new school bmx questions

[84honda200s]

ok everyone i have a question for all the new school bmx riders.



i bought a haro shredder off this guy and its almost all oem parts. now im not a total dummy with bikes i had a haro mirra 540 air sig series. anyway i was wondering what brands of after market parts are any good ? i would like a better crank (i hate 1 piece cranks), better bars, and probably better forks. im not to fond of the haro forks or hfc (haro forged crank). i can live with the bars but the crank has to go. hell ill live with the forks if i have to before ill suffer with that crank !!

i also would like to know what brand of wheel is good ? i use to run haro or gt 42 spoke rims on my 540 . i tryd mags at one time but they kept breaking and popping tubs so they are out of the question.


i just hope stunting is like riding a bike .... you will never forget how to do it.... its bin a long time since ive rode a bmx. :lol:




anyway any help would be great.

[MIK6]

WOW its cool that you still have the bug to BMX.
I use to be big into flatland, A LOOOONNNGGGG time ago. I still have my old redline (85 RL20), 1st gen haro bars, 1st gen 48s, 1st gen gyro, ect.. I'll be buried w/ it and my T3 LOL. I dust it off a few times a year just to prove to the kids on the block us old guys are cool LOL.

MIK6 / Mike

[factoryX]

buy a fit flow! they are spendy but light. I have a dk race bike, with to many options to list.. it only wieghs 15-20 pounds.

[Danold]

What kind of riding do you plan on doing? Knowing what riding youll do is key to setting up your bike properly.

The biggest dislike about Haros is that theyre heavy. Haros double-walled and triple-walled rims extremely heavy but extremely strong. I like the 48 spoke double-walled Odyssey Midway. They are very light and durable and make a great street or park rim.

As for the cranks I totally agree. Ditch the hfc and get some good 3 piece sealed cranks.

Go to danscomp.com and have them send you a Dans Comp mag. They have all the parts to build a custom bike if you wanted to.

[factoryX]

I have had a haro 540, if you plan to jump it, it like to lean to the right/left. they where built wierd. snafu cranks are one of the best ones you can get. other than that rim stay away from alex rhino lights they have rim lock on it so holds the tire on, whicj also makes it impossible to take back off with out ruining the rim.

[super90]

I used to bmx myself. I had the following stuff and they all worked great. alex supra j triple wall rear rim with 9t cassett, odyssey race forks (3/8 axle), odyssey civilian bars, primo hollowbite cranks with american bottom bracket with sealed bearings. You cant go wrong with any of these parts.

[factoryX]

I used to bmx myself. I had the following stuff and they all worked great. alex supra j triple wall rear rim with 9t cassett, odyssey race forks (3/8 axle), 41 thermal bars, primo hollowbite cranks with american bottom bracket with sealed bearings. You cant go wrong with any of these parts.

I had the same crank, it completelly fell apart with in 1 month of use...lol

I want rear wheel....

[max]

As Danold said. Get ahold of Dans competition. They are the biggest and carry all top line brands.

I raced BMX. I ran Profile 3pc crank. Very good durable economical brand. Tons of people used these cranks. They were about 130 when I bought them

Hubs i used Crupi Hi flange. Sweet aggressive looking hub. Araya super 7x rims. I spent about 260-280 on package with double butted spokes.

S&M makes some nice bars. They have a ton of different bends.

[84honda200s]

ok first off i wanna say thank you guys for responding to my cry for help :lol:


now im going to see if i can acknowledge all of you.

mike6: yea ive always had the bug to ride but not the money to buy a bike (my 540 got stolen :( ) butt when my brother's buddy told him to tell me he would sell me a haro shredder for 50.00. imo its not as good as a 540 but it will do great for the price.

yea us "older guys" gotta keep the kids on bikes. gotta try to keep the sport alive !!
by the way man ive seen the bike you have... its a nice ride.



factoryx: ill have to look into that. this is not going to be a hurry up and get it done kinda ordeal. i build bikes like i do trikes..... slow and make sure i build it they way i like it the first time. :lol:



danold: im going to be riding on mostly pavement, concrete. i use to ride nothing but dirt but the town leveled or gaps and jumps we made. sooo i guess im going to start to learn flatland. :lol: this should be interesting. ive never done flatland. ok so anyway ...

i dont have a problem with the weight of a haro frame or wheels just because they are worth having. they are pretty much bomb proof !!! but like we said that dan hfc has to go. its heavy, and a one piece crank with open bearings.

im going to check out danscomp.com as soon as i post this reply.








super90: thanks for the info bud. im going to try to stick with the 15mm axle. i always bend and snap anything less. im really rough on bikes. i had 3 gt,s and killed em all. i also had a mogoose pro series... it lasted me about 2 months. the 540 i had lasted me 1 1/2 years before some dumb *Edited**Edited**Edited**Edited* stole it. but anyway thanks again for all the info. ill look into it all.

by the way the carb i got off ya is now on my trike. it needs to be dialed in but seems to work great. thanks a ton man !!


max: cool thanks for the heads up on the wheels and bars. you raced ? what you race on ? ive never raced but i loved to ride fast and hit the gaps and kickers.





to everyone: sorry for the late reply. i was camping for a week and i could only go online when i was on lunch break at work. when i get my bike ill find a camera and take some pics for ya guys.





edit: can i put seal bearings on my bike as it is or will i need to remove the cups and order some kinda sleeve to replace the cups so the sealed bearing fit in. someone please shine some light on this. its bin a while since ive done this stuff.

[84honda200s]

ok i was looking over the stuff on that site and im liking the shadow stuff. shadow also has some good reviews online. some costly stuff though.

ok so is there a difference between the american, mid, and spanish b/b kits ( http://www.danscomp.com/456058.php ) ? i never had these back in school.

[factoryX]

http://www.danscomp.com/451078.php?cat=PARTS

I have these, is american bearing or euro?

[Danold]

American is what you have now. Mid uses american sized bearings but are pressed in instead of having cups. Spanish are the same as Mid but areonly smaller sized. Mid is probably your best bet since they are easier to install and will last longer.

[84honda200s]

ok cool im going mid then...i hate the cups lmao.

i read nothing but bad things about the crank factoryx has so was looking around on dans and found these bad boys (http://www.danscomp.com/452505.php) . anyone know if they are any good ?

[factoryX]

junk, had the same one's over wieght... the snafu set is one of best set's you can get...

[84honda200s]

junk, had the same one's over wieght... the snafu set is one of best set's you can get...



im just kinda not digging the reviews on the snafu cranks. ive read that the pedal thread strip out and the crank splines tend to strip too. how long have you had yours? i ask because i herd they last about a year and thats it.


as for the redline... i dont care if they are heavy... as long as they hold up im happy. im no light weight. im about 225 lbs . thats why i want a good heavy crank with more than 8 splines. dont get me wrong i had the snafu crank on my wish list the whole time up till i was reading reviews on them. i like the looks more than the redline but the redline has better reviews and seem better built.

[factoryX]

redlines last, the snafu's have been out for about 10 years, redlines wear out faster. I have had redline,primo, and snafu cranks and by I am liking them better.

the redline will last a while. on another sense I can see where snafu could break and it is in the same place as the primo but they are built way better... go with the redline if you want beat it up but only get the snafu or primo if do big jumps. I will post a pic of my setup..

[84honda200s]

redlines last, the snafu's have been out for about 10 years, redlines wear out faster. I have had redline,primo, and snafu cranks and by I am liking them better.

the redline will last a while. on another sense I can see where snafu could break and it is in the same place as the primo but they are built way better... go with the redline if you want beat it up but only get the snafu or primo if do big jumps. I will post a pic of my setup..



ok ...cant wait to see it. yea i dont plan on real huge jumps. maybe 10-15 foot gaps but thats not until i get use to the bike. sure its kinda like a 540 air but its going to have way diff. parts on it.


anyway man thanks for the help so far.

[max]

Im telling you go with the PROFILE crank!!!. I race on a Hyper alum frame. Nice bike. I was big in to states. Best I finished was 4th in Ohio. Good times. And its actually a great family sport.:beer

[84honda200s]

Im telling you go with the PROFILE crank!!!. I race on a Hyper alum frame. Nice bike. I was big in to states. Best I finished was 4th in Ohio. Good times. And its actually a great family sport.:beer



oo man now im having a hard time deciding what one i want ! you know of and good forks that will take a 14mm axle ?

[RedRider_AK]

Primo PowerBite cranks and Shadow Conspiracy Crow sprocket is a killer combo.

I've noticed Haro frames are damn heavy myself.

[cody2]

I used to bmx myself. I had the following stuff and they all worked great. alex supra j triple wall rear rim with 9t cassett, odyssey race forks (3/8 axle), odyssey civilian bars, primo hollowbite cranks with american bottom bracket with sealed bearings. You cant go wrong with any of these parts.

I didnt really like the civilian bars bend, i have a haro f4 atm and i coudlnt see any wrong in keeping stock bars really, the haros stock are even pretty solid bikes.

[84honda200s]

I didnt really like the civilian bars bend, i have a haro f4 atm and i coudlnt see any wrong in keeping stock bars really, the haros stock are even pretty solid bikes.



yea for the most part they are solid bikes. but the cranks are pretty poor imo . they just dont hold up. i had crank and fork problems on my 540. other than that they are good solid tank like bikes.





ok guys i ordered some parts..... i went with the 19mm mild redline 3 piece crank ( its good for rhd or lhd ), a shadow bb (has red collars) with sealed bearings, and a pair of red shadow pedals.

i wanted to go with a high end crank but i just dont have the funds rite now so i went with a mid grade crank. i hear good things about redline products. sure they are heavy but im not 18 anymore and my back is bad sooo i figure i wont be doing allot of air stuff anymore so weight isnt a huge issue anymore. so anyway i hope i can get this bike looking and rolling good despite the dented frame.

[RedRider_AK]

Kind of BMX related, but not really:

I recently had a chance to buy a totally pimped out street 24" bike (like a BMX with bigger wheels). It was hooked UP. But didn't have enough money. The guy was selling it for like... 25% of the original price. Kinda bummed.

But, at least I have lots of money for spare parts and pimp chit for my freeride bike. :)

Rob, be sure to get some footage of yourself riding. I can do a couple, very simple BMX tricks. Nothing hardcore, just simple stuff like X-ups, crankflips, etc. I'm working on nose stall crankflips, but those are hard as hell!

[84honda200s]

Kind of BMX related, but not really:

I recently had a chance to buy a totally pimped out street 24" bike (like a BMX with bigger wheels). It was hooked UP. But didn't have enough money. The guy was selling it for like... 25% of the original price. Kinda bummed.

But, at least I have lots of money for spare parts and pimp chit for my freeride bike. :)

Rob, be sure to get some footage of yourself riding. I can do a couple, very simple BMX tricks. Nothing hardcore, just simple stuff like X-ups, crankflips, etc. I'm working on nose stall crankflips, but those are hard as hell!



yea im not too good at flatland yet. all i can pretty much do is a bunny hop with a 90 deg turn so far anyway. i can do a stoppie too. almost straight up and down. i use to do vert more so than street. but im up for learning new stuff. after i get the bunny hop with a 180 thrown with it then ill learn some new stuff like wall rides or something. ive seen some kid in town wall ride and it looks like a good fun trick to do.

[scooterroo]

cool thread...i still ahve my old bmx'ers from when i was a kid. i have a gt, haro, and my kid rides my hutch right now. all awesome bikes, all still in great shape.

i take it they dont call it freestyle anymore? lol, tell how long i have been out of the sport. i remember when stoppies were called endo's!

[84honda200s]

cool thread...i still ahve my old bmx'ers from when i was a kid. i have a gt, haro, and my kid rides my hutch right now. all awesome bikes, all still in great shape.

i take it they dont call it freestyle anymore? lol, tell how long i have been out of the sport. i remember when stoppies were called endo's!



lol me too man.. allot of tricks and stunts were called different things back then from what they are called today. its still freestyle just two different category's ... flatland/street, and vert. but none the less its still freestyle. unless of course you are doing a comp..then thats whole new world that i know nothing about :lol: .



now a gt isnt a bad bike either. i had a 1995 gt chromo. i loved the looks of it but it wasnt lite enough to jump with so i sold it. then i bought a dyno, i lked it but kept blowing out axles and wheels so then i got my mirra 540 air comp series aka sig series. then that got stolen now here i am about 8 years later with a haro shredder.





ok guys lets make something of this thread !!! post em if you got em. post pics of your bmx bike. new, old , frame, project, complete, certain parts you like i dont care what post em up !!!

[cody2]

yea for the most part they are solid bikes. but the cranks are pretty poor imo . they just dont hold up. i had crank and fork problems on my 540. other than that they are good solid tank like bikes.





ok guys i ordered some parts..... i went with the 19mm mild redline 3 piece crank ( its good for rhd or lhd ), a shadow bb (has red collars) with sealed bearings, and a pair of red shadow pedals.

i wanted to go with a high end crank but i just dont have the funds rite now so i went with a mid grade crank. i hear good things about redline products. sure they are heavy but im not 18 anymore and my back is bad sooo i figure i wont be doing allot of air stuff anymore so weight isnt a huge issue anymore. so anyway i hope i can get this bike looking and rolling good despite the dented frame.

I know what you mean, but for around $130 you can get a primo powerbite, i have one on my f4 and i found it to be quite good, the stock crank bent a tooth on me somehow im not sure how and i just didnt like it, it didnt feel sturdy or stiff, the powerbite is a great crank, i put it on when i broke mine and didnt want that crappy haro stock one on. Anyone else here getting into dirtjumping?

[84honda200s]

I know what you mean, but for around $130 you can get a primo powerbite, i have one on my f4 and i found it to be quite good, the stock crank bent a tooth on me somehow im not sure how and i just didnt like it, it didnt feel sturdy or stiff, the powerbite is a great crank, i put it on when i broke mine and didnt want that crappy haro stock one on. Anyone else here getting into dirtjumping?



i agree fully with the hfc but all i had to spend on a crank was 100.00 . so i wend with the redline until i can get a top of the line crank. lol as long as i have a non hfc im fine and dandy.

i might do some minor dirt jumping. nothing like i use to but i will hit some small stuff.


i think when i get some extra money the mosh's will be getting an e-mail from me for a custom seat cover .

[cody2]

If you ever do get a crank get a powerbite, best crank ive ever used i got all my friends who ride bmx on them too, there pretty light too. Ive been riding my 05 tactik a lot lately, im going to try and put some good dirt jump parts on it and set it up, that way i can ride some trails too, its not even too bad in a semi-stock form for what i do with it.

[84honda200s]

If you ever do get a crank get a powerbite, best crank ive ever used i got all my friends who ride bmx on them too, there pretty light too. Ive been riding my 05 tactik a lot lately, im going to try and put some good dirt jump parts on it and set it up, that way i can ride some trails too, its not even too bad in a semi-stock form for what i do with it.



yea you can bet ill give it a try man. make your self a nice size dirt gap. we had one we use to jump it was about 10 feet lip to lip, 6-8 feet deep, 10 foot wide, and had 2 huge mountains of dirt on either side. it was pretty fun. then we got bored with it so we dug more off it and made it a 12 foot gap from lip to lip. then some guy bought the land and had condos/town houses built :( . god i miss them days .


anyway man just remember to bail if you know you wont land rubber side down. :lol:

[johnny's X]

So Iam I correct in assuming that my 81 Schwin with the camo banana seat with ape hangers and camo streamers would not have been a good choice to mx on?

[84honda200s]

lmao you sir are correct. i mean yea it can be done but i would think there would be lots of pain and very little gain.

[factoryX]

omg... have you ever jumped one of those stingray schwin bikes? I put motor cross bars on and went for it, sucked so bad... my camera is broke right now so I can't post any pic at the moment...

[84honda200s]

lol i must say i have never tryd to jump one of them bad boys. you gotta me down rite loopy to do that kinda thing. but there is a huge diff between the 81 and the stingray. the stingray is a whole lot more bike than the 81. its possible to jump an 81 not easy but its possible.

[RedRider_AK]

I once made a chopper bike out of an old Murray, banana seat, apehangers, and I stuck 26" suspension forks on the front so it was raked out like a chopper. If you tried to wheelie it, you could get the front wheel maybe a couple inches off the ground and then it would just go over backwards on you, because you sat right above the rear axle, and as soon as you wheelied far enough, center of gravity pulled you over!

My old BMX bike used to be so awesome, I had a 1996 or so GT/Dyno Air with a chromo frame. Light olive green frame with purple stickers, that thing was off the hook! So many dents and scratches but not a single bend in the tubes and not a single crack, it was the toughest bike I've ridden.

Right now I've been riding street on my freeride bike, which weighs at least 44 lbs, if not more. It is a beast, and yet I can still do bunnyhop to manuals on curbs, nosestall crankspins (learned them yesterday! :lol: ) and other basic stuff. The cool thing is, if I see a trail I want to bomb down, I can just jump on it and haul balls down, I love having Fox shocks, long-travel forks and hydraulic discs!!

I will get some pics of myself jumping it, etc sometime soon. I have a video of myself doing a drop, but I can't upload anything large until August 1st.

[johnny's X]

I dont know what you guys are saying but iam in on the X games this year with that bad boy. I just went through and replaced some missing streamers in the handle bars lastnight. I added a little sissy bar to the banana seat for my back flips.

[RedRider_AK]

I dont know what you guys are saying but iam in on the X games this year with that bad boy. I just went through and replaced some missing streamers in the handle bars lastnight. I added a little sissy bar to the banana seat for my back flips.

Oh snap! :drool: I heard streamers make it more stable in the air, so that you can do triple tailwhips more easily.

[cody2]

yea you can bet ill give it a try man. make your self a nice size dirt gap. we had one we use to jump it was about 10 feet lip to lip, 6-8 feet deep, 10 foot wide, and had 2 huge mountains of dirt on either side. it was pretty fun. then we got bored with it so we dug more off it and made it a 12 foot gap from lip to lip. then some guy bought the land and had condos/town houses built :( . god i miss them days .


anyway man just remember to bail if you know you wont land rubber side down. :lol:

Sounds like good fun, my tactik crapped out on me blew the fork seals and broke a front rim so i bought a new kona five-o. Great bike, not 100% dj bike but it works for a lot of other stuff i may do with it. The guy at the bike shop said the frame was sick, kona was gonna use it for dirt jumping eventually, so i put some dj parts on it and it works good.

[cody2]

I once made a chopper bike out of an old Murray, banana seat, apehangers, and I stuck 26" suspension forks on the front so it was raked out like a chopper. If you tried to wheelie it, you could get the front wheel maybe a couple inches off the ground and then it would just go over backwards on you, because you sat right above the rear axle, and as soon as you wheelied far enough, center of gravity pulled you over!

My old BMX bike used to be so awesome, I had a 1996 or so GT/Dyno Air with a chromo frame. Light olive green frame with purple stickers, that thing was off the hook! So many dents and scratches but not a single bend in the tubes and not a single crack, it was the toughest bike I've ridden.

Right now I've been riding street on my freeride bike, which weighs at least 44 lbs, if not more. It is a beast, and yet I can still do bunnyhop to manuals on curbs, nosestall crankspins (learned them yesterday! :lol: ) and other basic stuff. The cool thing is, if I see a trail I want to bomb down, I can just jump on it and haul balls down, I love having Fox shocks, long-travel forks and hydraulic discs!!

I will get some pics of myself jumping it, etc sometime soon. I have a video of myself doing a drop, but I can't upload anything large until August 1st.

What kind of free ride bike do you use? I was riding a norco tactik for some, fox vanillas on the front end, hydralic disc upgrade on front only, 8 inch discs with funn bars and a single speed conversion with maxxis maxx something bmx tires basically on double track rims front and back.

[84honda200s]

Sounds like good fun, my tactik crapped out on me blew the fork seals and broke a front rim so i bought a new kona five-o. Great bike, not 100% dj bike but it works for a lot of other stuff i may do with it. The guy at the bike shop said the frame was sick, kona was gonna use it for dirt jumping eventually, so i put some dj parts on it and it works good.




dude its a blast... but no suspension is not cool. but its all part of bmx i guess lmao.

[RedRider_AK]

What kind of free ride bike do you use? I was riding a norco tactik for some, fox vanillas on the front end, hydralic disc upgrade on front only, 8 inch discs with funn bars and a single speed conversion with maxxis maxx something bmx tires basically on double track rims front and back.

I'm riding an Eastern Slash 5" Coil. It's mostly stock, running Marzocchi Drop-Off's on the front, Hayes Sole hydraulic brakes front and back, a Vanilla R shock on the back, assorted Hussefelt and Truvativ parts throughout. Singletrack rims are on mine, as well as a 2.4 Kenda Telonix tire on the front and a 2.6 Kenda Kolossal DH on the back.

I need to stick a singlespeed crank on the front and a chain tensioner/ISCG chain device on it, it gets wicked chain slap when you land wrong. Probably because it's got a long-arm Shimano Deore LX derailleur on the back as well, that thing is toast and weaker than wet newspaper. Getting swapped out for a SRAM X.9 unit as soon as I have the dough.