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News

Watch Colby Raha Build the World’s First FMX Spine Ramp

Right now, someplace in High Desert, California, there sits a protracted straight part of jumps that ends with an impediment we have by no means seen in FMX—a backbone ramp. It’s all because of the truth that FMX and motocross rider, Colby Raha, teamed up with Claybourne to make this a actuality.

Raha has 9 X-Games medals, with six of them being gold. But earlier than he took the world of FMX by storm, he rode BMX bikes, and it is clear that Raha’s background in BMX nonetheless influences the way in which he rides a FMX bike.

And now it may affect the way forward for the sport itself.

Building the Ramp

In 2020, Raha grew to become the primary particular person to grind a rail on a full-sized bike, and in 2024, he was the primary particular person to leap a man-made backbone ramp.

It was an idea that’d been in Raha’s thoughts for just a few years, and the design was pretty easy: construct a 20-foot excessive, 30-foot huge backbone ramp utilizing A-frames constructed by phone poles. Although the design is straightforward, the construct was one thing international on the planet of FMX, that means it wasn’t assured to work.

With the assistance of Claybourne, it took Raha and a gaggle of buddies one of the best a part of per week to assemble the ramp, which wanted a kicker on the prime to provide a dust bike a combating likelihood of constructing it over. Raha’s background in development and experience in ramp constructing ensured the crew created one thing that regarded prefer it may work.

Did It Work?

As with any good two-part collection, the primary episode leaves us on a cliffhanger. Raha hits the ramp for the primary time, and issues do not look good. To discover out whether or not the backbone ramp was an total success, take a look at the second episode under.

Raha Ramps

Raha does some completely insane city FMX tips and has a YouTube channel devoted to it. I’m not advising that you just observe in Raha’s footsteps and leap over dashing trains, however you should purchase the identical ramps he makes use of in his movies at Raha Ramps and do with them as you please on personal property.

Unfortunately, there is not any signal of a manufacturing backbone ramp on the market. Yet. But tell us within the feedback if backbone ramps are a characteristic you’d wish to see shifting ahead in FMX. 

News, Technology

McDonald’s Ice Cream Machines: iFixit’s Fight for Right to Repair

McDonald’s ice cream machines have been a long-standing frustration for customers and technicians alike. The complex machines often break down, leaving customers disappointed and franchise owners scrambling to find solutions. But iFixit, a company focused on promoting the “right to repair,” is determined to change this.

iFixit’s first step is obtaining a Section 1201 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) exemption, which would allow independent technicians to repair the machines without legal consequences. However, iFixit acknowledges that this exemption alone won’t solve the entire problem. To permanently resolve the issue, they are urging Congress to reintroduce the Freedom to Repair Act. This act would not only make repair tools legal but also exempt all repair activities from Section 1201 of the DMCA.

Assuming iFixit’s efforts are successful, they plan to develop a machine that can decipher the error codes of McDonald’s ice cream machines, enabling regular technicians to fix them. However, this plan relies on some optimistic assumptions.

A company called Kytch previously developed a device, powered by a Raspberry Pi, that could decipher these error codes. The device received positive feedback until McDonald’s instructed franchise owners to stop using it. Shortly after the discontinuation, Taylor, a supplier to McDonald’s, filed a lawsuit against Kytch, claiming that their tool posed safety hazards.

iFixit has released a teardown video showcasing that these ice cream machines are actually relatively easy to fix. However, copyright laws prohibit independent repairs, causing significant roadblocks. iFixit’s CEO, Kyle Wiens, emphasizes that access to repair software tools and manuals should not be a high-stakes game. The situation with McDonald’s ice cream machines highlights the unfortunate reality that consumers do not truly own the hardware they purchase, as repairs are locked behind copyright-protected software. Although progress has been made, with even Apple making some changes in support of self-repair, the McDonald’s saga has the potential to fuel further reforms in fair industrial repair practices.

Motorsport

I-95 Freeway Partially Collapses In Philadelphia Near Delaware River

A section of Interstate 95 in Northeast Philadelphia collapsed around 6:30 AM Sunday morning after a large fire started under an overpass near Cottman Avenue. Officials indicated that a fuel tanker may have been the source of the fire, causing part of the northbound lanes to buckle. The southbound lanes also appear weakened by the blaze and could be structurally compromised.  

Eyewitnesses reported flames shooting up from the roadway as thick black smoke filled the sky. As a result, officials closed a two-mile radius of I-95 in both directions. According to the City of Philadelphia Managing Director’s Office, it will take quite some time to address the roadway collapse, which is part of the main arterial roadway running north and south along the east coast of the United States. 

While a fuel tanker fire appears to be the source of the roadway collapse, no cause has yet been determined for the fire itself. Before the fire, several explosions were heard in the area, with people reporting manhole covers “flipping like coins.” The area contains several sewer systems and a water treatment plant. Environmentally it will be hard to contain the chemicals if they spill, which could leak into the nearby Delaware River. 

In addition to the potential for chemical spillage, Meteorologist Tammie Souza of CBS News in Philadelphia says winds are blowing to the north. As a result, dangerous airborne chemicals, including acids, sulfates, and nitrates, are being carried to the north and east of the city. Particulate matter, such as dust, soot, oils, and other chemicals, is also posing health concerns related to poor air quality and may leave a greasy oil film on anything in the path of the smoke. As a result, people should stay indoors until air quality improves. 

Currently, there are no known injuries or fatalities. The roadway collapse is the first we’ve seen since one in Pittsburgh a year ago but will have a more serious, far-reaching effect due to the importance of the I-95 corridor. Traffic in Philadelphia could be snarled worse than in Portland, Oregon during a snowstorm for an undetermined amount of time.