. If you have been waiting for one of these then
head on down to your local bike store.
These
bikes are amazing value for money, and there is something
for everyone in their range. All models and colours are now
in stock so have a look at the products page to see what is
available.
In
other news, Fly Bikes team rider Buddy Chellan celebrates
his birthday today. Happy Birthday Buddy!!! Here is a pic
of Buddy doing an ice pick outside the MGM grand in Las Vegas.
Well
that's it for this week. Rupert from Red Bull is in town with
his mobile entertainment rig, so we are going to be showing
the Animal DVD at the Durban beach park tomorrow night (provided
it doesn't rain). The video should kick off around 6:30 PM
so if you are around make sure you stop by and check it out.
Posted
by: Admin [April 07, 2006]
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Yellow
Linear Cables:
The
new limited colour Linear cable has just been released and
is shipping to stores as we speak. The latest version is yellow
and they look awesome! Team rider Paul Soderlund is riding
one on his bike so if you want to see what it looks like on
a bike, check out his bio in the team page. These are selling
like crazy and should be in stores by the weekend. Once they
are gone they are gone for good, so if you want one you better
visit your local bike store ASAP!
We
also have fresh stock of Odyssey Pro Dirt and Pro Race forks.
these are hands down the best forks on the market, 41 Thermal,
Super Light, and a no nonsense lifetime guarantee. The Odyssey
Pro Dirt and Race forks are the benchmark by which all forks
are judged today, and that is testament to their superior
strength and quality. If you are shopping for new forks you
cant go wrong with these. Available right now nation wide!
We
have tons of new products coming in the next few days so check
back for pics and updates.
Posted
by: Admin [April 06, 2006]
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More
Product News:
The
Guys at G-Sport have just launched their new web page and
it is really good. Make your way over to www.gsportbmx.com
and get a look at the new site. They have tons of interesting
product info as well as a few spy pics of new products they
are working on.
The
long awaited G-Sport "Ribcage" rims are shipping
to distros world wide and ours should be here shortly. These
are possibly the most advanced BMX specific rims on the market
today. Here is a short exert from the G-sport web page about
the rims...
"The
price is a little higher than some other rims but this reflects
the special material and finishes. The material used is around
20% stronger than even the 7000 series aluminium used for
rims. And the hard anodising gives a black finish that performs
nearly as well as chrome. Spoke holes are guaranteed not to
pull through no matter what… Final production weights
are 482g (1.06lbs) for hard anodised and 525g (1.15lbs) for
chrome."
Look
for these rims as well as Marmoset hubs to be available in
the coming weeks.
In
other product new the New Federal shipment has just come in.
We have the Hamilton, T-Nez, and Division frames available
in all sizes and colours. The new frames feature a number
of refinements including SBB's across the range as well as
thread on gyro tabs on the frames. Jimmy Reynolds just built
up a brand new 20" Hamilton.... Jim's bike is dialed!
So check out his bike check on the team page.
We
have also done some cleaning up in the products pages so you
might want to check those out. We have updated the Fly Bikes,
Odyssey, DK, and T-1 pages with more to follow soon. There
are lots of new products and fresh pics up in those pages.
There have also been updates in the events calendar and the
ad archive sections.
Well
that's it for our first update in April. This month is going
to be crazy busy for us with a number of big orders coming
in as well as a few team road trips going down.... Keep checking
back for updates and pics in the coming days and weeks.
Posted
by: Admin [April 03, 2006]
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