https://rixinbikes.com/

Opinionated - #1 Bob Bars Revisited

Brian Tunney talks Scerbo, upsweep, backsweep and bad backs...

12 Apr 2016

Random Kid Bob Bars Brooklyn Banks Ra Title

Not Bob or even his bars. Cool photo though. Animal Brooklyn Banks Joe Tiseo Jam, September 2004. Photo by Ricky Adam

By Brian Tunney

Skapegoat handlebars sold out in less than a week with no promotion from any BMX sites (that I know of). They are less than 8 inches in rise (7.80"), they are narrow (25") and they have a minimal backsweep (8 degrees) with an assload of upsweep (5 degrees). By BMX standards of today, they are so not cool, but that didn't really matter. Empire BMX, together with team rider Bob Scerbo, saw a need that was vacated by Animal Bikes moving from the original Bob Scerbo signature handlebars to the Animal Big Four bars, filled it, ordered a batch of bars from S&M, and lo and behold, sold out of them very quickly for a handlebar that is less than an inch below the cool guy height for handlebars in these days. 

I should return to Bob's original signature bars with Animal, which made their first US-made appearance sometime in 2005. Bob's signature bar with Animal, based off the original GT bar of the early 1990s, was lighter, stronger and came in the sickest brown color I've ever had on my bike. Everyone at the time rode two-piece bars, and if I were to take an outside look in, I may have thought, "What the hell is Animal doing?"

Scerbo Dig Ad D45 2005

Scerbo "Please Kill Me" S&M ad from DIG 45, July 2005.

"Bob will hate me for saying this, but he was/is an influence on a very specialized group of bike riders that explored, adapted and defined a generation of BMX."

Fortunately, I was on the inside. I saw Bob's riding a lot, and his approach to riding, paired with his bike setup, became recognizable in videos in the New Jersey area. He had (still has) a pop, he rode fast and he adapted. His bike was an extension of him and as it slowly but surely evolved (brakes gone, freecoaster and two additional pegs added), he retained the bars, the inattention to sticker detail and the rust. I know he never intended for it to happen, but his riding eventually influenced a lot of BMX riders to want to adapt his setup because they were not yet capable of doing 180 to backwards icepick on a rail in Philadelphia. Again, Bob will hate me for saying this, but he was/is an influence on a very specialized group of bike riders that explored, adapted and defined a generation of BMX. (I'm ignoring storm doors because it's so cliche at this point, but you can thank probably Bob…)

Sometimes he walked away from a spot and saved it for people that he knew could wrangle it, sometimes he just cruised for the entire day and made mental notes of spots, sometimes he drank on his porch and talked shit till 4 a.m. and blamed it on bike riding. I'm not trying to write a bible on my friend, I've just always appreciated his 'take it as it comes' approach to bike riding. Bob Scerbo has never forced anything in his bike riding, except that one 180 on Road Fools, and to his credit, he said he'd never go on another one (which he held true to.)

A few years back, after Animal Bikes was already producing a newer, lighter, better brown color of Bob's signature bar, people decided that their backs and wrists were starting to hurt because of smaller handlebars with less sweep. They made a bigger version of Bob's bar and he asked them them to remove his name from the product because, if he wasn't riding his "signature" dimensions, how could it be signature?

"Do you want to be a 41/42-year-old flatland rider that fails at everything?"

Bob Bar Drawings

Planning stage 2016.

Empire First Batch Shots Bob Bars

First batch of 2016 as seen on the Empire BMX insta.

I always respected that perspective, while pushing the BMX market trends of the day away. But...

If you hold your arm straight out, your wrist doesn't bend 12 degrees to the left or right (nor does it does it for 8) but less sweep has become the "skapegoat" per se for the naysayers. And if you look at modern day bike riding in videos, it's plain to see that bigger handlebars has instilled this straight leg, stick your butt out stance that demands force from landing to be transferred above the midriff to the back, arms and shoulders. Essentially, if you're a little hunched over, your knees are bent, and your entire body is absorbing the force of impact instead of your upper body. But not now: people straight leg everything and transfer the force to their upper body and extremities instead of equally distributing it. (They 'big butt' it -- their backs are gonna die quick deaths.)

No one needs to agree with this but I've talked about it with an anti-bike bio-mechanist and it makes sense to me: Bigger bars are gonna kill your back and hyper extend knees more than your average-sized bars of ten years ago. (They're anti-bike because it puts your body in an unnatural position -- I see their point but I'm also a little too invested to walk away at this point.)

But I digress. I still ride a 7.80" height handlebar, I stretch regularly and I've made it pretty far in bike riding without any major back or knee blowups (I'm 42 this week). And again, I'm also a little biased -- I've ridden Bob's Animal bar for the past ten years and it feels great, looks even better. Do you want to be a 41/42-year-old flatland rider that fails at everything? Probably not, but if you like Bob Scerbo and/or Empire BMX, they made a batch of handlebars to celebrate his riding, his influence and his grassroots approach to BMX riding.

It sucks that more people aren't excited about it, but at the same time, I'm glad. There's a niche, and it's being filled. - BT

Bob Scerbo Nj 2008 Rd

Bob, New Jersey, 2008. As seen in his 'Backchat' feature, DIG issue 70, July 2009. Photo by Rob Dolecki

"Sometimes he walked away from a spot and saved it for people that he knew could wrangle it, sometimes he just cruised for the entire day and made mental notes of spots, sometimes he drank on his porch and talked shit till 4 a.m. and blamed it on bike riding."

Previous

Next

Buyer's Guide 2 - High Rise Bars

Nine inches high and rising. Love 'em or hate 'em, they're here to stay!

Related Content

Ralph sinisi bmx crop BC

Re Print: First Hand Account

That Time Animal's Ralph Sinisi Broke His Femur Filming for Nowhere Fast...

10 Sep 2020
BoneDeth BMX Bikes AW-2

The Bikes of Bone Deth

Rock N Roll Freestyle Machines

4 Feb 2015
soundtrack -bmx bob scerbo use

Soundtrack - The Bob Scerbo Mixtape

Fifteen of Scerbo's favourite BMX video section tracks

8 Mar 2015
Random Kid Bob Bars Brooklyn Banks Ra Title
Play Button

Video Vault: Animal Bikes - QSS 5 'The Price Is Wrong'

Hamilton's greatest hits continued...

4 Jan 2015
Random Kid Bob Bars Brooklyn Banks Ra Title
Play Button

Skapegoat 10

The latest Big $cerbs project now here for your viewing pleasure...

18 Dec 2014
bobbars2 1

Life After Bob Bars?

Why these riders are sticking with the classics

20 Jan 2015
Van-Homan-Randy-Brown-Lost-Footage
Play Button

Van Homan and Randy Brown Lost Footage

Glad Scerbo dug these up...

4 Mar 2015
BOB SCERBO BMX PHL RD

Re Print: One Question - Bob Scerbo

“It pretty much takes my favorite part of riding right out.”

12 Feb 2015
George-Dossantos-2015
Play Button

George Dossantos 2015 Video

NJ street OG George D...

24 Feb 2015
Edwin-And-Scerbo-Skapegoat-Zero
Play Button

Edwin And Scerbo - Skapegoat Zero

Raw footage from two east coast legends...

21 Jan 2015
garret-hoogerhyde-dqydj-2
Play Button

Video Vault: Garret Hoogerhyde - DQYDJ 2

Hoogerhyde's brilliant debut section revisited...

21 Dec 2014
https://cinemabmx.com/search?type=product&q=reynolds+wheel

Latest Content

Gyvp8b U Ftu Mhqdefault
Play Button

NORTH SIDE - CPA

Gijón - Oviedo - Aviles - Mieres - Corredoria

4 Nov 2024
Ai7v WW Ho N Uhqdefault
Play Button

GUEST LIST | Santiago Laverde & Michael Mogollon

Floating at Full Factory

4 Nov 2024
ZKU Sfb E Ca6khqdefault
Play Button

Spot to Spot - Ep 1. Steve Crandall

No plans, No rules

4 Nov 2024
Yzn C1d NDN Zchqdefault
Play Button

BSD - MIXTAPE - Extras / Barcelona Mix

Extra riding, extra clips and extra laughs from the crew.

1 Nov 2024
Thumnailm9
Play Button

MArieJADE - Milkshake 9

Courage Adams, Tom Deville & Arnaud Wolff

1 Nov 2024
Hc T Dfbwrv04hqdefault
Play Button

Source BMX: Colin Varanyak Bike Check

Breaking down his Haro CK setup

1 Nov 2024
Gzhn12 Kmxn Uhqdefault
Play Button

Groundswell Bowl Battle

DEEP END ROASTING

31 Oct 2024
0i L Uoc8ig M Ahqdefault
Play Button

Cold Cuts - Jacob Cable - "THIRTY" - Kink BMX

BTS with the bckwards ice and nose manual master

30 Oct 2024
DOHAO6 X Qu3 Qhqdefault
Play Button

JOHN LOPEZ - 'TACERE'

DIG LOCALS

30 Oct 2024
Yg T Wh Jiw KJ4hqdefault
Play Button

BRETT SILVA - BOROUGH BREAKER RALLY

Episode 1

30 Oct 2024
G Ktx CK6 Jm3 Ahqdefault
Play Button
Street squad
Play Button

ALIENATION STREET SQUAD

Ben Allen, Dr David, and Bailey Koenigs

29 Oct 2024

DIG Partner stores

More Dig This

24 photo comp web leader

THE 2024 DIG PHOTO COMP IS NOW LIVE!

OVER $1000 WORTH OF PRIZES UP FOR GRABS

15 Oct 2024
Greystoke issue 2

GREYSTOKE BMX MAGAZINE - ISSUE 2 OUT NOW

132 pages of tangible, hold-in-your-hands BMX print media.

11 Oct 2024
SUNDAY Silvawave Frame 3 Q web

PRODUCT DROP: Brett Silva's signature SUNDAY 'SILVAWAVE' frame

"It was only a matter of time before Brett got to call the shots."

26 Sep 2024
Osomatsu 4

SETUPS - Kazuei "Osomatsu" Oimatsu - ALIVE INDUSTRY

A Ben Lewis signature frame stacked with Animal parts

12 Sep 2024
20240907 BOH 019 perris

BATTLE OF HASTINGS 2024 - Everything you need to know

Schedule, livestream links, highlights, results & more...

2 Sep 2024
Garrett ss24

SIMPLE SESSION 24 - EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW

Highlight videos, schedules, results and more

24 Aug 2024
Volume frames 2

PRODUCTIVITY - NEW VOLUME JASON WATTS & KRIS FOX FRAMES

Certified for roasting - THE SMOKO & THUNDERHOOF

6 Aug 2024
Efise leader results

WHO WON THE €22K at E-FISE 2024 WOLVERHAMPTON?

The results are in!

12 Jul 2024
Kink 2025 bikes

PRODUCT DROP - KINK 2025 BIKES

That New New!

12 Jul 2024
DSCF5547

MIKE MASTRONI AND THE STORY BEHIND THE 'TELOMERE' VIDEO

Backstories behind the clips

24 Jun 2024
X Games California 2023 Kevin 2

X Games Ventura 2024: BMX Preview

Who, what, where and when

15 May 2024
Hannah roberts dsc00340

X Games Debuts Women’s BMX Park at Ventura 2024

This year, X Games is adding Women’s BMX Park to the schedule, and Hannah Roberts is leading the charge.

10 May 2024