Corey Martinez: Cinema Martinez Stem

Corey has been doing proper street BMX for decades and still looks like Corey every time he rides. The speed, switch riding and long lines have survived every trend around him. That longevity comes from having real style rather than building a career around whatever was popular. BMX moves quickly and has never been especially good at sitting still, but that does not mean every old idea needs replacing. Some riders leave a mark because the riding, the bike setup or the way they carried themselves became part of how BMX looked for everyone after them. That sort of influence is hard to measure with a contest result. It shows up years later in the bars people choose, the lines they try and the clips they still go back to watch. Keeping those names and products around is not about pretending nothing has changed. It is about recognising where the good stuff came from and why riders still care about it now. For us, that is what makes Corey Martinez worth a proper feature instead of a product caption. The signature gear is part of the story, but the riding comes first. If the clips do not make you want to grab the bike and go for a roll, a long list of specifications is not going to save it.

Cinema Martinez Stem. That gives you a bit of setup freedom without turning the stem into some over-engineered science project. A stem looks like a small block holding the bars, but it controls an important part of the cockpit. Reach, rise and whether it is front load or top load all change where the bars sit and how the front of the bike feels. Riders notice those little differences because the hands are connected to the bike through them every second. A signature stem normally reflects a position the rider has settled on after plenty of trial and error. That is useful context, not a rule. Compare it with what you already ride and decide whether you actually want the bars higher, lower, closer or further away before changing the setup. There is plenty of marketing rubbish around bike parts, so the useful question is simple: does the product solve something for the rider? Here, it does. The shape, size or construction connects back to the riding. That is a much better reason for a signature part than a fresh logo and a loud launch post. Watch: Corey Martinez - Keepin' On Hero image: video still via Cinema BMX.