031

Nick Murphy writer

28 July 2010

designtransport

Wheelie Good*

Emer is a BMX clothing brand that I remember from the 90s. I would occasionally see an Emer-clad Phil Dolan in his world-beating days or maybe spot the infamous Igo brothers sporting Emer during their reign of carnage. Turns out Level contributor—and man behind Emer—Johann Chan is firing up some new Emer products again.

There are a couple of nice t-shirts and, more interestingly, a prototype for a new bike, the very agile and tight-looking Emer Swift: “The Swift is designed with modern BMX geometry so it retains the same riding position as a modern BMX, but runs high-set gearing and big skinny wheels for greater speed,” says Johann. “It’s still nimble enough to ride as a BMX, and it’s also quick.” The Swift boasts a very tight back end for a cruiser, making it more manual-friendly than other cruisers. The striking graphics were designed by top type designer Seb Lester [see Goodstuff 009], who also has a background in BMX. (This is proven in his profile on the Emer site, which includes an excellent picture of him performing a backwards rubber ride.)

Johann breaks it down for us: “It’s a cruiser for people who want to beat fixies to the pub.”