 | | | | | | | | | | | Will there be an online version for people to download?
Neil: Aye.
Euan: One of the guys who's involved in the trails, who's a jump biker ('cos it's not just for BMXers) called Bobby - he's a bit of a web dude, so he's doing a website for it and all that, so they'll be on that. We wanted to do one that was SBMA.com, but when we looked up the URL it's already registered as the site for this disease [Spinal-Bulbar Muscular Atrophy], so we've had to add a wee dash in there somewhere.
What's the URL for the Scottish BMX Association?
Euan: We'll get back to you on that one
actually, it will be posted on the OBM forum page (www.oddballmall.co.uk/forum) under the SBMA heading as soon as it's up. There'll be more info there too on how to get involved / ride the jumps, as well as being a handy place for people to get their own ideas out there, for the jumps at Gracemount or anything else.
When did you both first get into BMX? Could you explain your history with a 20 inch bike?
Euan: Round about 1982 I got my first bike and got into racing which I did for about three years. I then just rode at our local dirt jumps and various BMX tracks till about 1989, then went to the pub for about five years.
I got the chance to buy a GT race bike with Flight cranks for 60 quid and realised what I'd been missing. I got my hands on several old skool bikes (Skyway, a Profile Super Champ) until I opened the first OBM in 1995 and got myself an up-to-date bike (an S&M like) and never looked back. Apart from the odd crash.
Neil: About 1995 I reckon. I actually got my first bike from Euan at OBM Mark 1. It had one of the biggest platforms I've ever seen. We used to just ride street (that was all there was) and mess around with some flatland stuff. I ended up getting into flat and rode that for quite a while. I eventually got into riding a bit more street then just whatever there was to ride close to hand.
Neither of you run pegs - is there a particular reason for this? How did your bikes end up being set up the way they are?
Euan: My bike is set up the same as my 1985 GHP. I never got into the freestyle thing in the '80s, I thought it was a bit light-footed, like. Although I did run pegs after I saw Dirty Deeds in the mid '90s but you can only do so many grind tricks and so I took them off about four years ago.
Neil: I think I broke my cranks one time and managed to get hold of Euan's old Holmes, which had a set of old Profiles seized in it, so I stuck my wheels and bars on that and rode it for a week or so. It felt really guid - fast and stable, a big change from the Sabbath I had till then, and I didn't seem to miss having a front brake or 4 pegs, so that's the way it stayed. I bought a NG Holmes about a month later.
Are either of you particularly picky about bike bits? Does having a tricked-out bike get your motor going?
Euan: A nice, straight bike, with nae tat on it.
Neil: Not really, as long as it runs pretty smooth and does its job. The simpler the better.
If you could have been a part of any factory team from any period in BMX history, which would it be and why?
Euan: The early-to-mid '90s S&M team for obvious reasons, and a toss-up between the GHP or Patterson race teams of the '80s.
Neil: I'd say the S&M team as of BMX Inferno days too. I don't know if you'd class it as a factory team, but that was one of the first videos I saw, and it was great.
Which product in the shop are you most proud of?
Euan: My thirst.
Neil: The Monkey Bike, without a shadow of a doubt. We're gonna get a gyro and a ti axle for it, turn it into a real freestylin' machine.
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