Jon Edwards, who is doing some design work for Proper, has sent over some nice pics of the new Proper TTL frame, and some info. You can click on the photos for bigger versions.

Click below for that, as well as an interview with Jon that Jamie Cameron conducted.

This is the third incarnation of Mike Miller’s signature TTL (Tadley Town Locals) frame. Mike never found the need to change too much too soon - it’s a classic 4130 chromoly frame that works really well. We wanted to keep things fresh without any significant structural changes, so the headtube has been slimmed down and the paint options have been switched up, also we’ve added removable brake mounts (and then slimmed them down) and cable guides. I guess the most immediately recognizable difference has been the graphics. We try to collaberate with friends of both Proper and Mike who we see as being really talented. Most recently we worked with Louis Mikolay from Aversion and he had some really creative ideas (like the Letraset style stickers in the box which lead to some ‘interesting’ results) and now it’s the turn of Jon Edwards from Naive Design. Jon has been responsible for the cleaner graphics style that we’ve adopted across the magazine advertising and box packaging as well as some of the recent t-shirt range and work for Dig magazine, Kink, and his own Naive and Trailkill projects.

Didn’t you study some sort of art based subject at University?
Yeah, I studied Design and Art Direction at the Manchester Metropolitan University. The course covered advertising concepts, copywriting, campaign planning and design, art direction for fashion and styling, photography and magazine design, design for digital media, plus corporate identity and trend forecasting… which is a hell of alot but it emphasised practical self-directed work and moving towards where you wanted to be in the design industry.

You have some amazing ideas. Where do they come from? Who are your influences graphically?
Thank you. Ideas are mainly random thoughts throughout working my full-time position, and also interesting elements i see when out riding. I know that alot of people within bmx turn to skateboarding for influence and i agree that skating image and design wise is ahead of bmx, but then i also see that design, fashion and music are the things that drive skating, so i try to look beyond current trends and styles with say magazine adverts and tee designs. I guess influence wise its more Contemporary Graphic Design, illustration and motion design.

How was it collaborating with Mike on this project?
The collaborating with Mike was amazing. Its good to work with someone who understands the industry and what it means for him to have a signature frame. He’s got strong opinions and just by watching him ride you can see he considers everything down to the last detail. The new graphics turned out amazing and i think thats down to Mike, Jamie & Carlo at Proper and myself wanting to produce a finished item that we’re 100% happy with, from the colour choices on the frames to the graphics and final sticker placem ent.

The downtube artwork is really clean but there’s a twist. Is it smoke or something appearing from the side of the letters?
Yeah i really wanted the artwork to be clean and crisp, and I’d been sitting on the idea of incorporating ink into type for sometime. So when Carlo and Jamie said they wanted me to work with Mike on the new 09 graphics i figured that it was the perfect project to bring it together. I drew up some rough samples and i had heard that it was real hard to get a direct answer out of Mike, but it came together real quick. I shot the ink dropping into a vase of water, colour corrected it and then incorporated into the type and headtube design.

Any good stories from your Interbike experience?
The whole week away was an experience. I guess the Nora Cup awards in the Hard Rock were pretty wild, red carpet treatment, free bar and that wasn’t like a bar in the uk, you could actually have anything you wanted… Hanging out with Dave Mirra in the main bar, that was surreal. The show itself was amazing, the first day all the stands were interesting to see and the new product and graphics but by the third day everyone was over it. At least Grant Smith of BSD showed everyone how to have a good time, Grant never disappoints.

Top Tube Length - 20.8″, 21″
Chainstay Length - 13.9″ (slammed)
Bottom Bracket Height - 11.5″
Head Tube Angle - 75 degrees
Seat Tube Angle - 71 degrees
Seat Tube Size - 25.4 (1″)
Headtube - Integrated, tapped for gyro tabs
Dropouts - 14mm
Bottom Bracket - Spanish
Brake Options - Seatstay 990 mounts included
Weight - 4 lbs. 15 oz.