Lukas & Nate Halahan: S&M Rambler Bar

Lukas and Nate grew up with trails in the backyard and it shows in everything they do on a bike. They ride fast, go high and make dirt look like the centre of the BMX universe. The fact they are brothers only makes the whole story better. Proper trail riding exposes everything. You need enough speed, good timing and the confidence to let the bike move without trying to correct every little thing in the air. The jumps only work because people have spent time digging, watering and keeping the line alive, so the riding and the work around it are tied together. A good trails rider makes all of that look simple. The shape is right, the bike stays calm and the whole line carries on instead of becoming one trick followed by a panic pedal. That style never really dates. BMX changes, bikes change and tricks get bigger, but someone flowing through a good set of jumps will always be worth watching. The good thing about Lukas & Nate Halahan is that the riding never feels like it was designed by a marketing meeting. It looks like somebody spending years working out what they enjoy, what suits them and how they want the bike to move. That is normally where the most memorable BMX comes from.

S&M Rambler Bar. The smaller box gives it that classic trail-bar look the boys actually wanted. Bars are a simple-looking part that riders can be unbelievably fussy about. Rise changes the front-end height, width changes leverage and the sweep affects how the wrists and shoulders sit on the bike. Even a small change can make manuals, hops or landings feel different. That is why signature bars are usually more personal than they first appear. The shape reflects what the rider has become comfortable with after years of riding. It is still worth comparing the numbers with your current bars before changing anything. A setup that feels perfect to one rider can feel completely wrong to somebody with a different build or style. At Blue Groove, we would rather talk through what you ride than tell you to copy a pro bike from the tyres up. Use the linked setup as a starting point. If the geometry and feel suit you, great. If not, there is nothing wrong with keeping the bike you already know. The bigger point is that Lukas & Nate Halahan has put enough time into BMX for those preferences to mean something. The setup has been tested through actual sessions, travel, filming and the ordinary missed attempts that never make an edit. That background is what gives a signature product some weight. Watch: 9 Acres - At Night We Live! Hero image: S&M 9 Acres video still.