Upgrading My Bike

[Desmond Derv]

Ok after trashing some parts, getting flamed for 'clogging up the forum' I'm back

I am going to be upgrading my bike soon when I get some monies but I just wanted to no what bits are good and/or fit.

Snail Cams, I read they do fit onza 2010 and some people saying they don't... which is it?

Hubs - Fixed or free? and freewheels

(I don't fully understand this but what I do is: Fixed hub has free wheel on back, free-hub has sprocket on back and free-wheel on front on the BB?, please correct me if I'm wrong)

Rims, are the ones with the wholes in worth it?

I wont be going to the shop with a wedge getting all at once but just some stuff I have in mind bit by bit and wanting a little advice please

[trials owns]

Ok after trashing some parts, getting flamed for 'clogging up the forum' I'm back

I am going to be upgrading my bike soon when I get some monies but I just wanted to no what bits are good and/or fit.

Snail Cams, I read they do fit onza 2010 and some people saying they don't... which is it?

Hubs - Fixed or free? and freewheels

(I don't fully understand this but what I do is: Fixed hub has free wheel on back, free-hub has sprocket on back and free-wheel on front on the BB?, please correct me if I'm wrong)

Rims, are the ones with the wholes in worth it?

I wont be going to the shop with a wedge getting all at once but just some stuff I have in mind bit by bit and wanting a little advice please

i think the gear ration is to low on that bike, so your best bet is to change it to a 18-2 ratio with cranks and freewheel on the bottom bracket and a 12t sprocket on the hub.

that way you can get more power down=more distance jumped.

[Desmond Derv]

i think the gear ration is to low on that bike, so your best bet is to change it to a 18-2 ratio with cranks and freewheel on the bottom bracket and a 12t sprocket on the hub.

that way you can get more power down=more distance jumped.

Cheers for advice, will keep this in mind, when you say 18-2 ratio... what does that men :$

[trials owns]

Cheers for advice, will keep this in mind, when you say 18-2 ratio... what does that men :$

basically a freewheel attached on the crank becasue they are mostly 18tooth and on the rear a 12tooth sprocket. most mods have this gear ratio.

hope this helped.

i did this on my onza t bird and it helped alot

Edited May 25, 2010 by trials owns

[PeanuckleJive]

As for the question about freewheel or freehub,

A front freewheel set up uses a fixed hub with a fixed sprocket on the back and a freewheel on your cranks

A freehub has the ratchet system like the freewheel at the back, so you use a fixed sprocket on your cranks

If you're gonna upgrade your cranks, get some ISIS ones, isis is so much better than square taper in so many ways

Snail cams:

If your dropouts have got a threaded hole in them you can put the snail cam bolt it, you can use snail cams. Loads of frames come with the holes in them, Not sure on onza frames but I imagine they have them too

Edited May 25, 2010 by PeanuckleJive

[ogre]

not to pry or seem invasive but how much do you have to play with?

In no particular order:

• an 18-12 gear ratio is a good idea and paramount if you intend on upgrading your frame in the future.
  
• a more reliable freewheel with higher engagements.
  
• better brake pads (on the rear, and the front if your budget will stretch assuming your on rim brakes)
  
• burly chain tugs, buy some heavier duty steel ones intended for bmx use. i used to kill light weight alloy ones, i bought hefty bmx ones and never looked back (snail cams if your frame allows it)
  
• isis drivetrain
  
• lighter forks
  

no need to upgrade your wheels/rims if there rolling and spinning ok. just buying rims to put on your standard hubs is a silly exercise since you'll eventually replace your hubs + need new spokes blah blah...

strong braking and a reliable drivetrain is usually all you need when your starting out. upgrade things as they break, buy cheap and you'll suffer the consequences.

[trials owns]

rear hs33 will be best with the evo adaptor on tartybikes, but pads probably will do the job if they are strong enough for u atm

[aener]

A fixed hub is where there are no moving parts - it's fixed solid. This means there's no ticking part. Can be used with a freewheel screwed on and a solid sprocket on the cranks, like you currently have, or a fixed sprocket on the fixed hub, and a freewheel on the cranks.

The freewheel on the front means it can be better protected with the bash - if it's on the back it's open to being landed on. It also means that - because you want to sprocket on the front a bit bigger than on the back - you can have a smaller sprocket on the back. If you have a larger sprocket on the back, many frames will have clearance issues with the chain.

A freehub is like a hub on a normal bike, where there's a ticking bit inside it.

These have to be used with a sprocket on the cranks. They have the potential to be stronger and there is less stress put on them, but good ones are much more expensive.

As far as my personal opinion goes (for 20" bikes), if it's not a Profile, or a Chris King freehub, it's not worth the risk - get a freewheel on the cranks instead.

This will be a little list of what order I'd do them in, assuming there was a budget.

A new freewheel, and thus sprocket as well should be top of the list. Dicta's blow up with very little effort or warning, and you can get REALLY hurt from them doing so. Also, they don't have many engagement points. The more times the ratchet inside the freewheel clicks per rotation means the power gets put down quicker. If there's big gaps between them, the pedals have to move around, then engage before any power is put out.

This is one area you don't want to skimp on, or you'll loose your face I'd go for an Echo SL. Not a bad thing to say about them.

http://www.tartybikes.co.uk/product.php?product_id=10864&category_id=16

To match that, you'll want a 12 tooth screw on sprocket. You don't have to go for 12, but it's what damned near every mod rider uses with those length cranks.

Next, I'd get a pair of Avid SD7 levers (http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=22387), and a pair of comfy grips. Comfy for YOU - not someone else on the forum who you've never met. Rubber gets slippy when you sweat in to it, and with summer almost here it might be worth considering foam. A lot of people will say TrialTech straight off, but I find them weird. You'll have to experiment. Your hands and feet are the main contact points with the bike, so they need to feel right. I had a go on an Onza with those vee levers, and they didn't feel very nice. SD7's are lovely, in comparison. For the same reason, but less important - maybe some pedals. You'll have to try other people's bikes to see what you like.

If the budget allows, I'd get some new forks next. Lighter and stiffer is better. A lighter front end makes EVERYTHING easier. These really ARE subject to your budget - which, if it allows, I couldn't rate TrialTech's any higher. If they're too expensive, search around the forum for fork reviews.

From what I can see in the pictures on Tarty, the Bird frame almost definitely can't accept cams. It COULD do, if you're able, and are willing to drill and tap some M5 holes in the dropouts. Ask for more detail on that if you want it - PM, as I'll likely forget this thread's here.

Being that as it is, you might want to invest in some hardcore chain tugs, as has previously been mentioned.

I wouldn't worry about replacing rims. Lighter rims are weaker, and if you're just starting out, a strong bike is always going to be better than a light one.

Other than those, I wouldn't really do anything to it. They're good little bikes for beginners, and the longer you ride it, the more you might decide you want one slightly longer... or higher, or shorter or lower. Ride around on that a lot, then ride some other mods, and compare the geometries after that. People can't tell you what parts you need, it's down to what's comfortable for you.

I apologize if this has patronized at all, but it sounds like you're just starting out from what you've written. It's been meant to help - so please don't kick off if you think I'm being a twat.

Edit: I forgot - if you're switching sprockets and freewheels over, you might want to make contact with a local, experienced rider for some help. It's a b*****d of a job, and lots of smaller bike shops can't seem to do it.

Edited May 25, 2010 by aener

[Mikey-uk]

rear hs33 will be best with the evo adaptor on tartybikes, but pads probably will do the job if they are strong enough for u atm

Wrong, many people will claim that vee's are better (myself included) and running the adaptor makes the maggy perform horribly unless you're amazing at setting the adaptor up.

[trials owns]

Wrong, many people will claim that vee's are better (myself included) and running the adaptor makes the maggy perform horribly unless you're amazing at setting the adaptor up.

fair enough, personal preference really

[matthew_coggan]

I think if you are wanting to upgrade it you should of just bought a good spec 2nd hand.

[Desmond Derv]

I apologize if this has patronized at all, but it sounds like you're just starting out from what you've written. It's been meant to help - so please don't kick off if you think I'm being a twat.

Not at all, thank you for your input, and the time taken to write all that

I think drilling and threading stuff is a little out of my depth at the moment but deffo keep the rest in mind for future, as we all are it would be on a budget so cheers.

as for buying a second hand better spec' bike, I wanted something cheapish from a shop so if anything went wrong I could take it back, I looked on ebay and most stuff close to me was crappy or not what I was after.

I don't see the problem in buying new and upgrading, then its my bike not someone else's old one, just my mind set

[Luke Rainbird]

Big reppin' for that post - you've got too much time on your hands sir

[aener]

Too much time?

Stopping f**king around on the internet doing no-one any good for 10 minutes, to help someone out is too much?

Hmm.

Edit: Fair shout Mark - not sure why I took such a grump to that.

Edited May 26, 2010 by aener

[Mark W]

I don't think he meant it like that.

Anyway, I'd definitely agree with Aener about the contact points - I'm anal as hell about grips and pedals, if they're a bit off it makes my bike feel like 'a bike' rather than 'my bike'. Pretty cheap to switch around too. A good set of pedals and grips should help you out quite a bit, then just try replacing other bits as necessary!

[modifiedridah2k9]

Cheers for advice, will keep this in mind, when you say 18-2 ratio... what does that men :$

Well that is a gear, 18-2 is the preffered gear, look on tarty for a 18T free wheel and a 12T sprocket and you'll be all set

Actually my mate has a onza rip 2010 and the gear on that is fine, onza have done well with their new bike

[aener]

Well that is a gear, 18-2 is the preffered gear,

Steady now - you'll get everyone saying it.