Ye Olde Fashioned Skating 1970's stylee...

Oh bless them! Little did they know whilst practising their skating-into-the-wall trick many, many times that we'd all still be laughing at their obscenely short shorts 30 years later (I'm clearly only jealous - I had to wear my brother's hand-me-downs through the 1970's & 80's, including his old underwear & dubious combat phase, & I'm a girl... no one should have to suffer like I did!).

Check out this uber-cool retro offering from 1978 :

Happy weekend everyone!

**

Extreme fly-fishing..

Here at SMB, we follow quite a lot of blogs & we must give credit to them for the inspiration behind many of our posts. This week's winner must be this though, from http://flyfishmagazine.blogspot.com/:

Yes, you are actually looking at a Great White Shark hanging on to some poor unsuspecting fishing fan's fly rod. As our office manager, Amanda, said "if they were holding a beer in the other hand, I'll bet that went straight over the side when they saw this little beauty".

A Great White definitely won't be on our top ten wish list, but then in

land-locked Oxfordshire we should be pretty safe!!

**

BMX Star...

If you don't fancy venturing out during this damp squib currently known as the British Summer, then why not while away a few minutes indoors playing this free BMX game online?!

Check out http://www.mousebreaker.com/games/bmxstar .

Moursebreaker have lots of other great free games for you to try too.

Thanks to Sam Johnson for the great link.

**

The UK's summer is a bit rubbish so far this year...

...So let's go ice fishing (you have to admit it's nearly been cold enough on some days)!!

For those of you who might have missed the perils of ice fishing (as outlined in our first post devoted to the topic earlier in the year), this clip might prove beneficial...

NASS '09 Skate highlights

Our little skate-dude Schaeffer Mclean's sponsors, Route One, bring us some tasty highlights from NASS 2009 - enjoy!

Also coming up, we have the ESBC '09, which should be amazing, check out: http://www.skateboardeurope.com/ESC09/ for more details - isn't summer just great?!

Buying a bike (BSO) this weekend?

A word of warning then, from Helen Pidd at the Guardian - don't buy it from ASDA.

Here is Helen's review:

"Earlier this month, Asda boasted that it was to start selling "the cheapest
bicycle in the UK". Having bought into the notion that to get a half decent new bike you had to pay at least £300 for it, I was intrigued to find out what you'd get for less than a quarter of that amount – Asda's adult machines cost just £70.

And so it was that I have spent the past month juddering around London on a 26in British Eagle 18-speed women's mountain bike in a patronising purple shade. My first outing on the Purple Eagle ended on a sour note when the handlebars started turning in an entirely unhelpful and counter-intuitive way every time I rounded a corner. The headset was horribly loose, and I had no tools on me to fix it.

Herein lies the first problem with buying what bike snobs refer to as a BSO (bike shaped object): you have to build it yourself. The Eagle comes in bits, meaning you have to attach the pedals, front wheel, handlebars and saddle to the frame. Asda's PR folks made mine, but the lesson is the same. Are you sure you know how to put it together properly? If not, you can either take it to your local bike dealer and hope they won't laugh you out of the shop when you ask them to do it for you (and if they oblige, you'll pay at least £20 for it). Or you can risk getting it wrong. The best-case scenario is that, like me, you end up walking home. Let's not contemplate the worst case.

The second problem was the grip-shift gears, which are operated by twisting the end of the handlebars. Very quickly I wished that British Eagle had concentrated on getting three gears right rather than making 18 substandard ones. Every time I went over a speed bump I changed gear; even on the flat there was always an irritating clicking sound which spoiled every ride. On the scale of annoyance, it was rather like being at the cinema and having someone kick the back of your seat all the way though the film.

To test the bike properly I decided to take it on a grand tour of north London's Three Peaks: Crouch Hill, Highgate Hill and Muswell Hill.

Yorkshire folk will no doubt dismiss these bourgeois mounds as mere hillocks, but tackling them on my weighty (18kg), graceless machine felt like I was scaling Pen-y-Ghent on a pedal-powered tractor. The good thing about mountain bikes is that they have super-low gears, but as the Purple Eagle could never stay in any gear for long, I may as well have been on a single speed.

After 40 miles or so of gentle bimbling, I took the bike into my local bike shop, Two Wheels Good, and got the owner, Jonathan Boyce, to give it a once over. He groaned as I wheeled it in – "We see these a couple of times a week and so often the repairs cost more than the bike," he said, adding that he gave me "four to six weeks" before the bike was too jiggered to ride. Jonathan's advice for those on a budget is to scrape together £100 to buy a decent secondhand bike rather than waste money on the Purple Eagle or any of its relatives.


Here are some of the flaws Jonathan noticed:

1. The Purple Eagle is a ladies' bike. So why the men's saddle?

2. The components are rubbish and made out of the biking equivalent of a supermarket own-brand. The derailleur, gear shifts and more are made by a brand that sounds like Shimano but isn't. It's even written in the same font.

3. The brakes are made from plastic, rather than more expensive aluminium, and so will flex and bend, wasting energy.

4. The handlebar stem is the old "quill" style (instead of attaching to a steerer tube it fits directly into the headset and screws onto the forks), rather than an a-head stem.

5. The rear derailleur is hooked onto the axle, rather than bolted straight to the frame, making it almost impossible to adjust the gears properly.

6. The cheap plastic pedals will "simply fall apart before long".

7. The rear wheel was badly out of true.

8. The front wheel wasn't round, and was wobbling about the place as if the bearings have already gone. Apparently this shouldn't happen on a decent bike until you've done at least 1,000 miles. (We can at least help you out on that one Helen! )

But the biggest problem I had with the Lumbering Eagle was that it was horrible to ride. Every time I was due to set out on it, I cast a jealous glance at my lovely, nimble racer and prepared myself for the unpleasant ride ahead. This is the real downer with cheap bikes: they put you off cycling."

Oh dear! And if that wasn't enough to put you off a budget purchase this weekend, then read what Real Cycling have to say about it, at:
http://realcycling.blogspot.com/2009/07/hangover-from-buying-cheap-bike.html

You have been warned... Happy shopping!!!

Accidental Fishing...

This may show all you fishing fans where you've been going so wrong over the years - never mind all the rigs & tackle, just take your dog & a loaf of bread out with you!

I just love this...

Schaeffer's back!

We are delighted to bring you the latest video from our sponsored skater, 5 year old Schaeffer McLean



Happy holidays little dude - we hope your summer is jam-packed with skateboarding!

Bike Fishing...

A couple in America have had a pretty nifty idea folks.

They've designed a rather nice bike-rack for fishing rods, thus combining two of our favourite hobbies. How clever are they?!

See http://bikefisherman.com/ for more details...

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Tour de France

If you are excited to be following the Tour de France again this year, you really must visit their website (click on this post's title to take you straight there). This 3500km, 21 stage race has a mightily impressive field of international cyclists & teams, battling their way across France. They take on flat stages, mountain stages & time trials in a Herculean effort to take the yellow jersey, as they arrive in Paris on Sunday 26th July.

We may not have succeeded with Wimbledon & England cricket may be struggling (the men's game anyway - well done ladies!), but there are Brits storming up the leader board in this year's Tour - all hail Mark Cavendish & Bradley Wiggins.

Currently in 7th place on time, after stage ten of the tour, Bradley looks ready for a strong finish. And as for Mark Cavendish, he is currently in 2nd place on points after stage 10. There is so much excitement still to come!

You can watch live streaming of the event on the Tour site & also keep bang up to date with the results - come on Mark & Bradley!

Roller blading heaven

Check out Julian Bah's new Vimeo clip - this guy is really pretty spiffy!

Julian Bah Im Back from david amkhinich on Vimeo.

Any other roller-bladers or inline skaters who've immortalised themselves in video, we'd love to see you so give us a shout!

Think Decks...

These new decks pay homage to some of the most intelligent, witty & charming ladies of our day... you can now ride on Paris Hilton, Lindsey Lohan, or Nicole Richie...

Thanks to http://www.blackstork.com/ for the heads up!

For the ladies among us, this deck is possibly a bit more appealing:

Designed by Unkommon Kolor,

this deck is a real beauty & has just a wee cheeky dig at the boys... I want one!

Roller babies

Evian USA bring us the wonder of water...



Our mistake was clearly to drink too much alcohol...

Photo of the week goes to...

...Inu in Hakodate City, Japan, who took this amazing picture whilst out fishing over the weekend.

In the mouth of Kurosoi Rockfish that Inu caught at Ishizaki fishing port, there was a fingerling that the Kurosoi had eaten.

Visit http://inussaltwaterflyfishing.blogspot.com/ for more fantastic photos & fishing reports.

Something for the weekend...

We at SMB Bearings really pride ourselves on bringing you the latest cutting edge innovations (that James Bond himself would be proud to be seen around town with) & we truly feel that we've found a cracker with this one.

From a range of products rather doom-ladenly entitled "Innovate or Die" we bring you the Bike-Yak, a fusion of sea kayak & bicycle, for those days when a flood of biblical proportions prevents you from reaching the corner shop any other way.

If you'd prefer a product designed for somewhat happier times, then why not try this one...

...It doesn't show you the elephantine proportions of your thigh muscles by the time you've reached Bognor though.

Happy weekend everyone!

**

Skate news...

We're in the process of developing a little clothing line for our sponsored skaters & we're delighted to bring you a sneak preview of our work so far - any comments welcomed!

We'll also have some decals available for your decks soon, so watch this space...

****

We've found some funny guys at http://2headedhorse.blogspot.com/ who have produced the following promo vid for Fuel TV:

We thought it might strike a bit of a chord with skate-nuts everywhere!

Be our Guest... Introducing Glen's Fly Fishing Blog

We are thrilled to be able to introduce to you Glen Pointon, a UK fly fishing fan & blogger who has agreed, very kindly, to be our first ever guest blog-poster!

Glen's tales of fishing around the Staffordshire & Derbyshire area are a real inspiration, which he then combines with some stunning photography to make a really entertaining blog.

We hope to bring you fresh posts from Glen soon, but for now he has kindly agreed to share his 'River Dove Salmon, My first 9lb 4oz' post with us. Over to you Glen...

"Well here is my story of catching my first ever salmon. I am not a Salmon fisherman and have never tried it, but enquired around Scotland this year but never got chance to go but as things turned out i did not need to bother.

I was Grayling fishing last saturday and whilst wading through a deep run i saw a salmon come clean out the water, this fish was around three ft away from me and scared the **** out of me, i was shocked to see how big this fish was, it was around three foot long and had a red glow down the bottom of its body. It seemed unreal to see a fish so big in a small river like the dove but it made me realise that these fish are coming back to the dove around a very good size.

The next day on sunday i went back to have another go at the grayling and hoping to see these salmon again, I took a friend with me who wanted to watch me fish, As the light started to go i flicked my nymph unpstream where i had seen the fish and when i started to retrieve the bug i saw a huge salmon come out the water again, i thought wow what a nice fish when my friend shouted from the bank 'its took your fly',I lifted into the fish and felt my rod tighten into the fish, i was using a 8ft 4 weight greys streamflex rod with 5 lb line and i knew i was in for some fun!!

The fish went absolutly nuts when it felt the hook set home and just run downstream, it went through a stong rapid a i could not stop it doing anything, its took me straight onto the backing so it was at least 40 yards down stream and still running, I knew the only way i would get this fish was to tire it out so i went running down the river to my friends amusement!! I cover at least 60 yards running down the river with the fish still going when my line got caught around the reel, everything went tight and i thought it was going snap but it turned from the pressure and came leaping out of the river making my heart jump, the sheer size of this fish had me shaking like a leaf, my friend was shouting 'dont lose this fish you ****'.

I was into a fish of a lifetime and eventually got it to start turning under full pressure, my rod was just doubled over all of the time,When the fish saw me it made four more big runs but it was starting to tire, After half a hour i had the fish in full view and she was lumping around like big fish do, so I had a small trout net on my back and there was no way it would fit in there so i when i got it close to me i threw me rod down and grabbed it with both hands!I took it onto the bank and me and my friend Micky were jumping up and down like we had won the lottery! Well to me it felt better than that!! The fish was a female Hen and was quite dark. the fish measured 34 iches long with a massive tail, i got the scales from my van and it weighed 9lb 14 ozIn fact it was the lenght of my foot to my waist.When i got home i told the mrs i had had the best night of my life and she said 'better than your first night of sex with me' and i said 'no not that good babe' but i am a great liar and if you are a fisherman you know what i mean!! "

Thanks Glen! If you'd like to read more tales from Glen, then check out his blog at http://glenpointon.blogspot.com/.

Skate Monkey

Allow us to introduce you to one of the coolest creations that we have ever seen in blog-land...

Check out Skate Monkey doing a kick flip!

Skate Monkey & his paper friends are the creation of graphic designer Morgan Gleave, whose blog http://anywereamateurreportersclub.blogspot.com/ has been entertaining us for weeks.

Now you too can create your very own Skate Monkey - simply download your completed or blank templates (for your own creative juices to flow) free of charge from http://www.morgangleave.co.uk/toyshop.htm and start sticking! It's like Blue Peter but oh so much better (my yoghurt pots & loo rolls never ended up as Tracy Island... I am emotionally scarred to this day).

If you're brave enough to complete a blank template, we'd love to see a picture of it.

Thanks to Morgan for granting kind permission to feature his creations.

Naked Bike Ride...

At a loose end this weekend, footloose & fancy free?

Then why not head to London's 6th Annual Naked Bike Ride...

... watch out for sunburn though, this weekend's meant to be a scorcher!

New this week...

We present the latest in mobile technology for your bike...I bet this costume seemed like a really good idea at the start of the race...

This guy's name is Bodge & he is pictured participating in a US road race this weekend.

*****

The we move on to Japan & a man who has, in all seriousness, strapped a gas barbecue to his bike... mmmm!

What else would you do with your bike rack eh, except turn it into a potentially lethal death-trap?! Still, I suppose some people live for adrenaline...

****

Closer to home, this weekend also saw the annual Smithfield Nocturne Bike races in London.

We present to you the "Commuter Race".

The competitors, dressed in business attire wait 30m away from their folded bikes & at the drop of the British Flag, the competitors have to run to their steeds building them as fast as they can and setting off on a 5 lap dash around Smithfield. In true commuter spirit, winner takes all - there’s no second chance when it comes to catching your train… There is fierce competition, barging and even a little cheating as our commuters race to prove their skills.

F1 in Schools Challenge

For the last three years, SMB Bearings Ltd have been active sponsors of teams in the "F1 in Schools Technology Challenge". The F1 challenge sounds simple enough - design the fastest possible slotcar to win the race against other competitors down a 20 metre track, but it involves a great deal more...

Spanning age ranges of 9 to 19, F1 in Schools teams must raise sponsorship and manage budgets to fund research, travel and accommodation. The challenge inspires students to use IT to learn about physics, aerodynamics, design, manufacture, branding, graphics, sponsorship, marketing, leadership/teamwork, media skills and financial strategy, and apply them in a practical, imaginative, competitive and exciting way. The race is then on, literally! Completed cars race side-by-side along 20-metre straights. Teams are judged on car speed, as well as supporting evidence of their design, verbal presentation and marketing display stand in ‘‘the pits”. Teams compete regionally, nationally and internationally for the Bernie Ecclestone F1 in Schools World Championship trophy.

This year, we are proud to announce that we will be sponsoring Lutterworth College in Leicester & their Mach 1 team.

Watch this space for updates on their progress...

In the meantime, for more news on the team visit: http://www.lc.leics.sch.uk/C2/News/default.aspx

RC Helicopter Fishing

Yes really! This guy manages to combine two of our favourite activities in one!

Watch in wonder & awe...

We are in the process of sourcing some top-notch Japanese ceramic hybrid bearings, for our RC model & hobby nuts, so watch this space & we'll let you know when the lovelies arrive...

Schaeffer Mclean - sponsored skater update

More Skateboarding >>

How cool is our little dude?!

If you didn't get the chance to meet him at the recent opening of the new Glastobury Skate Park & want to meet the mini miracle in person, Schaeffer will be at the NASS (National Action Sports Show) at the Bath and West Showground in July. He says "I am looking forward to skating the street course and ramps and as part of the Route One Riders Team".

Schaeffer's Mum has given us all a real boost, by telling us "He is always telling other kids about SMB bearings and they frequently ask to see his bearings in action. He usually kicks down on his wheels very hard and shows them how long they spin for. They even have competitions to see whose wheels spin the longest and his always win!! As you can imagine he is very proud of being sponsored by you."

A big thank you to you both, we're really pleased & proud to be your sponsors!

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We want YOU! If you fish, that is...

Yes - it's true - We want you!

Or, more specifically (before we start getting too many dubious offers) we'd love to hear your fishing reports, tips, stories, favourite spots/least favourite spots, biggest catch etc.

If you'd like to share anything, please contact us (email to emma@smbbearings.com) so that we can dispense your fishing wisdom to the world at large!

We're keen to make regular updates to our blog & our website about your adventures, so any stories, videos or pictures will be considered (except for the nudie ones...).


If you're into your rigs & kit, then why not visit http://www.smbbearings.com/index.htm for information on our high spec reel bearings and our EMQ2 low vibration bearings, with oil lubrication, which spin freely and quietly.

We hope to hear from you soon!

Roller-blading, Southern style

Southern Motion Trailer #1 from David on Vimeo.

We found David's vid tagged on his blog & can't wait for the second helping, coming out soon.

See more about David at http://ideasforlions.blogspot.com/

SHOCKING! How to replace your bike's bearings

Cycling to work, minding your own business...

and then some disastrous/frankly moronic road planning sends you tumbling.

Cyclists take heart, Britain's roads may seem out to get you but

if they do, never fear - we can help you replace damaged bike bearings quickly & easily.

All kinds of things can cause a bike's bearings to fail - to name but a few, see:

• Shock load (a sudden increase in load on a bearing, causing it to deform) from falling down a road-grille for example...
• Dirt - a bearing's nemesis.
• Over-enthusiastic jet washing of your pride & joy at the weekend - you know who you are!
• Poor fit - you hear that rattling noise? That's probably your bearings vibrating, before they collapse under the strain. As Mum said, just because it fits doesn't mean you should always wear it...

We can't fix road-planners or mud for you, but if you click on the title of this post it will take you to an article showing you how to replace your bearings in a jiffy!

Good luck & happy, safe cycling.

Brandon Ide - SMB's latest sponsored skater

We are thrilled to introduce Brandon Ide, SMB's newest sponsored skater.

Brandon says " Im 21, living in Glasgow, Ive been skateboarding for about 7 years now and been sponsored for about a year. I skate for Osiris shoes, Focus skateshop, Monster Energy, Elwood clothing and Flow Enjoi skateboards.

Thoughout my time skateboarding I've found that SMB Bearings have been the best bearings I've used."

Thanks for that Brandon!

We'll soon be featuring Brandon on our website, www.smbbearings.com

together with our other sponsored riders, Kyle Decot & Schaeffer Mclean, so watch out for more news coming soon.

In the meantime, learn more about this talented Scottish skater at http://www.caughtinthecrossfire.com/skate/interviews/5772

Danny Macaskill - Crazy Biker!

For anyone who hasn't seen it yet, check out this -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z19zFlPah-o.

Danny is based in Edinbugh & is a You-Tube sensation right now, due to his crazy bike antics!

We were impressed & scared in equal measure...

Decks!

Meet Kristin Fialko.

http://kristinfialko.blogspot.com/2009/04/skate-this-art.html

This unusual deck is being produced for an upcoming show in San Fransisco & we think it is one of the most unusual decks we've seen - ever! If you have any decks you'd like to show us, just get in touch & we'll post them on our blog.

We're back!

Hello blog fans & followers!

Well, after an unscheduled break from blogging,

we're back on track & ready to fossick our snippets & nuggets of exciting bearing news for you.

Look out for our new posts coming up soon.

With best wishes from all at SMB.

Update on our sponsored riders

We'd just like to say, "Congratulations Schaeffer!"

We are very proud to announce that our little skate-wonder,

Schaeffer Mclean, aged 5,

has been made an official team rider with Route One Active,

the Uk's largest independent street store.

We have been sponsoring Schaeffer for some months now & are thrilled that other companies also recognise his talent. See Route One's article at
http://routeoneactive.blogspot.com/2009/01/introducing-schaeffer-mclean.html.

We are also proud to sponsor Kyle Decot, a 22 year old rider from Columbus Ohio, USA.

You can see more about Kyle at at http://www.kyledecot.com/

If you'd like to join our sponsored riders, why not get in touch with us?

The Joys of Ice Fishing...

Having recently returned from a trip to Sweden (200km north of the Arctic circle) I've been keen to see how other people have enjoyed the unique art of ice-fishing.

For those who are uninitiated in the ways of ice-fishing, you drill a deep hole in a frozen lake (laboriously by hand in my case - no posh power drills for me!) & then hover over your hole nervously twitching your line, with a rod that you may have stolen from a passing garden gnome, until you catch something. After about 10 minutes, the temperature being about -30 degrees centigrade, my hole had frozen over & I had to go through the 'hole' process again!

I was a bit underwhelmed by the experience to be honest (although, very sadly, I was impressed by how smooth-running the bearings in my rod were), so was keen to see how other bloggers had fared, as people seemed so enthusiastic about ice fishing I was sure I must have missed something...

I was pretty amused then, to find the following from Illinois, USA:

1. Park your car in a safe placeGet ready to...retreive your mate's car - he wasn't so sensible!Then help your mate who's dropped his skidoobefore finally sitting down to fish!And, after a tiring day, return to the safety of the car park...

I think that my conclusion is, ice-fishing can prove an expensive hobby!

Should you ever need any replacement reel bearings, why not visit us at http://www.smbbearings.com/index.htm for information on our high spec reel bearings and our EMQ2 low vibration bearings, with oil lubrication, which spin freely and quietly.

The next big thing?

Meet (imagine the drum-roll please) "The Magic Wheel"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1OGHuGSPAw

The design dudes are going head-over-heels for this new invention that combines a skateboard, a scooter, and a bike wheel, but we can’t decide how we feel about this thing! Apparently you can get up to 20 mph on the wheel, if you pump your leg hard enough.

Has anyone tried one yet?

What did you think?

And lastly, can we have a go?!

Rollerblading, Brunei style & solar powered rollerblading chariots...

Check out this guy hanging out at one of Brunei's favourite skate spots, having fun on the half-pipe with his friends.


Thanks to http://www.surkrew.com/ for this amazing image!







Also this week, we thought you ought to meet Bob Schneeveis, the inventor of the Solar Powered Walking Chariot (not a joke folks, actually true)! See it in action here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45ZquJIolvY .






















Bob is a brilliant and eccentric character who studies nature and then turns it into sustainable, solar-electric vehicles and gadgets… Bob also donates his time to students studying robotics, and certainly gets our award for being the truest of nutty professors! Check out how the solar powered engine drives these legs and rollerblades in such a powerful, human-like fashion…amazing! This astounding rollerblading contraption actually has a lot of kick to it and is capable of covering all kinds of terrain it seems.


I bet this thing gets through a lot of bearings...