Weekend Sessions:

This weekend a few members of the team went out on filming missions for the Empire Video. Colin and a small crew from Waterfall headed up to the infamous Indigo Ramps in the valley of 1000 hills. The place is amazing, and if you watched the latest session skate DVD you will have got a gimps of what it has to offer.

Here is an overview of the ramps. They have a 5 foot mini that hips into a 11/8 foot half pipe. This place is a lot of fun and the lines are endless.

Here is a pic of Odyssey team rider Colin Loudon firing out a whip on the mini. Thanks to Ian Loudon for the pics from Indigo.

Fellow team riders Tyrone Bradley and Brad Illingworth headed out of a street mission in Johannesburg on Sunday. Tyrone recently moved up to JHB and it looks like he has been riding a bunch with Brad and the other JHB locals.

Brad sent us this pic of Tyrone firing off a long ledge manual that he pulled during their street mission.

Here is a pic of Brad with a no foot Kan off a bank from the same session. It looks like these guys are also starting to rack up the clips...

Well that's the news from this weekends riding. A bunch of new Odyssey and Sunday products just came in so check back later for un update on those goods. There are a lot of new items in this shipment! More news soon...

Posted by: Admin [October 30, 2006]

FOX Pro-Am:

December is fast approaching and that means the FOX pro am is getting closer. The FOX comps are some of the best that go down each year, and we are really excited to be part of these events. Once again DK bicycles will be co-sponsoring the comp and we will be supplying product prizes for the Am class. As always the comp will go down at Wave house in Umhlanga and the date for the event will be the 10th of December. Make sure you are in town for this one!

Here is a pic of Fly bikes team rider Paul Soderlund shredding the infamous snake run at Wave house. Will there be a snake run comp at this years Fox pro am?... You never know. We hope to see all of you there!

Posted by: Admin [October 26, 2006]

Speak the SIlence:

By now all of you will have heard of this new video and rightfully so! This is the first SA video to come out in some time and it is amazing. Its been all over the net and I think everyone will agree that it is an awesome production. Big props to Wayne and Albert for putting this together.

We have just got fresh stock of the DVD and they are shipping to stores as we speak. Some stores in JHB and Cape Town already have them, and others should have them by the end of the week. This video is an absolute must have for every rider in SA, so if your local bike store doesn't have stock then get them to call us. This video is essential viewing!

Posted by: Admin [October 23, 2006]

Salt Rock Mission:

Well this weekend a bunch of us went on a filming mission to the infamous Salt Rock tranny. The tranny is a little quarter in the middle of a field and it has been around since the early 80's. The spot is one of the most random spots you will come across but it is a lot of fun to ride. Colin has been on a mission to get clips for the upcoming Empire video and this trip was no exception.

Here is a video grab of Colin doing a foot jam on the little quarter. The run up to this is super sketchy but Colin had it dialed. He was blasting super high airs and was also pulling some awesome tech stuff on the little deck.

Colin's younger brother Stuart was also shredding all day long. Here he is with a quick barspin.

We have a lot more weekend filming missions planned in the coming months and we will keep you posted on them as they unfold. Odyssey, Sunday, and United shipments are also due to arrive this week so check back here for info on when you can expect to see them in your local store...

Posted by: Admin [October 23, 2006]

New United Products:

As most of you know Empire is now distributing United in SA and the first shipment is due in a week or so. We are busy adding all of the products to the products section right now but we thought we would give you a quick look at all of the new products. United have definitely hit the ground running and have launched with a great lineup of products.

First up are the 2 new frames from United. the Trinity (Corey Martinez signature frame) and the Squad (Team designed frame). Both these frames are available in Black and the colours you see above. the colour of the trinity is called Trans silver and looks a bit like black chrome, and the Squad comes in a 2 tone Tan / yellow combination. these frames are made out of sanko tubing and are heat treated as well. Both frames feature removable tabs, midd BB's, and integrated head tubes. The new United forks are also made from butted and fluted sanko tubing and are also heat treated. these forks come in 10mm and 14mm and come with a lifetime warranty.

United Squad bars are 11butted and heat treated, and come in a number of sizes (7', 7.5', 7.75', and 8'). These bars also feature a lifetime warranty. The new seats come in two different cover option, one with a one piece embroiderer cover and one with a two piece kevlar cover that features a screen printed pattern. these seats are a mid size seat and are great for people who like a small seat but also like to pinch for bar spins. The sprocket is CNC machined out of 7075 ally and is available in 25-36 tooth sizes.

Finally we have the new United back pack that will be arriving shortly after the hard goods get here. These bags feature almost every feature you could want. I-pod pocket with hidden cable routing for you earphones, cell phone pocket, space for tools, cameras, shoes, clothing, books, and even a pouch specifically designed to hold a laptop. All these features and plenty of padding to keep it comfortable on your back.

Look for the hard goods to be in stores in early November and the bags to be is stores around early December.

Posted by: Admin [October 20, 2006]

New GSPORT Products:

George over at GSPORT has done a bunch of updates on the GSPORT site regarding the new products they are working on. Head on over to www.gsportbmx.com for more info on the following products.

New hub bolts for Marmoset and Vandero2 hubs. These use 17mm heads so they work with the same size spanner as you back hub, and they have also broached the center to fit a 6mm allen key.

New GSPORT Gland's. Smaller and slimmer then previous models with larger zip ties and "bobbles" to prevent rotating.

New PLEGS which are "plastic" pegs. Super light pegs with a faster grind then steel and titanium pegs.

All these goods will be available through Empire early next year. For more info on these products and all the other goods on offer from GSPORT check out their web page. www.gsportbmx.com

Posted by: Admin [October 18, 2006]

Pimp my Bike:

Some of you may remember the TV show we were talking about a while back called "Pimp my Bike". Well the show has been approved and we started filming the first few episodes last week. Basically kids bring us their beat up old bikes and we "pimp" them out for the kids. We get local pro riders to come through and help out, and also do trick tips with the kids when they get their new ride. This time Greg Illingworth came down from JHB to help out on the first few episodes. The whole thing is pretty cheesy to say the least, but its a lot of fun none the less. The show will begin airing in November so check back for dates and times.

We have also done a bunch of updates on the site. The team page has been updated and now includes all of the crew. Not all of their profiles are complete but there is something up there for every rider. Check it out! The products page has also been refreshed with fresh pics of all the sunday goods, and the 2007 DK complete bikes are also up there. Other updates include the home page, ad archive, links, and contact page (we have a new fax number).

That's it for today. Check back in the coming days for more news and updates.

Posted by: Admin [October 16, 2006]

Fly Books:

We had a awesome package arrive today. The long awaited Fly Bikes Books arrived at the warehouse and these are amazing! The guys at Fly didn't want to print a regular catalogue so instead they printed a coffee table style book which portrayed what Fly bikes is all about. The books are really well produced with 80 full colour glossy pages showing all of their team riders and their signature colours / products. Buddy Chellan has an awesome pic that was shot by Wayne Reiche, and the rest of the book is also full of amazing photos from their riders all over the world.

If you would like to get your hands on one of these give your local bike store a call.

Posted by: Admin [October 12, 2006]

Stephen on Sunday:

We would like to welcome a new team rider to the Empire family. Cape Town based rider Stephen Savage is now riding for Sunday Bikes in SA! Stephen has been ripping up the streets of Cape Town for some time now, and after he came and hung out at the warehouse earlier this year we knew that he would fit in perfectly with the rest of the Empire team riders. We would like to officially welcome Stephen to the team and we will be sending him his new ride shortly.

For now we have a few pics of Stephen shredding the streets of Cape Town for you to check out, and his profile will be up in the team page in the next few days.

Posted by: Admin [October 09, 2006]

Fresh News:

Well its been a week or so since our last news update so we have prepared a huge update for you guys. Click on the Interbike banner above to get a full run down of all the new products that our brands are releasing in 2007. This years show saw the launch of some truly innovative products, so you can expect some awesome new goodies in your local bike store in the coming months...

Odyssey team rider Colin Loudon recently did his final art exam for school and he did this awesome painting of the entire Empire team. Colin has kindly donated the picture to us so we are going to be hanging it up here in the warehouse. We are so stoked on this painting, Thanks Colin!

In other team news FBM rider Brad Illingworth recently spent a few weeks in Cape Town hanging out with the Cape Town locals. During his visit he said he spent a lot of time riding the trails and while he was there Wayne Reiche snapped this jem of a pic of Brad riding his trails. Look for Brad's new bike check to be up in the team page in the next few days.

Posted by: Admin [October 04, 2006]