Podcast: Factory Redline 2018

The last time we saw someone rockin a Factory Redline jersey was at the 2016 Grands, most notably, on Alise Post hoisting the cup on the Saturday night, as 2016 the #1 Pro Woman.

Redline paused the Factory Team program in 2017, as a corporate shake-up changed the game. Read more

Factory Redline Rockin BOX Forks

Picked up by our spies on the ground in SLC this weekend: Collin Hudson was rockin BOX forks on his Flight Carbon. Was this a one time thing, or was something new afoot under the Redline tent?

Turns out, Redline and BOX have formally expanded the deal we reported on earlier this year, which was brakes, seat clamps and plates, so Collin wasn’t going rogue with the BOX bling on his Salt Lake scoot.

Sure enough, we had a press release waiting in our inbox as we powered-up the BMX News command center this Monday morn.

In the release, here’s what Toby Henderson said about the new co-spo:

We’re extremely excited about this new deal with Redline. It’s a major coup for us to be working with Sam Willoughby, Alise Post, Tory Nyhaug and the rest of the team, as well as Redline, as a whole. We look forward to a long relationship with Redline.

With this switcheroo also comes the jump to 20-mil hubs. This phat move to the fat axles won’t happen overnight, and it’ll be the riders’ call to switch when they’re comfortable.

Michael Gamstetter, product design maestro at BOX, and told News the following about the change to the 20mm way of life:

We understand that this change, as well as any possible differences in geometry, might take some getting used to. With this in mind, and taking into consideration their upcoming race schedule, we are giving the riders some leeway. But we’re confident that once they put the stiffer forks and 20-mil front hubs on their bikes, they will be quite pleased.

The full Redline roster will be “BOXed up” for 2014: Sam Willoughby, Alise Post, Tory Nyhaug, Josh Klatman, Collin Hudson (Above), Hunter Pelham, Carly Dyar, George Goodall and TM, Jason Carnes.

BOX Components Website

Factory Redline Rollin With Alienation

One of the bits from the pits at the Gator Nationals was Factory Redline’s showboating of Alienation’s Malice Rims on board the team’s bikes. Alienation is a new sponsor for 2014, and it seems the nuptuals have all involved feeling warm & fuzzy.

ALN honcho, Zach Taylor said:

The Alienation Redline partnership has been a long time in the making. It is extremely exciting to finally see the relationship materialize for these two market leaders. It’s our hope the team will see & feel the benefits of our superior rims and help facilitate more wins & ultimately some titles this season.

Some quick-quotes between motos from the Gators:

Everyone on the team is excited about our partnership with Alienation and ready to get their “Malice” rims rolling! As the TM, it gives me a lot of confidence knowing that when our guys are out there going full-throttle, they’ve got the support of the industry leader and a strong, true set of wheels underneath them!

-Jason Carnes, Team Manager

“I’m excited that I’ll be rolling out my 2014 season on the new Alienation ‘Malice’ Rims”

-Sam Willoughby

Above: Some of the new Alienation hardware spotted on the Carnesmobile during Saturday’s pro warmup.

Alienation Website

Redline adds Pelham and Hudson

One of the big secrets that everyone seemed to know at the Grands was the post-race change that would be occuring in the Redline team roster. We caught up with Carnes & Co. just before the semis, where we were able to snap the above shot.

Redline has been pretty light on the amateurs the last couple of seasons, so the addition of Hunter Pelham and Collin Hudson to the squad puts some Red, White & Black on the track a little later in the moto order.

Hunter comes over from Donavon Long’s Haro Promax Team, and Collin has been in Crupi green for as long as we can remember. Though still amateur, these guys handled the transition like pros, telling News the following about the 2014 switch-em-up:

I have watched the best– from Carnes to Purse, Stein to Harris, and Nyhaug to Willoughby, and never, in a million years, did I think I would ever be be presented the opportunity to represent Redline.

I remember when I was four years old my first-ever bike was a John Purse signature Redline bike, and to think that I now have a full factory ride with the bike it all started on, absolutely amazes me.

I’d like to thank Steven Behen at Seattle Bike Supply and Jason Carnes at Redline for helping to make this happen for me.

I would also like to thank my 2013 sponsors: Donavon Long, Derek Betcher at Haro, Michael Gamstetter, Tony D, Ray at Fly, Aki at Stealth, and Alan at Bell for all they have done for me. Without y’all, last year would not have been possible.

Redline is the next step in my career, and I am ready to ride with the team of a lifetime.

—Hunter Pelham

I’m super-excited to join Factory Redline for 2014– it’s like a dream come true. Can’t thank the guys at Redline enough fpr this opportunity!

I also want to send out big thanks to everyone at Crupi. They did a great deal for me, and I enjoyed being a part of their program.

—Collin Hudson

Reno is 35 days from today, so we will look forward to the first photo of Collin and Hunter suited-up. Meanwhile, Hunter posted this shot yesterday, to give a little appetizer of his factory-freshness.

Redline Bicycles Website

Factory Redline Race Report: Disney Cup

This is the first in a series of five Factory Team race reports from the Disney Cup we will be posting each day this week. Watch “Team Sheet” (on the left side of the page) for the Tuesday – Friday reports from Black Crown, Answer Ssquared, Answer Rennen and Chase BMX.

(photo via USA BMX Facebook Page)

Factory Redline Report
USA BMX Fall Nationals Disney Cup

The fifth-annual Disney Cup brought some incredible BMX Racing action to Orlando last weekend. At 207 motos, Saturday’s race was said to be the largest USA BMX/ABA Florida national ever (196 on Friday and 197 on Sunday). Awesome to see the numbers and excitement keep climbing year over year.

Weather reports leading in to the weekend were weighing heavy on the thousands of inbound BMXers, as Hurricane Sandy sat a couple hundred miles away, in the Atlantic, spinning her way up the Eastern Seaboard. Thursday’s practice was rained out, and a lot of twitter messages from the track ended with hashtags like #soaked, #rainraingoaway and #bringit.

The Redline rig was staked-down solid on the third straight, and Carnes & Co. put out the traditionally-squared-away display for the fans.

On-scene for Factory Redline were the aforementioned, JC, Sam “Stripes” Willoughby, Denzel Stein, Tory Nyhaug, Mr. Black Plate, Amateur #1, Josh Klatman and Kiwi Trent Woodcock racing A Pro. Alise Post is still sidelined, recovering from a hand injury, but will be back for the Grands (which is only 24 days away!).

FRIDAY

Racing got underway a little past 3PM and in the first rack of Elite Men, Sam put the first winning lap on the board for the team. Next gate, Tory got his weekend started with a win. A few gates later, Denzel posted a fourth, but was looking strong, and we knew he’d be looking for an upgrade next time out (he got it, with a 2-2 in the next two trips),

The World Champ continued his winning ways throughout qualifying with two additional aces, completing his set in the motos. Tory’s 1-2-3 was enough for a ticket to the 1/4s, as was Denzel’s 4-2-2. Carnes was in the Vet Pro mix, but his 5-5-5 would make it a “wait til tomorrow” day.

Denzel got through the quarters and semis with a second and a first, respectively, so things looked good for #26. Sam made a major push to get past traffic in the Elite Men semi to grab one of the qualifying spots. But the last turn would be the decider, and at the stripe, he was out of the top four.

The ORL BMX track was groomed to perfection, and is famous (infamous?) for several “joker” features that can toss the deck in the air, and make things end up completely unlike they started. The first turn was notorious for that, as a rack of closely-packed pros come in at mach three, and the crowd closes their eyes to see who makes it out clean.

The Friday Elite main was one of those times, as The People’s Champ came out of lane seven, and was half a bike out of the lead, deep in the first turn. That line took him way-high, and a momentary flirtation with the over-the-berm club interrupted his groove enough to scrub off several places worth of speed. Tough to recover from that, and a seventh is what the record books will show.

Josh was in for a fourth on the day in the 37-riders-deep 19-27 Expert class.

Three day races are definite butt-kickers. After some 10:30PM carry out food, the focus was on “sleeping quick,” as Saturday’s race day was going to dawn quicker than anyone expected.

SATURDAY

The prospect of Mother Nature stomping on all our fun was quickly fading on Saturday, and it looked like we’d get the whole weekend in without much more than a track-watering sprinkle or two.

Sam was off to an incredible day, with wins in his first five laps (three motos, quarter and semifinals). Jason and Tory also shook the day one blues, with slots in the Vet Pro and Elite Men main, respectively. Denzel riding well in the motos, with a 4-2-2, but a sixth in the quarter put him on the ugly side of the fence for the main.

Carnes saw some daylight open up in the Vet Pro main, and slid in for a podium third-place podium spot. Hanging around the infield waiting for the presentation on Sunday morning, he said he might need someone to draw him a map on how to get up there, since it had been so long. That’s part of what’s so awesome about Jason. Dude is one of the most respected riders out there, and still can bring the self-deprecating humor.

In Saturday’s Elite main, Tory had gate one and Sam gate two. The pack was four-abreast over the first jump, with Tory and Sam right in the thick of it. The last place most people want to be is on the far outside of this first turn, so as the pack shot down the middle of the first straight, the inside squeeze was on to get the hot middle-line in to turn one. That put Tory on a white-line ride into the grass for a second–similar to what happened to Denzel Friday night, but in a different place.

Meanwhile, SW91 went into turn one in fourth, and came up with a gem of a pass using the “not-too-high-not-too-low” line, then pedaling the next two jumps to take up second. He was nudging the lead for the rest of the lap, but if was going to have to be the left-step for Saturday (which Sam was not all that stoked about, but we thought was pretty impressive). Tory was hanging in for fifth, but drifted high in turn two, and that was basically the ballgame for him, with a snowman on the Saturday sheets.

Josh had a tougher time on day two, spinning in for a sixth in 19-27x

Two-thirds of the Disney Cup was in the books. The battles would definitely get stronger on day three, as the deciding laps for the overall cup would be put down.

SUNDAY

Day three had some early Halloween goblins gumming up the mix for Tory and

Day three could have been officially called “The One Show,” as Sam-the-World-Champ took his UCI skinny digit to the front every time down the hill, including the main event. Speaking of that Elite main, it was one of the most exciting in recent memory–and kept the fans on their feet long after Sam crossed the stripe for the win.

Taking a fresh look at the video, it was a heck of a lap for Sam, who was pinned against the inside chalk the whole trip down the first straight. His Tioga Powerblocks had the major hookup in turn one, as he held a hella-tight line on the dirt berm to take it from third to second into the second straight. Into turn two, SW was on the outside, and a wheel behind Willers, but the third straight would prove the great equalizer for the day three top-step.

Some turbulence ensued as Sam and Marc matched crank for crank to get to the third turn in the lead, and just as Sam was riding Willers high into turn three to put the lock on it, Donny Robinson came out of nowhere to slip under both of them, and into the lead as the last turn was coming into view. The crowd was going berserk as Sam pulled even with dR at the first rollers of the last straight rhythm–then ahead of him for an incredible and well-executed win. Very proud of our champ!

Speaking of podium spots, Trent got on the box on day three as well, with a third in A Pro. Carnes was back in the main, with a 4-3-4 in the motos. It didn’t quite break our way in the The Vet Pro main, but a 7th is still nothing to hide under the sofa.

Pros “Pass The Bucket” for Kyle Bennett

Although Fresno was the first race following the tragic death of Kyle Bennett earlier this month, this was the first time the full compliment of athletes came together (Fresno was on the very day of KB’s memorial service). More than a dozen of the fastest BMXers on Earth got together and “passed the bucket” to raise money for Kyle’s daughter, Kylie, and family as a whole. By the time the last main crossed the line on Sunday, the Elite effort raised over $2300. Local business Smoothie King also created a special “KB88 Smoothie” to sell at the track, and raised another $700 in sales. One thing that is an absolute: the BMX community will always pull together to take care of its own. Great job to everyone who took

Props to our Regional Team Winners

FRIDAY
Justin Riddell (Redline/M-1) A Pro
Connor Defrain (Bike Alley/Redline) 8-under cruiser
Sarah Gross (Redline/M-1) 16G
Brandon “Birdman” Crain (Redline/Challenge) in 8x

SATURDAY
Brandon “Birdman” Crain (Redline/Challenge) in 8-under cruiser
Joe Hauck (Redline Adventure) 13-Inter
Brandon “Birdman” Crain (Redline/Challenge) in 8x (Friday)

SUNDAY
Brandon “Birdman” Crain (Redline/Challenge) in 8-under cruiser
Joe Hauck (Redline Adventure) 13-Inter
Connor Defrain (Bike Alley/Redline) 8x cruiser

Disney Cup 2012 ended up with mixed results for Factory Redline. But we were always in the mix, and everyone is stoked to end the season on the highest of high notes leading in to the “Greatest Race on Earth.” Keep an eye on this space for the colossal USA BMX Grand National report, just after Thanksgiving.

Redline Bicycles

Tioga BMX

Kyle Bennett Memorial Facebook Page

Redline Rolls Out Red Carpet in Chula

In a groundbreaking media maneuver (for BMX Racing), Redline Bicycles held a press conference Thursday night, to both kick off the Mega-Race weekend here in Chula Vista, and to bring together the track talent of the Redline team empire, from all points on the globe.

And it was a looooong table of household-name BMX Supercross stars (whether your household in in Norway, France, Australia, the Netherlands or the US). Presented, for media inspection were:

Manuel Devecchi – Italy
Sebastian Kartfjord – Norway
Sander Bisseling – Netherlands
Ivo van der Putten – Netherlands
Laura Smulders – Netherlands
Magalie Pottier – France
Jelle van Gorkom – Netherlands
Twan van Gendt – Netherlands
Raymon van der Biezen – Netherlands
Damien Godet – France
Merle van Benthem – Netherlands
Tory Nyhaug – Canada
Alise Post – USA
Sam Willoughby – Australia
Denzel Stein – USA
Josh Callan – Australia
Josh Klatman – USA
André Fossa Aguiluz – Norway
Robert de Wilde – Netherlands
Morten Therkildsen – Denmark

The event was emceed by Redline Marketing chief, Doug Stuart, and various national team coaches like Bas de Bever of The Netherlands, Petter Dahlin of Norway, as well as North American Team Manager, Jason Carnes, joined in to introduce their respective roster of stars.

The Q&A lasted about an hour, and fielded questions from familiar BMX faces like Ben Crockett of BMX Plus!, gOrk of Pull Magazine, Jerry Landrum of BMX Mania, Hans Sessing from BMX-Videos.com shot some footage (which we’re sure will be posted as part of his Chula Vista coverage) and of course the BMX News global media entourage. Also on hand were Chula Vista local media from the Star-News newspaper, and a couple other outlets we did not catch up to.

We’re not going to spend a whole lot of time telling you the positions of the various riders on the questions asked, as they are fairly standard fare for our beloved BMX Audience. But the team handled themselves very well under direct questioning. To the BMX News question of how gating up with a fellow Redline rider changes the game, Sam Willoughby responded by saying “BMX is an individual sport, we are all out there doing what we can to get the best individual results we can.” Good answer. BMX Racing is, indeed, largely about the individual, and that is a good “selling point” for our sport in the mainstream. Sam was essentially saying “If I get first, I sure hope one of you other guys at this table gets second.” Fair enough.

We sure hope Redline continues bringing events like this, where we, in the BMX media– and those in the mainstream media have a chance to interact with the full constellation or Redline stars. BMX Supercross does not, at this time, have a “media day” as we find in the AMA Supercross realm, so individual sponsors undertaking a media event is a great step.

BMX News will have megatons more coverage from Chula Vista, with a report on today’s TimeTrial Superfinal, and some shots from the ABA So. Cal Nationals, posted later tonight.

Follow us on Twitter (@bmxnow) for as-they-happen updates from the infield all weekend long.

—Mike Carruth

Factory Redline Desoto Race Report

BMX News was not in Desoto for last weekend’s USA BMX Super Nationals, but our devices were blowin up with texts, tweets and calls all weekend long.

Our data plan was in the red zone, all amped-up on the Redline tip: “Sam!” “@SW91 on Fyah” “Willoughby wins it,” “I’m callin Sam for the Double,” “@Beasty11 Back on the podium, behind Frenchy Valentino and 3Dom (Saturday)”

Lots of other action from the big D, but the official Redline report hit our inbox, and we wanted to bring it to you as its own post.

>>>
Factory Redline TM, Jason Carne$ rolled the Redline rig into Desoto for the second Elite stop on the USA BMX 2012 tour…and by the time the last Redline banner was rolled up and a “Burrito Zone” order was texted into Chipotle, there were some tight pockets in the crew cab, headin’ to DFW for the hop back to San Diego.

On Saturday, Redline lined up Sam Willoughby, Tory Nyhaug, French flyer Damien Godet, and hometown hero/People’s Champ Denzel Stein. Come main time, Tory was in for a strong sixth, and Willoughby gapped the field for a decisive win (Added by News: check out video in new window- Sam’s in Gate 1).

In the Elite Women’s main, Alise Post took the next step down the comeback trail, hitting the podium in third, as the top US star, in a field of 12 for the day (Editor’s note: counting Dom’s second for Puerto Rico)

Carne$ not only kept the RL pit in the usual scrubbed-up-and-squared-away shape, but he also had a successful day on the track against the always-tough Vet Pros. A fourth for JC!

Sunday was another bright, sunny day for the Red, White and Black (and it didn’t even snow–a little inside joke from 2010).

In the Sunday main, Sam inked-in a double on the weekend, spinning-to-win against a stacked field. And Alise topped her first podium of 2012! Jump that #11 two podium squares on the board, for those scoring at home.

In addition to our top guns, Redline also had a strong showing by it’s Regional Development Teams including Florida based Redline/M-1, Texas based ORP, Minnesota based Redline/Adventure and California based Redline/Bike Alley.

A big shout-out goes to ORP’s Paige Norton who aced 14G both days on her freshly-hand-autographed Redline/Alise Post Flight frame!

Redliners Elliott McGrath of Stile Industries/Redline and Travis Ohrazda also made the journey to Desoto to mix-in with the stacked-to-the-rafters A-Pro class. “The Big Guy” gated up for Sunday’s main.

The Super Nationals served as a final tune-up for the Redline pros as they mosey-on-over to Chula Vista for the MEGA weekend of the first 2012 UCI BMX Supercross World Cup round, and the USA Cycling BMX National Championships.

Catching up with the team Chula V will be the guy with the black #1 plate, Josh Klatman, takin it to 19-27x in the USA BMX So Cal Nationals. Josh will also be in the hunt for a gold medal in the first USA Cycling BMX Collegiate National Championships.

Follow all your favorite Redline riders on Facebook and Twitter (click the links to go right to the Redline Pages in a new window).

Mike Carruth contributed to this story
Lead photo by gOrk, USABMX

Josh Klatman Starts On A Redline

“It all starts on a Redline” has been the tagline for the industry giant for quite a while now. For two-time (and current) ABA National Number One Amateur, Josh Klatman, the better phrasing would be “2012 Starts on a Redline.” BMX News just got our hands on the forthcoming photos of Josh in a stock jersey, and we thought we’d share them with you. We will have more on the new addition to the Factory Redline squad leading up to the 2012 USA BMX season opener next week in Reno.

Meanwhile, check out this tasty edit that Carne$, Sam and Denzel did a few months back. Klatman will, undoubtedly be rockin one of these Flight Carbons, so these stories go together like peas and carrots.

Sweet 16 For Alise–Stronger Every Day

On July 24 of this year, BMX News reported that Factory Redline Elite Women ace, Alise Post would be sidelined for the balance of the 2011 season, due to an injury suffered during training for the UCI World Championships. One week later, Alise was in Vail, CO for knee surgery, and that would be the starting point by which her recovery would be measured.

Fast forward 16 weeks. Alise is well past the wheelchair, cleared the crutches, and is ambulating on her own two feet. She does a great job of keeping the fans up to date on her progress, and sent News the following update last night:

Today marks 16-weeks, post-op for my knee surgery. I am EXTREMELY excited about this, because 16 weeks is a very important point in the rehab process.

With a normal knee injury, say an ACL, or even if I had just torn my LCL, the rehab process would’ve progressed a lot more aggressively. However, due to my torn hamstring tendon having to be reattached on top of the LCL reconstruction graft, my rehab plan needed to be more conservative than others.

The combination of injuries is what made my case so rare to many of the people working with me. The fact that your hamstrings are so strong poses a problem in healing, once re-attached, because it is easy to rip-apart the work that was done in the surgery if a re-attached hamstring is engaged too soon. Needless to say, my therapists and I have had to be very creative on how to go about strengthening my leg and ligament without engaging too much of my hamstring. Today, this all changes!

16-weeks is a big corner to turn, in that now I can use my hamstring freely and starting lateral work on my ligament. These are key to my rehab process, because they allow me to actually start sport-specific rehab and put strength and agility back into my knee, which are obviously big stepping-stones back into regular training.

I am off to see the doctor in Vail again next week, the day before Thanksgiving. This will be the last visit, and hopefully I’ll get the “all clear” on everything I am writing about. My therapists and I have no doubts that Dr. LaPrade will be impressed with the stability and progression of my knee. Well, at least I sure hope so! It has been a long process, but we have all been on top of our game and doing absolutely everything possible to get me back healthy! I can’t thank everyone enough, because I truly believe I am exactly where I should be, if not ahead.

I also feel ready to start sharing a bit of more of my story. I know I haven’t been the best about video blogging or keeping everyone fully in the loop on my progress. The truth is, I needed to take some time for myself to be sure I was where I wanted to be. Now that I am happy with where I am at though, I feel I am ready to share some more of my internal thoughts and details about the process I have been going through. I will be doing this on my Redline Blog pretty regularly leading up to Grands next week. I have tickets, and will be there to support my friends, family, and Redline Squad for the “Greatest Race on Earth!!” Follow me on Twitter for daily updates @alisepost11

Thanks for reading and for your continued support. I cannot put into words how much it helps to know there are so many people backing me, through thick and thin. I hope you enjoy the blog updates…See ya’ll in Tulsa!

-Alise

A big BMX News congrats to Alise for making it swiftly and safely to this milestone. More with #11 from the fenceline at the 2011 ABA Grands next week.

Alise Post Redline Blog

Quick Hit: New Redline Jerseys in So. Cal

The typically “white-hat” good guys of Factory Redline will be in the black this weekend at the ABA So. Cal Nationals. gOrk posted these photos on Facebook yesterday, and we thought they were slick enough to give you a quick hit before the landslide of out-front rider photos that are sure to follow from the race.

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