I love it that people expect me to get all heated when companies rip other companies off. Sure, history shows that I do tend to get a little annoyed when I see blatant rip-offs but over the last few months, I think I’ve calmed down a bit. I caught the Redline Urbis Nox on my Google alerts the other day and then the emails started coming. The number of emails I got yesterday about this bike with the subject like “blast them” or “they ripped off Leader” really caught me off gaurd. I have to say, when I saw it, I thought it was the Leader Shadow. In fact, the only thing that made me think it was is the HT gusset. I don’t know if you can even call that thing a gusset but whatever! It looks like a gang-nailer from a joist or something. It’s also a re-appropriation from DH bikes.

Many other bikes use the wishbone stays. Just off the top of my head, the DAMP Butterbean comes to mind, which was out months, if not a full year before the Shadow. It even has the DH / MTB plate gusset at the bottom bracket and a curved seat tube. What I’m trying to say is no one made an original frame. We all looked at other bikes for inspiration and it’s only a matter of time before the fixed freestyle bike becomes the BMX bike. Not in size or style but in general frame design. As for the Redline Urbis Nox, well, whatever. More options for people’s wallets.

In my opinion, the only game-changers are the bikes that make riding fixed freestyle cheaper for everyone. Bigger tires, mid-bottom brackets, etc. The bigger your tires, the less likely your wheels will get smashed and when you drop the Euro-BB, it gets less expensive to replace your pitted bearings. I just wonder what Interbike will have to offer this year? Big changes from two years ago, that’s for sure!