Biking Nerds Unite

[beagleboy]

This isn't my bike, but I like how the owner built it

 

[brutus]

how often are you going to be riding it? And from where to where?

A few times a week, probably 10-15 miles on really rough roads.

 

[Jabberwocky]

i know this may not be the most popular opinion, but I'd never ever recommend a brand new bike to anyone besides ppl w/ money to spend. If you're trying to keep it at $200-300, I'd suggest you figure out (via this thread if need-be) the type* of bike you want, and then use craigslist to find it. Using craigslist for high-quality, but used, bikes is a great way to make your money go very very far (bikes and aquariums are two items you can always find dirt-cheap in any quality range, i would never buy either new after finding how reliable, simple and quick it is to essentially get twice as much for your money by getting lightly-used stuff off craigslist)
*sorry I can't help more w/ the type of bike you need, beagle and others are much better at that stuff than me as i really only like smooth surfaces and no brakes, so my bikes are always very simple and ridden on decent roads / paved trails.

 

[beagleboy]

brutus, when you have some cash 2gether, you might want to spend, as it will be in your best interest, a few months waiting for the right bike to pop up on your radar.
Do you need the bike in a period of time to get back and forth to work?

 

[Jabberwocky]

dude that really depends on where he lives, if you're in a densely populated urban area your local cl will have a ton at all times.. in our area, it's a steal every week or two at most, and many 'good' deals weekly for all bike types

 

[MrCookiE]

I've got 24/7 Dark Angel Slacker - baby blue frame, white tyres, grips peddles ect.
And a Mongoose villain I've had since 1999 dark purple frame everything else chrome.

 

[Jabberwocky]

so yeah, it's ugly and a clunker, but <5hrs TLC and less than $20 will have this thing on the road IMO, not as a good bike but def as a solid f'around bmx, which is more than enough for me after being off trick bikes for so long! :D

OOOoookay, he's been done for many days now but... no, not 'busy'... lazy? procrastinating? Meh... anyways here's a pic I took some days ago, but forgot my newest imgur keys and just finally gave a fuck to remember them today, so here he is. At first, I put a 25T sprocket on him, cuz I thought I'd be swapping the driver to a 9Tooth that I had on another (off-road) bike that i've never used lately, but apparently it wasn't a match, so @1st when I had the proper 25T sprocket for a bmx on him, and went for a ride, it was hilarious, i mean you could pedal your hardest and barely get yourself faster than walking-pace lol! So I threw a (36T, i think) sprocket on him for now*, until i can get a proper driver on the rear wheel and throw the 25t sprocket on, so for now it's still a hokey bike (to be fair, it'll always be a hokey bike, as it's rocking a 1pc, american-style bottom bracket(bb) and a (shudder..)threaded headset (which i have to tighten mid-ride, even on my real gentle, back-into-my-swing rides), but I digress. Here's my new, POS bmx which, for the time-being, is sufficient for my skill level:

*yes, the sprocket on him is the sprocket i used when i put my fixie together a couple weeks' ago. I had put that sprocket onto my fixie cuz, frankly, w/o pedal-straps on him & having not ridden in a bit, i figured a gentler gear ratio would be worthwhile for a small-while; FWIW, in this^ pic my fixie is kinda visible and he's now on a proper 44T sprocket as he shoulda been off the bat, tho still no foot-straps so am still barely able to slow/skid as I should, but no straps is better(read: safer) than my fucked straps :/

[edit: Since my pic is webcam and SUX, the actual 'b4/after' changes are:
- stickers/rust/shitty-pegs gone (duh)
- sprayed frame gloss-white, and wheels black, to match my fixie (primarily cuz of leftover spray, not that i was intent on matching bikes, that's kinda a cool result tho)
- removed all the crap (brakes, kickstand, reflectors, etc)
- added/swapped: new cranks, sprocket, seat/seatpost/seatpostclamp, front headlight(we get 0wned here w/o lights lol)


results: he's a blast, if not on the heavy side. i've gotta tighten bb every-other ride, and tighten the (threaded)headset multiple times per ride (honestly, after anything that's rough on the front-end, the headset loosens, and this is after rigging it w/ a giant surface-area washer, still goes loose- there's really no place in bmx for threaded headsets, regardless of what so-many cheap bmx's try to imply by having them.)

 

[beagleboy]

^yea, I wanted to ride my 20in dyno comp a few years ago when I was 'stuck' in the country. I never did though because the stem kept slipping.

here are the mid 80's suze sealed high flanged hubs radialy laced with 14g( idk..maybe thinner ) spokes to Araya 3x rims. I paid $80 because someone had paid ahead of time for a "custom wheelset" and never picked them up.




**I'm doing this in haste because I am leaving to ride as I speak, but there are amazing group rides in Central Florida on the Fred Pinellas
trail. I saw a group of young persons riding as a group with spaces in and amongst the various bike rider and then there was x2 male and female ADULTS with a clipboard who where already there and had counted the heads that passed them by to make sure everyone was with them and noone lost or crumpled up in a wad in the ditch.

 

[Jabberwocky]

^that is soooo much old-school beauty bro..
//btw, i rode a comp too when i was a kid (not knockin it, would prolly trade prev pic bmx for a stock comp!)

 

[Jabberwocky]

**I'm doing this in haste because I am leaving to ride as I speak, but there are amazing group rides in Central Florida on the Fred Pinellas
trail. I saw a group of young persons riding as a group with spaces in and amongst the various bike rider and then there was x2 male and female ADULTS with a clipboard who where already there and had counted the heads that passed them by to make sure everyone was with them and noone lost or crumpled up in a wad in the ditch.

Checklist? Sounds like a kids thing? I owned that trail last summer and even tho I'm not going crazy on teh fixie now, i still smoke any/everyone on that trail more days than not (cuz I still ride fixie as my transportation . bmx is my new bag at the moment )

OKAY- a couple boss videos I saw in the past few days:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyJ-EGQDT_g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfRqHdYGK2w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjVAemENLXY&feature=youtu.be
(note that the 3rd's opening scene is kind of brutal. He's ok but it's a hard intro to watch.. probably a good thing to see here&there to remind us tho!)

Am wondering if anyone here can give opinion on the 'mongoose 900'? It almost looks like Fit-type quality but you can find these at like $200, which is insane for that type of weight w/ full chromoly and all the expected parts.

//yes, this is a shameless bump to the biking thread, am on my ass now dreaming of some days' into the future when i can get back on my bmx(err, hopefully a new bmx within a week or so), am recovering from a pretty nasty wipe on the mongoose I rebuilt some posts' ago:

shit's disgusting, keep forgetting to keep it wrapped and is constantly scarring into my shirts.. ruined shirts, and fucking screams when separating shirt/shoulder.. have been assured my tattoo won't be fuct after this heals but am pretty concerned it won't be as sharp as b4
[edit: are my images showing to you guys? am having trouble w/ others seeing my pics, just redid settings and hope they're viewable..]

 

[beagleboy]

Yea, I can see pic.
I am assuming your chain *snapped* as you were putting your weight down on the pedals with your left foot?

 

[beagleboy]

I locked up my 203mm rear disk brake and did a 180 spin in the rain and my rera swingarm snapped.
I might have to spend upwards of $125 for a new one. Sucks, but it gives me a chance to enjoy my rigid steel framed 1992 Japanese Univega.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Yea, I can see pic.
I am assuming your chain *snapped* as you were putting your weight down on the pedals with your left foot?

Nope, just good 'ole landing w/ too much weight to the front, at an angle, and made the front end squirrel out and I went over.. I'm currently looking for a new bmx, this thing's top tube is ~19" which is just small for me. I make up by keeping the bars a little more forward than typical, but that combo- short top tube & having the bars further-front on the front wheel, is a nasty recipe if your weight distribution gets too far forward. Makes seemingly small fuckups on landings get dangerously squirrelly real quick

Sorry about your frame that sucks.. I've lost 2 spokes on my fixie in teh past couple weeks, am gonna need a new wheel on him but that's much easier than frame cracks!

 

[Jabberwocky]

Wow, almost just went down hard (again).. was using the bmx to just run to the store, nothing besides gentle cruising, and the freewheel slipped (so, same effect on rider as chain snapping), but i caught myself :D After walking the bike a block, the freewheel engaged again, i hopped on and it rode home w/ minimal slipping.

Was going to put this bmx on craigslist after getting a new one, but if that freewheel's not reliable it's not even fair to sell it to someone, that could end up bad if it slipped @wrong time..

Am I the only BMX'er (street) in this thread? get that feeling lol

 

[beagleboy]

ugh. My rear light is broken now too. Its a Planet Bike Flea. USB rechargeable. Planet bike also sells a keychain solar panel to recharge it.

What do you run for a rear light/if anything?

 

[Shimmer.Fade]

I use a Smart Superflash (same thing as the Planet Bike super flash, just sold under a different name here). I only have a front light on my MTB though as there is nothing going faster than me in the woods.

If you all are breaking shit so much I would advise spending a little bit more cash to the parts you tend to break. I ride hard and was only able to fuck up my old bike. The one I built up is pretty much made to be thrown down the mountain. Also, bmxxx, be careful man, set her up proper and be uncomfortable til you have a bigger frame. Trust me when I say it blows to injure yourself to the point you can't ride for awhile. I am still struggling to get back in shape from when I fucked up my ankles.

Busting spokes is usually a sign of too much weight on a shit rim or spokes with improper tension.

Beagle is that your Jamis frame that snapped like that? Also, why do you have a 203mm on the rear? Was a 180mm not sufficient?

 

[Jabberwocky]

it's a shit rim now, basically cuz it's so old, was only medium-grade to begin w/, and @ 1 point I thought it'd be fun to freestyle w/ the fixie lol. Warped the rim up and had to true it back, which is where we are now, but it's still shit. On the bmx, it's setup as proper as can be for what it is, but it's a like 1" too-short top tube (which does matter more than it sounds), and is generally jusT a POS. Only have it cuz was literally given the thing, was a fun project that got me into bmx after a hiatus of only being on fixies, now i'm addicted to bmx again. Will have a (proper) new bmx soon, unsure whether i'll get the bike 1st, or will heal enough to actually shred 1st! Probably will be a close tie.

Oh and lemme know when you get that chromo GT frame down here dude, would love to wrench and/or ride w/ you again.

 

[Shimmer.Fade]

1 inch is huge I know, but to rotate your bars forward on a BMX like that is just asking to flip. Could you temporarily put a longer stem on?

 

[beagleboy]

I have a 203mm and juicy 5 up front, and run due to my weight and the very busy traffic that I ride in 100% of the time ( and also my budget was tight at the time of purchase ) an economical juicy 3 for the rear. I had been running a 180mm rear rotor until I noticed some fade in power, so I put on a 203.

 

[Jabberwocky]

1 inch is huge I know, but to rotate your bars forward on a BMX like that is just asking to flip. Could you temporarily put a longer stem on?

1" is massive dude.. if you're really dialing it in, .25" lengths are actually very noticable (for more on tube lengths [not just top tube] see this well-explained article i read recently, and forgive its ridiculous English-leanings: http://www.gsportbmx.com/2005/03/isnt-that-bike-a-bit-small-for-you-mate/ )
And yeah, rotating bars forward (ie over the front of the wheelbase) is asking to flip, and i've done it twice haha. @same time, longer stem would be, literally, the exact same (as in, there's no difference whether it's 'tighter bars w/ longer stem', or 'longer bars w/ shorter stem', as both give identical geometry. Just imagine the bars&stem as a solid unit, relative to the forks/frame/wheelbase. Once it's setup, it's irrelevant whether it's the bars or the stem that's putting me over the front wheel, both do it all the same sadly. (note that this is FAR less relevant on 'street bikes' that're on 27's/700's like fixies or geared bikes, as you're seldom getting close to putting your center of gravity anywhere near the dangerous spots on those, but yeah on bmx I'm basically riding a suicide bike, i mean it could be tuned to fuck w/ the best parts man can make, but at these dimensions it's still dangerous for anyone who's not a kid.. hell, i'm a shorter guy and this thing is still sooo g'damn squirrelly given how small it is. Would be nice if that size reduction gave a weight benefit, but no, it's a small tank and even halfway 'pushing' this bike is like russian roulette. Last night, on my way to the a local store i took him out instead of the fixie, but it was raining. I was riding and, as per usual, doing slides on my rear wheel around corners, and lost him on the smallest slide (these are breakless slides on shitty tires, but still i'm MORE than able to hold control on a 'real' bike, but last night the water was enough to let me lost control and ditch the bike. am ok but did kinda scuff the hell out of my Vans haha)

[edit to clarify: bars&stems are distinct pieces, but they really only need to be cuz ppl piece-meal their bikes together over time. the bars/stem are a single unit, in the context of the physics/geometry discussed here]