Brian

Ok, I decided to get myself a 20" bike for general abuse. When I was 20+ years younger, I liked dirt jumps and jumping/hopping kerbs, benches, and little old ladies on my way to the store or a friend's or wherever. So I got a Backtrail X3, because it seemed like a decent bike for the price. Now I've got some questions.

Will Salmon Kool-Stops be enough of an upgrade on the rear brake? Do I need a better brake, or a chrome back rim? I took off the front brake, as all it did was make noise. The rear one is adjusted correctly, but doesn't seem to offer much stopping power.

Are chain tensioners used with 14mm axles? The chain seems a bit tight, but I'm fairly sure that given my size, the wheel is going to start slipping at some point.

I already stripped off the front brake, chainguard, reflectors, and bell (required by law on new bikes). Most of the stickers are gone too. Should I leave the big Haro Bikes one, or take those off too?

Thanks in advance.

racersk66

Hey man. Nice bike have fun with it. but if you took off the the front brake because of noise you don't know how to adjust it. Yes kool stops will be more than enough I have them on an old gt for the rear only and they are enough for general use, but i have a chrome rim which is also a big help. I would use chain tensioners on my 14mm axles and yes I do have them. Yeh leave the stickers there cool. I think that this relpy might just help but if it doen't oh well. But those where my suggestions.

zx108

well if you are not getting enough stopping power in the back i would stick some discs on there

once the black starts comming off of the rim i would get chrome one. i would take the sticker off. and lower the seat if you want it to look cool.

Brian

Nice try. The stock front brake they put on these bikes is fine for 12 year old kids, but I weigh about 90kg. No adjusting is going to make it work worth a damn. I hope I can find tensioners and Kool Stops locally. I have plenty of 3/8 axle tensioners, but none in 14mm.

Thanks.

racersk66

Yeh how bout those disc. But get the chrome and leave the stickers, stickers a cool only if you have a good bike that is actually worth something. Yeh lower the seat a bit.

racersk66

Dan's comp I think he'll ship aussi, but I'm not 100% sure. What kind of brakes are on it. you could put oddy Evolvers on the rear and totaly screw the front brake.

Brian

The rear brake is a Tektro. I guess I'll try to find decent brake pads before I worry about swapping parts. The grips feel good, but they slip a bit. I've got lock-ons, so I guess that will be the first thing to get swapped. I've just got to remember how to use it now.

[edit] Yeah, the seat needs to be adjusted. I only got to ride it for 15 minutes after work yesterday, and haven't figured out where to adjust the seat to.

enormungus

those look like high wall rims in the pics. get a set of odyssey 2X4 brake pads. they work well on my black BFR's. is there enough room on your 3/8 chain tensioners to grind/drill it out to 14mm? if there is, you should do that and save some money. and i would take the sticker on the seat tube off
just my $.02

racersk66

Not a bad brake, yeh I would swap the grips if there sliding I hate that.
BUt i have a question for you. I was thinking about getting the haro Nyquest 6-teen just because it is small with a 16" wheel. I just want it for fun when im out on the street screwin around, but would you buy it is it worth having I don't know because I haven't ridin one.

racersk66

Yeh take the seat tube sticker off. It should look Cooler.

racersk66

https://fmfbmx.com/Merchant2/merchant...ategory_Code=T
try these
or you could throw these on
https://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCEqP....jsp?spid=9827

CMcMahon

Salmon Kool Stops are pretty good, but Shimano XTR pads (specifically, the kind where you keep the mount, but can switch the pads themselves out) are quickly becoming my favorite. They make very little chatter in comparison to the Kool Stops, and they work just as well.

Brian

I don't need to save a few bucks by doing a ghetto conversion of some chain tensioners, I'll look for some ones that fit. Which seat tube sticker are you guys referring to? The Haro 4130 sticker, or the yellow one? The yellow one is from the shop I work for. I'll leave that one on there as long as I work for them.

CMcMahon

For the chain tensioner, get an Odyssey PACT. It's light, accepts 14mm, and has a good range of reach.

enormungus

oh, i thought that yellow sticker was one of those "warning" stickers. taking that 4130 sticker off would make it look cleaner although it would ride just the same so w/e

Brian

Cool. The PACT tensioners are six bucks. XTR brake pads are $15, but the Evolver brakeset is $22. I'll have to add in postage, but which would be the better way to go? I've got some Avid Rim Wranglers, made by Kool Stop - how do those compare to the XTR?

racersk66

Your whole top line of parts would work really nice.

hypersnazz

Basically any pads are going to be stickier than Tektro and basically any brake is going to be stiffer. I would ditch both. Evolvers are fine, decent without being overpriced. XTR pads might be overkill, I dunno...you might find yourself locking up the rear more often than you want to, particularly dirt jumping. Remember, you don't need a sh*tload of stopping power for dirt jumping, just enough to get control after your runout.

I'll have to check out the PACT tensioners, I've always been a fan of the Primo Venus ones, but they're not really cheap.

[edit] I just noticed your black ano rims, the XTR pads might not be too god-awful sticky.

queensrider86

https://www.odysseybmx.com/catalog/index.php?list=Rims


a few good rims to look at.

Brian

I'll try some pads that I already have. I saw a big fat Primo tensioner here, about the cost of the PACT ones with postage. But I didn't get the model info. It's all good. I probably won't even get to ride until next weekend anyway.

Jerry Garcia

Remove the gyro, order a straight cable(odyssey or animal) and get the kool stop salmons. That is all.

Brian

I'll leave the Gyro on for now. I just swapped some lock-on grips, and they're a bit long. The brake lever ends up on the bend in the bars. I don't think I want to cut the grips, and they're kind of slippery anyway. How ironic is that? Clamped to the bars, slippery pattern on them. I usually wear gloves, but don't want to with this bike, so I guess it's back to the stock ones for now. On the plus side, I got to play around on the bike for a bit. Tomorrow it gets locked up, and I probably won't see it until mid-week, or next weekend. Oh well.

ride till i die

I don't have much to say about your brake, chain tensioner or stickers but one thing for sure, the seat covering will come off in a few weeks because of the worthless glue used. I got that problem with my mirra pro. When this happens, remove the old glue with sandpaper and stick it with krazy glue. Try to be neat and follow the exact position where the covering was.

scooz

you know....if your not going to keep it........and if u sell it.....im looking for a nice bike

motocrossy

Hmmm.. You said you twice but U once? Are you just trying to tease us now?

I like the bike. Its better than mine. I had horrid brake performance until the black rim finish came off, then it was about 4 times better... Im still getting the front to work, it is almost not there at all.