In general, what are the tough things to battle when developing new products? It’s different for different products. I hate to be vague, so I’ll give an example: Our Pop-n-Loc plastic hub guard finally coming out. We had to go through several samples to find the right material that would work for injection molding and also be durable enough for riding. Some materials were too soft some were too hard.. it took forever because we would get the sample and it wouldn’t work and we’d have to make another sample and on and on, but finally it’s finished.
Do you fancy going to Taiwan to follow up on the development process and to negotiate pricing?
Yes we monitor development, production, and we’ve been known to negotiate a price or two.
Who are some of the riders that give good feedback on the products that make your life easier? It’s really everyone, we use a lot of good local riders because we can get the feedback quicker and also get the product back for examination. Also, the rider needs to be the correct rider for that product (i.e. you don’t give a freecoaster to a dirt jumper). Seamus, Zach, Darren, Phil, and Andrew are good and close. Seamus and Andrew in particular because they can start riding it the day we receive it.
Do you have secret product testers out there or do the team riders take care of that?
I wouldn’t call them secret, but they are local.
Big tires, big bars, slammed seats, small gearing and lightweight. What's next?
Who knows, some of this stuff is more fashion than function.
How hard is it to come up with a colour for your products?
Black is my favorite color.
Are you scared of the mandatory paint/colour testing or do you not worry about that yet?
No
How important is pricepoint for your products?
You mean this shit’s not free?
Can you explain how hard it is to put an original idea into a final product?
Sometimes it’s not hard at all and other times it seems near impossible. Like I mentioned earlier it’s different for each product.
What is a 2010 product you designed that you are most proud of?
Pop-N-Loc hub guard, Nomad Cranks, Journey Frame.
What's the worst design in BMX at the moment? The same as it was 10 years ago -Cheap Bmx bikes sold in the mass retailers with heavy frames, crap geometry, hard plastic grips, quill stems, and gyros that don’t work. These bikes are near impossible for any kid to learn decent tricks, so they don’t enjoy riding long enough to stick with BMX.
What do you think is a clever product?
A grim reaper t-shirt with nips and hair (actually, this is my least favorite, but Bryan sure thought it was clever)
Why do people need to look into your brand?
Because we’ve been doing the same thing we’ve done for the last 14 years – deliver a good product at a good price. Eastern offers more for your buck without the hard marketing.
After doing a BMX 'zine for ten years (1987 - 1996) FATBMX made it on the internet. The year was 1998. Here to stay.