Bmx Questions

[poopipe]

The only thing that puts me off the geisha (apart from the cog being on the wrong side) is that there's just a few too many bits involved in the 'holding the wheel in the dropout' process.

I'm sure it's fine and they've done it like that to prevent your hub getting shagged if the bolt gets knackered but i'm generally uncomfortable with anything thats even slightly non-standard.

[A!!]

So is the Poverty a no go? Just that was the one i was more drawn to, mainly because of the simple fact that it is a fair bit cheaper.

I was thinking about the geisha, but i wasn't so sure on servicing and fixing it, plus the heavy price tag. Although i guess it's worth paying more for something thats going to last. Plus it seems fairly cheap when you compare it to fixed trials hubs at £75 a piece.

Have there been many/any problems with the geishas, or are they pretty kosher.

Edited January 16, 2007 by huck_it

[poopipe]

Ian schwartz runs a poverty and in his interview in ride he says it's perfectly fine and that he's under no obligation to run it so it's a choice he made himself.

but...

I know the KHE is a definite improvement over the traditional freecoaster design because it's not so reliant on bits of metal smacking into each other. I don't know what the internals of the poverty are like.

and

if the poverty turns out to be normal old design there's a number of other sealed bearing, 14mm coasters out there. Haro and Odyssey both do them - they may be easier to get hold of in this country than the poverty - they may also be shite. I just don't know

[A!!]

Yeah, I think it's going to have to be the KHE if i get one then. I have just checked dans comp, and it just seems too much hassle with the delivery and the likes. 'tis a shame you can't get the Poverty in England.

Where is the cheapest place to get the KHE, i can find them for £90. But is there anywhere cheaper?

Edited January 17, 2007 by huck_it

[nickyw]

This any good for £90 posted?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...570539&rd=1

I damm sure do think it is worth £90..

[A!!]

Right i'm in need of a quick answer for this one....

Basically, i've decided to get the geisha street, but now i need to find an online shop that will lace that hub to a new rim. So i need a shop that stocks the khe (and has it in stock), and that also builds wheels.

As right now it is proving pretty hard to find, as i don't know many online shops, and the ones i do either don't stock the khe (or have it in stock), or don't do wheel builds.

So if someone could help me out, i would appreciate it...

Edit: also what would be best to get it in, 36h or 48h

Edited January 22, 2007 by huck_it

[poopipe]

the answer is ALWAYS 48, especially on the back. 36 means you sacrifice 25% of the strength to save the weight of 12 spokes - which is about the same as taking your jumper off.

i heard Alans do good wheel builds but have no evidence to support the claim. I'd also be interested to hear which shops do a good build cos i want a coaster too.

[A!!]

the answer is ALWAYS 48, especially on the back. 36 means you sacrifice 25% of the strength to save the weight of 12 spokes - which is about the same as taking your jumper off.

i heard Alans do good wheel builds but have no evidence to support the claim. I'd also be interested to hear which shops do a good build cos i want a coaster too.

Cheers for that, it's going to have to be 48 then.

Yeah i checked alans, but their out of geishas until march, which is a pain in the tits because they were my first choice. I'm also looking at Billy's in Cambridge, as they have the geisha in, but only 36h, plus i don't think they do wheelbuilds.

I've tried nearly every bmx shop going (that i know of), and still no luck

[poopipe]

Billys do wheelbuilds if you walk in off the street and ask so i'm sure they'd say yes if you phoned them. they're a bit expensive (£15 + spokes if i remember right) and i've heard less than positive things about the quality of the build (again, no evidence to support the claim)

its a bit of a sod this coaster lark innit?

[A!!]

Billys do wheelbuilds if you walk in off the street and ask so i'm sure they'd say yes if you phoned them. they're a bit expensive (£15 + spokes if i remember right) and i've heard less than positive things about the quality of the build (again, no evidence to support the claim)

its a bit of a sod this coaster lark innit?

aaa balls I'm rapidly running out of options now haha, and yeah it is a bit of a sod. And billy's is a no from that (plus they only have 36h in).

Might have to scrape the bottom of the barrel and give Winstanleys a ring, 'cus on their site it says they have a 48h thats available to order, but dispatched in 2-5 days . So it's either a case of them having it in stock, or not having it in but they can order one (and get one in march like the other shops). Meh it's worth a try i guess.

Also rung a place called hardcore hobbies earlier, and they also said they had none in, but are getting 40 in march, 25 of which have been pre-sold.

Custom riders also seem to have none in. The only other place i could try is wadescycles as they have an advert in ride with the geisha street in, but their website is currently down.

Looks like i might be running chainless until march at this rate

[eskimo]

the answer is ALWAYS 48, especially on the back. 36 means you sacrifice 25% of the strength to save the weight of 12 spokes - which is about the same as taking your jumper off.

Good shout.

As for the hub and wheel build thing. Winstanley's version of available to order means you will wait a long time as there not in stock and won't be untill the distributors get them.

Your best bet is to ring the distributor. I had to do this with my L.A.F frame. LINK

List of good shops.

Cyclone

Hardcore

Source

Pijin

Custom R

Alans

Firm

NSF

20 Twenty

They ain't bold for no reason you know.

Aren't i good. Links on request.

[Mark W]

Pijin have some of the KHE Geishas on order, according to them.

The KHE is the most ridiculously simple hub to strip, it really does take the piss. You take the axle studs off, unscrew the driver by hand, get a hammer and a bit of softness (e.g. a sock, as I found ) to soften the blow a bit, then just hammer the axle through from drive-side to non-drive. The axle pops out really easily, and the entire inner workings of the hub just sit on that axle, so they come off in one nice, self-contained lump. You can just slip off the right amount of slack adjusting washers, then just grease the vagina out of everything. Slip the axle back in, then use a 14mm-axle peg to tap in the bearings until they're seated fully. Then, just grease up the threads and the bearing-shoulder of the driver, and screw it back in. Axle studs on, wheel in the bike, and away you go. They're mad simple, compared to every other coaster out there which are basically all open bearings and need a lot of spring tweakage and mod'ing to work half as well as the Geisha does. Mine took 2 weeks to bed in, but it's all sweetness and light now. Went for the 36H hub and I've had no problems yet, including some pretty nasty shit going on with it, in terms of botched gaps and so on. It's really not as bad as Poopipe makes it out to be. I'd just like to point out other "It's too weak" things that turned out to be untrue:

Spanish BBs

Integrated headsets

19mm BB spindles

Sub-6lb frames

"Race" forks

10mm front axles

36H front wheels

...and so on. They really are OK, as long as they're properly built. Personally, I take care of my wheels simply because I know how to and I have a spoke key, so that's probably helped out. I re-tensioned the spokes by feel after a few days just 'cos the spokes had bedded in a bit, and after that I just have a feel every now and then just to make sure. You can't do the 48H wheel thing of snapping spokes left right and centre, then leaving it as it is because it'll just rape your wheel, but as long as you're not a f**ktard and you keep on top of things they're fine

Edwardes bike shop have a 36H Geisha in stock, and they do wheel builds. In fact they even built mine ('cos I wasn't around to build it at the time it came in, so I just got them to do it so when I got back I could just throw it on and ride). Alternatively, you could just build it yourself which is pretty simple & straightforward to do. There's a wheelbuilding guide in the FAQ which if you follow it and work it out you'll be building up nice 'n' tidy wheels in no time. It's never too early to start learning to build wheels

[nickyw]

Khe goldie? £300? Deffo getting it....Just wanted to know what you all think about it and what to change and not to.

http://www.alansbmx.com/product_info.php?c...roducts_id=4393

[Mark W]

The Euro BB is a bit of a downer, and I couldn't see anything mentioned about the forks being 4130 cromoly, so they're probably going to be Hi-ten steel which basically equates to a pretty bent set of forks. However, Odyssey Pro Race and Dirt forks are only £50 now, so you could easily replace them. But yeah, looks like an OK bike

[nickyw]

The Euro BB is a bit of a downer, and I couldn't see anything mentioned about the forks being 4130 cromoly, so they're probably going to be Hi-ten steel which basically equates to a pretty bent set of forks. However, Odyssey Pro Race and Dirt forks are only £50 now, so you could easily replace them. But yeah, looks like an OK bike

Yeah,When I hopefully get it I was thinking of getting a oddessy elementry stem,New seat and a 25-Tooth red profile sprocket.Ill prob's get new fork's anyways.

[Mark W]

To be honest, I wouldn't bother with the Elementary. They're not really better than any other stems out there, aren't significantly lighter, but are a hell of a lot more fiddly. Equally, the red Profile sprocket shouldn't be too high on the list of upgrades - I'd look at the brakes first, probably, maybe tyres too. That's after the forks, obviously. But yeah, just try and hold onto some cash in case something breaks, then sort that out

[A!!]

Pijin have some of the KHE Geishas on order, according to them.

The KHE is the most ridiculously simple hub to strip, it really does take the piss. You take the axle studs off, unscrew the driver by hand, get a hammer and a bit of softness (e.g. a sock, as I found ) to soften the blow a bit, then just hammer the axle through from drive-side to non-drive. The axle pops out really easily, and the entire inner workings of the hub just sit on that axle, so they come off in one nice, self-contained lump. You can just slip off the right amount of slack adjusting washers, then just grease the vagina out of everything. Slip the axle back in, then use a 14mm-axle peg to tap in the bearings until they're seated fully. Then, just grease up the threads and the bearing-shoulder of the driver, and screw it back in. Axle studs on, wheel in the bike, and away you go. They're mad simple, compared to every other coaster out there which are basically all open bearings and need a lot of spring tweakage and mod'ing to work half as well as the Geisha does. Mine took 2 weeks to bed in, but it's all sweetness and light now. Went for the 36H hub and I've had no problems yet, including some pretty nasty shit going on with it, in terms of botched gaps and so on. It's really not as bad as Poopipe makes it out to be. I'd just like to point out other "It's too weak" things that turned out to be untrue:

Spanish BBs

Integrated headsets

19mm BB spindles

Sub-6lb frames

"Race" forks

10mm front axles

36H front wheels

...and so on. They really are OK, as long as they're properly built. Personally, I take care of my wheels simply because I know how to and I have a spoke key, so that's probably helped out. I re-tensioned the spokes by feel after a few days just 'cos the spokes had bedded in a bit, and after that I just have a feel every now and then just to make sure. You can't do the 48H wheel thing of snapping spokes left right and centre, then leaving it as it is because it'll just rape your wheel, but as long as you're not a f**ktard and you keep on top of things they're fine

Edwardes bike shop have a 36H Geisha in stock, and they do wheel builds. In fact they even built mine ('cos I wasn't around to build it at the time it came in, so I just got them to do it so when I got back I could just throw it on and ride). Alternatively, you could just build it yourself which is pretty simple & straightforward to do. There's a wheelbuilding guide in the FAQ which if you follow it and work it out you'll be building up nice 'n' tidy wheels in no time. It's never too early to start learning to build wheels

Cheers for that Mark, you have made my day.

Mainly because i am now getting a wheel built and delivered from Edwardes, and i will be rolling backwards by monday if it all goes to plan.

So yeah, cheers

[eskimo]

It's really not as bad as Poopipe makes it out to be. I'd just like to point out other "It's too weak" things that turned out to be untrue:

Spanish BBs

Integrated headsets

19mm BB spindles

Sub-6lb frames

"Race" forks

10mm front axles

36H front wheels

Spanish is stronger that euro though, yes? I don't even wanna go near either bearings.

Integrated headsets, never had a problem with normal ones myself but my friend cracked alot of the lower cups. His internal one has been fine. Maybe they are stronger?

19mm bb axles. Can't comment on those.

Sub-6lb frames. Like you said build quality and geo come into play.

Race forks, race only. Pantera's were better than my new pitchforks.

10mm axles = jokes with pegs.

36h front wheels/ rear wheels. If you snap one spoke god help the rest!

I generally don't believe in the new lighter stuff being stronger. Does depend on the rider though to be fair. So i guess your 36h KHE hub will be fine with you.

I'm waiting to see how long my friend's new Sputnic Satelight lasts.

[Mark W]

A lot of super good riders are using 10mm front hubs to grind now though, and they seem to work OK. Plus, with 36H wheels you can afford to let one or two break, but to be fair, if you don't sort it out after that you kinda deserve a case of wheel-death

Spanish bearings are a decent size bigger than Euro, and they work fine. WTP have them on most of their frames, as do Superstar and a few other companies, and they seem to be fine for all the people I know with the various frames that run them. Not as burly as Mid, but not as heavy, I guess?

The Odyssey 41Thermal Pro Race forks are well up for street abuse too, which is cool. Even with hard peg use they seem to take a while to die?

A lot of the newer, lighter stuff is actually stronger than the older stuff, simply because of technological advances. The ability to change the tube walls and so on to a far greater extent has meant that excess tubing can be removed without being detrimental to frame life, thus decreasing weight whilst not decreasing strength. New heat-treating techniques that companies are coming up with (Such as the 41thermal stuff used for Sunday, and potentially the new WTP 2kg frames) mean that they can keep the same strength as before but with less weight. People really are just thinking harder about products, and cutting down on excess material where they can. Obviously some are taking it too far, but a lot of the "light" products out today are well capable of taking a lot of abuse

Cheers for that Mark, you have made my day.

Mainly because i am now getting a wheel built and delivered from Edwardes, and i will be rolling backwards by monday if it all goes to plan.

So yeah, cheers

Cool, George is a sound guy, it's cool to see people supporting them

[Sponge]

About to buy a second hand GT Bump '06. Zee pink one on google, if it helps remind you of the spec...

Basically, it's standard spec, except for a 36H Profile Imperial sprocket, rear brake only, Odyssey JC pedals, Shadow Conspiracy slim saddle, no pegs and no chaintugs.

I am quite happy with the frame, forks, bar, stem, crankset, wheelset... for now.

But the things I do immediately want to upgrade are the following:

Tyres

Brake pads (maybe other brake-related stuff like a good cable?)

Chain tugs

1 pair of 14mm pegs

Brake lever maybe?

What do you guys recommend? I'm not after particularaly high-end things, but just decent priced upgrades that change a horrible feeling bike into a nice feeling one. I was thinking along the lines of a Hookworm 1.95 rear and possibly a Maxxis Hoodlum or Maxx Daddy 2.3 up front? I will primarily be riding street just for fun.

As for pegs and chaintugs... what's well-priced and works well? Perhaps some chaintugs and pegs which can work with eachother would be nice, as the problems I had in the past were not being able to get a peg to work with a chaintug together! I have been told that Odyssey GI pegs are worth a shot. Chaintugs are more important to me though as I'd like something which works with pegs nicely but at the same time has a reputation for doing its job without any fail.

Brake pads? Thinking of Heatsink Vees...

Finally, you guys reckon I should have my rear brake lever as the LH lever? Right now the second hand Bump I'm buying has it mounted on the right. Perhaps it might be better to have it on the left, as my mod'll have the rear on the left of course... Or not?

Thanks in advance... (awaiting OBM and Poopipe to comment )

[Mark W]

Did you PM me about this a while back? I can't remember if I replied or not... Sorry if I didn't!

Would probably be an OK bike to start on. You can change the lever around to wherever you want; personally I got used to modulating for manuals with my left hand and just couldn't do it right, so I had my brake on the left. With tyres, if you're just riding street, the ABikeCo GLH or ASM tyres would be better than the Maxxis. To be fair, pretty much anything would be - Maxxis tyres just don't really seem that great. FlyBikes Ruben tyres or the ABikeCo tyres seem to be pretty good for everything. If not them, Odyssey Path for the rear and Dirt Path for the front works well for people

Chain-tugs don't really seem to work too well with pegs. Basically, you're smacking that part of the bike into stuff, so they just get bent then don't work. Most people I know who run pegs just do the wheel up tight and leave it as that. As for pegs, try and get something a bit lighter, maybe? Odyssey GI pegs are pretty heavy if memory serves, so maybe Shadow Conspiracy Lean pegs or Odyssey Jpegs or something?

With the brake, it depends on the rim. If it's chrome, just get some Plaz V-Flies. If it's not, you may wanna go for Heatsink pads, but I was never too keen on the feel of them on BMXs. Odyssey Linear Slic cables are the way to go cable wise, and just try and learn to set up the brake properly. Minimal spring tension means a nicer feeling brake, and lubing up the brake posts helps out a lot too.

[Barbra]

are certain frames only compatible with certain bottom brackets?

say if i had a USA bb in my bike when i first got it, could i put a euro or a spanish in there if i wanted to change?

[poopipe]

Chain-tugs don't really seem to work too well with pegs.

bloody right. it's less trouble to carry an extension bar and a socket around with you every ride than to beat an ovalised chain tug off your axle once. I've tried running a tug on one side and a peg on the other but the wheel moves anyway and you have 2 nuts to undo instead of 1.

pegses...

I've got 4 shadow mean pegs (light bikes are for pussies ) although to be honest I'm thinking theyre probably overkill strength wise. I like em cos they're cheap, they slide fast and they work properly on concrete and bricks.

As far as i know the only difference between the mean and the lean is the thickness of the tubing so I'd expect the same sort of behaviour from both.

brakes...

I'd opt for a fairly hard compound sole rather than the traditional brownish gum material you get on classic vans - you'll rip your way through the soft stuff in a matter of weeks - lakai appear to be very durable

are certain frames only compatible with certain bottom brackets?

yes

say if i had a USA bb in my bike when i first got it, could i put a euro or a spanish in there if i wanted to change?

no

euro is MTB size with threads

spanish is euro without threads (ish)

mid is USA without the cups

USA is huge

Edited January 24, 2007 by poopipe

[nickyw]

Just one last question about that khe goldie.....What shall I buy first for it? Was thinking fork's first then tyre's and then stem...But Iam not actually quite sure.

[poopipe]

Just one last question about that khe goldie.....What shall I buy first for it? Was thinking fork's first then tyre's and then stem...But Iam not actually quite sure.

if the forks aren't 4130 or equivalent then buy forks now - before you do anything bigger than ride off a curb.

like mark said you might as well get the odysseys - every bugger on the planet runs them, i've never heard a bad word about them, they're £50 and you get a lifetime guarantee.