Sponge

To be fair, this is exactly the reason I'm so put off getting a Deng frame (however nice some are). Ever since '06 it seems all the bashplate downtube mounts are just a simple nub and a weld. It's just not strong. What happened to the big gussets of old? ala.. 2004 Python, 2005/2006 Echo Team, Onza T-Pro, Koxx Levelboss, etc..? The 08 GU Typhoon mods seemed to suffer from the bash-downtube mount death a lot too.

G'day I'm on the verge of setting up a 24" bike. However, I've been researching around on a lot of parts and eventually came to realise how scarce realistic (rear) tyre options are for 24" right now? For example, these days we're after sub 1000g tyres, with around 2.4+ width. However, the options are fairly limited. I'm mainly asking on here because it is a little tricky tracking down every decent 24" tyre option elsewhere. So far, I've seen these as realistic options as a rear tyre: Maxxis High Roller ... But, the 2.5 got discontinued? The 2.7 seems overkill and too heavy Maxxis Holy Roller (2.4) Maxxis Swampthing (2.5) ... discontinued? But there's also the Schwalbes... which I'm very interested in finding out more on. Does anyone happen to know the widths and weights of these tyres, say? And possibly where to get a hold of them within the UK at a decent price?: Schwalbe Big Betty Schwalbe Fat Albert Schwalbe Mow Joe Any more Schwalbes? Furthermore, the next thing: TGS and Bar/stem options. I've been reading the immediate reviews of the new TGS-style 24" frames such as the Rockman Tractor and Because, however for the time being it seems there is a common consensus: 24" for TGS just isn't as good as 26" or 20". I am curious about this too, and it seems from several post-ride reviews e.g. Ben Savage and co. that the 24"s really don't tap nearly as well as a stock and for the time being a lot of riders are having a hard time getting their sidehops, gaps, and ups as high/far as they were on their 20" or 26". I suppose it could be a case of getting more accustomed to the new frame-type, but I'm hoping it's not a battle lost already? Bar/stem wise, would something very high and slightly long work in helping to convert a streetier 24" frame such as the Inspired or Dengs into more TGS-worthy machines? I can easily swap to the popular Onza PZ stem that Mark and Stan at Tarty use if I suddenly feel like riding more BMXy stuff. But, say I'd primarily like a fun day out on rocks, would something like the Trialtech 130x35 stem be ok for improving the manouevrability and agility of a streetier geo'd frame on the backwheel and on two wheels? In translation, I guess you could look at an Inspired or Deng 24" as the old 26" frames with +0 and +10mm BB rise... the sluggish feel for TGS. . so would a higher stem/bar work wonders for an old school 26" with low BB rise? Thanks in advance!

As I'm in China, and they censor everything on the internet... I can't view these pics unless they're hosted on TF gallery. I'm interested in seeing the 24", can someone re-upload for me please? Thanks!

Can you upload the pics onto the TF gallery by chance? Some image upload sites are blocked from my Chinese internet access... damn censorship...! On another note.. how does it compare to your old Echo Urban for TGSy stuff? Is it just leaps and bounds ahead?

Well, it's the nicest Zoot I've seen! Do these actually ride much differently to Inspireds? Anyone know the weight of this Zoot frame?

Profile hubs aren't actually all that strong. The quality is not too great all the time either. I've owned all sorts of Profile components in the past: -4 separate pairs of 145mm Profile race cranks (for unitrials) -2 Profile Unicycle splined hubs -1 pair of Profile 150mm flatland cranks -1 Profile Mini Racing Cassette hub -1 Profile 18t nano-drive sprocket I can say confidently that truthfully... that for a 'MADE IN USA' brand, the quality control is disappointing. I had to send back individual crankarms from most of the pairs I owned because sometimes the offset would be different and wonky to the other crank. Also the pedal boss being welded in at a slight slight angle.. but still enough to be irritating whilst pedalling. The Profile cassette was a disappointment too. Engagement was nice, but it skipped every once in a while, and developed wobble.. which I had to fix with Japanese bearings and a washer. The hub is just machined wrong. I think they fixed it this year or last year maybe. This Elite hub, I hope, works. An SL Echo freewheel is more than enough for today's riders I think

Looks good! It shouldn't have taken this long for TGSy 24" frames to come out. I would like to try a 24inch out some time. The only slight nag is the seeming lack of decent tyres for 24". I'm totally against DMR Moto tyres for one, and not too sure about the Holy Roller 24x2.4 for trials. Didn't Maxxis do a 24x2.5 Swampthing? That would be perfect for me. Now it seems only a 24x2.7 High Roller is offered, did the 24x2.5 Swamps and High Rollers get discontinued or something?

Nice bike! Where'd you get the frame from? Looks new

Theoretically, wouldn't FFW be more advantageous for 'streetier' stuff? I say this because the weight of the drivetrain is more centrally focused with a FFW set up, as opposed to a hefty rump steak rear cassette hub hogging up the weight in the rear wheel. Thus, for spins and many other moves, a more centrally weighted drivetrain would allow a snappier spin, say? Just theory, but I do think that the whole 'rear drive for street stuff' is all pre-conditioned shit, just like how having a seat on your bike suddenly makes it more 'street worthy'. I once had a Profile, and I can honestly say, it felt good engagement-wise, but it skipped a few times and I could tell it wasn't quite the magical dream hub that everyone made it out to be. If I had to pick a drivetrain setup for my trials bike it'd have to be the Echo SL freewheel as of current. Shame I don't have a trials bike anymore though

Ideal, I'm going back to China in the next few months Am I right in assuming that the 'proper' Blue (royal blue) got discontinued and the 'aqua' blue replaced it?

Muel's correct. You silly billy. If you're really that obsessed with saving weight, almost every other component would be a better way to save it. 20g off a headset? Screw that, you wouldn't even notice it. Go do yourself a favour and buy a kevlar folding BMX flatland tyre, some weigh less than 400g. That's almost a third the weight of your current front tyre.

It's somewhat pathetic. Just get plastic pedals, do a poo before you ride, ride naked. 20 measly grams. .. What if you break your T-Pro? Well, you will for sure. What's going to become of your headset? Most frames don't use internal. Think longer term

Actually, Profile's aren't all that godly. Quality's sometimes a little off, and the hub shell has a design error, unless they fixed that? Or maybe they still haven't, and still rely on those shims. Skippage is not so uncommon, and the shells tend to shear themselves open from time to time. It's best point is probably the looks of the shell. Other than that, it's a pretty meh hub for a BMX cassette, especially in comparison to other brands' designs. Profile cranks are another part they are famous for, yet the qualtiy is pretty slack, from the 5 pairs I've had. Some arms have slightly more offset than others, and sometimes the pedal boss is welded on at a funny angle. Price-wise, Profile hubs are still a bit pricey. Now with the SL freewheel, does anyone really still need to use a Profile for trials?

Semi-hijacking, but somewhat relevant to anyone wishing to use BMX cranks: I'm curious... Do you know of any sure-fire method that's fairly simple that allows you to have a perfectly even crank interface on the spindle? That is to say, since BMX spindles float, is there any way aside from trial-and-error to get perfectly even interface on both sides?

They all fit. I used to have an 04 Python.

Definitely possible. All you'd need is a BMX Euro BB set... just two threaded cups and a tube spacer. The pros would include being able to upgrade your axle to ti freely, choose from a variety of crank lengths (Profile do 145mm to 180mm+), and very importantly, BMX cranksets are much easier to get a proper chainline with than a normal MTB/trials set up. With the nano-drive system on some BMX cranks, you can run 16t sprockets to 44t srockets freely. Bashring-wise, it's actually not that hard to sort one out I don't think? Though it may take some custom jobs.

Bakayarou

Apologies for reviving a month-long dead thread. However, whilst reading through a sea of valid points and arguments in favour of Mid; I'm just wondering if it's being considered that Mid shells are a tad large; compared to Spanish and Euro. I mean in trials it may be an issue because front sprockets are a measly 18t; so whereas in the past (and present) a Euro BB shell with its small diameter would be mostly protected by the larger diameter of the 18t bashring when being hit against a wall... I think a Mid BB shell would be too large to be protected from hits by an 18t bashring... so basically, the shell would bet pounded.. which isn't too great. Maybe this is another reason why Deng's gone Spanish instead of Mid? At least Spanish is still probably just small enough that an 18t bashring is large enough to block it from contacting the wall surface? Furthermore, yeah the Spanish is an awkward size, but it's still so damn readily availble? Danscomp (US site) has spare Spanish bearings at around the same price for replacement Mid bearings= 6 dollars. Plus, Spanish BB kits are available in every UK BMX shop. Plus I guess it is a bit lighter than Mid. The market is very weigh-orientated, and for survival in business, manufacturers have to keep up with the demand. They actually seem to have very little leway. On top of all this, I have a suspicion that Deng my be scrapping the Euro BB altogether for his future frames? After all, on his site he mentions how the Spanish shell weighs about the same as the Euro shell, but his Spanish BB kit + spindle weighs less than a Euro BB cartridge unit. I'll note that his 'TR' Euro ISIS BB has been taken off the site. Perhaps it's a quiet hint that Euro is now being put on the backburner for Deng frames. We'll see.

2-5 mm is quite a lot of movement, or 'play'. Mine once had it, but it got fixed when Profile sent me a new set of Japanese bearings and a shim* (important). Y'see, Profile hubs are notorious in BMX for having wrongly-machined hubs, it's not a tolerance issue, it's just a plain error in machining. So they have to make up for it by budging a shim in there. This specific issue is covered over several places, try some BMX forums. Moral of the story: Get rid of your Profile soon, and just go FFW. Plus I bet your dropouts are chewed to death by the Profile axle bolts. Another thing I didn't like about Profiles

Not 100% on the others, but; 20" 'TGS'- Zoo! Python Especially the 2005 one. Iconic. Synonymous with "TGS stlye". It was the first really long mod, at 1045 (on paper) and majority measuring out at 1060mm with a whopping 375mm stays. Also the first production mod frame that featured a bash-less design with a CNC'd yoke on the driveside. Shame it's dead now.

Hashed rice?

New mini flatland seat from AresBykes. I'd definitely rather this than a micro-sized plastic trials push-in. I'm currently in Osaka, went to a BMX store and saw this; it's a almost as wide as a standard pivotal seat but stubbier. Very slim overall construction.

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I used to do Uni trials. It's harder and easier than biketrials. Harder mainly in the sense... well, no hand brakes, since it's a fixed wheel and your feet are effectively the brakes... so things like rail gaps and riding on natural can be really really dangerous and tricky... you need incredible leg strength and lock. Easier in the sense.... sidehops, gaps, techniques are all so much so much simpler. Once you wrap your head around basic hopping and riding... which usually can happen on the very first day if you're a competent trials rider already. I don't know any records as of right now anymore, but from what I last saw, Joe sent me a vid of him sidehopping 53" to tyre on his uni on some skip in London. That was a long while ago, before summer?