Bike Check and Interview: John Ludwick
June 1, 2006
Questions by Bud Dickman, Photos by Jeff K.


Name: John Ludwick Jr.
Age: 21
Location: Meredith, NH

How long have you been riding? just about 5 years

How did you get into BMX? got psyched watching bluetorch one day haha. tired of extreme walking.

Who are your sponsors? The Take, Peg-Leg Clothing, and North Shore Bikes and Boards.

What is your favorite type or style of riding? Why? i would say every style, i guess anything thats not done super sketchy, the fly out to flats, rocket icepick grinds, and the crazy gaps are amazing. i love watching trails, super smooth park guys, and street for sure.

Have you always been brakeless? If not, what made you want to take the brakes off? for the most part ive always been brakeless, had brakes for like the first 4 to 6 months, but i was still learning how to hop up curbs. then they broke and stayed off since haha.

What inspires you to ride? What gets you pumped? music really inspires me, everything from soft emo stuff, to hardcore and hip hop. and of course really good riding videos will get me pumped. most of all, riding with other people since 90% of the time im riding alone.

How often do you work on your bike or replace parts? i true my wheels all the time, sometimes i get lucky with parts. but everything seems to last me pretty well.

What part(s) do you go through the fastest/most? shoes haha. spokes mostly, grips, tires and pedals. i grind right side alot too so chains sometimes

How did you get hooked up with The Take? i had been out to the park (east coast terminal) a few times and i had gotten to be friends with the guys out there, and thats how our relationship kind of started.

Did you have any input on the new One True Ave. frame? yeah a little, jeff (harrington) had emailed me a bunch about what i thought was good in a frame and what not and what he wanted to see in it as well. it turned out amazing.

Why is it that you can hang five and nose manual so darn good? haha, basically i live in a town where im the only rider, and there is nothing good to ride except for a lit parking lot. so ive spent alot of time in that parking lot counting spaces from manuals, to hang 5s, to straight nose manuals. time and patience as well, they take a while to get comfortable at that scary point haha.

Do you have any hobbies other than riding? What do you do outside of BMX? i am very passionate about music, i play alot of instruments from when i was young. guitar, bass, drums, piano, and a little violin. so ive got a playground indoors when its raining outside. i also used to be pretty dedicated to basketball in school. just ask chris doyle and chad shackleford for details hahaha. my father collects muscle cars as well so i grew up psyched on older cars so i dont know, im really into cars.

How long have you been playing guitar? i started playing guitar when i was in 7th grade.

Have you ever played in any bands? If so, can you elaborate? oh yeah since day 1 haha. first ones were so terrible. my father used to run the sound board at our old church so we had all the equipment to record and stuff so over the years i bought drums and everything else and had a little studio so we went through alot of bands. some friends and i had one band in high school that did really well, we had a pretty unique sound, violin, piano and some other different stuff. now its mostly just me doing acoustic stuff.

If you could travel to any place in the world, but couldnt bring your bike with you, where would you go? Why? i would really want to go to paris or rome, i like seeing myself in the future with my girl going on an amazing trip over there without a bike in sight. honeymoon or something i dont know hahaha, just a super romantic trip. if not id most likely have my bike with me. for sure

FAVORITES:
Top 5 favorite skateparks:
1. my local park here in Meredith
2. East Coast Terminal
3. The Flow was amazing
4. Los Altos
5. Grants Pass

Top 5 favorite cities for riding street:
1. Los Angeles
2. NYC
3. Boston
4. Pittsburgh
5. Albequerque

Top 5 favorite bike videos:
1. voices
2. system cycle
3. the shines
4. livin in exile
5. Fish's bio in standpoint

Top 5 favorite movies:
1. pulp fiction/any terrantino films
2. dirty harry, amazing
3. the predators
4. dead and breakfast!
5. what dreams may come

Top 5 favorite bands/musicians:
1. mewithoutyou
2. circa survive
3. the spill canvas
4. zao (old)
5. failure

Any last words, comments, or shout outs? well first off i thank God for all the blessings in my life and being there for me when i had nothing else, my parents who always kept me on track with school and everything. jeff and jarrett at the Take for helping me out and being super awesome guys. my boss buzz for helping me out so much when i need to travel and stuff, its unreal having a boss that understands bmx. all my friends who have been there for me when i needed them most. i dont have an official music site so you can check out my music at myspace.com/johnludwickjr. thanks to anyone who has ever helped me out or let me stay at their house, if you ever come through NH, come ride Meredith, i'll be here haha.



BIKE CHECK:
Frame: The Take onetrueave 19"
Fork: Odyssey Race
Stem: RiffRaff
Bars: bent 2 Hip Hate bars
Headset: FSA internal
Seat: Primo Balance
Seat Post: Thompson
Seat Post Clamp: Profile
Grips: ODI Longnecks
Cranks: Profile Race 160mm Ti Spindle
Pedals: Odyssey Jim C's
Sprocket: Quamen 23t
Chain: KMC something or other
Front Wheel: Odyssey Vandero 36h 3/8"
Rear Wheel: Profile mini cassette, Ti axle, 36h
Hub Guard: none
Pegs: Odyssey Jpeg Lights
Tires: Odyssey Paths
Weight: 25.5 lbs


Check out these little videos of John Riding...
Park and Curbs Edit
Manchester Park Edit