https://www.kunstform.org/

Setups: Pete Sawyer

And His Wethepeople Sterling

24 Jan 2017

Petes Checka 2 1 Of 2 Copy

Photos by Nick Wotton

Pete Sawyer has been a rider / riding for a very long time now. He may not know it but from the point he burst not the scene seen through the lens of Will Evans many moons ago he has been consistently 'on it'. His riding has evolved ever so slightly, going down different avenues, searching for style over technical riff raff and always coming through with something original. We tracked him down after New Year to see what's up with him and his setup. Just don't believe everything he says...

https://e-fisewolves.com/
Petes Checka 1 Of 12 Copy

Frame: WETHEPEOPLE Sterling 21.2”

Forks: WETHEPEOPLE Sterling 32mm offset

Bars: WETHEPEOPLE Sterling 2pc 9.2”

Grips: Merritt Sawyer Grips

Stem: Merritt Inaugural

Headset: éclat Cargo, slammed cap

Seat/post: éclat Complex combo

Cranks: éclat Maverick alloy cranks 170mm

Pedals: Merritt P1

Sprocket: Merritt Mighty 28t

Wheels: Merritt Battle wheels. Non-Stop front hub and Final Drive Freecoaster to Battle rims.

Pegs: No thanks

Tires: Merritt Brian Foster FT1, 2.35” front, 2.25” rear

Tubes: KHE Twiggy

Chain: Eclat

Brakes: Saltplus Geo XL

Lever: éclat Sniper

Cable: éclat Core

Petes Checka 7 Of 12 Copy

Favourite part?

My favourite part is for sure my signature Wethepeople Sterling frame. I was involved with the design so heavily and I can’t ever imagine running anything else ever.

Oldest part?

The seat, it’s a 3 year old éclat sample

Newest part?

My wheels. I'm riding the Merritt Battle wheels. These things are amazing. It’s so great that good wheels come fully built now, I hate building wheels.

Modifications.

Most of the modifications I do to my bike are actually to my signature Sterling frame and fork. I angle grind the dropouts on the frame and fork so they don’t catch on pegless grinds. I also grind off my rear axle on my non-grind side to make the axle as flush as possible to avoid getting hurt by it when I crash. On top of that I also run an old KHE Geisha tophat spacer on my Merritt freecoaster so I can grind better pegless. Oh I also run KHE lightweight inner tubes, I love those things.

Every rider has that one part they just love; if you had to pick one part you’d never change, what would it be?

I couldn’t live without a freecoaster. Specifically the hub I have now which is the Merritt Final Drive freecoaster (with my modifications).

Why do you like white bikes so much?

They look fucking awesome. Baz Keep always used to have a White Hoffman and I loved that as a kid.

Petes Checka 11 Of 12 Copy
Petes Checka 10 Of 12 Copy

Explain your current peg situation.

Despite riding pegs for a good while, I’ve always been pegless on and off for years. Being pegless just makes your bike feel so much better. Shout out to Lotek Mixtape, Ian Schwartz, Eddie Cleveland, and Bruce Crissman for making BMX look good. At the moment (and for the past x2 years) I’m fully pegless. I have an extra two washers on my front bolt, and on the rear an extra two washers and a backwards bolt, just to give me a little more surface area to grind on. But other than that I’m pegless, no scooter pegs!

You installed a rear wheel motion stopping cable device on your new bike. Tell us more about this.

FUFANUS. The only reason anyone should have a brake on his or her bike. 

Petes Checka 4 Of 12 Copy

What do you normally like riding these days?

Due to the harsh reality of the UK weather and my work schedule, I’m riding indoor skateparks mostly these days. You can’t fault it this time of year, it’s guaranteed to be dry, and when Wales is wet and dark 90% of the year it’s the one place you can ride without worrying about weather forecasts. I did ride a lot of trails in the summer though.

Riders you’re really stoked on right now?

Nigel Sylvester, true innovator. That guy is changing the game. [sic]

What are 5 things you’re stoked on in BMX right now?

1. People are starting to steer away from only freecoasters / four pegs and are being more creative. It’s rad that more people started riding coasters, but I think a lot of people just put them on as part of the “four peg street uniform”. It seems that of late there are more riders looking at BMX more creatively, outside of the realm of  “add a smith grind or a halfcab crank flip” and I like that.

2. There is a lot of young blood in BMX who shred. Plenty of new talent emerging everywhere right now and it's exciting to watch.

3. Brakes are coming back. Slowly, but if you look hard enough you’ll see it’s happening.

4. The DIG Jam. Events like this are good for BMX, and I wish more grass roots like this would happen in 2017, they are just so much fun.

5. One last thing that got me stoked recently was when Clint Reynolds and his mates built that big ass bowl in the woods, that’s sick! That stuff keeps BMX alive and makes you proud to be a BMX rider.

Ok so at the risk of you sounding like a salty washed up pegless guy, what are 5 things you’re aren’t stoked on in BMX right now?

1. Vlogging. I hate it. I hate the persona that if you want to be successful you have to post it all on social media. It’s a business tactic, a certified way to get publicity.

2. Crankflips. Look shit.

3. When park riders do a trick on a quarter, then do a manual 180 on the flat bottom. Looks horrible, this isn’t Tony Hawks.

4. Rocker mini bikes. Say no more. Worse than scooters. (Insert clip from The Simspons of Homer riding the mini bike at clown college).

5. I hate that BMX has made me cynical. Anything sets me off.

Petes Checka 12 Of 12 Copy

You have a full section in the upcoming Wethepeople video “Foundation”. How was it filming for a full part?

Me and Callum (Earnshaw) actually filmed the whole thing in a few days. We basically had an excursion up north to Leeds, which was very productive. I would have liked to go on the other trips, but I was really busy last year with work and college, so finding the time was difficult but we made it work. I’m happy with it.

What are your plans for 2017.

NEW YEAR - NEW ME. I’ll be delivering pizzas for some of it and working on cars for the rest of it, along with a healthy dash of bike riding. 

Previous

Print Matters: Let Me Tell You About The Time...

"Every contributor was effected by BMX in some way throughout their lives."

Next

Productivity - Volume 2018 Completes

Incoming! A sneak peek of Volume's newest line

Related Content

Wethepeople Lit Pete Sawyer
Play Button

Wethepeople LIT - Pete Sawyer

Sawyer in the streets

28 Mar 2016
Pete Sawyer Instagram Compilation
Play Button

Wethepeople - Pete Sawyer Instagram Compilation

A sterling collection of Instagram footage

12 Apr 2016
DC Tb SV Wlhdwhqdefault
Play Button

Pete Sawyer Sterling Series Promo - Reup

Celebrating two years of Wethepeoples Sterling Series

8 Apr 2016
Demarcus Paul BMX Merritt DD-DSC 6612 1

Merritt - We’re all in this together

Why the juice was well worth the squeeze on the 'Tasers' trip...

6 Nov 2014
Pete Sawyer Iphone Extra
Play Button

Merritt - Pete Sawyer Iphone Xtras

Local Clips

17 Feb 2016
AI4 C m F8k 0hqdefault
Play Button

Pete Sawyer Sterling Overview

The details on the signature Sterling frame series

8 Apr 2016
http://colonybmx.com.au/products/

Latest Content

8kf8 GFGUM Ckhqdefault
Play Button

GT BMX - CAN YOU FILM THIS? - JEFF PURDY

Raw power in the streets.

26 Jul 2024
Bjd Wy Fgdo9ghqdefault
Play Button
Xe KRUJI5d0ohqdefault
Play Button

Building a Concrete Ledge - BMX DIY

From start to finish

26 Jul 2024
Yv OO Jq1o H Bchqdefault
Play Button

Source BMX: Perris Benegas Bike Check

Perris runs down her Haro SDV3 setup

26 Jul 2024
0xoc B Qmtm Dghqdefault
Play Button
6 WS3a Uxj Xq Mhqdefault
Play Button

BIEVENIDO A FIT PETRO Y JOHN!

BARCA BANGERS

25 Jul 2024
T77n H0 Kczekhqdefault
Play Button

Stinkpit 7 - Full DVD

More awesome spots and sweet moves

25 Jul 2024
Goa NGYH Dls8hqdefault
Play Button

A Day In The Mix Part Two - BSD

"Don't do that again, please..."

25 Jul 2024
South America DOC thumbnail 3
Play Button

SOUTH AMERICA - A BMX DOCUMENTARY

CROSSING THE CONTINENT IN A 30 YEAR OLD CAR TO RIDE SPOTS & MEET NEW FRIENDS

24 Jul 2024
Tnl R Jc B7rjwhqdefault
Play Button

Matthias Dandois - Below Paris

Unseen Angles

24 Jul 2024
I K0 VE Sxk W54hqdefault
Play Button

RBP Jam Highlights

Fire, broken ankles and hella roasting

24 Jul 2024
B A o p Q Pje Ihqdefault
Play Button

The New Source Park Bowl

BIG changes!

23 Jul 2024

DIG Partner stores

More Dig This

2 Z7 A2413 copy

E-FISE WOLVERHAMPTON - EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW

E-FISE IS BACK AND EVEN BETTER!

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
S1057107 2

MONSTER ENERGY 'CASH UP' 2024 SERIES ANNOUNCED

5 Jams - 5 Countries

25 Apr 2024
Nick wave

IN MEMORY - NICK COOMBES

A true renaissance man in every sense of the word

24 Apr 2024
WTP ECLAT JACKAL FRAME FORK 3

PRODUCTIVITY: WTP/ECLAT JACKAL FRAME & FORK

Did someone say titanium?!

13 Apr 2024
435840693 1414960675891844 3313287078063579831 n

PRODUCT DROP: LEWIS MILLS SIGNATURE VANS 'PEAK'

An all new BMX specific shoe from Vans

10 Apr 2024
Thee void leader
Cinema apparel 24 sring
DSCF2930

PRODUCTIVITY - ECLAT 1023 STEM

Designed in Cologne. Made in Kyoto.

31 Jan 2024