How things have changed… Today the
US freestyle scene is a shadow of its
former self. Yesterday’s heroes have
either retired from riding professionally
or have moved on, and the young
emerging talent is noticeable only
by its absence. There’s only one guy
who seems to have been able to stay
with the wave of European, South
American and Australasian riders that
have consumed the FMX competition
scene. His name is Adam Jones. He’s
33, lives in Reno, Nevada and he’s the
last man standing.
Adam, cheers for the chat man,
especially as I know you’re flat-out
preparing for the next Nitro Live
Tour. Are you excited for it?
I’m absolutely excited about it and will
be doing all 45 shows this year. It’s
going to be busy and a lot of fun, but
I’m less excited because these Next
Level ramps are absolutely terrifying!
I’ve been working hard trying to
get them figured out to a level I’m
comfortable with, and it seems to be
going well. Steve Mini’s been kind
enough to let me stay at his house
and use his air-bag and giant ramp
set-up, as it’s such a different beast to
anything we’ve hit in the past.
What’s different about these ramps?
Okay, so the standard comp ramp
we’ve used for years is 8ft tall. These
ones are 14ft tall and they’re a super-
kicker on steroids. They’re so gnarly
and it’s everything you can do to not
over-rotate a flip on them. I’ve flipped
a lot of stuff in my time but this ramp
feels like I’m coming off the ramp
leaning forward over the front of my
bike and I’m still over-rotating it. That’s
how I busted my wrist recently.
Are you still hitting these ramps in
second gear?
That’s what we started off doing, but
we couldn’t flip slow enough. Harry
Bink has one of these ramps at the
50-60 compound on the Gold Coast
and they were freaked out by it too,
but they started hitting it in third and
just bogging it, and it made a massive
difference.
When I got back on the bike and
stayed at Mini’s, I tried third, and
right from the first flip I went from not
knowing if I’ll ever be able to figure
them out to “oh yeah, I’ve got this; I
just need some time.”
That must’ve been a big weight off
the shoulders.
You know, I finally breathed out for
the first time in how long. It was a
game-changer. I’m hugely grateful
for the Nitro boys for their advice and
guidance on this – we’re all working
on the same thing and everyone in
freestyle these days is awesome. I
love where the sport’s at in the way
the riders treat each other and don’t
hesitate to help each other out.
Nice. Tell us a bit about the Next
Level show. What can people
expect to see that’s different from
previous Nitro Live Tours?
The new ramp is just amazing to
watch. We’ve only just started riding it
and I didn’t think we’d ever see whips
or right-side-up tricks on it, but even
after just a handful of shows, guys like
Jarryd McNeill are throwing the most
insane whips off it. It’s also brought
tricks you wouldn’t often see – Double
Flip combos and stuff – and made
them more possible. People will see
higher tricks, bigger tricks, front-flip
combos that’ve never been witnessed
before, and they’ll see the great same
show that we always put on.
Do you think these new ramps are
the future of FMX?
I don’t know, but progression had to
happen and we’ve ridden the exact
same ramps for decades. With the
bikes we have, and the current ramps
we ride, I think we’re tapped out and
there’s not much more we can do
on them. The ramps had to change
if we want anything new to happen
in our sport and keep it alive. I don’t
know if it’s these Next Level ramps or
something else, but yeah, progression
is the only thing that’ll keep FMX
moving forward. u