pavelpasiuk

After half a year of Commuting and general road riding on my HRXC(Skinny tires and everything) i understood that i really want to try out that "Urban" thingie.
I have attempted stuff, and predictably, my stock rems immediately died.
I have managed to true my front, and i have built a mavic D321 rear wheel.
After that, i decided to give it a try again.
Didn't work out..the bike was a 21 inch XC frame..and i sucked
Then my bike got stolen, and i got myself a BMX (I work at a LBS)
I hated every second on it, felt too small( i am 192cm)
then sold it for a profit, and got myself a proper Hardrock..
Now i dont have any excuses..i have a very successful frame, medium sized..and is has GEARS
So i want to resume my training
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and now for the question:
Is it sane for me to learn urban and generally drops and stuff?
If it is neccesary i can build myself pretty much wheel i want, but i want to know whether my 300pounds ruin my chances..
I think i have some muscles in my legs..in fact, they often scare people..but still
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I really want some opinions
I know most clydes do road..

Tom Stormcrowe

300 pounders and pavement drops really don't mix, just to be really honest with you.

pavelpasiuk

Can't a pair of really strong wheels take care of that?

Tom Stormcrowe

Maybe, but even the skinny guys can trash their wheels riding urban. Let me do some research on a good set of Downhill wheels, I'll try to come up with a decent recommendation for you. I will warn you in advance, though, that it is most assuredly not going to be cheap. Alternatively, you can learn how to maintain the wheels yourself, though. The wheels on the Hardrock are pretty tough, though. Urban is just very hard on wheels.


Edit: Whoops, I missed the part where you said you can build wheels.....

OK, go with as high a spoke count as you can find, 36 minimum and give it a try!

pavelpasiuk

I am looking into HALO SAS, DA BOMB DA RIMS, SUN DOUBLETRACKS, maybe MTX or arrow FRX.
I dont care much for maintnance, because

- I have built some wheels before
- If i screw it up..i work at a LBS..good wheelbuilder at hand

However, the point of my question was whether the weight itself would be a killer.
I am talking about momentum.
Things like the bunny-hop for example..i find them difficult..

I dont care much about the gear currently..
I currently have about 2000$ stashed for a bike, and i am holding it to see whether i can get successful at Urban, or just buy myself a road or XC bike.

StephenH

I got a unicycle last fall, and have been learning to ride it. There's a similar effect that happens there. If you go to youtube and look for "mountain unicycling", you can find people doing all kinds of crazy stuff on unicycles. The catch is that most of them are 150 lb guys. So a unicycle made for a light guy to jump around on will let a heavy guy ride around, but ultimately, you need a double-strength unicycle to do what the light guys do and it just doesn't exist.

Tom Stormcrowe

Well, you can compensate for the weight and inertia with technique. I bunny hop a Fixed gear with 700c wheels and that ain't easy. You can ease the shock of landing with your legs, for example. I thought you were referring to the kids that do 6' pavement drops when you were talking about riding "Urban Style".

BigUgly

For what it is worth, I got a riding buddy who is over 300 pounds who rides a fully ridgid mountain bike on the trails. I have seen him ride over boulders and log jumps up to 1 meter high. I have also seen him wipe out, dust himself off, get back on the bike and keep riding. He would break frames instead of wheels but I think he used to ride Aluminum Cannondales when he had those problems. He rides steel now. He never mentioned he had any problems with wheels.

pavelpasiuk

I was actually referring to "those kids".
But i know that i wont do anything like that for at least half a year from now..
So you think that it is possible for a whale to jump?
I am currently deciding whether to invest in super strong wheels(FR).

Tom Stormcrowe

If you're gonna do it, do it right and invest in the best, strongest A-Bomb proof Freeride wheels you can find. I'm sure we'll all be interested in the results.

pavelpasiuk

What do you think about the HALO SAS 48 SPOKE?
I think that they are beyond bulletproof, maybe even Paul-proof ^_^
For tires i am planning on Maxxis Hookworms ( 2.5 )

Tom Stormcrowe

Sounds good to me, but your mileage may vary. Remember, I'm a roadie.

pavelpasiuk

Ok, thanks a million
Will order and build the wheels soon!