SON OF TRICK STAR by Andy Jenkins
Chicken pox. Yuck. 
Two weeks away from my cluttered office and all the loonies at Wizard, right smack dab in the middle of a hectic deadline. Bummer or blessing? Either way it
does terrible things to your working habits - not to mention the traffic ticket I was
supposed to have paid last week. Ugh So here I sit writing the Hutch Wind Styler
test from my bedroom--DON'T WORRY, you won't get the pox by reading the test I think I've got the bike here with me, too. Not a bad looking unit. I hear it goes for about $279. That's pretty good for   an intermediate level scoot. A couple of mods and you could move it up to the next level with no probs. "On tour I saw this kid who had his set up SANO." says Hutch's main man Woody Itson.

But let's check out the  stock unit, shall we? The Wind Styler is made in Taiwan. Reason? You've heard it a million times by now to keep the price down. And that's a legit reason-- so all you boys can afford to ride freestyle on a decent unit. I know what you're thinkn' though, "The stuff built over there is LAME." But hold on a minute and let's scrutinize before you jump to conclusions. Sometimes Taiwan gets a bum rap. At first glance it looks sorta, well, plain -- basic black and white (you can get it in chrome too) with no other colors on it to speak of. But that's all right because the first thing you'll want to do is get rid of the grips -- so just replace 'em with some colorful rubber compound ones and that'll give you a little contrasting color Oakleys or A'mes will do fine.
A couple things I noticed as I rode the bike around the house were that the brakes were surprisngly good for MX 1000 copies. Potts Mod is stock. And the Hutch tires are awesome (they also come separately) - everyone I know who tried

Platforms are standard issue on freestyle bikes nowadays. Here's the Wind Styler's version. It's pretty cool -- effective too.
The chainstay platforms are a little far forward, but they work fine. The dropout/coaster brake bracket is sano. Check out the new Hutch mags.
The forks are Trick Star replicas. The pegs are plenty wide for feet.

them loves them. If you're in the market for tires, check these pups out. They grip carpet VERY well.
The mags are a new design from O.G K. made for Hutch O.G.K.   is the same company that makes Peregrine wheels. You know they gotta be Hutch wheels after you   notice the star design in the mag. Jeez. The reflector tabs   are kinda bogus looking - but you can probably file them off if the REALLY bother you.
The frame is what you guys really want to hear about, right? All right it's chrome-moly for starters. The Wind Styler's got a built-in standing platform -- the seat stays extend up past the seat tube and are welded to the top   tube.   Cool. Actually the seat stays are the chain stays too   - the dropouts are welded onto the bend. The coaster bracket and dropouts are all one piec too. REAL cool.
Loop platforms are welded onto the chain stays. They are a little far forward, but they don't get in the way too much. The welds on this bike are surprisingly good   The forks are replicas of the chro-mo Hutch Trick Star   forks - only the dropouts are thinner and the legs have   caps pressed on the end, not welded - but they are chro-mo. Keep in mind the price of the bike. Let's see, what else     oh yeah, it's a little tough to grab both the seat and bars at the same time -

- although Woody didn't seem to have any problems when he was riding it. Of course, that's Woody.
The pedals are great. The seat has a flat spot in It for standing on. It's pretty comfortable too. Check the spec sheet for the rest Not a bad deal at all when you consider everything. With a couple of personal mods or not, you'll be out in the STREET going lawnmowers and else glides in no time.
Take my word for it, bedroom freestyle is a long way from   being perfected. Now if I can only get these tire marks off the wall.
PAGING WOODY ITSON...
You guys are always beggin' for   how-tos so here yon go, a couple of tricks brought to you by ground master and Hutch frontman himself , Woody Itson and the Hutch Wind Styler -- the side glide and the ol' lawnmower. They're both intermediate to basic tricks. But don't shine 'em if you're an expert rider because they can look VERY   impressive. In fact, Woody still does 'em both. Take it away, Woody.
THE LAWNMOWER

A B-Mer?Mercedes?Nope -- VW Scirocco, Wolfsburg Edition. Does that man look proud o what? Ahhh, to be world renown freestyler. . .

''Start off on the rear platforms and roll into a small endo. When your back tire touches,   your left hand   should come off the bars and you should immediately cross your bars   up with your right hand. And pull back on 'em. They'll   almost do it on their     own when you let go with your left   hand."Next what you do is put your right foot on your seat and PUSH it out until your leg is straight, lock your right arm, and extend your left one. The counterforce from pushing your leg down and pulling your arm back will get your front end off the ground and make the trick snap.''
"When you snap it down, it's gonna  snap back fast as soon as you pull foot off the seat. When that happens,  just

pull your bars back around   and get your right leg back over to the other side and onto the pedals.''
"The first couple of times you do it,   ' it's gonna feel like your hand can't hold onto the bars and you'll probably push your bike out of your hand. But don't worry, just practice it - it's not very hard." 
THE SLIDE GLIDE
"First find a real gradual slope, not a fast one, and do the side glide down that.''     ''To get into a side glide, you start   out from a basic balancing position on the front wheel. AIl you have to do is hop to your forks and turn your bars so you can grab your seat and grip at the same time. What you do then     is shift your weight over to lift the back   end off the ground. How high you lift it is gonna depend on how high your   fork pegs are. Usually you'll have to lift the

rear end until your front wheel   is straight up and down (perpendicular to the ground)."
"The idea now is to get one smooth   kick so you can go a long way without   having to do lots of little kicks. To do   that,   put your foot on the tire nice and       smooth, and roll it down the tire. Not too hard because that will throw you balance off. Not too light because you won't go very far."  "The trick is to be nice and smooth, you don't want to do any jerky motions with your arms or legs. Once you get a good kick, your body should stay in the same position the whole way. For balance, use your arms and your right leg as a counter-- balance. Like if you start to dip forward   just extend your arms and hang your leg out."
"It's an easy trick to learn - you'll be able to do 'em a few feet the first   couple of times. The secret of the trick is to get a nice smooth kick. Another   tip is to never use your front brakes   at all -- do it with balance."
"To get out of it just stop, set the back end down and jump back to the pedals or go into pogos on the forks.
The cool thing about side glides is   you can do a trick into it and out of   it - or just ride into it and ride out of it."
There you have it. Just check out   the photo's and you'll be adding to   your trick vocabulary almost instantly. Thank, Woody