Bmx - Cranks, Bb, Wheels

[mr ailsbury]

Well basically I've got people asking me what I want for christmas and seen as I'm riding BMX alot now I want to get some stuff for it...

I've been looking at these

Hollowbites

Which i've been told are strong/good/light.

would they be alright or can you suggest anything else???

I'm running right hand drive iff that makes it easier?

I've also been looking into getting a new backwheel, I was thinking of getting a profile but I've also seen freecoasting hubs(the ones where you can fakie without pedaling) and they look pretty swish...

could anyone tell me how these work? do they break often, whats a good one to choose etc etc

also if anyone could suggest a good rim to go with one of these hubs that would be cool

I've got a We The People 4 seasons, the new purple and black one so i'll need cranks/bb that will fit that, I know shit all about BMX bottom brackets so I don't really know what I've got at the moment or what I'll need but I am just running all the standar parts that came on the bike.

I ride alot of park with some bowl/ramp stuff and quite a bit of street, I've only just started so I don't land too light and i'm pretty weighty anyways so i'll need something pretty strong like

any help very much appreciated

cheers

[Si-man]

Ive just sold my hollowbites.

f**king amazing cranks, nice an stiff, lightweight, look the tits!

Also, i have a profile rear bmx wheel for sale if your interested

Will probably be a 19mm euro bb in the frame you have now.

Freecoasters are ok i guess, feel really weird to start off with though. can set the bit inside the hub to engage quicker though if you want, just threads along the axle.

Edited December 3, 2006 by Si-man

[poopipe]

you'd need a new bb - hollowbites have a 22mm spindle. new bb is about £20 so no great loss. gollowbites run both left and right hand drive so no problem there

personally i wouldn't touch a profile - they cost twice as much as other perfectly good (and stronger) hubs like a hazard, or one of the many others that arent designed for racing.

freecoaster - geisha street , so tempted to get one. . . .

[Max Quinn]

Hollowbites are said to be great cranks! I had powerbites for a while and they did serve me well and hollowbites are supposed to be alot better so you can't really go wrong! Having said that though i do love my profiles an they can be bought for around £130 now if you can stretch. They are generally considered the don. They also have a 'Limited lifetime warranty' but i'm not sure quite what that means.

Winstanleys says the bottom bracket on your bike is a 'Mid BB w/19mm Hollow Axle' so make sure you buy for that whatever cranks you get! BMX cranks tend to come with a bottom bracket though so as long as you get a crankset (with a bb) the axle size doesn't matter as long as you make sure it's mid bb but i'm not quite sure if Mid BB's ever come with cranksets or not? I'm sure someone else will help us out on that one.

I have a freecoaster and i actually love it! I use the Geisha Street which is generally considered the best for street with the Odyssey Reloader in at second. The Geisha costs £90. Alot of people say they go to pot etc but mine has been great so far and the Geisha is the first freecoaster to have been made/tested/marketed for street (rather than just flatland) abuse. It's really easy to take apart and service aswell so its well worth learnign to do that. It also uses axle studs which are easily replaceable at around £10 and bent axles are generally considered the problems with freecoasters so that sorts that out. I've had mine since the start of summer and serviced it a few times as they do have problems bedding in (they give of a pop when disengaging and ocasionally ghost pedal) but once you've taken it apart and filled it with lube it's perfect.

You can also change the 'slack' on the freecoaster which is how much of a pedal it takes to engage when your rolling backwards, less slack and it generally feels nicer but alot of people use lots of slack so there's no chance they will accidentally pedal forward and engage it when doing high speed fakies. I run the minimal slack which is a bit less than an eigth of a pedal, it seems like alot coming from a trials bike but i never notice it anymore.

I consider the freecoaster well worth it but it just suits your style really. I got used to it VERY quickly aswell. I'd go for the Geisha Street but some people are waiting for Gsport/George French to release one and i think theres another company with one in the making. They may be worth waiting for but the Geisha is great for me.

Rims wise i'm not too sure as i'm not actually too pleased with the braking surface on the brimo balance (7005) i got with my geisha, it seems like it's just muddy (that type of chrome rim mud you cant see but you know is there) but i can't seem to clean it- any ideas?

Sorry for the lecture there but hope i've helped.

Max.

EDIT: Sorry just noticed Poopipes post, that sums up the BB situation. I know profiles are a smaller axle size though so may fit as is. Check that out as if you didn't need a new BB for them they wouldn't really be any more expensive than the hollowbites.

PS. You're choice but 90% of BMXers will tell you to steer clear of Winstanleys for buying things. Some orders are ok but they took over 3 weeks for a part i ordered and 2 months for my friends frame that was apparently in stock. When things do go wrong they're incredibly hard to get hold of aswell as they don't reply to emails and it goes through to some call centre on the phone in which an operator always tells you they're busy and will ring you back- they never do.

Edited December 4, 2006 by rad2themax

[mr ailsbury]

cheers for all the info guys

so what exact things will i need to order when I get my Hollowbites?

euro/standard/push-fit ?

and what would be an alright BB to buy to go with them??

sorry if I sound a bit retarded i just don't want to go ordering the wrong things lol

do I have to buy a new sprocket aswell? If so which is a good one to go for? Mine at the moment is a Salt CNC'd Alloy, 1/8" 30T, 5mm Thick one .

[poopipe]

you probably won't need a new sprocket - they're usually drilled for 22mm with an adaptor washer that makes them fit 19mm spindles. If you want a new sprocket cos it's pimpy I can recommend the superstar 30t one. I've been landing on mine a fair bit and it's holding up fine

phone the shop about the BB - the new WTPs are midBB but they used to all be euroBB so tell them which year the frame is and they'll tell you which one you need. The BBs themselves are all pretty much the same, they just have different logos on the packet - just make sure it's sealed and isn't too cheap.