MikeCottTrials Posted May 31, 2006 Report Share Posted May 31, 2006 I want responses from people that actually own high bb frames and have stuck with them, not people that have had goes or bought one then immediately sold it .My question is how well have your skills translated to a high bb bike? ive heard people saying good and bad things but it seems people that say bad things dont actually own one or havent made the effort to stick with it so it would be very helpful to hear the story from people that have gone the distance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali C Posted May 31, 2006 Report Share Posted May 31, 2006 I cant say I have ridden years with a high bb bike, but I citenly owned one (hifi) I have however 7 years of expirience of riding lower bb bikesI feel if your just starting out, you can get used to a high bb bike very easily because you havnt learnt any habits or just dont know any different. I feel this is why I dont get on with them, after 7 years of riding low bb bikes, I am kinda set in my ways of how I ride a bike. I had a hifi, but I sold it again after 4 weeks as my riding just went downhill.For one thing, I dont just have a hoppy hoppy style of riding, I like to flow, riding streety style on natural (imagine chris ackrigg, only not as good). I found the hifi horrible for that, the positioning on it was naff, felt like I was touching my toes and riding in a "superman" position when both wheels were on the floor. I didnt like the hifi for riding natural either, I thought my weight was now too high on the bike and would make me loose balence easily, not somthing you want to happen in comps.I was good on the rearwheel though, but too good! it was so stable I found the bike was hard to control, it just wanted to hop backwards instead of forwards and if I put a pedal stroke in, it would want to loop out.I also found I couldnt tap...AT ALL and gaps were harder....when you landed, the bike wouldnt level out, it would want to stay on the rear wheel and make you jump off the back.I think high bb bikes can be good, but the high the bb goes, the longer the chainstays need to be to combat the rear wheel control.I cant think of a single move that was easier to do on the hifi than my ashton, plus my ashton is a hell of a lot more fun.there is a big thread about it on OTN here they discuss it in more depth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeCottTrials Posted May 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2006 there is a big thread about it on OTN here they discuss it in more depthnot sure what to think after reading that thread on OTN, ive only been riding for 9 months though so it might not be such a challange to change my limited skills to high bb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrishayton Posted May 31, 2006 Report Share Posted May 31, 2006 not sure what to think after reading that thread on OTN, ive only been riding for 9 months though so it might not be such a challange to change my limited skills to high bbHi bb is great for riding street in a gap and sidehop sense, the balance on rear wheel means set ups are nice, however they are awful to tap, like really nasty, back wheel hits the wall or you land to two wheels. gaps are still ok, my vinco was nice to gap to front or back wheel but saying that so is my control. high bb bikes just dont feel as stable as low bb, low bb bikes are just nicer in my opinion and you can tap on them lol. get a control Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibs_m Posted June 1, 2006 Report Share Posted June 1, 2006 Very good thread - I was about to hand over the cash for a GU for summer riding but after reading this and the OTN article im not going to be so hasty with handing the cash over to the tart.I started ages ago riding a rockhopper xc frame, which i added azonic risers, fsa cranks, lx hubs on 521's etc (anybody old enough to have the same origins?) anyway so im thinking the pulling up and throwing my back wheel at things is defo my style of riding, but I feel abit limited now by how high i can hop up so im thinking this whole high bb might be a good way to freshen up the riding? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeCottTrials Posted June 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2006 im not sure what to think because i think gapping and everything will come with time on high bb but i like my taps at the moment, so the question is would it be harder to tap a high bb bike or my current bike an ONZA T-RAPTOR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thirsty2 Posted June 1, 2006 Report Share Posted June 1, 2006 im not sure what to think because i think gapping and everything will come with time on high bb but i like my taps at the moment, so the question is would it be harder to tap a high bb bike or my current bike an ONZA T-RAPTORHi, I have been riding for about a year and a half now, i used to ride a Saracen Team Urban, i kind of could tap it but it wasn't frequent, but now i've changed to an Adamant A1, long (and i don't regret a minute of it), and i can tap practically every time, not always staying on the bike but still getting my backwheel up. My side hops have improved allot because on my saracen i wasn't confident to go very high, but now i'm on my Adamant A1 i'm finding them allot better now because i'm higher up so the side hop looks smaller. and also i'm more confident with side hops now because i'm more controlled on the back wheel so i can take my time on setting it up and go when i'm ready, I can transfer easier because its my bike is longer and the wall feels smaller.well i hope this helps.alex!!! (hint hint, get an adamant, they are great) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philking Posted June 1, 2006 Report Share Posted June 1, 2006 Hi there, i have had a Czar for around 6 months now and i have loved every minute of it. My gaps and side hops are now even better than they used to be - this is only due to persistant practice.As for taps they will come with time, it is slightly harder to begin with, but now i am at the same level i was at before. I have tapped 49 inches on it, and i would say i can confidently get 45 inches most times. The high bb did put me off initially but now i am used to it i dont mind at all.TRA rode the vinco frame for ages which (i believe) has the highest bb so far and he could tap mega! I mean it must of been around 55inches normally, then with motorbike technique around 70 inches! lolI am a believer of the high BB movement, mainly cos i gave it a chance unlike a lot of other people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeCottTrials Posted June 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2006 (edited) thats the little bit of encouragement i needed i was worried about taps but i reckon i will go for high bb now i will have to get a shortish frame though like adamant short length cos im not the tallest person around Edited June 1, 2006 by MikeCottTrials Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thirsty2 Posted June 1, 2006 Report Share Posted June 1, 2006 (edited) thats the little bit of encouragement i needed i was worried about taps but i reckon i will go for high bb now i will have to get a shortish frame though like adamant short length cos im not the tallest person aroundhi, its good to hear that, but make sure you get a high rise stem, i have got the echo hifi stem, 130mm length and 15 degree rise i think, and that is perfect for me and i'm only 5ft 9 ish and but i've got the long Adamant.if you get the adamant i hope you do well on it and keep trying at those taps.good luck mate!!alex!!!! Edited June 1, 2006 by farehamtrialsmassive05 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philking Posted June 1, 2006 Report Share Posted June 1, 2006 Don't forget though, that the bb rise will make the frame feel shorter...if you measure from the centre of the bb to the top of the head tube rather than the wheel base of the bike, you will find that a longer high bb frame is pretty similar to a slightly shorter normal bb height frame.This in turn means you have slightly less room in the 'cockpit' of the bike. I am 5'8" (so not particually tall) and i ride the long Czar. Before this i had a Levelboss 1065 which is a lot smaller wheelbase but i don't find this bike too long at all. But at this point i suppose it is just personal preference Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loffa Posted June 1, 2006 Report Share Posted June 1, 2006 I got a Czar long about 7 months ago and I rode it for two months. It was the worse frame I have ever ridden, because it was way too long. Only things that I could do properly on it were sidehops and gaps. Everything else, especially small tech moves were really hard because the bike felt too big, if you get what I mean.So I sold the Czar and got a BT 6.0 short. It feels really lovely on gaps and hooks. Tapping vertical walls is not a problem either, though I had to adjust my technique(sp?) so that I hit the wall a bit lower to clear it with my rear wheel. It's all good now and I have managed to do 49" on it. But tapping slightly slanted walls is really hard, I could do 53" to rear on a slightly slanted wall on my BT 5.0, but now I can't do it at all, my rear wheel keeps hitting the wall and I can't tap it any lower either because that would be too low and I'd probably just fly over the bars.The other thing about the high bb is that it has made my riding look shit Before, when I rode my BT 5.0 I could ride rather smooth, or atleast I liked my style, but now I ride really harsh and slam my rim to the edge on every bigish gap etc, and I can't help it.So I can't really say if it is good or bad, but my next frame will have a low bb for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damon W Posted June 2, 2006 Report Share Posted June 2, 2006 get a short adamant high bb rules Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeCottTrials Posted June 2, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2006 that is the plan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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