It could be the upbringing, the culture, the vibe or just a different overall outlook on life and riding, but the riders that emerge from Spain have shaped a style that others aspire to emulate. Sergio Layos is amongst those at the forefront, his unique simplicity, and an almost "as one" with his bike in a sort of synergy that is pure as it gets on a bike. Here's a closer look at his personal FLY Trueno setup.
How long does it take you to build a complete bike from scratch?
I haven’t done it many times as I have only built a whole bike completely from scratch 3 or 4 times as I tend to only change parts as I was needing them but it takes me a long time as I want everything to be perfect, make sure everything is greased up properly, build the wheels and cur bars and forks the way I want them take longer than you think.
Can you remember how hard it used to put a bike together?
How grateful are you that bikes are so well built today ?
I remember It was a nightmare as I customized everything like cutting dropouts, bending levers, cutting axles, drilling holes in parts to save some weigh and some of the times parts weren’t good enough so you had to go places to fabricate custom parts that fitted your needs. obviously today that doesn’t exist as everything comes on standard sizes and putting a bike together is so easy and all you have to do is adjust it the way you want it and that is pretty much it.
How do you feel your riding has evolved now that bikes are so well built. Were there any limitations to your riding because bikes used to be built so badly or geometry was so off?
I think today I have forgotten about it but in the past you had what you had and you had to get used to a bike that most of the times didn't fit you at all and today I have a bike that handles exactly the way I want it and that makes it so much easier but in the other hand I see people that have bars taller and frames longer than they need. Seems like in BMX we can’t figure out that our size has a lot to do with size of the parts we have to use.
Do you still get the same excitement from building a new bike, and does it have even more impact now or does it feel any different now that some of those parts are your signature parts?
I think I get the same excitement as I did in the past if not more as there is always something new coming out or there is that little thing you have changed on the design that want to try so bad.
Do you make any personal modifications to your bike or are there any custom one off parts?
For the most part I just cut bars and forks but if there is anything I can do to develop a product I will customized to see if it works in order to see if we can make it like that for future products but that has become a bit rare this days that everything is so well done.
Is there a feature or part on your bike that has to always remain the same from each bike to the next?
Not really anymore.. I think that all the parts really feels my needs as they come but I’m really picky with having exactly the same angle on the bars and that I cut the bars exactly like the ones I had before.
Do you think you'll ever cross over to using a freecoaster and could you see more ramp riders using freecoasters in the future ?
I think freecoasters have definitely evolved how BMX is today and I have tried it but it didn’t feel my needs but maybe in the future I try again to see if I get used to it and works with what I want to do with it as I think people have a lot of fun with it and at the end that is what everything is about.
What's your riding scene like right now, who do you ride with etc ?
Right now I feel I’m a bit all over the place as been coming back and forth from Madrid and Girona and the scene is good in both places and the stuff to ride is so different in both cities and different people to ride so I think I like the variety of spots/people at the moment.
What's your daily routine when you're not traveling?
I try to do some exercise in the morning, walk the dog and do some stuff home and then after that go ride somewhere for the afternoon and then back home and maybe go downtown for a bit.
What are your plans for 2016?
Always with BMX is hard to tell as no matter how much you try to plan everything can change but definitely try to travel as much as I can and hopefully some of the trips planned end up happening.. Japan, US and whatever comes!
What do you get up to when you're not riding or traveling?
I love to spend some time in my garage and try to fix some stuff, works on motorcycles of build something with wood.. just try to keep myself entertained haha