Features

BIKE CHECK: Joe Embrey

Action photos by Stu Barnham
All other photos by Ed Ballingal

Joe loves FBM. It was like a dream come true when he started riding for them through 4down distribution, seriously. He wouldn’t shut up about it! It’s rad how much it meant to him, and it’s rad how long the frame has lasted him already.

For the last few years, Joe has been one of those dudes who puts out a new edit every few months. He continues to kill it on his classy-looking FBM steed but 2017 has been a bit different for content collection. See below to find out more.

Wallride to table, Ipswich. Photo: Stu Barnham

– What’s the bike riding like at the minute?

“This is the longest I’ve ever run a frame, and it still rides just as good as when I first got it and is solid as hell! But then again, anyone that’s ever owned an FBM will know that they are built to last. My favourite thing about this frame has been the more modern street geometry, steep head angle, short back end, wider tyre clearance, but still having a 21″ TT, meaning it feels spot on while riding a bit of everything.”

– Where has this bike taken you this year?

“From the start of the year until now this bike has been on trips to Barcelona, Belgium, Wales and Copenhagen, as well as a load of more local(ish) trips with the guys. I’ve also spent a fair bit of time in Hastings. More recently I rode at NASS and the Battle of Hastings qualifier which were a load of fun!”

– Any recent changes to the set up?

“New Bicycle Union bars and stem, which are awesome. I’m constantly changing between pegless and 2 pegs but for the last couple of months I’ve left the pegs off which has been really fun. I’m sure they will be back on at some point once my mates start giving me hassle!”

– How’s the A14 scene these days?

“It’s still great here, we have a nice tight crew who are always down for travelling to new places and filming/shooting photos etc. There’s also a great group of dudes linked to the local trails spot (Gate23), and the Area25 during the wetter weather. All in all Suffolk is still an awesome place to be!”

– What’s next for you?

“This year I’ve taken a different approach and focused on collecting footage from as many places as possible, and have been sitting on a lot of stuff for a number of projects with FBM and Union later in the year. (Thanks to my boys Tom Ellam and Gav Mitchell for their help with filming.)

I’m heading out to Ithaca, New York in just under a month for the FBM Open House event and a trip with those guys, which is going to be so awesome!

I wanna say thanks to Ian, Bomber and Fooman at 4Down, John Dye and Crandall for all their help and support! Appreciate it more than you know.”