T2S Exclusive Interview with Bill Ryan – CEO Of Supercross BMX!

T2S Exclusive Interview with Bill Ryan – CEO Of Supercross BMX! He disussed his love and passion for BMX, how and why it started! He also breaks down why his new BLK Series Frames and Forks are the best on the market!

Bill Ryan – Owner/Founder/CEO of Supercross BMX Q&A

T2S: When was Supercross BMX Started?
Bill Ryan: Supercross was officially formed in 1989. 26 years of BMX this year!!
T2S: What made you decide to start Supercross BMX?
Bill Ryan: We never really wanted to start a BMX company, it just happened. I started racing when I was seven, and got a job after school at SE racing when I was 12 stickering frames, and then started at GT when I was 17 doing Sales, Customer Service, Helping with the team, etc…. And when I left GT, I had started a company TECH, we made custom BMX leathers, and we had a cool little team, Brian Lopes, Glen Pavlosky, Bogi Givens, Billy Harrison, and we couldn’t get the guys a bike sponsor , so one night while we were having gate practice behind the shop, we were watching how frames were flexing on the launch out of the gate, and I drew up the first frame design, we had a few built and just planned on selling them to fund the team and BAM, Supercross was born. Scary part is that we are still selling frames to fund the team. Guess things don’t change that much over time.
T2S: The new ENVY BLK Carbon Frame is awesome, and we haven’t been able to keep it on the shelves. Tell us about the frame, and why it is superior to the other Carbon Frame’s out there. (How it is made? What is unique about it)
Bill Ryan: Thanks, glad they are selling well for you. We have been having a lot of trouble keeping up with production, due to the complicated and hand layed up process, we can typically only get 1-2 frames a day completed. A lot of people think that all carbon is created equal, and it isn’t. I know when we first put that in our catalog, we took a lot of heat from the internet about the fact that carbon is carbon, but if they look into it, there are just as many variations in carbon as there are in Aluminum or steel. How refined is the fiber, the size of the fiber, the direction of the weave, the density of the weave, the resins, the layers, uni direction, bi directional, wet resin, dry resin, so many variables. Then on the molding processes there are just as many types of way to mold the carbon, all of it adds up in how the part , in this case the frame is finished. Our frames are done using a high end Name Brand Carbon Torray and we use an exclusive Nano Alloy Resin in a dry prepreg cloth. It is one of the most expensive Carbon materials on the market, but it is also the best. And with our molding we do a High Compactation so that there is no excess resin, as the resin is the heavier and the weaker part of a carbon frame, and the internal molding is equally important, we use a special molding technique that keeps the inner walls as smooth as the outer walls to make sure there are no stress risers.
T2S: The new SLT BLK Carbon Fork is another hot product you have blowing off the shelves here at Time 2 Shine, tell us a little about the fork, and why people want it so badly.
Bill Ryan: Again, thank you, glad they are selling well for you. We wanted to make sure that the performance we were building into the Supercross ENVY BLK didn’t get lost by not having the fork that could match the performance. A lot of people seem to think it is just a copy of our Sister company Speedline Parts Carbon Fork, and while we did use many of the same shaping models, and the same high compacatation low void carbon proicesses , but it is a different fork, the crown is larger and stiffer, to handle the over size 1 1/8” – 1.5” Carbon Steertube, and at only 19.8 ounces we have one of the lightest and stiffest Pro sized Forks on the market. By developing our own fork and our own frame together, we can really build a complete unit that is optimized for performance. And still be able to handle all USA BMX and UCI BMX tracks, not to mention Jeremy’s backflips when he feels like knocking one out.
T2S: We have received excellent feedback from our customer’s on the new BLK Frame and Fork. What Factory Riders do you have on the BLK Frame and Fork, and what are they saying about the ride?
Bill Ryan: The riders had a ton of input on the frame, back when I was riding and racing, I could qualify something, but now 20 years later, I really have to rely on the team for the input on how it handles, flexes, launches, etc… I do all the design and the engineering, but really rely on the riders feedback. Part of why we built the UCI Replica Supercross track at the shop was for the riders to train, but for immediate product testing and evaluation. Jeremy is always a great rider to get feedback from, he notices it when I change something a 1/4 degree or an 1/8”, but the one that really gets all scirntific in the rider testing is our former 3 x #1 Vet Pro, Kenth Fallen, a lot of you might not know but he is a certified UCI Road/MTB and BMX Coach, he has a masters in Kinesiology, he has his own fitness / Training center, and really digs in to the science of all that we do here, he will get the new prototypes, and set up timing equipment and measure out reaction times, video analysis, it is really cool the feedback he can offer, and really knows what he is speaking about. When he got on his new ENVY BLK, he said that his Supercross ENVY v5 was like a Corvette, but that his Supercross ENVY BLK is a full on F-1 car, light, fast,stiff, responsive, built to perform.
T2S: Any new Supercross product’s that the public will see before the end of 2015? Early 2016? Full Carbon Crank’s?
Bill Ryan: Right now the project board is pretty full. We have a lot of new things in the works, the smaller, Junior, Expert and Expert XL Supercross ENVY BLK’s are the next to hit market this summer. They will really change the game for the younger BMXers. And with all of our products they are optimized for intent, so they will not be big bulky overly stiff carbon frames, they are very svelte , light, responsive and fast.
T2S: Any last word’s for the die hard Supercross BMX fans out there?
Bill Ryan: Well, not last words I hope, but thank you to all the fans and riders out there, we do Supercross to build the best for the riders, and without them we wouldn’t have a reason, so thank you for your support over the years and keep riding.
Huge Thanks to Bill Ryan and his Supercross camp for helping out with this sweet Q&A!
Check Out Some Exclusive Photo’s of the Technology of the New BLK Series Frame’s and Forks!