Category Archives: Uncategorized

07.14.16
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First look: Fit Bikes BF22

A few months back, Brian Foster (BF) let the world know (via Instagram) that he had been dabbling with 22″ wheels.

According to BF, a 22″ S&M ATF had shown up at his door (courtesy of his sponsor, Chris Moeller).  Moeller wanted him to try it out.

What did the Blue Falcon (BF) think?

According to BF:

I definitely see the appeal. It rides better at speed and is more stable when landing flat. This stability comes at a cost as it is not as nimble as a 20″. I think a 22″ makes sense for trails and large transitions.

But that wasn’t all.

In addition to this pic of BF shredding said 22…

BF airing on 22

BF let the news drop that:

This fall, a 22″ @fitbikeco complete will be released and should raise the stoke for the generation of shredders that want to stay connected with riding.

That statement sent the world’s BMX keyboard jockeys a typing.

Thankfully, we don’t have to wait until fall to get a sneak peek. Below is a first look at the BF22 (My apologies for the awkward cropping).

BF22 first look

Not a lot of details at this point but with its long-ish looking top tube, top load stem and big-ish bars…it looks like it’s probably going be a good choice for the lanky set.

No word yet on an official release date or price point.

07.11.16
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The United KF22’s tall appeal

The details of Kyle Forte‘s much anticipated new signature United KF22 complete created a bit of buzz on the interwebs when they were released this past Friday.

And no wonder…

It’s a solidly spec’d complete…and on top of that canyoudigbmx.com got the scoop in the form of an interview on what motivated Kyle to make the jump (pun sorta intended) to the 22″ wheel size.

united-bmx-kf22-complete-bike-2-700x

It’s a great read and encapsulates a lot of what people are saying about 22s.

Of particular interest to this site, however, was Kyle’s belief that 22s are a great option for tall riders:

…this bike will appeal to the taller rider as well. The only options until now for taller BMX riders have been to lengthen your top tube, or put on higher bars & perhaps a longer stem. Riding a long low limo isn’t ideal & putting on really tall bars is likely going to either shorten your top tube if you run your bars back like I do, or if you run bars past the forks put your weight forward over the front. The 22”…looks like a bigger, in proportion BMX when you put it alongside a 20” with similar specs.

Solid points for sure.

I’m looking forward to seeing one of these up close.

07.07.16
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Scott Matual’s track-certified 22

In our last post, we learned that Scott Matual was testing the new 22″S&M Speedball tire.

Designed for dirt or park, the tires look like they’re going to be a solid tire choice once testing is complete.

And Matual is not pulling out any stops in his testing.

Scott Matual race 22

S&M shared on their Facebook page today that Scott Matual took home a 2nd and a 4th in 46 and over Expert this past weekend at the Great NW Nationals on his 22″ (with the prototype tires presumably)!

(Pic by RH Photography BMX)

06.24.16
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S&M testing 22″ Speedball tires

Even with the momentum of more and more bike brands entering the 22″ market, one of the sticking points in the adoption of this wheel/bike size is the dearth of quality tire options.

Thankfully, this looks like it is starting to change.

Much in the same way that S&M was one of the first big companies to jump into the 22″ scene (after Faction pioneered it) with a 22″ frame kit and tires…S&M is again trying to fill the gap of tire options with some new choices.

S&M 22in Speedball tires

Case in point, this week we heard the news that Scott Matual is currently testing some prototype SPEEDBALL 22″ tires for S&M.

The tires sport a broken up center tread from the TRACKMARK tire but in a normal casing with wire bead.  Designed for dirt or park, they will come in 2.25″ and 2.4″ sizes.

Nice to see some more 22″ tire choices on the horizon.