Gary Young has a bike check up on ESPN. It’s the bike he rode in the X Games and it’s all chrome! Click HERE to check it out.

Ocean Blue Bayou Bars, Flatware Forks and Socket Drive Twombolts will be available later this year (black versions are available now).

Adam Banton just put together a new whip. It’s all white with some black/chrome accents and it’s looking slick. You can check out the full bike check over at the Eastern site!

Gary Young has a bike check up over at the Sunday site. We noticed some kids happened to spy that he’s not running his own grips right now and that’s mainly because he’s in the process of updating his signature grip so he’s trying out some other ones to see what changes he wants. Also, the Gary Young bar will also be getting a fresh update soon so keep an eye out for that as well!

Check out the pics above and then play Pong when you’re done!
Oh and you might as well watch his Tunnel edit again, too.

Click around the flipbook above to get fresh.
Keep up with Adam via twitter.com/adambanton!

Oh and if you want to learn how to Luc-E grind, watch Adam’s how-to video.

Mike Gonzalez sent us some pics of his splatter bike, decked out with some Fire Engine Red parts. The Senior 2 saddle is available now and the rest of the red will come early next year.

We have Mike on the team as our designated racer but he’s down to shred some parks and ditches as well. Check out the Swine Flu Tour for some clips.

Greyboy and Truly have a bike check up on the Ride site, along with an interview about Impakt Sidehacks and an online version of their Sidehack Love article from earlier this year. Constantly carrying 315lbs plus the force of landings and grinds, these 3 wheeled cousins can take and handle a lot of abuse. Check out the bike check to see what type of parts they’re running on it!

Jim Cielencki has a Bike Check up on the Ride site. After going brakeless for a bit, he’s back to running stoppies again. Find out what else is on his bike and why by clicking the photo above!

Dean Dickinson, the man with over 100 pools under his wheels, put together a jam this past weekend over at the Donald skatepark in Oregon. The park features a replica of the famous Nude Bowl and that’s where the majority of the shredding ensued. To help preserve the integrity of the pool coping, we donated a bunch of G-Sport Plegs. Dean’s carve photo above is bonkers and if you want to see more great pics and info from the jam, make sure to visit JaredSouney.com.

I’ve been running the Plegs you sent me without any problems for the last few months. I thought I’d just check in with some feedback…

They’re really hard wearing. I genuinely think they’d last me about 2 years of continuous use on the front… I basically haven’t been rotating my front pleg much just to see how durable they really are. They have worn down loads (see picture) and still haven’t failed. My general riding involves a lot of tricks that are hard on the front peg and I’ve been going out of my way to give it extra abuse when the oppourtunity arises. I’m pretty sure had I worn down an old style pleg in this way, it would have cracked and failed by now, but that’s just from a subjective point of view I guess.

I was lucky enough to ride a bowl with pool coping a while back, the Plegs were absolutely fantastic in that situation. Even the oldest and saltiest skateboarders were stoked on them.

Thanks, Will.

All photos are by Robby Klein.

The newest batch of Plegs has arrived!

They’re available in black and white now, but what else has changed? Thanks to your feedback, our own long-term testing, and a total re-design to the injection tooling, the newest Plegs now feature a thicker cross-section at the end to extend their grinding life, and the sleeve’s plastic compound has been tweaked slightly to also improve on their overall durability. The ringing in our ears from the standardized testing hasn’t stopped. Every batch must pass on our “true-to-life” test rig or it is rejected, and this updated version has been spot-on. Also, if you have the original Pleg hardware, then the newest replacement sleeves will work perfectly.

We hope you’ll enjoy the updated Pleg as much as we do. So, let’s get back to riding forbidden skateparks, grinding the ungrindable and putting security guards everwhere a little more at ease (maybe).

We know that Plegs aren’t for everyone (and they were never intended as such), but if you enjoy the benefits that plastic can offer, then you’ll definitely want to pick these up.

Thanks for your interest and support.

Adam Banton has a new bike check over at the Ride website. The photos are embedded after the jump but you can read about the full details of his setup over at RideBMX.com.

frame- Metal Rebel Contender, 21′, Raw
fork- Director Fork, Shiny Red (sample)
bars- Lumberjack, Shiny Red (sample)
stem- Elementary V3
headset- FSA sealed
saddle- Senior 2
seatpost- 25.4 Intac
clamp- integrated
rims- Hazard Lite 36h. Shiny Red (sample)
hubs- Vandero 2 (f). GSport Ratchet/9T (prototype)(r)
sprocket- 28T Vermont
cranks- Odyssey Wombolt cranks(175) (prototype), Purple
chain- 510
pedals- JC/PC (prototype)
tires- Odyssey Aitken 2.25 Klyte(F) 2.2 Dirt Path Klyte(R)
pegs-GSport Plegs (3)
grips-Aaron Ross(flanges removed)
barends-Par ends

vvv More Pics vvv

Woodward West. Povah Photo.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last two years, chances are likely that you already know a lot about the PLEGS. To sum it up, they are simple, cheap, light and STRUCTURAL plastic pegs. They aren’t magic. They won’t pull the chicks in or make you invincible…

…They wont even add any length to your yard, but they WILL open up some new terrain for you. They WILL grind much more easily than steel, aluminium or titanium pegs on previously “untouchable” surfaces like aluminium, brick, and rough concrete. They WILL grind over a lot of the existing skate-stoppers and they just might make the local skatepark owner think twice about his “no-bikes” rule (especially if you also have Par Ends and plastic pedals). If the police or security accuse you of wrecking their marble ledges, then you just might be able to talk your way out of trouble by pointing the material out to them and explaining that they won’t tear things up like metal pegs (and metal trucks!) can.

There may even be times when PLEGS seem too slippery for the trick you want to do, but we believe that once you try them that you’ll probably want them on your bike more often than not. At just 4.3 ounces each (14mm version), or approximately half the weight of a light steel peg, you’ll probably decide never to go back to steel.

Now, if you set out to quickly wear the sleeve down, then guess what? You will! However, a replacement sleeve is half the price of an entire PLEG. When they are used sensibly, and rotated as necessary, they can last you a very long time.

So, why all the delays, you ask? To do it right, of course. We first showed the PLEG prototypes at Interbike ‘06, and at the time we genuinely thought they would be out by the end of that year. However, this project originally started back in 2001, when I made my first set of plastic pegs (designing them so the plastic took the loads, rather than needing an inner core of steel or aluminium). We re-focused on the concept in 2005, and since we started we have gone through three moulding companies, worked on two continents, made two tools, devised five or six tool modifications, and experimented with too many plastic alloys to count – all in an attempt to make them grind as smooth as possible, to maximize their life, and to keep the costs down. In early 2007 we started working with a very high-caliber moulding company, and now we’ve finally nailed everything down. So, while the latest samples may look identical to the ones we showed in ’06, in reality they use a totally different plastic alloy, and they are coming out of a hugely modified tool. We are very pleased with the finished product, and we think you will be too.

So when can you buy some? Well, if you live in the US, the answer is, very soon. The first production batch just landed in California and cleared our final QC checks so they will be shipping out to distributors and shops right away. The approximate retail price is $12 per PLEG (choose from 3/8″ or 14mm hardware – sorry, no 9/16”). And a pack of TWO replacement sleeves is also roughly the same price, $12. We’re doing matte-black only to start, but other colours should be out later. Replacement sleeves will reach stores in January ’08. Complete PLEGS (with the axle hardware) are shipping NOW.

Availability is limited with this first shipment (due to space restrictions for the final container delivery of the year), so I would suggest getting your orders in right away if you’ve been waiting for these to be released.

Thanks for being patient with us on this project.
We believe that it was worth the wait.

frame-Sunday Shaved Next Wave (galvanized looking)
fork-Odyssey Director Built in Race (black)
bars-Odyssey Lum4erjacks (black)
headset-Integrated w/ Sunday Topcap
stem-Odyssey Elementary V2.7
front wheels-Vandero 2, GSport Rib Cage
tire-Aitken Plyte 2.25
pegs-GSport Plegs
seat-Odyssey Veteran Black Denim
post-Odyssey Intac
grips-Odyssey JC
bar ends-Odyssey Parends
rear wheels-GSport Ratchet, GSport Ribcage, GSport Nipples
driver-10T GSport Ratchet
hubguard- GSport Gland MKIII
rear tire-Path Plyte 1.95
cranks-Odyssey Wombolt 175mm
pedals-JC/PC
sprocket-27T MDS
chain-KMC Pintle

Weight: 24lbs.

Modifications-Bars 27” wide, Forks trimmed up just perfect for Elementary
Stem Flushness, Stem Slammed, Seat Post Chopped, Pedals have flush pins on
grind side. Hubs, Stem, Bottom Bracket have been hand stripped and
polished. Chrome Wombolt crank is custom.

The one question we hear everyday has got to be, “Where are the Plegs?”

Now, why isn’t this post on the G-Sport website where it belongs? Only because this is the area that seems to be getting all the questions.

I’ll use this post to try to bring everyone up to speed on where we are right now:

The last year has been loaded with unnecessary delays from the injection factory that we’ve been working with. Sometimes many months would pass between deliveries on the various prototypes, and it took an incredibly long time just to finally get the tooling made to our proper specifications.

A few weeks ago we took an initial order of 100, and everything has been spot-on. However, just as we were getting ready to go to production, we then had the opportunity to move the tooling to a factory that’s working with one of the world’s leading suppliers for the materials that we’re working with (the materials and injector’s experience make all the difference in the world in this application.) So, given this chance, and the promise that it provides us with for future advancements on other new projects, we decided to move our production to the new injection factory. I know someone will say, “Why didn’t you run a production batch from the first factory?” The answer to this can be complicated. In the simplest terms, the parts made in one factory may not be fully interchangeable with the parts from another. Because we want to keep everything standardized, we’d rather have one factory doing it all from the beginning, especially because the fit between the sleeve and its corresponding hardware is very important.

So where does this leave us? We’re testing a batch from the new factory right now. When these are correct, we’ll be moving quickly to production. The good news is that this factory is on-the-ball, and they are working with us at much more rapid pace.

We’ll post more on the availability dates soon.

I recently asked some of our friends and team riders to submit their thoughts on the Plegs. Because of the length, I’ve converted their quotes to images that you can click on below. Some people have asked what the differences or advantages are, and hopefully this will help to give you a better idea.

Thanks for bearing with us on this. It really should be worth it in the long run.

frame- Metal Rebel Contender, 21′ // Pink/Lav/Brown tile over Mint green
fork- Director Fork prototype // Pink/Lav/Brown tile over Mint green
bars- Civilian Hi // Pink/Lav/Brown tile over Mint green
stem- Elementary V2 w/o tabs
headset- FSA sealed
levers- N/A
saddle- Jim B/Grid limited edition.(sample)
seatpost- 25.4 Intac
clamp- integrated
rims- Odyssey SevenKA 36H Powdecoated Mint Green(R&R powdercoating)
hubs- Gsport Marmoset (f). Odyssey Hazard Cassette (r) (ti axle/ 10 t driver)
sprocket- 30T Vermont
cranks- Odyssey Wombolt cranks(175) prototype // Pink/Lav/Brown tile over Mint green
chain- 510
pedals- Prototype
tires- Odyssey Aitken 2.25(F) 2.1 Path (R)
pegs-GSport Plegs-prototype
grips-Team grips // Lavender(flanges removed)
barends-Par ends
hubguard-Matt Beringer Custom

Well this website has been up for a while with pegs listed under the product section, and this is what we have been working on all that time.

As some people may already know, I have been running “plastic” pegs on my own bike for about the last 6 years now, ever since I put a steel peg through the side of my hand and had to have an operation to fix it.

Plastic pegs have a lot of advantages, they slide faster than steel, titanium or aluminium on any surface. They dont damage coping (so they should help bikers get access to some parks). They are less likely to kill you if they hit you in the back of the head. And of course they are massively lighter.

The Pleg uses a special steel insert that reinforces the end of the Pleg and provides a solid engagement on the dropout, and a replaceable “plastic” sleeve that is cheap and simple to change.

Weight is around 4ounces (112g) per peg, which is about half the weight of a typical steel peg and lighter than most titanium pegs too.

Plegs are the standard 4 inch (100mm) length but are slightly fatter than normal pegs at 42mm (a typical steel peg is 38mm). This extra thickness covers more of the dropout so you ONLY grind Pleg not frame, and helps the pleg get over skate stoppers ….
That’s right, we can actually grind skate-stoppered aluminium rails… and since they wont cause any real damage you dont even need to feel guilty about it.

With Plegs you can look at your streets in a whole new way. Rough concrete ledges, aluminium rails, rails with skate stoppers, wood, pretty much anything is now ridable.

So to the obvious question. Wear.
Yes, Plegs do wear out quicker than steel pegs, but who wants to cart around half a pound of steel you will never use? With normal use a set of Plegs will last a good year or more and when the sleeves get really heavily worn you can simply replace them.

Hopefully these will be available in early 2007.

George