Boosted / Grounded

Destroy BMX does a good job covering NW riding. Low on hype, high on boost.


Getting some distance on the earth is pretty cool, but so is just rolling along. Dylan, on his Fall Guy, is coasting along side his son Danny's first ride. Thanks for sending this photo Dylan!




Have a good week-end.

-L

Nathan Elevated

About a month ago, Nathan and his Dad stopped by our shop and picked up a grey Fall Guy. What is it about Tonic riders and Elevation? What ever it is, it seems to be working for Nathan.


To me, this is it. Nice riding Nathan.


Tonic Fabrication (Group). I don't know what "Group" means, but it sure sounded cool.
Anyway, we'll be placing our name in no less than 14 locations on the new frames.
Currently, if someone can see the stickers on your Fall Guy they are either crawling on the ground, or you are in the air. Note to current Fall Guy riders: Don't make your friends crawl.

Joints and Drop-Outs and Celebrity MC's

In regular life, joints and drop-outs are sort of taboo conversation. Fortunately Tonic Fab is not "regular life." Enjoy our joints and drop-outs...






I've managed to secure a certain celebrity MC for the Helter Belter.How many other jams have legit celebrity MC's?

Pump Track / Soap Box

Here's something I never thought would be that fun, but actually is. The game Battleship? No, Pump Tracks. Here's one that fits into a tiny space around a house.


Portland's Adult Soap Box Derby is a damn good time. Push and GO!

Yakima's Big Wheel won my engineering Gold Star. Nicely crafted, with inboard discs.

The all metal body work on this fish was incredible.

I liked the Pope-Mobile..

Best Driver? Ceppie Maes, no question!

Cool person to run into? Dan Cheever!

Entry most likely to take a life?


Best Black Sabbath Song? Symptom of the Universe?

-L

I'll have what he's having...

Smooth y Legit

I've got more than 10 years on both of them, yet they've influenced my riding tremendously.
Aaron and Charlie. These are their trails and this is their riding. Obviously both are committed to trails, but they both happen to be blazing DH riders as well. Very stoked to have them riding for Tonic Fab. Hopefully, some additional sponsorship will arrive...

I admit..I watch a lot of music vids on You Tube. This video appeared when I was Aaron and Charlie's age. Urban Dance Squad. A Dutch band with a very good first album, Mental Floss for the Globe. Check the DJ's Club Homeboy shirt..

Tommorow...Soap Box Derby, Ceppie Maes and Pump Tracks..

-L

Sketches from Erik / Work it Out / Mike Day.

Erik from Stump503 recently went to NYC. Here are a few scans from his sketch book. Thanks for sending these over! There's a lot of detail here that is hard to pick up at first glance. Spend a little time with these.
I need to get a good photo of the helmet Erik painted for Aaron Nactrab. Quite a bit different than the "NASCAR Tribal" theme full-face helmets tend to be cursed with.




More from Bill Shannon, the Crutch Master. Is he amazing, or what?

Finally, this is one the raddest things done on a bike recently..Mike Day hot laps the Beijing Olympic BMX track. That jump over the berm on the womens course is 32', and the triple in the first straight is 48 feeeeet looongg!!! That's big folks. HOLY SMOKES. Track info here.
Mike Day, one of the world's best bike riders? Yes.
Have a great week-end.

-L

New Owner, Elevated.

New Fall Guy owner, Kyle, treating his bike properly at Elevation. Lots of Tonics on that course this year..
Nice riding Kyle.

Another Tonic Owner..

Alfred Bobe is a very unique individual. He's a bike messenger in NYC, and rides a Tonic Track Frame. More "owner" photos tommorow..

Fall Guy Owners Club

Someone in this photo could be getting a Fall Guy soon...



And what could this possibly be?

Dex / Thunder and Lightning

Here are a couple photos from Dex out of California. He's riding a Fall Guy out of the last batch. Looks like he got used to the bike pretty quickly...





Bad Brains at their peak. I love way You Tube collects gems like this..

Dew Tour / Man Escapes.

Dirt by the numbers: That first jump is 30 footer. Someone born in 1991 won.

Into the pavillion.

This was cool. Create-a-skate is an organization which comes into schools and teaches kids how to make skateboards. They had a booth set up with enough equipment to make custom skateboards. The guy on left made that board. The guy on the right has made 10 million boards and has a skatepark in his backyard. I would have loved this in school.

Does Toyota hate kids? The truck's wheels are partially submerged. Stick your head into a hole in the glass, and have water roosted into your face. Sweet!

Skateboarding magazine, gone. Motorcross, nearly gone. Ride BMX, barely touched. Not a good indicator.

Be on the look out for this man. Black socks, short shorts.

-L

Word.

Guy at his trails. Word.

News / Dandys / Vintage / Dew

Quick Bad News:
The Howies have been proven to be light and bullet-proof. One way we achieved this is through heat-treating.
Unfortunately, the heat treater wrecked a run of parts so that's going to cause a delay getting these frames done. It seems like everything thing has been taking forever. Feels like pushing a rope.

Quick Good News:
Guy's getting better and will start riding again soon.


This isn't for everyone, but I think it's cool. The Dandy Warhols. A PDX band, and this video was shot in PDX. The opening shot is right near Burnside. Check out the documentary Dig sometime.

There's a Vintage BMX Show this weekend in PDX. I'm sure Tony and I will check it out...

And finally, the Dew Tour. Dirt practice and Finals this Friday, so that's where we'll be...

-L

Bring it / Don't Bring it...

Tonic Fab is hosting a Jam of sorts. It's on private property, so the number of people has to be controlled, but beyond that, it's wide open. Trails with some park features, BBQ and beverages. Contact me for details and an invite.


This is a part-time gig for Tony and I. Tony was stuck in a meeting today and sketched this. I think it's awesome.


-L

Something new

Poorly presented..


Helter Belter Announcement Tommorow.

Totally Aerodynamic

Greg Melms has made some cool bike bits. However to me, these take The Cake.

These dropouts are one of the coolest details I've ever seen on a bike. The idea for the fork reminds me of the old Skyway T/A frames, but Greg has taken this to (well beyond) the next level.

Awesome work. I can't wait to see the rest of this fork...

Shake Hands With Danger

True Story:

After college, I took a job working on heavy equipment in Antarctica. Many memories from that experience, but what stands-out more than "water-skiing" behind a truck or driving a tracked vehicle? Shake Hands With Danger.
Watching this video was part of our safety orientation. A true masterpiece. The whole thing is on YouTube in 4 parts. Enjoy.

New Stuff from Greg / Fork Guide / NW Airlines

Tonic Friend, Greg Melms, sent over some photos of his new frame project. Not completed yet, but it's got some cool details. Like this Yoke. 14.5" stays, shorty.

These dropouts are for custom thread in Aluminum pegs. How cool are these?

Here's Greg's stem with his spacer/headset top cap installed. Sano.

Tonic Fab is working with a certain fork company trying to standardize fork terminology:

All Time Lows. Race Ready.

Abbitt in the woods.

Abbitt's got some NW Airlines Stickers going. Contact him via his Myspace if you'd like some? If you are like me, and Myspace-less, contact me and I'll put you in touch.


-L

X-Games Big (Hot) Air /Lib Tech

Can freestyle riding get dumbed down any more?
What's on deck for next year, blowing riders out of cannon? For the first time in the history of the sport, 12 feet out of a quarter looks like a good curb cut boost. At least nobody died.

Good news is that the above photo was borrowed from Lib Tech, a kick ass Washington State snowboard company. They are a part of Mervin Manufacturing, which includes GNU boards and Bent Metal Bindings. Quality over Baloney.

-L

The Boss / The Luther / The Hoop of Fire

Not much happening..how about mentioning a few things that could kill you?

Steve Mcqueen was The Boss. Here's his Dune Buggy. "That's where it's at, man.."

The Luther. Under 35? Subtract one month for each Luther. Over 35? 3 months..


The Hoop of Fire. Probably the least dangerous bit of riding ever shown here, but anything that involves bikes, fire and nudity is probably sorta dangerous, right?

Bike Tax / Boost / Another Track Bike

Chris sent this over. I thought this administration was all about "No New Taxes!"


My car has a Turbo and a few problems. Fortunately this type of boost has never given me any trouble. Guy, photo by Sean Masai.


There's a unique motorcycle retailer in Australia I've admired for their custom work, Deus Ex Machina. Incredible attention to detail, and a fun/cool approach to what they do.



I was surprised to see they now have some complete fixed gear bikes too. Given their work with motos, I would have expected something a little more challenging. These bikes aren't really my style, although the presentation is impecable. The suicidal bar/stem, the enormous difference in tire clearance between the frame and fork and 1" threaded headset are hard for me to enjoy, but what do I know? I used to own 4 pairs of OP shorts... I'm sure people will love these bikes.

The Natural / The Broken

Scott Matual training for the worlds:

Friend of Tonic Fab, Scott "The Natural" Matual was in Victoria, BC last week-end racing the BMX worlds. Scott worked hard and qualified for both cruiser and 20. Not many folks compete at the worlds level in anything, so congrats Scott!

I his words:

"In my final I had a good start, and had a little lead and the inside line, (I’m # 19) but when I jumped the second jump (a big 25’ double), I landed on a guys arm and it sent me (and him) sailing. Oh well, maybe next time (since I made the finals I am automatically qualified for next years Worlds in Beijing China). My ass (and tailbone) paid the price though.!! "
Photos here.

Also, hats off to Charlie who won his DH race a couple weeks ago with a very fast time.
What I want do know is:
How much faster would he go if he ditched those giant gas-station shirts with images of William Shatner or "wolves and feathers" on them? Maybe we can produce a shirt for Charlie that maintains that style and fit, but make it out of mesh so air slips through un-interupted? Just thinking out loud...

On to the Broken:


On of my more radical street moves. This one involved a Mexican Wrestling Mask, pedaling as fast as possible and an alley.

Tonic friend, Billy Spaceman is putting together another issue of his zine, and asked us if we want to advertise..I put this little ad together with Guy in it. Nothing too fancy or clever..but damn, what a photo!


And finally, the broken hearted. Perhaps this little video will help ease the pain?
Some wisdom for the day: Listen to Donovan.