Jim's DeChamp's front flip bike is not your ordinary FMX machine. I was able to catch a glimpse of it yesterday afternoon and it's obvious that there is definitely something funky going on with the front suspension. Oh, and it's a 125—weird.
What's up everyone, just a quick little update here from Home Depot Center in Los Angeles, California. As I was grabbing my credentials yesterday afternoon, I was able to get a couple little sneaky peakies at Jim DeChamp's front flip bike and more importantly, the questionable Freestyle Moto X course design. I linked up with Nate Adams and last year's gold medalist, Adam Jones to walk the course and what we saw didn't really make too much sense. I don't want to play devil's advocate, but in my eyes, the course is hurting. There are five ramps and four dirt hits and all but two dirt hits are pointed in the same direction, making the course have absolutely no flow. If someone can flow on the course and trick everything, they will be the hands down winner.
Ryan Leyba
Adam Jones is PUMPED on the course—can't you tell?
Just a couple minutes ago while I was typing this, Adam Jones went out for his first practice with Mike Mason and on his first hit, he came up short on one of the more standard ramp gaps, causing him to pile drive into the back of the landing. It looks as if he may have been in first gear or experienced major wheel spin off the ramp. He was down for quite a while, but able to get up with the help of the medics. I'll be sure to keep you in the loop as this story develops. Looks like the riders are meeting with course builder, Dane Herron now to discuss possible changes or improvements that can be implemented to the course.
UPDATE: I talked to Adam Jones in the pits and he seems to be alright—just a little banged up. Supposedly, his bike bogged off the ramp sending him into the back of the landing with quite a bit of force. "At first I thought my ankle was broken—it hurt immediately", states Jones. "It was a bit tough getting up and I'm pretty sore, but I want to ride practice tonight, so we'll see how it goes."
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Contributors
Ryan Leyba
Leyba is a bitter, retired FMX rider who likes to sit in his cubicle and call the professionals of the sport wussies for not pulling 360s and double backflips. He claims he quit riding FMX before flips were even invented ... yeah, right.
Cliff Talley
Making FMX videos exciting is easy. Making them look good is not. Cliff Talley does both of these well and still manages to find enough time to piss off his neighbors with his Travis Barker-esque drum skills.
Chris Tedesco
You've seen his photos on the covers of Transworld, Racer X and more. You've also seen his tequila shooting skills at your local dive bar. Ladies, Chris is single and looking to mingle.
Grant "Goba" O'Brien
FMX in Australia wouldn't exist if it weren't for Goba. Well, maybe it would, but it wouldn't be nearly as cool. I don't know why, but we can't quit calling him gobalobadingdong — it just rolls off the tongue.
Tes Sewell
Tes is the dude who's always involved in everything that's going on in FMX. How he does it, we don't know, but that's the reason we hired him to share his plethora of FMX wisdom in the form of a monthly column.
