BMXers are constantly changing up their shred sleds, rides, whips etc… Mr. Mercado just put together a whole new bike and I got to drool over it. This bike check was fun, a relaxed situation, not the pressure of getting a riding shot. I met up with Albert at a local drinkery to see what his new bike was all about. A dedicated Kink and Shadow rider, the setup is a great mesh of these two brands. I provided the beers and Al provided the cheers. If you ever have the chance to chill or ride with him I suggest you jump on it, he’s a good dude. We’ll start with the mandatory parts list, which reads like a dream:
Frame: Kink Tocco II 20.75 – mint
Fork: Shadow Vultus 026
Headset: Kink TI-integrated
Stem: Shadow Ravager top load
Bars: Kink Lynx
Grips: Shadow Lashaan Kobza Signature Chula grip.
Tires: Shadow Undertakers 20.25
Rear Wheel: Shadow BTR, Stun rim.
Front Wheel: Shadow Raptor complete
Cranks: Shadow Seth Kimbrough Signature Noctis
Pedals: Shadow plastic Ravager
Chain: Shadow v2 half link chain
Sprocket: Shadow Scream
Seat/post: Shadow Solus 1-piece combo
Pegs: 4 Kink light pegs
While splitting a pitcher and lots of jokes I took a few pictures of his bike. A few people even apologized for walking into the shot, which cracked me up; I was the a-hole taking pictures in the middle of a bar after all. Eventually we moved outside into the diminishing light for the closeups. As you can tell from the final shot we’re probably too comfortable while sitting on the side of El Cajon Blvd. I had a blast, the bike is solid and gorgeous and it was a great night.
I encourage you to support Kink and Shadow, they are good companies that support one the best dudes in BMX, Albert Mercado. Have a look at the photos and let me know what you think.
Not enough of this guy? Check out the preview of this article with a badass video edit from Darryl Tocco featuring this guy on this exact bike.
I met up with Conor Hamilton at Krause skatepark last Friday late in the afternoon. Conor’s an up and coming BMX shredder and I was there to get a few shots of that. Light was low and I only had about 45 minutes but Conor didn’t hesitate to throw down some great looking tricks for us. I was impressed with his height and style; this was my first time working with Conor and it went very well. Easily blasting 8 feet out of box jumps and quarters he gave me plenty of time to get the shots. Give him a follow on Twitter and watch out for more from this rider. Check out the gallery and let me know if you’re riding in the area and want to get some shots!
