Kieran Flint, novice stunt scooter rider

Here at SMB Bearings, we're very lucky as we get to meet all sorts of people & make lots of friends along the way.  A few months ago we started chatting to Kieran Flint on FaceBook. 

He's a local lad who is just full of enthusiasm for all things scooter & we asked him to tell us a bit about himself & his passion:


Name: Kieran Flint
Age: 15
Hometown: Banbury

When did you start scooter riding? I started on December 27 2011 - everybody else was scootering and me and my mate used to ride fold up razors but yeah just seemed fun.

 What's the skate/scooter scene like where you live? What got you into it? Where i live there is just me and my mate Aiden that scooter and there are no ramps but we are trying to get funding to encourage other riders to come to the village and mabye even people start riding in the village.

Favourite skate spot? My favourite skatepark is Spiceball Banbury at the moment :)


How many scooters have you got? I have two scooters a razor ultra pro and a mgp nitro extreme she devil.

What's the scooter you'd most like to own?
I would love a fully custom she devil with black proto scs and black lucky smx forks with black on black proto grippers apex pegs black smb bearings apex bol bars and a phoniex flex fender black. 




She Devil Scooter



What's your best trick? my best trick is 360 flat (sometimes) i am not great yet lol.

What advice would you give to young kids starting out? At first you will not be able to do much, dont give up stick at it and practice.

Can you see yourself doing this in 5 years time, maybe even as a pro? I would love to still scooter in five years time if i get good and still enjoy it :)

Favourite film? Inbetweeners movie or Snatch

Favourite song/band/video? my favourite song is anything dubstep (skrillex) & my favourite video is a day with terry price :)

 Favourite game?my favourite game is call of duty mw3 or saints row 3


Favourite sport?scootering and rugby :)

Sporting heroes?sporting hero is terry price and r willy :)

Thanks for chatting with us Kieran, you're a star!

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Ian Emery - RC Helicopter Pilot - let battle commence!

SMB are delighted to be sponsoring Ian Emery, an RC Helicopter enthusiast who is competing in this year's Sportsmans precision flying events with the UK's Association for Helicopter Aerosports.  

This is a really challenging class, designed for those who've mastered the basics of precision RC heli manouvres but still have a little to learn before becoming official members of the UK F3C team & representing the UK in international competitions.

The AHA held a season opener at Gumley, Leicestershire last weekend (bad weather, but lots of coffee-fueled enthusiasm by the sound of it!) before the competitive season starts for real this weekend at Charmouth, Dorset.

Flying starts at 9.00am on Saturday 21st April (at Newlands Caravan Park, Charmouth), so if you're in the area why not go along & have a look?

Good luck Ian!



Shannon Francis, new stunt scooter vids...

Yeay for Shannon, who is getting to be an awesome stunt scooter rider & who is also epic at videoing her antics!







And this is Shannon's friend, Curtis Vandries:




It's so nice to see Shannon & her friends developing as stunt scooter riders & trying new stuff - keep up the good work guys, you're a real inspiration! :0)

Schaeffer Mclean, now an internet legend!

As our loyal readers will be aware, we've been a proud sponsor of Schaeffer Mclean for three years now so
we're chuffed to old boots for him that people the world over a taking a look at just what an awesome rider he is!  He's had so many YouTube hits now (over 13 million - an awesomely mind-boggling number) that he's made national TV and newspaper headlines this week...

Check out the ITV news here  - the full feature can also be seen at Vimeo & you can read the article that featured in The Sun here.

Yeay for Schaeffer Mclean & his continuing world domination! :0)

Check out our new ad...

...which will feature in the next edition of Model Helicopter World magazine!

If you need any help re-fitting your model, but aren't sure what size/part reference you need, we're always happy to help.  If you can advise dimensions we can find the part reference, or if you have a part reference you're not sure about we can confirm dimensions for you!  There's lots of helpful information & advice on our website & you're welcome call us for a chat/advice.

Schaeffer Mclean, sponsored skater...

How exciting! The latest update from our pint-sized skate hero Schaeffer Mclean...

Schaeffer's Mum, Eve, says:

"This was a quick trip over to France to find some indoor parks this cold and wet February half term. We found some amazing places but only the indoor ones were skateable. Schaeffer hadn't really skated since Christmas because of the weather, so it was great to get back to some skating again. This was our journey......"

Nice one Schaeffer, you never cease to wow us :0)

Robotic Dog Sitter...

This is awesome!   When Jordan Correa and his wife both started working full time, they found themselves away from their home much more often, leaving their dog, Darwin, alone all day. Most people would have just had to leave the problem as is, or maybe get a part time pet sitter. But Correa, being a test developer for the Microsoft Robotics Team, came up with a solution right in line with his talents and built a dog-sitting robot, so he could play and speak with his pet over the internet while he's at work



Correa constructed a robot that can interact with his dog much like he would himself, which he named the "DarwinBot." A Slate PC on the front lets the owner speak to his dog over Skype, while a dispenser on the side can distribute treats on his command. The DarwinBot can also play fetch, thanks to a ball launcher on top and a robotic arm that can retrieve the ball after the dog drops it in front of it.  This is just what every pampered pooch needs on their shopping list :0)

Flyfishmagazine: The elusive Colorado snow trout

Flyfishmagazine: The elusive Colorado snow trout - love it!

Adactus, F1 in Schools competition...

They won - YES!!!!!!!

Team Adactus have won the central England F1 in Schools Championship & also best engineered car...

Adactus say:

"The team was successful at the 2012 Central England Regional Final at Loughborough University on the 10th of February. We won first place in our category and the award for the best engineered car. Because of this, the team now qualifies for the 2012 National Final at the Big Bang Fair at the NEC on the 16th and 17th of March.

We would like to thank our sponsors for helping us get this far:

◦SMB Bearings
◦McDonalds
◦Red Firecracker Decals
◦UKHost4U
And of course we would like to thank our school, Lutterworth College".

You can keep up to date with the team's news via their blog, which is full of great things :0) - good work guys!



Video edits from our Facebook friends...

Thanks to everyone who's shared an edit with us this week, there's been some real talent on show & we thought we should share it with our friends who aren't Facebook nuts!

Charlie Whitehouse:

Luke Dafforn:

Liam Witchard:

& last but not least, Shannon Francis!

Thanks guys, a great range of talent & fun on show here - surely enough to inspire everyone to get out & give it a go this weekend! :0)

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Corski Alpinskis...

Just spoken to the lovely people at Corski, who have designed these amazing Alpine/downhill skates, so you can practice skiing off-piste altogether!

This video shows the speed you can get up-to on these things & was filmed by an uber-skilled BMX rider:

Apparently, the product has been in development for about 10 years & is just about to go into serious production - good luck to all at Corski with that!

Shannon Francis, stunt scooter star...

We're delighted to be able to share the latest video creation from Shannon Francis.  The Bristol-based stunt scooter rider shows off some great skill & very kindly shows off our logo too :0)



We are delighted to sponsor someone so proactive & enthusiastic - keep up the good work Shannon!
You can follow Shannon at her fanpage, where there's lots of news about the Bristol scoot scene.

Vélo Vogue: she likes bikes

Vélo Vogue: she likes bikes: I think it's a safe assumption.

Adactus - F1 in Schools update...

We are proud sponsors of team "Adactus", who are competing in this year's F1 in Schools Championship.  The challenge involves teams of students, aged between 9 & 19, designing, analysing, manufacturing, testing, and then racing miniature gas powered balsa wood F1 cars,

We'd like to take this opportunity to wish them all the very best, as this Friday sees the team competing in the UK's Central regional finals at Loughborough University.

The team say: "We are currently competing in our fourth year of the competition and have recently changed out name from Mach1. In our first year we won Best New Team at the Central England Regional Finals, In our second year we came first at the Regional Finals which meant we qualified for the National Finals and In our third year we won Best Engineered Car, Fastest Car and First Place at the Regional Finals. At the National Finals we won Best Engineered Car and Second Place. We were lucky enough to be given the opportunity to collaborate with a Malaysian team to compete in the International Finals in Singapore under the name Team Fusion in 2010.



"Mach1", now "Adactus" are pictured in blue


After taking a break for a year, the team is now competing with the strong intention to come first at the International Finals. The team has welcomed two new members this year and has had a complete makeover with a new team identity.

With new sponsors, new ideas and a new identity we are ready to achieve our goal and enjoy it!"

Well guys, we've sent our very best bearings out to you & we hope very much that they help you on the way to victory!  We can't wait to hear how you get on :0)

RC Quadcopter swarm...

How cool is this?!



Remote-controlled quadrotor robots have been around for some time, but in the following video just released by a research team at the University of Pennsylvania's General Robotics, Automation, Sensing and Perception (GRASP) Lab, science fiction edges much closer to science fact as a swarm of the Nano Quadrotors perform some astounding maneuvers.


Admittedly, use of the term "nano" may be stretching things a bit, but even so, the capable little robots provide an interesting glimpse into what the future may hold for surveillance, search and rescue, light construction and a myriad of other apps.

More adventures with Schaeffer Mclean, sponsored skater...

Schaeffer's latest video is here people, in which he shows a great sense of fun & a wicked talent.

"Out and about having fun and adventures... Filmed mainly in Spain, finding new skate parks and meeting wonderful and sometimes crazy people, but that just makes it better!



Narrowly avoided the Policia whilst filming this one skating through the streets where they were cracking down on skateboarding in the city and giving out hefty fines.. (someone told us afterwards!) Schaeffer wanted to skate the pool, but there was no rounded bottom so he wanted to get in it anyway. Thanks to everyone who let us use their music - check out the credits. Oh and check him going over his sisters head at the beginning of the last section".

Nice one Schaeffer! :0)

****

Ian Emery, RC Helicopter enthusiast

We're delighted to have made a new friend.  Local gent Ian Emery popped in last week, after seeing us in Model Helicopter World magazine & just happened to mention he was an RC Heli nut.  He sent us these amazing pictures today.

Ian says "I am 31 years old and an Air Traffic Controller by profession so have a natural interest in aviation.  I have been flying RC helicopters for 5 years although 2011 was the first year I entered into national competitions run by the Association for Helicopter Aerosports (AHA). 

For the 2011 Season I entered into the entry level league (Clubman's League), in which I finished 1st overall after competing in several events across the country. 

For the 2012 season I will be competing with my Trex 700 F3C electric helicopter and am busy preparing the helicopter and for the step up to the intermediate class (Sportsman's League) which is due to start in April".



We're delighted to be sponsoring Ian & would all like to wish him the very best of luck for the coming competitive season & look forward to updating you with his results as the year progresses. 

Silly Saturday!

Meet Uggie the skateboarding dog...

...too cute not to share with you!

Also this week, LA County Museum of Art have the great honour of unveiling the work of artist Chris Burden...

Art installation "Metropolis II" includes 1200 toy cars racing around an enormous indoor city at over 200 miles an hour - this noisy but astounding kinetic sculpture took 4 years to build.  Cool!

Marie Bougourd, sponsored skater photo diary

 Thanks to sponsored skater Marie Bougourd (aka Spoky Woky) for sending us these amazing photos, taken by her friend & fellow gravity sports enthusiast Guillaume Ducreux...

Marie, who is in the top three of this year's IGSA rankings, says:

"It was only a little slide session at my home spot (Lyon) there two days ago!

We were only two riders and a good photographer :) ".

I think we would agree with Marie, Guillaume is a VERY good photographer! :0)

Thanks so much for sharing these great images with us.

Doug Brown, sponsored skater update...

We've had the pleasure of sponsoring Doug Brown, the pro US skater, for some months now & are excited to have received an update from this truly hectically busy man!

Doug says "I have an exhibit that is touring libraries nationally to promote my book. Its called "Beyond the Board - the Doug Brown Exhibit" I've enclosed some pics..."

We added a poster to Doug's collection recently, which he's been handing out on his tour - it features himself & our other fab stateside skater Tony Leard (who designed the poster for us).  If you should be visiting Doug on his event tour - see dates here - you can probably pick up a signed copy.

Doug has sent us some new pics "from my recent travels"  



skate park grand opening



Skate Straight programme


Doug recently featured in a magazine article - the piece in September's Variance magazine is a lovely affirmation of a geniunely nice man who's doing his best to put a bit back into the community - you can see it here or visit the website:

 

Doug has also been kind enough to add his support to the "See My Helmet?" rider safety campaign that we talked about in yesterday's post - he wears his helmet with pride :0)

 

 

Thanks for all the news Doug!

"See My Helmet?" Ride safe campaign...

 We just wanted to help promote a very worthy cause - Longboard Girls Crew France have come up with a great idea to inspire all future riders to wear their helmets.  Riders are being asked to post pictures of themselves wearing their helmets & looking great, to the Crew's Facebook Page, to encourage all riders to keep safe & protect their noggins!

The girls say "It is also an opportunity to establish a small rogue's gallery of longskateuz French! So send us your photo portrait, too, with a small bio-fast on the photos and your little slogan for the helmet :o)

You can send multiple photos!" 

They'd like to encourage every crew to adopt this initiative and help to  keep as many riders as safe as possible.

What a brilliant & simple idea - well done ladies!  If you're part of a skate crew, why not do the same?  We'll certainly be trying to encourage all members of SMB's skate crew to support this safety scheme :0)

Shannon Francis, sponsored skater...

A lovely celebration vid by Shannon, our awesome stunt-scooter rider, on account of her being so popular on Facebook that she now has 1000 "likes"... go girl!

Outrage a 0% fare rise for cyclists...

Rail passengers and car drivers were today outraged by the unfairness of the transport system, as it was annouced that cycling fares would rise by a paltry 0% in 2012, remaining at £0.00. Rail fares are to rise by 5.9% in January, while petrol prices remain as high as drivers’ stress levels.

M. Iserable, a spokesperson for People Who Don’t Cycle, told Cycle Lifestyle magazine: “I don’t see why cyclists should get such a good deal. Cycling already costs nothing, and now prices have been frozen at nothing.  When you consider the fact that cyclists also benefit from getting fitter, healthier and happier, the 0% fare rise is a real slap in the face for other transport users. With average commuting distances only 8.5 miles in Britain, it seems that just about everything is geared towards helping cyclists.”


No cyclists were available to comment – because they were all too busy pedalling joyfully through the streets for free.

Thanks for seeing the lighter side people!  Brought to you courtesy of Going Going Bike Blog & the lovely people at Cycle Lifestyle magazine:  ;-D

Bamboo biking from Africa to the UK...

A bike made of bamboo is being given a tough test ride, all the way home to the UK from Africa.

Jack Morris, a local lad from the nearby town of Witney, is on his way home in an eight-month expedition on the machine, designed by a team at Oxford Brookes University.

His trip, which started earlier this month, will take him through Africa, then on to Europe and Istanbul before heading back towards West Oxfordshire.  By the time he gets home he will have covered 5,000 miles.

Writing on his blog, he said: “Take into consideration that my cycling experience maxes out at a foray into France and you might get an idea of how challenging this bike ride will be for me. I expect the tour to take eight months, cost me a small fortune and provide no shortage of sunburn.  “It should be brilliant.”

Mr Morris hopes his ride will raise awareness for Abingdon’s Rotary Club of Abingdon and Solar Aid, which provides funds for solar replacements for kerosene lamps in Kenya.   Dr Shpend Gerguri and Dr James Broughton who devised the bike, road-tested it on an eight-day trip through the Alps before it was put on the market by RAW Bamboo Bikes.

RAW managing director Rachel Hammond said: “This will be another great road test for the bike. We look forward to following Jack’s progress and hearing how the bike performs.”   Bamboo was chosen because it has a higher tensile strength than steel and adds vibration-absorbing qualities to a bike frame.

Jack's progress can be followed at his blog here - check it out, it is well worth a read.  All at SMB Bearings wish you the best of luck on your adventure!

Brave or stupid?

You decide!



You certainly wouldn't catch me up a ramp that big (without the aid of coma-inducing levels of alcohol)... :0)

Toby Newman, downhill skater...

Our friend Toby Newman has put together this little video edit for us...



Thanks for sharing Toby, it's always great to see enthusiastic young talent - keep up the great work!

Instructables Christmas...

Have a few minutes to spare at work?  Things a bit quiet at the moment?  Never at SMB, but I image there must be a parallel universe where these things occur... :0)

Check out Instructables Christmas list of things to make and do... snowflakes, pop-up cards, christmas trees - they tell you how to make it all!