Sugar Cayne
BMX Legend and owner of Block Bikes Rich Bartlett came out from California to NY to take a tour with the FBM crew in celebration of Block Alternatives 25th anniversary. We caught up with him when he came to the Mirracle Jam at Shoreham BMX Track in Long Island.
We got Rich to give us a look at his FIT Brian Foster build for a bike check. His bike had a nice custom white paint job, Fit Handlebars, Fit, Forks, Fit Cranks, Animal rear hub, colony front hub, Alienation Rims, Shadow Brakes and more. Check out the video to find out more.
About Rich Bartlett:
“Richard was one of BMX’s first young entrepreneurs who inspired countless would-be BMXers to get on their bikes and ride. In the seventies, “The Butcher” helped create a Mecca for “Dirt Jumpers” in Palmdale, CA at the once famous Palmdale U and in his backyard in Quartz Hill, CA. The list of riders who have ridden with Richard stretches from Tim “Fuzzy” Hall to Gary Ellis and beyond. Richard created the first “King of Dirt” jumping competition in 1987. A year later, he competed in the first ABA “King of Dirt” at the 1988 Grands. Through the 80’s, Richard promoted bicycle ramp and box stunt shows and toured the US, Canada and Europe promoting BMX and bicycle stunt riding. Richard’s “Northern Hemisphere Tour of 1987-91” produced a pioneering video, one of the first videos to be dedicated to BMX, dirt, trails, ramps and street riding. This video highlighted the first “King of Dirt”, Richard’s touring and many young riders, including Fuzzy, Richie Anderson, Dave Cullinan, Billy Harris, Chris Daley, Brain Foster and Travis Chipres. Richard was a trend setter in BMX fashion with his “U-Local” wear and later Block. Richard went on to market his own bike, the Block, one of the first bikes built for dirt jumping. He was also a test rider for some of the more prominent BMX magazines.”
