Wheelies and tire hops make ‘smagic’ in Smage Bros. stunt show

Phil Smage and his kid brother Pat will spend the better part of this weekend popping wheelies, jumping between obstacles and bunny-hopping the rear tires of their trials bikes over a friend, who’ll be lying prostate, trusting they won’t mess up. The Smage Bros., as they’re known, will be performing an all-new stunt show at the International Motorcycle Shows expo at the Long Beach Convention Center this weekend, capitalizing on their newfound success as finalists last summer in the NBC hit “America’s Got Talent.”

“The reaction is usually jaws dropped, which is kind of what we’re looking for,” said Phil Smage, a motocrosser since age 12 who slowed to trials riding because it’s “a constant challenge. With the speed thing, you can only go so fast until you die, almost, but with this sport, you can really change things up easily for certain obstacles.”

This weekend, those obstacles will mostly consist of pieces of angled iron welded together to form boxes, walls and ramps, which the Smages will ride up and parkour on two- and one-wheeled motorcycles.

Throughout the weekend, the brothers will compete to see who can do the most rear tire hops. Phil usually tops out at 25, Pat at 45.

Using a motorized unicycle, the Smages will also attempt to break their record for their longest wheelie, which lasted 3 1/2 minutes. “People think it’s easy,” said Phil, 26, “but you feel like your arm’s going to fall off.”

Times for the Smage Bros. stunt show at the International Motorcycle Shows expo in Long Beach:
Friday: 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Saturday: 11 a.m., 2 p.m., 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.Sunday: 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.