Kriss Kyle: BSD Freedom Frame

Kriss has made a career out of refusing to see BMX spots normally. Skateparks, streets, bowls and completely ridiculous purpose-built projects all become part of the same playground. His riding is creative, powerful and unmistakably his, which is exactly what a signature range should reflect. Transition riding looks simple until you watch someone use the whole ramp properly. Speed has to be carried instead of manufactured at the last second, the bike needs to stay composed and the rider has to know exactly where the landing is before leaving the coping. Going high is one thing. Going high with shape, control and enough speed for the next wall is another. That is why a clean transition clip can be more memorable than something packed with extra tricks. The rider is working with the ramp rather than fighting it. When that timing is right, even a familiar line looks bigger, faster and far better than it has any right to. That is the bit we wanted to celebrate with Kriss Kyle. The riding has a clear point of view and you can recognise it without needing a name slapped across the screen. Plenty of people can copy an individual trick. Copying the way somebody sees a spot, carries speed or puts a line together is a completely different job.

BSD Freedom Frame. It is built for a bloke who might ride a skatepark in the morning, street in the afternoon and somehow end up upside down inside a weird sculpture by dinner. More of the setup: BSD Freedom Bars and BSD Passenger Grips. A frame is the part that sets the basic mood of the whole bike. A few millimetres at the rear end, a slightly different head angle or a bit more room up front can completely change how it behaves. Short and steep can feel lively. Longer and calmer can feel far better once the speed comes up. Neither direction is automatically right. The point of a signature frame is that the choices should make sense for the rider behind it. That does not mean everybody needs to copy the exact setup. It means the product has a reason to exist beyond a colourway and a name on the sticker. The smart way to look at this range is as a group of options, not a costume. Pick the piece that makes sense for your bike and ignore the rest if it does not. Kriss Kyle arrived at this setup through years of riding. You are allowed to arrive somewhere different. Watch: Kriss Kyle - '23' Hero image: BSD BMX / Kriss Kyle '23'.