The December 2006 issue of RIDEBMX has a short interview with Mirraco rider Nigel Sylvester. They talk about breaking his wrist, how he met up with Dave Mirra, what is in the works with Mirraco and how things are going with the Flipside video. Have you always been a big fan? Yeah, I’ve always been a big fan of Mirra! Watching him on the X-Games made me want to ride. Pick up an issue of RIDEBMX (December 2006) for the full scoop.

We have been getting all kind of press lately and we love it. When introducing a BMX brand it is easy to get lost in the big field where new companies are popping up every month. Opinions are formed easily without hearing it straight from the horse’s mouth. That’s why you should try to get a hold of the September issue of BMX Business News to read Jim Ford’s interview.

Here is a link to a recent interview the folks at RIDE BMX did with Mirraco’s Ryan Guettler. If you have a moment you should check it out. Here’s what he had to say about riding for Mirraco, for the remainder of the interview, click here. How is Mirraco treating you? I couldn’t ask for a better company to ride for. I’m so psyched to ride for Dave. We just did Interbike and I finally got to see everything complete and put together and it looked way better than I could imagine. The complete limited edition bike of mine is something I could rock straight out of the box. It came out at 26 pounds, which is ridiculous for having no titanium parts. And you can get it down to 25 just by cutting down the seatpost and axles and stuff like that. You will most likely see me running the complete all next year.

What do all these terms mean? Mirraco’s product development master Jean-Luc Ferre gives you an insight on what goes on to make frames lighter and stronger. Interested? Read on……… Weight is a big factor for BMX bikes these days. What can be done to a frame to save weight? Jean Luc: Obviously, reducing the thickness and diameter of the tubing plays a big role. There is a limit, though, in how far we can go for both. Using single, double or triple-butted tubing is another mean of reducing weight by optimizing tube thickness where needed. Other ways of reducing weight: - Designing smaller and thinner dropouts (5 or 4mm thick), heat-treatment is required in that case, - Using smaller BB shells and bearings (Euro is most likely the lightest type), - Reducing the thickness of the head tube (same, heat-treatment is required in that case). What are butted tubes? Jean Luc: Butted tubes feature optimized thickness where needed, mostly at the end(s) where they are welded together and where strength and thickness (for welding) is mostly needed. These tubes are thinner in the center where stresses are reduced, again within a certain limit, especially for BMX where thin tubing can be easily dented from crashing on ramps, rails, ledges, etc. What does heat treating do? Jean Luc: Heat -Treatment increases the hardness of the material (very useful for dropouts, BB shells and head tubes) and for tubing re-distributes the material’s molecules after welding, especially around the welds. It is a treatment that releases tension built in during welding and makes a frame simply harder, stronger and most likely stiffer as well. This allows in return to reducing the thickness of the tubing used, which saves weight. All these extra treatments cost extra money, right? Jean Luc: Yes, it does. Usually, specific (giant) ovens are required. This equipment costs a lot of money and the process takes time, around 24 hours for a small batch of frames, so all this comes in addition to the basic frame cost. Do the limited edition Blend and Black Pearl bikes come with all the latest tech stuff? Jean Luc: Yes, their frames come with CNC machined heat-treated MID BB shells & integrated head tubes, double-butted tubing, short 5mm thick dropouts, etc.They weigh around 5.4 lbs, which is pretty good for frames built as completes that retail around $1,000 with all the branded components featured. The Blend Ltd features: - Snafu’s Alloy crankset, sprocket, stem and Magnesium pedals, - Snafu’s brand new Stout hubs set (with recessed spoke heads in the flanges), - Lightweight double-butted forks and bars, The Black Pearl Ltd features: - Lightweight (very light) Colony bars and forks, - Wellgo Magnesium pedals (215 grms each !), - Odyssey hubs set w/ a Vandero 3/8″ front, - Odyssey’s Vermont sprocket, - a Fly Bikes stem Both bikes have in common, - Lightweight Pivotal (Macneil) seat and post, - Shadow Conspiracy’s latest 1/2 link chain, - Odyssey Monolevers, - Lightweight Fly brakes - City Lite Welded Sun Rims, - Double butted spokes, - 1-pc driver cassette hubs with hollow 14mm axles, - Lightweight 3/8″ axles To wrap this up, how much do the Blend Ltd. and Black Pearl Ltd. weigh? Jean Luc: We just got another set of samples that are exactly like the production bikes. The Black Pearl Ltd is the lightest at 26.7 lbs because of lighter parts and a low profile frame. The Blend Ltd weighs in at 27.8 lbs, which is still very good for a production bike.

Here’s an interview with the person who updates the Mirraco site, works with the Mirraco distributors, the media, the Mirraco riders and all those marketing activities. The interview appeared in FreedomBMX magazine # 71 over in Germany but here is the English version. -Who is Bart de Jong? Bart de Jong was born in Aarle-Rixtel in 1969 and somehow manages to live off of BMX through EBC, my one-man company. -How would you describe your job? My job is pretty much 24/7 BMX, and that’s not 24 hours per week. I do BMX related jobs left and right to make ends meet. Being a one-man show entails everything form picking up the phone to making sure the tax man is happy. I worked for HARO Bikes for almost 5 years but switched to Mirraco in May 2006. For them I work with the distributors, maintain their website, work with the media, give feedback, take care of the riders when they’re here and there is a plan to hook up some European riders as well that will go through me. Next to that I do international sales for Universal Motocross engineering, a motorcycle parts company from California and set up the distribution network for them. When McGoo asked me for this job I couldn’t refuse. He’s one of my best friends and I wanted to help him out. It’s been going for over three years now. Through EBC I also do BMX consulting which may sound weird but I have a lot of valuable information for a company that wants to start a business in Europe or needs contacts in general. People might have seen me at several events taking care of some judging duties which are in fact cool but hard jobs. I also write stories and take pictures. Most of them end up on www.fatbmx.com but if anyone needs something (story or photos), EBC can take care of that too. -Tell us how FATBMX got started. I believe it was 1987 when Paul and I started a ‘zine. After 34 issues I got a proper job and there was no more time to get one ready. Jos Wissink introduced us to the internet world and told us we should do one online. We had no clue how things worked so in the beginning we just sent text and pics in the right size to Jos and he would get it online. I believe this started in 1999 or so. FATBMX had been going for a while and it was fun to do but for 2005 I had bigger plans. I wanted updates every day to inform the BMX world what was happening. Someone had to do it. -How much time and energy do you put in fatbmx.com? It’s fair to say that it has grown to three hours a day. It’s non stop. You check your mail and there’s something new. You re-size the photos, check the text on misspellings, get it all in the right font, highlight the right worlds, put links in where necessary and then upload the whole package. The actual uploading isn’t always the hardest part, getting the info requires a bunch of e-mails most of the time. We’re up to three updates a day these days so we’re not making it easier on ourselves. There’s no pressure from anyone but myself when I work on FATBMX. Getting a compliment left and right keeps me motivated and the 4000 visits per day show that people appreciate the work. -What kind of BMX jobs have you had over the years? In 1996 I got my first official BMX job which was with GT Bicycles at their European office in Belgium. I got the title: European BMX-Freestyle manager, whatever that meant. Basically it meant managing the European BMX racing team, the BMX freestyle team, setting up demos, work with the International GT distributors, drive the GT rig/ramp, announce the shows, go to the trade shows, give product feedback from the riders to the PD crew in the USA, work with the media, it was a handful. When GT in the USA filed for bankruptcy in 2001, they had to close their European office too. I was unemployed and started European BMX Connection (EBC) and took on whatever BMX job that was available that I could do on a freelance basis. Fortunately HARO Bikes signed on as a steady customer so things worked out. -How do you make money to live off of these days? If you think you can become a rich man in the BMX world you have picked the wrong sport. I love what I do but it requires working long days and lots of weekends. There are good times and bad times and the good ones cover the bad ones in times of need. I basically patch everything together and make sure the bills get paid at the end of the month. So far it has worked. Who knows how much longer this is possible. -You worked many years for GT and HARO. What is it like working for American companies? I had a very good time with both of them. Both companies understood that there was more than the USA alone. Both companies had interest in doing things internationally and weren’t afraid to invest in team riders for instance. There are not too many American bike companies around that pay European riders so they can travel. GT and HARO both had that while I was working with them. I don’t think working with a USA company is any different from working with European companies. It just depends on who you have to work with. There are kick ass people and people who don’t get it on both sides of the Ocean. -What do American companies think about Europeans. Do you need to be convincing to them? GT and HARO both had people who travelled a lot. They did see things themselves or trusted me when I had to say something. The feedback from their International Distributors helped a lot too. It’s difficult for them to understand the European situation when they are living over in California. It would be hard for us to understand Russia and their surrounding countries simply because we don’t live there or travel there on a regular basis. -What are your plans? I keep saying that if I can add a year to my life the way I spend it now, I’m happy. I’ve got a BMX related job, what more can I ask for? People normally work until they’re 65 and then start traveling. I’ve already done the traveling and when it’s time to get a normal job, I have to take it, and I will. -We hardly know anyone who has as many BMX connections as you have. Do you spend all day keeping in touch with everyone? That pretty much is my job. It’s hard to explain to people who don’t have a clue. It’s cool to hear from people and it doesn’t take more than a minute to reply these days through e-mail. When I haven’t been online for a bit it’s fun to hit the send/receive button to see what’s there. It can be something interesting each time. -Because you’ve been riding BMX since 1979 you have experienced many years of BMX. What are for you the biggest changes? I think the BMX popularity goes in cycles. I’ve been in the first boom in the early ‘80-s but was also here when it was dead and people on BMX bikes were laughed at. I don’t think that’s the case any more. I think with all the parks and ramps in all the cities, it will only help BMX become more accepted. We see it on TV on a regular basis and BMX has become a thing for the kids to do. In the past you could choose between football and tennis or hockey but now there’s another choice with BMX/skateboarding/snowboarding. You don’t need to be an outlaw any more to participate in these sports. -Do you still find the time to ride yourself? Not as much as I would like to. I had a shoulder operation in 2005 which did not help. The new trails down the street are a good motivation though. -You will soon become a daddy for the second time. How does this influence your job? Of course it makes everything harder from leaving the house for a trip to spending time behind the computer. I work late nights often when the house is asleep. BMX isn’t main priority any more now that I’m married and have a kid but it’s still my job and it puts bread and water on the table, and in good months some Nutella too. -What’s after BMX? 40 hours/week job. Hope that time never comes. Photos/questions: Kay Clauberg / FreedomBMX magazineÂ

How does riding for MirraCo compare to riding for Haro? Riding for such an established company as Haro was definitely an experience. Now, riding for MirraCo, which is gonna be the biggest company in the world, is going to be the experience of a lifetime.

You can read the full by clicking HERE.

Name: Nigel Sylvester aka Nestle Age: 18 Hometown: Queens, NYC You’re new on Mirraco, what was your first reaction when Dave Mirra got on the phone with you? Nigel: Well it was crazy because Dave Mirra is one of the best riders and I started riding from watching him on TV, so when I spoke to him on the phone I was nervous of course. Not everyday does Dave Mirra call your phone and say “yea i want you to ride on my team”……I was like for sure B (laughing). Yea that phone call was crazy. But after I spoke to him for a while, I found out he is a real cool dude. What’s the plan now that you are on Mirraco? Nigel: Well basically I plan to do the damn thing. FeeeeeL Meeeee!!!!! The type of riding you do is pretty much the opposite from all the Dew Tour/X-Games contests. Have you ever entered a contest? Nigel: Yea that is true, but yea I’ve entered competitions before when I was younger, but I didn’t like them too much. They were weird, you only have one chance to bless some fire (hot tricks) and if you fall then you’re basically done. That’s a lot of pressure to deal with in front of a bunch of people, so I stopped entering. Do you believe in doing video parts instead of entering contests? Nigel: Yea of course because video parts are less stressful and less pressure. I’m not saying I can’t handle pressure but if I don’t have to, I don’t want to. Yeah there is deadlines on video parts but, you have way more time to think about exactly what you want to do. I just feel more comfortable doing video parts. You recently went on a trip to Europe, how was that? Nigel: Yea I went over to Europe like a month ago. It was the best. I’d never been outside the US with my bike so it was very different. I stayed in England for about 2 weeks then I went over to Germany for about a week. I had a really good time and the crew I went with was cool, they showed me a bunch of new things, that I never seen before or heard of (laughing), but it really gave me a different outlook on certain things and I learned some valuable life lessons, over all it was a good experience . Do you feel that BMX is getting you around? Nigel: BMX getting me around? ……yea that’s about true because, if I wasn’t riding I would probably just be working retail or something and I’m pretty sure no average retail job would be flying me around to ride my bike…….feeeeel meeeee. Being able to ride and travel in different places has helped me grow so much because, I’ve learned things I would have never seen or knew about if I was just chilling in NYC. How often do you ride? Nigel: Whenever it feels right. Who are some of your friends you like to ride with? Nigel: Well on a normal day, you can catch me with Ralphy R., Bob S., Edwin D., Tyrone S., Vinnie S., Jerry aka The Baby, Big James, Ralph, Skinny, Marlon, Rah and a whole other bunch of people from NYC’s streets. (laughing) Do you get hassled a lot when you ride street in New York City? Nigel: Yea sometimes from security guards and NYPD. What’s your solution to the security guards and illegal spots? Nigel: Well usually they just try to kick us out and we don’t listen. Then they start yelling and threatening to call the cops so we just leave. Then on other days we just give them a hard time, no homo (laughing). Why brakeless? Nigel: I love riding brakeless cause there’s no better feeling than flying down NYC’s busy streets full speed dipping in-n-out of cars and running street lights. I just love to ride fast and when im doing it without breaks it’s more fun, it’s like I can’t stop and why would I want to. Last words/shout outs/thanks? Nigel: …..This is how I’m doing All Day, like the video feeeeel meeeee (laughing). I want to thank God, my family, everyone who I ride with, Ralph at animal, Jerry B. at Vans, Dave M. and Jim F. at Mirraco, Enos at Base Brooklyn, Glenn PP, Tip Plus and all my peoples over there, team HB, NYC best city ever, RIP Huges, everyone who has helped me along the way and anyone I forgot. Feeeeel Meeeee Photo by Matt BrownÂ

Name: Ryan Guettler D.O.B.: 7-17-83 Hometown: Beenleigh, Australia Riding since: 1995, Competition Participant since 2002 Riding disciplines: BMX Dirt and Park Occupation: BMX Rider How does it feel having Dave Mirra as your team mate for the upcoming season? Ryan: I guess you can only progress from riding with the best. It will be hard for you to top the 2005 year. Is it all downhill from here? Ryan: A little bit, since last year was really good competition-wise for me so I don’t feel like I have to really prove myself anymore. This year I still want to ride great at every competition but I feel my focus will be on X-Games and winning that. You’re having a signature bike made at Mirraco, how will this benefit you compared to the other bikes you’ve ridden? Ryan: I’ve broken a lot of bikes in the past and was unhappy about the sizing of them so with me designing my own bike, it’s my input and it’s exactly how I would want my bike to be. With the progression of bike design today, it’s also going to be pretty light. You’re from Australia but are now living in the USA. What made you make this move? Ryan: There are many more opportunities in the US than compared to Australia. Sponsors and companies support riding in general a lot more here (US) than back home. The competition scene is much greater in the US as well, there are only 3 major contests in Australia every year so I would have to have a full time job to support myself and only ride when I had free time. Living in the US allows me to ride full time. What parks did you ride in Australia and where do you ride these days? Ryan: In Beenleigh, I would ride the local bike park which easily became my second home. Here in the US, since I recently moved to Greenville, NC; I’m just getting a feel for the local parks here as well as building some dirt trails with Colin McKay and Diogo Canina. You’re into cars, have you always liked automobiles? Ryan: Yes, for sure. My dad had some cool cars when I was growing up so as soon as I made some money I knew what I wanted to get. My favorite by far is classic cars. Which one is your favorite at the moment? Ryan: That’s a tough one; it would either be my 1964 Lincoln Continental or my 2006 300 C Chrysler. Learning new tricks can be challenging. Do they come natural to you are does everything need to work in the head over and over again before you try a new trick? Ryan: I usually work them out in my head first and then try them out in the foam pit. If it comes easy to me, I will stick with it, if it’s not turning out how I expected, I will leave it and come back to it later. But learning new tricks comes in stages, as you can’t learn a no-hander until you have one-handers down, it’s really all just progressing and building on older tricks. You ain’t scared? Ryan: You’re always going to crash but to try new and harder tricks is what this sport is all about. I would never go to a competition and just dead air over every jump, I’m going to go all out with what I have got or I’m not going to go at all. Pressure is another thing to handle at the bigger comps. How do you handle the distractions when you need to concentrate? Ryan: There is actually not many distractions at competitions. I have a TM (team manager) who knows what to do to keep my mind focused on the competition. He handles anyone who is in my way and deals with any other distractions that come up, but there really aren’t that many. At the top level, is the competition harsh or is everyone still friends? Ryan: We’re best mates. At my first major competition I didn’t know what to expect or how I would be treated but everyone was nice as we are all there to further our own careers. No one goes to a competition with the mindset to beat a certain person; it’s all about beating yourself, no one else. Who do you like to ride with? Ryan: My roommate Diogo Canina who’s from Brazil is probably the most fun to ride with; but now that I’m in Greenville, I’m also riding with Colin MacKay and Alan Cooke. Did you ever think that riding BMX would become your job? Ryan: No way, not in my wildest dreams. Any advice for the other riders out there? Ryan: Just have fun, don’t take things too seriously. Oh, and make sure you get your interviews in on time.