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tips on building a fixed gear bike for tricks

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Old 02-21-07, 04:29 PM
  #1  
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tips on building a fixed gear bike for tricks

so im getting a new frame, guess which one it is? right, obviously the only thing talked about on here right now (besides brakes) is the new IRO group buy bike.

anyway, i want to build it up as a bike just to do tricks on. so give me some tips:
clips versus clipless
long stem versus short stem
riser bars/flats/drops
stem
seat
wheels
etc
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Old 02-21-07, 04:32 PM
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they're called bmx bikes. you're on the wrong forum.
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Old 02-21-07, 04:32 PM
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Originally Posted by astrx
so im getting a new frame, guess which one it is? right, obviously the only thing talked about on here right now (besides brakes) is the new IRO group buy bike.

anyway, i want to build it up as a bike just to do tricks on. so give me some tips:
clips versus clipless
long stem versus short stem
riser bars/flats/drops
stem
seat
wheels
etc
20" wheels, gyro, detangler, pegs...
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Old 02-21-07, 04:34 PM
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are you talking like the german riders/the dance scenes in quicksilver?

i'd say use platforms and a low gear. while clips would be handy, you're probably going to jumping around enough, swinging your legs over the bars and whatnot. a low gear will give you a lot of control. i'm not talking low like 46x17, i'm talking polo gearing...32x22 or something.

stem, i'd say rise is more important than length, so you can do barspins. not knowing a lot about tricks, i'd guess short would be good, so that control of the bars is drawn in closer to your body.

riser bars, for sure.

wheels, i'd say something cheap and sturdy. say, the formula/cxp 22s everyone loves.

seat, i'm not sure. i'd guess you'd want the seatpost fairly far in the frame, though, so it wouldn't get in the way as you move around. you probably won't be in the saddle that much anyway.

can you put some type of peg on a fixed rear wheel? the general concensus on bmx pegs is that you can't, but i believe i've heard of something you can do.
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Old 02-21-07, 04:35 PM
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oh, and a fork that puts the front wheel fairly far forward.
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Old 02-21-07, 04:41 PM
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Originally Posted by astrx
so im getting a new frame, guess which one it is? right, obviously the only thing talked about on here right now (besides brakes) is the new IRO group buy bike.

anyway, i want to build it up as a bike just to do tricks on. so give me some tips:
clips versus clipless
long stem versus short stem
riser bars/flats/drops
stem
seat
wheels
etc
Why? Besides, it's no fun if you can't jump it too.
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Old 02-21-07, 04:50 PM
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it seems silly and kind of pointless, but i think it's everyone's secret desire to have a trick specific bike. Totally impractical though.

do a 1x1 gear ratio
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Old 02-21-07, 04:56 PM
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Get a BMX or trials bike and relace the rear wheel with a track hub. I did it once and it wasn't all that fun...
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Old 02-21-07, 04:56 PM
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Originally Posted by newnoise
i think it's everyone's secret desire to have a trick specific bike.

Mmmmmmmmmmm, nope, I checked deep into my inner being and have found no such desire. Even saw the one about a midget riding a 36er mountian bike, but still no trick bike.
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Old 02-21-07, 05:38 PM
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A better title for this thread would be:
"tips on starting an internet flame war"
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Old 02-21-07, 05:44 PM
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Originally Posted by bonechilling
A better title for this thread would be:
"tips on starting an internet flame war"
easy

ps there is some really cool **** in there

Last edited by freeskihp; 02-21-07 at 05:52 PM.
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Old 02-21-07, 06:56 PM
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BMX +1
Not the dance scenes in quicksilver, the dance scene in Rad. Send me an angel
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Old 02-21-07, 07:00 PM
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i have a flatland frame and a handful of parts i'm looking to part ways with. you appear to be a prime candidate. let's talk.
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Old 02-21-07, 07:03 PM
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Originally Posted by newnoise
it seems silly and kind of pointless, but i think it's everyone's secret desire to have a trick specific bike.
dutret...paging dutret.

Wet blanket needed in this thread immediately.

Paging dutret.
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Old 02-21-07, 07:15 PM
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damn you all are hateful!

any who, as you may know flat land bikes are designed for such tricks, altered down tubes for more clearance, tighter geometry for quicker execution of tricks, and the such. an iro frame has a geometry that is quite slack. an actual track frame would be better suited to doing tricks, but with the sharp angle of the head tube, you would not be able to do bar spins with out either placing spacers above the fork crown, or switching to a smaller front wheel, or a combination of the both. another option would be to find a welder who would be willing to alter your down tube. I've never tried to put pegs on any wheelsets other than bmx, so I have no idea if the thread diameter would match up, but one problem would be that if you switched to pegs on the rear wheel, you might want to figure out how to put a serated washer on them some how, so that they don't slip...
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Old 02-21-07, 07:21 PM
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Originally Posted by dustinlikewhat
any who, as you may know flat land bikes are designed for such tricks
FLATLAND. spelled not even remotely like TRACK.
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Old 02-21-07, 07:26 PM
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christ, let's all hate on someone for wanting to have fun in their own way without hurting any of us.

for the record, i think such a bike would be super fun myself.
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Old 02-21-07, 07:29 PM
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true, true. i'm usually not bitter at all. whoops.
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Old 02-21-07, 07:33 PM
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Originally Posted by godless scum
FLATLAND. spelled not even remotely like TRACK.
what message are you trying convey with your clever use of caps lock?
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Old 02-21-07, 07:37 PM
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emphasis, like where you might enunciate something uber-clearly in real life. it wasn't an attack on you either, it just didn't translate well to interweb-speak.
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Old 02-21-07, 07:41 PM
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ok, so caps aside, what were you trying to say? if the issue was that I put it into two words, ok what ever, sort of silly but what ever floats your boat.
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Old 02-21-07, 08:34 PM
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I'd go down a frame size. for wheelie'ness, the slacker the seat tube angle & shorter the chain stays, the better.
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Old 02-21-07, 09:04 PM
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Originally Posted by veggiemafia
dutret...paging dutret.

Wet blanket needed in this thread immediately.

Paging dutret.

I have no problem with building a dedicated trick bike. I would like one myself(The tricks would be more or less exclusively hopping on something balancing and then hopping onto something else or off the other side). What I do have a problem with is making an impractical fashion bike thats worth thousands of dollars and then trashing it with tricks.

For example the following **** is idiotic to put on a trick bike:
thin AL or CF tubing(it should be heavy probably steel).
expensive aero wheels(should be smaller and with high spoke counts.)
Anything but platform pedals(possibly clipless depending on the tricks)
thin tires.
short bars.
Full size frames.
big saddles.
etc.

Doing anything else is just showing how much money you can waste to most closely follow the current fads.
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Old 02-21-07, 09:20 PM
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I'm ok with the idea, it sounds fun.

Clips - don't have to worry about accidental clip-ins/fall-overs
Risers and upward angled stem for spinning
a mean face to give the haters
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Old 02-21-07, 10:54 PM
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Give Don Walker a call. He will build you one. Chime in on this one Kyle.
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