(Photo by Fat Tont for RideBMX.com)
I’ve known Bryan for a few years now. He is as great a rider as he is a person. He is also the first ever AM Flatland Circuit Expert Class Champion! He all but dominated the Expert Class in 2010. I decided to catch up with Bryan and ask him a few questions about competing as well as a bike check of his new ”trophy.” - Steve Lapsley
Name: Bryan Huffman
Age: 38
Years Riding: Since 1987. I didn’t ride much in 1993/94 and had a lot of knee problems/surgeries from 1998 – 2002 so didn’t ride much then either.
SL: This was the first year of the AM Flatland Circuit, how do you feel the first year went for you?
BH: I’m happy that I won the title, but I think I could have rode a lot better especially in Dayton. I’m never happy with the way I ride at contests – I get too nervous and don’t ride real well on slick surfaces because I spin so much.
SL: You came out of the gates with a win in Round One at Fight With Flight, did you feel any pressure after that to make the rest of the stops and compete on the same high level?
BH: Yeah to some degree. I hadn’t really thought much about trying to win the series until I won in Indy. Then I thought maybe I should go for it. I had another knee surgery a couple of weeks after Indy so I didn’t really know how things were going to play out after that.
SL: The four rounds of the circuit were pretty spread out, was it difficult traveling to each of the events?
BH: It wasn’t too bad. JoMoPro is a long drive of course and I had to go to Toronto 3 weeks after knee surgery which was a bit tricky. The difficult part of traveling for me is taking care of my daughter. My wife works weekends so going out of town takes a lot of coordination and planning weeks ahead of time. And it costs me a lot of extra money.
SL: Did you feel it was important to compete at all four stops?
BH: Personally for me it is because I’m trying to support flatland as much as possible while I can. Points wise it helps, but I don’t think it’s completely necessary as long as you place high at the ones you do attend. Joel Schallhorn for example only hit two contests and he placed 3rd.
SL: Being an amateur rider, how did you manage home life, work, practice, travel and competing this year?
BH: It’s a constant struggle to be honest. I have a full time job, two houses, wife, 2 step kids and a 2 year old daughter. It seems most of the time I just get by. I ride 3 days during the week between 6pm and 7:30pm or so. Two days during the week is daddy day and/or date day with the wife. Weekends are divided between house/yard work, riding and taking care of kids. It’s not too bad I guess, everything just has to be scheduled. I just don’t have time for anything else.
SL: How has this been different than your previous years competing?
BH: Besides a local contest here or there I haven’t competed in a long time. It feels good to be “back” so to speak, but I really feel like I’m just competing against myself. I had such a bad taste from competing before for several reasons I didn’t want to remember things that way – I wanted to look back and have good experiences/memories if that makes sense.
SL: Of the four stops, which one was your favorite and why?
BH: I’m not really sure I have a favorite, I liked them all for one reason or another. I liked the vibe in Indy, the chance to see riders I normally don’t see in Toronto, the crazy pro class at Jomopro and the chilled, laidback atmosphere in Dayton.
SL: Each contest this year had a slightly different contest/judging format and vibe. Do you feel the variety was a good thing?
BH: I’d like to see the same judging criteria across the board, that way you know what you are walking into each time. Same time limits too – I’d also like to see longer run times. Run times seem to get shorter and shorter. While I understand the comps have to be run in a constrained amount of time, I think riders at the expert/master level should easily be able to fill up 2 and ½ minutes. It gives you time to recover if you mess up and allows a rider to show his/her diversity.
SL: Excluding the stops this year, where would you like to see a stop in the future and why?
BH: There seems to be a lot of riders on the east coast, but no contests so I think it would be cool to have an east coast contest. I’ve also thought a contest in Florida as the first stop would be nice. Get out of the cold you know. I always thought a contest at Interbike would be awesome. Pat talked about doing a contest at flatlandfuel at one time – that might be cool. Just ideas.
SL: How do you feel about the direction flatland is going in North America?
BH: That’s a tough question. It’s getting better it seems. There seems to be more riders starting out and more older guys getting back into it. Besides a few guys, it seems most of the NA pro class have disappeared. I think a lot of them are still out there riding and that’s the most important thing, but not many are competing. It’s happened before though – when the AFA died around 89/90 the majority of the pro class went away, same thing when flat got cut from the XGames. Once the money goes, people can’t justify flying across the country to compete. You can’t really blame them for that. I think the circuit is the most important thing to happen in quite a while, it’s one of the reasons I went to them all. I think it’s an important stepping stone in rebuilding the pro class.
SL: How do you feel the AM Flatland Circuit has helped (or hurt) the scene in North America?
BH: It can only help. Flatland needs a little bit of structure and the circuit creates a bit of motivation for the riders. Like I mentioned in the previous question, I think it’s an important step in building up the pro class as well as the other classes. It created the master class which is something else we needed. I’d like to see a beginner/intermediate and veterans class become part of the circuit as well.
SL: Being that you were the Expert Class Champion, everyone is wondering… Will you move up and compete in the Master Class next year?
BH: Yes moving up. Hoping a few of the guys in the master class will be moving up too.
SL: Do you feel there should be a set standard for where you compete in the circuit (Class wise), or do you feel the riders should govern themselves?
BH: I kind of feel like you should have to move up. I mean, once you won the circuit for a class what’s the point in staying there.
SL: Of the riders you competed against this year, who do you think everyone should be on the lookout for next year?
BH: Man everyone in the class rules so you kind of have to look out for everyone. If I have to pick someone – Joel Schallhorn shows a lot of promise. Originality!
SL: If you could change one thing about the AM Flatland Circuit for next year, what would it be?
BH: I really don’t have any complaints. Just some little things. Same judging criteria, same run times, more contests in the summer months maybe. Add the beginner/intermediate class.
SL: Any last words or people you’d like to thank etc?
BH: I’d like to thank all the contest organizers for having the contests, everyone who comes out to compete or watch the comps, Pat at flatlandfuel for all the help and trusting my opinion, the local guys who keep me motivated to ride, my wife for putting up with the traveling, Tony for the frame and to you Steve, for the interview and the circuit.
SL: You won a custom Mountain Top Fabrications frame for being the Expert Class Champion, can you tell us a little about the frame? What are the specs on the frame? Why did you chose the geometry and design you did? Also, can you give us a run down on some of the main parts you run and any mods you may have made.
BH: Ok here we go. I wanted a straight top tube at 18.9. I’ve had a few frames with bends in the TT and decades feel better with a straight. Nothing too low either, since I’m on the taller side, things like no handed wheelchairs don’t work well with low TTs. Slight bend in the DT for wheel clearance. Head tube angle at 74.5, steep enough, but stable. Longer CS at around 13.25 – back end on most bikes are way too short for me. Seat tube angle at 72. 72 just feels more comfortable and it’s easier to pop behind the seat in tricks like the hijacker (backwards facing cliffhanger). Weight is around 4.6. I wanted something light, but heavy/strong enough so it doesn’t break. Spanish BB. The Mid is too heavy and Euro are too weak. I’ve wanted a metal flake color frame since the days Quamen made them.
Stem : Colony
Bar Ends : Eastern
Handlerbars : OG Caramel 2
Grips : Bizhouse
Brakes : None
Fork : Older Odyssey
Seatpost : Mankind
Clamp : WTP
Seat : Infinity
Pegs Front : Infinity
Pegs Back : Suelo
Cranks : Odyssey
Pedals : Animal
Sprocket : Odyssey
Tire Front : Odyssey Frequency G
Tire Back : Odyssey Elmstreet
Rims : Hoffman
Rear Hub : KHE Geisha Light
Spokes : Regular black 14g / Shadow Purple Haze
Front Hub : Proper
Thanks again Bryan! Good luck next year in the Master Class!
