Why did you choose this particular frame fork set up?
Im always gunna be bias to S&M but this frame has the geometry I want, the quality I want, and it’s a company Im happy to represent.
What sort of riding does your F+F set up suit?
ATF: All Terrain Frame, so its gunna cover everything fairly well. These days I do less and less “tricks”, I more just go fast and point. That could be jumping hips, carving bowls or even dirt jumps. Having said that my bike is still totally happy doing lip tricks & grinds if I want to show my age.
What’s the steering set up like (i.e. Stem, Bar rake, Bar height etc)
The frame has a fairly steep head angle which suits me cos I like doing nosepicks & toothpicks. I run my bars are slightly forward of inline with the forks and I like bars with a good few degrees of Upsweep. The bars & stem have been getting bigger over the years but they’re not all that wide or high. Back in the 90s when bars were smaller, I still never ran crazy small, so there’s probably only a few inches in it since then and now.
Which parts of your set up are “Old man friendly”?
Fat seat with plenty of seatpost showing, 2 brakes, metal pedals, metal pegs. I really show my age with all of those. I would say the top tube pad (I’ve been running a frame pad for 30 year) but they are back “in” now so that might even make my bike look modern.
Brand loyalty. What makes you run the brands you use?
Obviously, I’m S&M through and through but I always want to make sure I know the full details of every component of my bike. I want to support “real” companies that I know are doing the best for the longevity of BMX. There are a couple of parts on my bike that don’t hold true for this, and that’s where the products performance comes first but I try to represent what I can put my heart behind.
Is there a part of your set up that’s stayed fairly consistent with over the years?
My overall bike setup hasn’t changed that much.
Sure, we have all worked out what frame geometry works better for what we do, but if I’d built a bike 30 years ago (using modern parts) it wouldn’t be much different. I mean, I’m still doing the same tricks so why wouldn’t it be.
The component on my bike that’s the oldest is probably the U-brakes. I got my Fly / Suelo brakes in early 2000s and Im still using the same ones. All I have to do is file a bit more off the inside each time tyres get bigger again.
Is there one that has changed a lot?
The Chainring has got smaller, the back end has got shorter, the bike has got lighter and my body aches more.
How has your perfect set up changed throughout the BMX eras?
The first few years were a constant struggle to get parts to fit, to work, to stay in one piece, and stay together. Over the years BMX design has improved so much that hardly any of that is needed now. Bikes these days are really really good. Anyone who has recently tried to build an older BMX can confirm that. They used to be a nightmare.
Any custom made or custom mods on your bike?
Custom modifications done at S&M:
Welded Chainstay Brake mounts
Welded Front Brake mounts
Enclosed front and rear dropouts.
Mods I’ve done myself: (it’s a pretty short list these days. 20 years ago there weren’t many parts on my bike that didn’t need at least a little bit of fettling)
Front brake friendly Compression cap
Hidden Chain tensioners
Bit of tyre zip-tied on my rear brake to stop the chain clattering on it. There is a fair amount of clearance, but I want to keep my bike stealth.
Homemade ally bar ends.CM Punk on the seat tube to keep me safe.
Set Up
Frame
S&M ATF, Welded Chainstay Brake Mounts, Enclosed dropouts.
Fork
Pitchforks XLTs, Brake mounts, enclosed dropouts
Bars
Credence 8.7”
Stem
S&M Enduro V.2
Grips
S&M Randy Brown
Seat
S&M Coxie director seat. Pivotal
Seat post
Fit Pivotal (but not as long as you might think, I have a longer S&M one but it’s REALLY long and I can’t bring myself to cut it down. I might need a longer post one day)
Headset
BSD
Pedals
Deluxe metal (Wellgo B25s I think)
Cranks
Fit 24mm Indent Spline drive. LHD
Sprocket
Fit 24mm Spline drive. 28t
Chain
Not sure, Some KMC but it’s defo time to replace it
Tires
S&M Trackmark 2.1. Beadless, smooth, nice and light. Recent tyre choices have been BSD and United, which were great. I mostly ride skateparks so smooth tyres are fine but sometimes the 80s bmx kid in me comes out and I run a larger, more knobby tyre on the front, if only to make me think I ride dirt more than I do.
Front Wheel
Odyssey Vandero2 Hub 10mm Female. Sun Big City Lite rim, Chrome. BSD hub guard with the plastic removed
Rear Wheel
Odyssey Antigram Hub, 14mm Female. When I got this hub it was the only hub that had “real” 14mm female bolts. Sun Big City Lite rim, Chrome. BSD Hub guard.
Front Brake
Suelo (fly) Gen1 with the super low-profile arms. Oddy Slick cable (not linear), which has been cut down to the correct length!
Back Brake
Fly. Straight Linear cable. I drift back to a gyro now and again, but it’s been a while. I don’t spin the bars much these days.
Levers
Odyssey monolever medium. I would happily use Tech 77 but the oddy ones are a tiny bit shorter and I like that.
Gyro
NA
Pegs
Federal Ally that Ive had for ages. Ive tried plastic a few times but always come back to metal pegs. I don’t ride much street so only really use pegs on coping. When I hit the pegs I want to HEAR it. Plastic pegs rob me of my peg-chink tricks.
