Author Topic: Some "un-google-able" questions from someone who's been out of the loop  (Read 2991 times)

Offline FlatBlackMetal4130

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Hey all, I've been riding flat since ~2004 but riding gradually slowed down as I got married and moved from NJ to VA in 2012. Between not having a good spot, riding alone (unmotivated), and having 2 kids/school/work/whatever I have basically not touched my bike besides a few 30min sessions to see if I can even still ride over the last 5 years.


Now that the kids are getting older and the world is semi-normal, I have actually found some time to ride again. I even met a local novice flatlander to ride with which is HUGE for motivation to get out and relearn everything.


My bike is in generally good working order but I personally wanted to change out some parts and browsed Flatlandfuel and noticed soooo many things have changed. Here are some of my questions as they pop into my head...


1.) What happened to KHE Bikes? when I rode alot in the early 2010's they were a big name, and I rode their tires.


2.) I noticed a lot of the tires don't have bi-directional tread. Would this be noticeable riding flatland? I still have Frequency G's (which I've ridden since they came out) and I dont recall them costing $40?


3.) Were flatland pegs always so expensive? I currently ride G Sport Plegs with griptape on them, they seem a bit short (but I already had them on my Street set-up). are people running 4x1.5" pegs as standard? I believe I ran something closer to 5x1.75" in the past and this seems uncommon now?


4.) Does anyone have a  *strong* preference on seats? I have the Odyssey Aitken seat now which is fine, I really liked my McNeil Collier(?) seat but mildew got to it, had to throw it out basically.


5.) I know chrome rims work best for brakes, but if I run Odyssey Evo 2's with a well set-up cable and the clear Odyssey pads on my black G Sport Birdcage should I be able to lock the wheel? I used brakes for fire hydants, squeakers, pinky-squeaks, etc... not feathering.


Anyone who rode in the earlier 2000's/2010 feel free to reminisce in the comments  :)






 





Offline ollie

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Welcome back!

1) KHE has wound down. There are no new parts coming out, but some of the older ones are still available directly from their website. There are a few new brands FEC, Autum, Heresy and some older brands reentering the flat market incl. WTP, Colony so still plenty to chose from. But I agree I miss the amazing designs and progression KHE brought to the market.

2) Tire cost has at least doubled. in the past 10 years. I ride Maxxis DTH 1.75 at 10 bars, good weight and good price. It also has a bidirectional pattern and sometimes I switch around the tire to even out the wear and there is no impact on riding.

3.) Pegs got a bit more expensive as well, but not nearly as extreme as tires. 1.5" x 4.33" is standard. Forget about the 1.75", they will feel terrible compared to the 1.5" or even to the slightly wider 39mm.

4.) Having a good handle on it, adjustability and weight are the main criteria. The Autum Stay Hungry Seat lives up to it. It is basically a new version of the KHE watanabe. Flatlandfuel itself also produced something like this but I dont see it for sale atm. It is full plastic, you wont be afraid of hitting it to the ground as opposed to the Ody Aitken. Also the long nose on the Aitken is dangerous for flatland, at least for me as I hit my limb with the front of the seat often.

5) Yep, Birdcage is suitable for brakes, I think this combo should work.

Offline Griffo32

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Wow! they are some good questions! I forget how fast the BMX world has moved over a decade.

Offline metalbmxer

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Welcome back!


1) KHE has wound down. There are no new parts coming out, but some of the older ones are still available directly from their website. There are a few new brands FEC, Autum, Heresy and some older brands reentering the flat market incl. WTP, Colony so still plenty to chose from. But I agree I miss the amazing designs and progression KHE brought to the market.


2) Tire cost has at least doubled. in the past 10 years. I ride Maxxis DTH 1.75 at 10 bars, good weight and good price. It also has a bidirectional pattern and sometimes I switch around the tire to even out the wear and there is no impact on riding.


3.) Pegs got a bit more expensive as well, but not nearly as extreme as tires. 1.5" x 4.33" is standard. Forget about the 1.75", they will feel terrible compared to the 1.5" or even to the slightly wider 39mm.


4.) Having a good handle on it, adjustability and weight are the main criteria. The Autum Stay Hungry Seat lives up to it. It is basically a new version of the KHE watanabe. Flatlandfuel itself also produced something like this but I dont see it for sale atm. It is full plastic, you wont be afraid of hitting it to the ground as opposed to the Ody Aitken. Also the long nose on the Aitken is dangerous for flatland, at least for me as I hit my limb with the front of the seat often.


5) Yep, Birdcage is suitable for brakes, I think this combo should work.



solid reply, you hit the nail on the head Ollie!


KHE is pretty much done--at least in terms of flatland goods.


I'd stick to Ares tires for all around quality (maybe avoid the Kevlar version if you're a heavier rider or run more than 110 psi), price is still the same @ around $40-50 but perhaps there are fewer low cost options nowadays.


Pegs are definitely much more common in the 1.5" diam size. seems to be happy medium. I've ridden both 1.75 and 1.39 and the 1.5 is the sweet spot.


Seats: definitely recommend the autum stay hungry (khe watanabe design) or now colony have just released a new mini pivotal that looks ace @ FF

"Colony's new Mini pivotal BMX seat is the smallest pivotal seat available at 4.5" wide and 7.5" long. Pivotal seat technology.
  • [/size]Weight: 7.4oz/210g[size=0px]
[/size]

***For use with Pivotal seatposts only."
Dax (now in LAS VEGAS as of July 2022)

Offline FlatBlackMetal4130

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thanks for the responses everyone