Frankenbikes? Futuristic BMX bikes? Whatever you call them, the creations ridden in the Fingers Crossed BMX teaser look like they’re a lot of fun. Led by BMX legend Ruben Alcantara, the teaser gives a glimpse of the development of some interesting new bikes, then we dug up a closer look… Far from the average BMX bike, these bikes include suspension forks, disc brakes, and even a few are running full suspension.
Fingers Crossed full-suspension 20″ BMX bike prototype
From the screenshot above, we see what looks to be a single pivot design with the lower pivot based around the bottom bracket. The lack of chain growth would allow for a single speed set up typical of a BMX bike. This isn’t much different than many full suspension slopestyle bikes we’ve seen, but with much smaller wheels. The tires look absolutely massive though – as the minimal clearance at the fork arch would suggest.
I’m guessing it wasn’t a stretch to come up with the name for the project, as I’m pretty sure they are crossing their fingers every time they fly across massive dirt humps & road gaps that would make some downhillers blush, all on a prototype single pivot BMX bike and tiny wheels!
A number of prototype bikes pop up in the killer teaser video below, but I’m especially partial to this single pivot steel bike. It’s seen a number of different forks from the forward facing in most of the video, to this reverse arch Manitou Machete Junit 20in. For sure it’s no easy task to find a fork able to handle the abuse Ruben & co. are putting the bikes through. I’m pretty sure it’s rolling on 20″ wheels, mostly because of the 36 spoke Merritt Battle rims. I can’t really place the tires, although that rear looks an awful lot like a tire from an old motorcycle I used to ride…
The front triangle of BMX prototype looks similar enough to Ruben’s standard Fly Bikes that it might have started with a donor frame getting chopped up? But the rear end is all the work of Ari Cruz, Alcantera’s bike builder, friend & tinkerer.
Core to the entire design is a single pivot with a pair of massive bearings, concentric around the bottom bracket to maintain chain length. Then, some typical BMX track end dropouts get a disc brake tab welded on top… something pretty unheard of in BMX.
…but I think stopping power is pretty important with fingers crossed the whole time.
Not all of the bikes are full suspension, like this hardtail above (that’s weird to say about a BMX bike, right!). Note the massive frame/chainring guard under the BB.
Fingers Crossed BMX teases wild riding on little wheels
According to the credits (below), Ruben says that the concept was inspired after a trip to the Whistler bike park on a mountain bike. Wanting to ride similar terrain on a BMX bike, the crew has put together bikes which can do just that. The future? Maybe. Fun? Absolutely.
FINGERS CROSSED BMX . Youtube Teaser 2020.
“13 years ago I had the opportunity to ride the bike park of Whistler with a mountain bike, I had so much fun but I was thinking all the time : I wish I could ride this on my bmx…after that I started to work on it but I couldn’t finished right and left it in a side…until now.. ” – Ruben Alcantara
With Garrett Byrnes, Mike Bennett and Ari Cruz
Thanks to Revolution Bikepark 🙌
📽 Salva Moreno (traxxmedia)
🎶 Roberto Herruzo
Thanks for the amazing shots to Ryan Navazio
All images are courtesy of Fingers Crossed, the video itself is by TRAXX Media, and the ride photos during filming are photographer Fernando Marmolejo. Now we just have to wait for the full-length edit, and then whatever more wild bikes will come out of the project!
