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Street and Dirtjumping Parts Guide

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Street and Dirtjumping Parts Guide
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flag jonslater
Posted: Mar 22, 2008 at 19:43 Quote
Well there have been a lot of threads these days about street/dj frames, forks, wheels, pretty much everything. So I took it upon myself to make an all you need to know thread just to know the basics of what you might want, and how much travel you need and all that stuff. So here it goes!
I mostly made this thread not to ask question but to give you the knowledge to pick your own parts without having to make another thread.
Completes

Completes are good if you want something cheap, just to get the feel of what you are looking for or you don't have the cash to spend building a complete. But most of the time it's a lot easier to build a bike the first time and get it over with, that way you can build it EXACTLY how you want it and you don't have to keep changing things. I know that most people starting out don't believe this (I know I didn't) but really it's a lot cheaper and easier building a bike the first time if you know that you want to ride street and dirt.

Frames

Geo
Frames are a very complexe thing to buy(I find anyways), because everyone has a different feel of what they think are good. For example some people like long chainstays, some like them short. But there are a few things you need to think about once you know what kind of geo you like.

weight
You need to look out for the weight, Personaly I wouldn't buy a frame over 6 lbs (I know, I know, I have a simtra which ways over 7). If you don't care that much about weight then I wouldn't worry about it. But it's always nice to have a lighter frame, so really you have to decide what weight frame you're looking for, and look at what your frame weighs now and see if you want a lighter one. No Body Else other then you can decide this, they can give you advice on what would be good, but in the end it's up to you.

braking and dropouts
You need to look at if you want disk or v's, or both. Also if you will be running gears or single speed (horizontal dropouts for SS, vertical for gears). A few frames out there have 110mm hub spacing (which is bmx spacing), most frames have 135mm though (which is normal mtb). I think that v's are better for street and dj but most people like disk, with 110mm hub spacing you can only get a few hubs that are disk compatible (I know profile makes one) so you have to be carefull. Also if you're frame has 110mm hub spacing it usually will have a 14mm axle hole, so thats just another thing to watch out for.

Headset
The new thing for headset are integrated, if you buy a new frame and and it has an integrated you'll have to buy a new headset and vice versa. Theres a few advantages to having an integrated headset, they're lighter, I find they work a bit better, and they have a sleeker look. But I wouldn't buy a new frame just for that.

BB shell
Mostly all mtb's have euro bottom brakcets (the bb's that thread into the BB shell), but there are a few with press in bb's (IE spanish, american, mid). If you buy a frame with a different bb then you can usually buy a BB reducer if you have mtb cranks. If you have BMX cranks than you can just buy a new BB, they're only like 20$ or so.

Material
Most frames these days are made out of steel, but some are aluminum still. This is also a lot personal preference. I don't think I'd buy another aluminum frame, but some people love them. And really they all have their pros and cons. Most alu. frames are lighter, and really if you buy a solide alu. frame then it should last.

Fork

Forks are one of the most disputed things on a bike, and if you don't like any of the things i say then PM me or too bad.
For street and dj you don't need an immence amount of travel, but it also depends on your frames geo. I run 69mm on my bike, but some frames ride better with 65mm and some ride better with 110. I find for a dirtjump fork you don't really need a lot of adjustements but some poeple like them.
here's a list of the forks that would be good for dirtjump and street:
Suspension
-marzocchi dj line
-marzocchi 4x
-rockshox argyle
-rockshox pike
-manitou goldlabel
-fox talas
-fox 36 lowered

Rigid
-dmr trailblade
-Funn Stiffy
-New Dobermann when it comes out
-identiti rebate
-Black Market Contraband
(if I forgot any i apologize)


cranks

I like bmx cranks more then MTB but that's more of a personal preference. Most mtb's have 175MM crank length, and 9/16" thread. There are many cranks out there and most of them are good and will hold up. So pretty much I wouldn't really buy new cranks unless yours are messed.

Pedals

If you're dj'ing a lot I don't really find bmx pedals are all that great for that, unless they're meant for dj'ing just because when they get wet or full of dirt then they tend to not grip as well, or at all. I'd look more into mtb pedals if you dj a lot. If you ride more street then I'd go for more of a bmx pedals like odsy jim c's, trail mix, or pcs and pretty much any other pedals. Also a good choice would be welgo mg-1's.

Sealed and unsealed
If you find that you go through bearings a lot then you might want to look into getting sealed pedals. But if unsealed are doing the trick I wouldn't bother spending the extra cash on them unless you have it and don't need anything else.

Brakes

Rotors (partially by joeyy)
Most people say 6" are perfect for street, park and jumps. A larger rotor will give a quicker stopping time, and overheat less, but also more power. Unless you are using your bike for more then just street and dirt then I wouldn't get anything bigger then a 6", but if you want the more power and you don't think you'll hit your disk then get whatever size you want, theres no "unwritten rule" saying you can't put an 8" disk on a street bike, it's just not as practical.

mechanical Disks
Probly the best mech disk out there is the avid bb7, and even the bb5's are decent. But really id depends a lot on how you set them up and the lever and cable you use. A better cable would be a linear cable, they work a lot better, and a good lever will make a lot of difference. odyssey makes good lever and the avid ones are pretty good too.

Hydro disks
If you want to run hydro disks, thats fine but you do have to be a bit more careful about the lines. hayes hfx-nines work decent for street and dj, but avid juicy's work very well. There are a bunch of hydro disks I havn't tried but I don't really think that there is any horrible ones out there.

Pistons: (thanks to joeyy)
Single piston: single pistons push the rotor against the opposite pad, this often adds to a warped rotor, most are closed caliper which cause over heating too. E.g Hayes Sole

Two pistons: More powerful, most are open caliper which help the rotor to cool down, less likley of brake fade and warped rotors. E.g Hayes Stroker

Four piston: More modulation, which means they are easier to feather, have in general more power than a two piston. E.g Hope m4

V's
As long as you set them up good, you have a good cable and a good leaver they should work good, but as always if you buy better brakes they will work better.


Hubs

Hubs are a very touchy subject, because pretty much everyone has a diff. experience with them. But I will give you a little advice to help you choosing the hub that will suite your needs. Most people on here think "the louder the better" now most of the time this is true but not always. The reason why hubs are so loud is just the pawls hitting the engagement teeth. The engagement on a hub is how much space you can move the crank before the hub gets engaged and starts to get the bike moving. For some people a Shimano Deore will do just fine for them , some people go through hubs like nothing. Also better hubs generally roll better and longer. Chris king hubs are pretty much top of the line, you can get them used and they will last.

rims

To tell you the truth I don't really know all that much on rim designs and strength, so if anyone is please pm me so I can put it in.

Some very strong wheels that are cheap are:
-sun s-type, eightrack, mtx
-atomlab pimp/pimplite

Seats and Post

Most people run pivotal seats and posts, they are a good choice because they are cheap and light, and are pretty much impossible to tilt up or down. If you still want to run rails then thomson posts are top of the line for railed posts, if you don't care about weight then just go with whatever seat and post you like.

Bar Width

Wider bars are the new "trend" but realy its all personal preference, you just have to try out some bars and see what you like. I find that wider bars give me better control and all that on the dj and spinning is easier. But really it all comes down to personal preference.

gear ratios

gear ratios are also a lot of personal preference but you can see that you are getting the same ratio when you change sprocket and cog size. A normal gear is around 50-60 footinchs. the way you can figure out your gear and what gear you want it to take your sprocket size (32 for example) then you divide by your cog size (16) then you take that number (2) and times by your wheel size(26) and it gives you 52.


Grips

grips are ALL personal preference, not really anything else to say. The only differences are bmx grips and lock-on style grips. I find bar ends are a must because pretty much if you fall and your bars go into your stomach or something its a lot easier to buy some bar ends.

Bars

Bars have a lot of geo you need to look for, usually just by holding them you will see if you like the feel of the bar.

Rotational Mass

If you want to lighten up your bike without spending a lot of money, buy lighter tires/wheels. Everything you take weight off that spins will feel a lot lighter and make your bike feel a lot different.

24's vs 26's pros and cons (thanks to joeyy)
24 pros:
Stronger
Lighter
More flickable(whips and such)
Better accelration

26 pros:
Will roll better over obstacles.
More stable in the air.
Better tyre choice.
Faster 'peak' speed

Different Bottombrackets

Euro
European BB's have threads and are generaly internal bearings but some are external. They have smaller bearings then other bb's.Most mtb frames have euro bottom brackets
Unsecure image, only https images allowed: http://www.sram.com/_media/images/truvativ/bottombrackets/gxpteamenglish_large.gif
Spanish
Spanish BB's are press fitted right into the frame. Thuss the bearings can be bigger because there are no threads.
Unsecure image, only https images allowed: http://www.3ride.com/images/products/bmx/cranks/t1_spanish-kit.jpg
American
American BB's have to biggest BB shells out of all of them.
Unsecure image, only https images allowed: http://www.empirebmx.com/graphics/products/big/prof_crankbearing.jpg
Mid
Mid BB's have the same size bearings as the american but without having a huge shell. It's a lot more popular in bmx then mtb's.
Unsecure image, only https images allowed: http://www.3ride.com/images/products/bmx/cranks/kink_midkit.jpg
Note that I showed pics of bmx bottom brackets for all but the euro just because its a lot more popular to have spanish and all the other but euro in bmx. But you still can get a bb reducer so you can run a euro bb in say an american bb shell

If this thread takes off then I will post up more info but for now, this is all im doing. And if I forgot anything and you want me to add it, then feel free to PM me.
flag zwak
Posted: Mar 22, 2008 at 20:16 Quote
24's vs 26's pros and cons

24 pros:
Stronger
Lighter
More flickable(whips and such)
will make your bike spin faster than if they had 26's

26 pros
Will roll better over obstacles.

If you buy a bike that is specific for 26's(most completes on the market) keep 26's, because the bike is specifically made for that size wheels. But that is general advice, all 24's will do is lower your bike an inch so for all i know you might like it more with 24's over when it had 26's.

This is a debate that will never end, my last advice is to try out both wheel sizes and make a decision from there.



It's a topic that gets covered a lot on this site, so i thought it might be valuable information for thread topic. Use it if you want.

P.S: lots of good info for people that are just getting into dj and street. Very well done!
flag matago
Posted: Mar 23, 2008 at 1:18 Quote
This thread is so helpfull!
I read it all, great info
flag
Posted: Mar 23, 2008 at 1:48 Quote
24's vs 26's pros and cons

24 pros:
Stronger
Lighter
More flickable(whips and such)
Better accelration

26 pros:
Will roll better over obstacles.
More stable in the air.
Better tyre choice.
Faster 'peak' speed


Also I think it would be good to add something about-

External bottom brackets-Stiffer,lighter but bearing life is poor in most, frame needs facing

Internal-Last for alot longer, cheaper.

Stems-Most people run a short stem to get a better take off, strength, and also body position on the bike, either 25.4mm or 31.8mm clamp size.

Hyrdo brakes-Single piston push the rotor against the opposite pad, this often adds to a warped rotor, most are closed caliper which cause over heating too. E.g Hayes Sole

-Two pistons-More powerful, most are open caliper which help the rotor to cool down, less likley of brake fade and warped rotors. E.g Hayes Stroker

Four piston-More modulation, which means they are easier to feather, have in general more power than a two piston. E.g Hope m4

Rotors-Most people say 6" are perfect for street, park and jumps. A larger rotor will give a quicker stopping time, and overheat less, but also more power.
flag jonslater
Posted: Mar 23, 2008 at 7:54 Quote
Thanks for all the feedback, once I get a chance I'll add a bunch of things to it. I just didn't know how it was going to go so I didn't really want to type a bunch of stuff and nobody use it.
flag foxmtbing
Posted: Mar 23, 2008 at 8:10 Quote
Great thread, but the headset info isn't 100% correct. Integrated headsets are easy to instal but aren't as strong as a regular headset. I go through about 4-6 a season on my bmx. That is why they cost bucks each...
flag mush-bag
Posted: Mar 23, 2008 at 8:21 Quote
put the rock shox parglye under suspension (arglye lowers and pike uppers and internals)
flag
Posted: Mar 23, 2008 at 8:26 Quote
i think this needs more info
ill show you a link we should incorporate

https://www.pinkbike.com/forum/listcomments/?threadid=16419&pagenum=1

if that thread expands and has more products, it could be AMAZINGLY help full in product selection as far as weights, oh and they should include the year
flag jonslater
Posted: Mar 23, 2008 at 8:40 Quote
Don't worry I'll expand it a lot, and I was going more along the lines of getting people to know the basics of the parts, so then they can decide for them selves. But I might add suggestions or weights, I don't really know right now, it depends on how much people are going to use this.

foxmtbing wrote:
Great thread, but the headset info isn't 100% correct. Integrated headsets are easy to instal but aren't as strong as a regular headset. I go through about 4-6 a season on my bmx. That is why they cost bucks each...
where are you buying headsets? most of them I've seen are the same price as a normal one if not more.

And I added a bit more onto the frames...
flag foxmtbing
Posted: Mar 23, 2008 at 8:54 Quote
jonslater wrote:
Don't worry I'll expand it a lot, and I was going more along the lines of getting people to know the basics of the parts, so then they can decide for them selves. But I might add suggestions or weights, I don't really know right now, it depends on how much people are going to use this.

foxmtbing wrote:
Great thread, but the headset info isn't 100% correct. Integrated headsets are easy to instal but aren't as strong as a regular headset. I go through about 4-6 a season on my bmx. That is why they cost bucks each...
where are you buying headsets? most of them I've seen are the same price as a normal one if not more.

And I added a bit more onto the frames...
www.danscomp.com
flag jonslater
Posted: Mar 23, 2008 at 14:35 Quote
Well I updated a bunch of things, so...
flag jonslater
Posted: Mar 24, 2008 at 13:38 Quote
ride24bikes wrote:
Nice.
thanks
flag jonslater
Posted: Aug 5, 2008 at 18:10 Quote
Due to a lot of questions that can be answered here, I'm gonna bump this even though i hate bumps..
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