One other thing that’s new in this bike check is Aaron Ross’ signature tire! It keeps the keyboard theme of all his other signature parts and the thread pattern are inverted keys which spell out some fun messages from Aaron Ross and a handful from the contest we held last year (we’ll be announcing the winners soon). Click around the flipbook above for more photos and a complete parts list!

The photo above shows our current stock of Slim by Four brake pad offerings. There have been lots of inquiries about the pads, so read on for more info.

Most of the mail that we get asks the same question; “Which pad is best for me?” So, with that said, please continue reading for a breakdown on each pad.

Black – Normal Compound. Best overall pad for most riders. Can also be found on our Evo 2 Brakes.

Red – Medium Compound. More “grip”, with less “feather” than black pads.

Clear – Soft Compound. Most “grip” due to the extra-soft rubber durometer that is used. Ideal for our powder coated rims.

Gum – Soft Compound. Performs similar to clear.

The Slim by Four has a custom designed inner frame and a fully symmetrical BMX-specific shape designed for braking while rolling in forward and reverse.

Please note that the soft clear pads may still wear through the finish on powder coated rims over time, but they will not leave the “black streaks” that can result from using ordinary pads.

For those finicky riders constantly in search of dialed brakes, choosing the correct pad for your set-up can make all the difference.

Hit up your local shop or mailorder for some Slim By Four’s.

Click around the flipbook above for the full parts list. Available now in Mint Green are Vandero 2 hubs, Hazard Lite rims, Evo II brakes, Monolever and the Aaron Ross Veteran Saddle in Herringbone!

If you haven’t seen the Triple Shot video series yet, clicking here would be a good start.

Vital BMX just put up a video bike check with Adam Banton!

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.

If Godzilla was to attack San Diego, what front brake related trick would you want to do on his face in order to save the city? Either an ET nosepick dremel to the groin or a top side cancan nosepick karate kick to the dome.

Do you and Dirt Ron have front brake battles? We actually unite our powers like wonder twins, but it’s more of a holy experience, like that scene in karate kid (pick any one of them).

You put together a video for us a while ago, how’s the editing board been treating you? It was super fun to play around with Final Cut. That was my first stab at it on my own, with some scrap clips i had from the past few months of riding… I’m looking forward to working with it again, but that requires more clips to be filmed and logged… in progress!

What parts do you go through the most? Grips and pedals for sure, though I’ve eased up on the pedal grinders and these Olastic grips seem to be staying in shape.

Is there anything you’re particular about on your bike as far as setup? Basically everything, but I really like to experiment with different setups (2 pegs, 1 peg, 1 brake front, 1 brake back, stem lengths, seat heights, etc). My bike is basically a transformer with an identity crisis, but in the end, I always seem to come back to a brakeless ballerina bike.

I’ve been told your alias is Ohio, which leads me to believe you’re from there. When did you move to sunny SD? Do your friends back home call you Diego? I’ve lived in San Diego for a few months shy of 2 years now and it’s been an adventure. I am originally from Cincinnati OH where a number of people call me a number of things, but I don’t think I’m spanish looking enough to have heard Diego.

Tell us a little more about Awkward Words. A few years ago I started a blog that was essentially an outlet for me to doodle and share my weirdness with whoever might be curious or bored, so of course I put it on the Internet. Speaking of which, it could use some more attention these days, too busy riding!

What’s going on here: tumblr_kv6d1gEQH91qaaocio1_500.jpg This is actually pretty out of character for me, since i usually draw more basic, cute stuff, but this is one of Ron’s monsters that I drew my own version of because I thought it was so insane and I was extremely hung over after a night at his place and in need of a distraction for my bruised brain. As for what is actually going on, it’s a magician monster stranded on an island puking all over his own eyeball while solving a rubics cube and conjuring a rain storm

If the Red Power Ranger walked up to you and asked, “Yo Tom, how you do them manual lines so well?” How would you respond? I would probably slap him in the face and ask him where the green ranger was. The green ranger was Tommy, definitely the most badass. He had his own power zord, which was a dinosaur. Plus he was the mysterious loner, so bonus wolf points… or i would just give him some spare change: 1h9jxd.jpg

Are there any projects that we should keep an eye out for? San Diego BMX is reuniting in a furious blaze of glory so watch out for revival of America’s finest city in the bmx scene… other than that I’ve been getting more into shooting photos lately, so hit up tomisthinking.tumblr.com if you’re ever bored online. That and awkwardwords.tumblr.com are my two blogs at the moment, so I’ll have to get that stuff some more updates soon. Peace, love and 69.

Also, keep checking back ’cause there’ll be a new video of Jimmy popping up soon!

While a lot of kids these days are going out and trying on the tallest, largest bars, you actually trim yours down. What’s the width on your bars and have they gotten wider at all throughout the years or are they still partying like it’s 1999?
My bars are cut down about an inch on each side. So yeah, they are narrow for the N.W. However, I must admit, they are wider than they were when I moved here 5 years ago.

Aside from trimming the bars, are there any other things about your setup that you’re particular about?
Just that it’s running solid. I’ve been riding too long to have a slapping chain or loose… anything running shitty.

You’re known to have done some of the biggest gaps in BMX. When it comes to jumping long distances and dropping from great heights, is there a specific geometry you’ve grown to prefer?
I’ve always been a 74% or 74.5% head tube guy. My rear end is 13.75″ and works great. I think landing those gaps you mentioned is just knowing the balance of your rig. You have to know when to drop your back wheel to land, as well as a steady trust on your frame and parts knowing that nothing is going to explode.

1.) Do you do any custom modifications to your bike? A little bit. I cut a pinkies width off my bars. Took a grind wheel to the JC/PC’s to trim the pins down and took half out on one of my left sides. I replaced the stock axle in the Rachet Hub with the aluminum 3/8″ [kit]. That’s it. Small stuff, everything comes so dialed stock. I don’t touch the frame. It’s perfect.

2.) As far as the setup goes, what are some key things you’re particular about? You guys have told me I’m pretty particular, I never realized it. The flagpole seat post of mine has about a fist full of post. BARS: I run them even with my head tube (74.5), maybe a tad forward of that. BRAKES: They have to work good. If they don’t, what’s the point of having them? So I uasually have those dialed; absolute minimal tension on the springs, with Tri-flow marinated housing. Chain has got to be tight for whips. Tire pressure around 95psi.

3.) With the front brake missing in action, what type of tricks have you found yourself doing more of lately? Turndowns and trying to learn nothings. I’m playing around with some footjam stuff too. Barspins are more fun without the lever there to smash your fingers.

4.) We have you listed as a nomad in the catalog. Where are you at these days? Ah man, that was funny when I saw that! I guess it’s true, everywhere is the answer. What I do own has been in storage in SLC for the last 6 months. Since then, I did some shows in Cleveland, went to Signapore for a week, went back to Clevo & recorded a new song for my part in Eastern’s “Death of Fun,” spent more than a week in NC, VA, DE, OH, went on Mega Tour through the midwest, then finally was driving back to UT with intensions of a 1 week stop in Clevo. Well, it was too fun for one week, so it ended up being 3 weeks. I’m here now going to Ray’s MT bike park grand opening this weekend and THEN packing up and driving to UT. I’ve honestly been enjoying floating around, def been keeping busy. Really looking forward to Utah though.

5.) With fall coming to a close and winter around the corner, what’s your plan for the months to follow?
Move out of my storage unit. Haha. Move into the my friends house, Kenny Sanders, first and foremost. Snowboarding, can not wait for that. Going on Eastern’s “Inside Out” trips. For a year I’ve had an open invite to record with my buddy Jelly in San Diego and having Ray Barbee sit in on some of my new material and dance on the fret board (lead guitar). Haha. So I wanna take Ray and Jelly up on that offer soon. I plan on taking an AZ & Vegas trip for some VitalBMX stuff too, maybe even film a web vid.

All photos are by Robby Klein.