This July Durban is going to see more BMX action then ever before! The next 3 weeks are going to be a must for any BMX rider so you don't want to miss out. First up is the Fox Pro-Am (co sponsored by Federal Bikes) which is happening on the 2nd and 3rd of July. The following week will see the Empire Team doing demos at the Vodacom Beach Africa event on a daily basis leading up to the Vodacom Beach Africa BMX competition taking place on the 8th and 9th of July. Both these events have a huge pro purse so the riding is going to go off!!!! Finally the Indigo BMX camp (supported by the Riot BMX Store) is going to take place from the 12th - 16th of July. All the dates and time tables for these events are up on the events page so take the time to check them out so you don't miss any of the action.

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Everyone at Empire would like to congratulate Matt McLeod and Roscoe Siebers on their great performance at the BMX Masters In Germany. Matt finished in 7th place in the Dirt comp, and Roscoe came 16th. Well done to both these guys for flying the SA flag and letting the rest of the world know that our riders are just as good as any ware else in the world!!!

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Our newest team rider Paul Soderlund (Fly Bikes) was in town last weekend and we managed to hang out and shoot some pics with him at the Durban Beach park. Paul has so much style its crazy! Just look at these 2 pics! Paul's bio will be up in the team page shortly with a whole lot more pics and his bike setup, so check back soon.

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More new products have just arrived! Firstly we have fresh stock from animal bikes. GLH tyres are available in 1.95 and 2.1, edwin grips are in, jump off stems are here in the new charcoal colour, and we also have animal 2 pc bars. We also have new animal shirts and animal/DQYDJ DVD's in stock. All of these are now available at bike stores around SA.

Bicycle Union products are also now shipping to stores. Shadow and Conquest gloves are out now. We also have the new Union knee pads and Back packs available. The knee pads are a low profile design but still have plenty padding. The back packs have some really awesome features including tool compartment, water bottle holder, Mp3/walkman compartment, as well as a large main compartment. To get your hands on any of these items call you local bike store.

Lastly, for those of you who haven't heard we are running a dealer special on Odyssey Pro Dirt forks. All of Odysseys new forks now feature butted legs so we are having a special on the regular Pro Dirt forks. These still feature 41T tubing and have a no nonsense lifetime guaranty! These forks will be selling for around R750 so if you are looking for a new set of forks you wont find a better deal then this. Call your local bike store for more info.

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The new Odyssey Shipment just arrived and it included a number of new products. These include the new butted race forks that are made with 41 Thermal tubing and are guarantied for life! We also have 36 hole cassette hubs in new anodized red, as well as vandero hubs in red. Pro dirt forks, evolvers, monolevers, and civilian bars are also back in stock. The first of the G-sport products have also arrived, with GLAND's now shipping to stores around SA. Finally we also have a number of Odyssey soft good available, including t-shirts and hooded sweatshirts. All of these products are available in bike stores around SA right now.

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Fly Bikes are now producing their bars with 11 butted tubing! They will be starting with the 3 Amigo bars and these bars should be available in about 6 weeks time. They have managed to make a few adjustments to their manufacturing process that will allow them to use thinner tubing were strength isn't needed, and add thickness to the bends and clamping area. The new 11 butted bars wont be much lighter then the 9 Butted version but it has allowed Fly to perfect what they set out to do with the 9 Butted bars.

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We have have had a few new products come in the last few weeks so here is a run down on some of these new/revised products:

Fly Bar Ends - The revised bar ends are slimmer then the previous madel and now have 3 grub screws as opposed to 2 in the previous model. The new ones also have knurling on the ends to improve grip.
Fly Pantera Bars - The new Pantera bars feature the same 9 Butted tubing as the 3 Amigo Bars. This means that they are SUPER LIGHT! but also retain their strength.
Federal Light Forks - The new Light Forks feature a fluted steer tube and legs, and also have a new alloy compression bolt. The fluted legs and steer tube make these forks lighter then previous models but at the same time they are really strong.
Federal Sprocket - The new Federal sprocket is CNC machined out of 6061 Alloy and is 6.5mm thick. They are available in 25 - 36 tooth and come in Black only.

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Colin Loudons and Tyrone Bradleys Bike checks have been updated. Have a look in the team section to see their latest rides.

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The Team riders interviews are up! We have finally got the team riders interviews on the team page for you to check out. Click on the link in RED below their bike checks to see what they have to say. Rider galleries should be up by the end of the week.

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Fly Bikes have announced that they are extending the guaranty on their frames to 2 years. Most Taiwan manufactured frames have a 90 day guaranty but Fly are so confident in their materials and manufacturer that they have decided to extend their guaranty to 2 years. This guaranty also applies to all fly frames that are already in the market, so if you are currently riding a frame, and are the original owner then the guaranty applies to you as well. For more info on the guaranty visit the Fly Bikes web page. www.flybikesbmx.com

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MORE NEWS FROM THE WORLDS!!! Sergio Layos finished in third place in the street finals! And also took first place in the big trick comp!. That means that Sergio was probably one of the highest placed overall riders at the worlds this year! Everyone here at Empire would like to congratulate Sergio and his amazing performance at the worlds this year! The pro street final results are as follows.

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The 2005 Freestyle BMX Worlds happened this past weekend in Prague and it looks like it was a belter!!! Federal Team Rider Kye Forte (UK) cam first in Dirt! and Fly Bikes rider Sergio Layos (Spain) came 4th in Dirt and 3rd in the Mini ramp comp! Serigio and Kye also both qualified for the Pro Street finals, as did Fly bikes rider Ruben Alcantara (Spain). As soon as we get those results we will let you know. Pro Dirt and Mini Ramp results are as follows.

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Paul Soderlund is now riding for Empire!!! Paul will be riding a Fly Pantera with all the Fly parts to go with it. Paul is a ripper and we are really stoked to have him as part of the team. Just take a look at him blasting this Dark side over the hip at Thrashers!!! Kick ass!!! In other news... The new Odyssey shipment will be here soon. Included in this are the new Race Forks that feature butted legs, and are even lighter then previous models. Monolevers (small and Medium), GTX gyros, Evolvers, and soft goods like T's and sweat shirts will be arriving as well. If you are looking for any of these parts give your local store a call right away.

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We had some fresh FBM products arriving today. Products that just arrived are: 6013 sprockets, t-shirts, new belt buckles, PW mugs, and CB4kS. You can check all of these items out in the products section.

In other news it turns out that the Fox Pro-Am contest is going to be covered by Super Sport! That sounds pretty crazy. There is going to be a big Pro Purse and Federal Bikes and Fox are donating a bunch of products for the ams. The comp is going down at Gateway skatepark on the 2nd and 3rd of July so make sure you don't miss it!!!!

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Empire Cycle Supply have taken over distribution of G-Sport in South Africa. G-Sport are famous for their quality hubs and wheel sets and we are really excited about representing them over here.

Now that G-Sport has been bought by Odyssey it has allowed George to spend more time working on new products while Odyssey take care of all the manufacturing for him. Odysseys manufacturing power will allow G-sport products to be more readily available and at a better price then before. These hubs will feature a 7075 shell, angled flanges and steel helicoil thread inserts. Homer, Monkey, and Marmoset hubs should be available in South Africa around August.

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Take a look at this!!!! Dean Hearne from Federal in the UK sent us this pic of his new custom "Purple" division frame with SBB. There are no plans to put this colour into production just yet, but we thought you might like to get a look at it anyway... Black & dark coloured frames are so common these days, so its really good to see people rocking some different colours.

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Odyssey team rider Colin Loudon has just been picked up by Vans shoes in South Africa. Colin has been riding their shoes for ages so its really rad that they have now officially hooked him up. In other random Colin news... Last weekend when Colin went down to the valley to help build the dirt jumps for the Indigo camp, he ended up coming home with a new kitten. This new addition now means that Colin has 6 cats!!! Speaking of indigo they have acquired a 11 foot vert ramp for the camp!!! The ramp is arriving this week so when its up we will take some pics of the setup for you guys to check out.

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Terrible One Ruben Frames are now in Stock!!! These frames are available in Olive green and Tan and come in 20.8 and 20.3 Top Tube sizes. Small and medium bars are also in and we have Blood Monster shirts and the new T1 Zine number 10 available right now.

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For those of you who havent heard yet, The Riot BMX store and Indigo Skate camps have teamed up to do the Riot / Indigo BMX camp. The Camp is going to be run by Jimmy Reynolds from the Riot with other pro riders coming on board to coach the campers. Colin Loudon and Tyrone Bradley are heading down to the Valley of a Thousand hills tomorrow to build the dirt jumps. We will post some pics of the setup as soon as they get back. They are also adding a Vert ramp this year that is going to link up with the mini ramp..... With dirt jumps, a vert ramp, and a mini, it sounds like its going to be a rad setup. For more info check out the events page, or visit the www.theriot.co.za and check out the news page.

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Federal have announced that they will be producing their frames with Spanish BB's beginning in September. They are also producing a new "Large" 9D light bar. The bar will feature the same 9 butted tubing as the small and medium 9D light bars but will be 7.75 High, 25.4 wide, and have 12' sweep. These items will be available in SA as soon as they come out of production so stay tuned for more details.

Here is some random News... Tyrone Bradley has a clip in the new Props (issue 55). While he was in the USA last year Stew Johnson filmed him doing a rail in Salt Lake City and it made it into the video. All in all it is a really good issue with a bunch of good riding in it so check it out. Issue 54 also has a rad interview with Jamie Moore from Stowaway Distribution in Australia. Jamie was in South Africa last year with the T1 guys so it was pretty interesting to hear him talk about his own scene. Once again it was a good issue so check it out.

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Terrible One have just released their new "Deer reaper Shirt!" Michael Sieben did the illustration and as usual it rocks. Michael has produced some amazing shirts for T1 and this is no exception..... These should be available in SA in a few weeks time, so if you want one call your local bike store and order one today!

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