Tony Neyer Bike Check And Interview

Jeff Z.

• February 26 2009
• 11 comments

Cincinnati, Ohio, native Tony Neyer was making a lot of waves on the BMX scene and then a blowin’ out knee last summer took the wind out of his sails for a few months. After surgery and some recuperating Tony is back on his game and plans to fire out clips for Primo’s new video Nice Try. Check out his bike and then continue reading to find out what’s going on in Tony’s life.

Name: Tony Neyer
Age: 23
Location: Long Beach, CA
Sponsors: Primo, Sputnic, Micreation, and Cocoon

Frame: Sputnic Skyline 21”
Fork: Primo Kamikaze
Bars: Sputnic Tony Neyer signature Skyline
Stem: Primo Aneyerlator
Grips: ODI Longnecks
Barends: Federal
Headset: Integrated
Clamp: Primo
Seatpost: Primo
Seat: Primo Prototype
Pedals: Primo Josh Stricker
Cranks: Primo Hollowbites 175mm
Sprocket: Primo Aneyerlator 25-tooth
Chain: A strong one.
Front Tire: Primo V-Monster 2.20”
Front Wheel: Primo 36-hole rim with Primo N4 hub
Rear Tire: Primo Prototype E-Comet 2.1”
Rear Wheel: Primo 36-hole rim with Primo 9-tooth Mix cassette
Hub Guard: Primo DSG
Pegs: Sputnic

Modifications/Other/Extras:
All I really did was get my bike painted flat black. Primo parts are pretty much perfect, there’s no need to cut down or drill anything out cause all there stuff is already super light.

Shed some light on your parts that glow in the dark.
I’m not really sure how it all came about, but I was at Primo the other day talking to Barney and he had the stem at his desk. He just threw it to me and told me to check it out in the bathroom. I put the stem and wheels on my bike and went shredding for a bit. When I finally got back to Dave Jacob’s house is when I noticed it when I was walking up the stairs to his apartment in the dark hallway—it almost scared me it was so bright. The parts actually charge in the sunlight and then glow more in the dark after that. I haven’t heard if they’re going into production, but either way it was sweet to ride them.

Tell us a little about your signature stem and sprocket?
Anton Petrov, the designer at Primo, and I sat down for a few weeks and came up with a solid idea and direction that we were going for. I just wanted a front load stem that was reliable and light enough to be competitive with other company’s stems. The sprocket was a design by a really good friend of mine so I was pumped that Primo was down. There’s no need to try to be different. Like Taj showed us on his blog, if we keep changing things we might not even be riding a bike anymore.  Are you more concerned about weight or strength? Strength, for sure. I’m a really big boy and I need something that is going to be strong and reliable. Primo just found a way to do both strong and light. It’s the best stem I’ve ever ridden and I couldn’t be happier with the results. I’d like to thank everyone over at Primo for letting me be a part this project and the company.

Tony skims across this ledge in an unluc-E grind without even the slightest ripple in the puddle beneath him. Photo: Zielinski

OK, lets move on from your bike, tell us what happened to your knee.
It was just one summer day gone wrong. My friend Travis was off work and I wanted to get a jump-start on some clips for the Primo video. We went to a spot that I ride all the time—just one of those good warm up spots that you’re really comfortable with. I tried to film this quick little line that involved a crankarm slide. I had just started really doing them so I really wanted to film one. I tried a few times and kept looping out, the rail was a little tall so I was having trouble getting on top. So I approached the rail one more time and looped out again, but this time my foot landed in the grass and locked in with the side of the sidewalk. It could have happened to anyone and this time my number was called.

How long were you off your bike and what was the recuperating process like?
It took me two months just to get everything together to get the surgery. I went under the knife on September 2nd 2008. The doctor and I decided to go with a cadaver surgery because we felt it was the best move for me since I was going to continue riding. Since riding injuries can be out of your control sometimes, it’s very possible that in my career this could happen again and it would be better to save my patella tended for when my riding days are over, or at least when my riding is a little more chill. I’m really happy with the direction I went. A month and a half after surgery I was allowed to start riding my road bike to the gym, two and a half months after surgery I was allowed to start running again, and a month after that I was cruising around the parks taking it easy—or at least trying to.  I’m almost at six months now and I just got home from a Primo trip and I feel like I’m almost 100%. After I get done riding everyday I’m a little sore, but after stretching and maybe a little hot tub sesh I’m usually all good for the next day. I had an awesome physical therapy crew that I hung out with three days a week for four months straight and I owe them everything. Now I’m out in California back on the bike living the life and having a great time doing it.

Yeah, you seem really psyched to be out here, how is everything going for you so far?
I’m staying at Dave Jacob’s spot in the LBC along with Aaron Bostrom. I was here for a little over a week before I left for a trip to film for Primo’s Nice Try video in Arizona. I’ve just been riding and going out trying to get used to the different cultures, it’s a lot different out here than back home in Cincy [Cincinnati, Ohio]. A few people and myself our looking at possibly getting our own place out here so that would be sweet to make it a little more permanent.

You got a late start on filming for Primo’s Nice Try, are you trying to make up for lost time?
Yeah, this is one of the main reasons I came to out here, because I knew the weather wasn’t going to be a problem for going out and filming. I was a little stressed about how I was going to be able to make it happen, but after this past trip to Arizona I know that I’ll be alright. All I had to do was get that ball rolling and start knocking sh-t out. [Laughter]

Aren’t you planning to make some moves with Micreation, too?
Dave [Jacobs] has been pretty much doing it all alone since it was started and it’s time he gets some help. I’ve been blogging for a while now over at Sputnic and now at the TheCincation (thecincation.blogspot.com) so I’m going to get the team blogging started at the Micreation site. Hopefully by the end of the year we will have everyone on the team blogging about their lives and what’s going on with them. Also, since System Cycle is holding down the BMX sales for Micreation, Dave and I will be taking on some of the industries outside of BMX on our own.

What is TheCincation?
The Cincation is a blog that three of my good friends and I started back home. It’s really just a blog about what is going on in our lives and things we’re into, like funny videos, pictures, jokes, pretty much anything that we can get our hands on that makes people laugh. It’s awesome to have three other people updating because there is always content and something interesting to read—even for the people updating. Dave Jacobs is going to help us out with a website that is a little more legit which should be up in the next couple of months.

Rail feeble in downtown Long Beach, CA prior to Tony’s knee injury. Photo: Zielinski