hey guys... here's my skull skates cruiser that I got a few months ago.

I love the bike, but there's a couple things I'd like to change... I'm definitely no bicycle guru, so I'm coming here for help.

First is the seat. it's comfortable, but ugly as hell and makes all kinds of noise while I'm pedaling... plus, every time I have to jump it or anything, it sounds like the bike is falling apart. I'm pretty sure it's all the springs in the seat making all the noise. Basically I want the most comfortable bmx style all black seat I can find... any recommendations?...

Next is the stem. it's making noise also... mainly when I'm standing up and pedaling hard. Is that something I can fix, or is it just making noise because it's a cheapo part?... if I need to buy a new one, what's a good looking retro bmx style stem you'd recommend?

last are the grips... I like the way they look, but they're cheap plastic, so the "chrome" has rubbed off wherever my hands touch them. Are there any similar ones made with aluminum that you know of?.. otherwise, what grips do you think would look good?

I just wanna be able to ride this thing hard, and have it sound solid on landings...

thanks fellas,

Dustin

A Helix stem would be great for that bike. Search for "Helix BMX" on Yahoo. Before you buy, though, make sure your stem bolts are properly torqued and the headset is tight.

Perhaps a Brooks seat would be good for the bike. Maybe a B-17. If you are going for that Klunker look, try a B-72. Brown or black leather would work. Try SJS Cycles in England. The Pound is in the dumper so the prices are cheaper than anything in the U.S. Plus, once they discount the VAT (foreigners don't pay that tax), it may cover shipping.

I looked up the helix, and the only color they have in stock is blue... not gonna work... and I have everything tight... I quadruple checked that... do you think throwing some grease in there would quiet it down?...

and I'm not too into the brooks seat look... I think I want just a basic newschool bmx seat... but the biggest most comfortable one I can find...

thanks a lot!

The helix stems are very nice for the retro look. I have an Azusa stem that I could part with. Not cheap, though. It is silver with the AZUSA logo on the side. PM if interested.

Helix may make more. Try Danscomp.com for a seat. Plenty of new school stuff on that site.

Check your LBS for a gel saddle... they are all-black and your butt will thank you...

I have a Skull cruiser and it was making the same noise so I greased the stem wedge... still made the noise... then swapped the stem... twice... still made the noise... so I knocked out the headset cups and found that they were mounted dry... greased and re-installed... bike still made the noise...

As it turns out, it was the headset crown that was making the noise. It was also mounted dry. I knocked it off, re-greased it and installed it and the bike made some noise until I ran it off a few curbs and that settled the crown onto the fork... noise is gone...

When you have a creaking noise, it is best to take everything apart and put grease between every part and put it back together before paying for new parts... I re-learned that lesson.

They are great bikes, but poorly assembled at the factory. It's a common problem. I also had to completely disasseble/grease/reassemble my retro PK Ripper... no grease anywhere... dry as a cracker.

That Azusa stem is 1 1/8 and the Skull takes an old school style shafted stem. Helix is good or just pick an older DK stem. They always worked great for me back in the day.

Check www.nashbar.com. You can fund some nice mountain bike seats on sale at their site.

It took a bit to find it, but here's a pic of mine:



I swapped out quite a few of the stock parts and made the bike ride better and more comfortably. The creaking issue was solved as described in my above post.

I find the Fuji Velo seats that my LBS takes off the new bikes and replaces, fit me perfect.
I have changed out to that seat on all of my cruisers Plus, he sells 'em to me for $10.
However, a quick internet search shows I am in the minority concerning comfort.
But the idea has merit. See if your LBS has a pile of new take off seats in the back they will sell cheap.

thanks a lot guys...

I think I'm leaning towards the macneil fat cap for my next seat...

and faust... do you know off the top of your head what size the seat post is for the skull skates cruiser?... I have to get a new post if I decide to go with a macneil seat...

Hi it uses a 1'' standard bmx size post I own #36 and went with a red Helix stem and some other red bits nice choice on buying a Skull Cruiser they are a super layed back ride when you get it set up rite and even better ride after a few beerz

Do they still sell those cruisers, they look sweet but I couldn't see them on the website ! Are they cro-mo ?

awesome... 25.4mm is the same thing as 1 inch right?... I decided I'm gonna go with a macneil pivotal seat and post, but they only have sizes in metric...

thanks



oh, and len... I got the second to last one... they still had a hand made one that was set up just like a 1980 racing bike, but it cost almost 3 times as much as this one did... give them a call and they might still have it in the shop... this one was a display model in the shop also.

Yes, 1 inch equals 25.4 mm.

DRED,

I might be interested in your stock seat, depending on the price.

I dropped my bike off at the shop yesterday, and they've been screwing around with it all morning trying to figure out the creaking... I told them exactly what you said about the headset crown, and they said they already tried that and I bought a new headset!... the manager was on the phone with me for like 10 minutes telling me what they'd tried that he had absolutely no idea how to make the creaking stop... haha...

hopefully it'll settle in after I ride it, like you said.

Mine still made the noise after I re-seated the crown... so I got really angry and rode it down the street in a tantrum, bunny hopping it and slamming it off of curbs as hard as I could... quite honestly, I was hoping I would break it... then the noise stopped... so maybe it just needed to be shown who was boss... LOL!




Mine takes an oldschool 7/8" post, but there have been several versions of the Skull Cruiser so I would measure to be sure... Vernier Calipers are your best friend... I never take anybody's word for what size fits what anymore after getting stuck with parts that don't fit...

the bike's still at the shop... I'll have to double check the post size when I pick it up tomorrow. Any idea where I can find a 7/8 pivotal seat post, or am I pretty much back to square one on the seat search?

These are great looking bikes. I'd been toying with the idea of getting one of the frame sets shipped over but in the end I settled in a DC Quadangle.

How do you find the bars on the S/Skates? I really don't like the SE Quadangle bars and I've been considering getting a set of the S/Skates bars instead but I can't work out if they'd look weird on a 24".

The Skull Skates bars are nice, but they have a lot of backsweep. I would not use them for a 24"...

S&M 24" bars work great....

I went down to the bike shop yesterday to pick up my "fixed" bike... the kids there tried to charge me 40 bucks for nothing... absolutely no improvement to the creaking and they even said they fixed the loose bearings in the front hub. nope. I asked the manager what the deal was and he said he'd personally work on it... we'll see what happens. I have a feeling I'm gonna end up spending like 80 bucks on labor and have absolutely nothing change.

3 days, nothing fixed, and they tried charging you?!?!?!?! I would find a new bike shop.

Aaah good point! Thanks for the tip Faust, will try and hunt down some S&M 24" bars.

Dred, sorry for hijacking your post.

Any luck?

nope... spent 75 bucks for a new headset I didn't need, some locking sunline grips to replace the cheapo plastic ones, and the labor for having the manager pull everything apart himself.

turns out the creaking is from the fork itself... he said he pulled it completely out and he could get the fork to creak by hand.

I guess I'm just outta luck... should I call skull skates and see what they can do about it?... it's always made the creaking sound, so I figure it's gotta be a defect.

and if they can't help out, any idea where I can find a 26" bmx fork to replace it?

Landing Gear... I have chrome ones on my Firemans Cruiser, but no break mounts.
You could get the firemans cruiser. I have a pair in silver paint.
Landing gear forks from Colored Tuffs website.

and if they can't help out, any idea where I can find a 26" bmx fork to replace it?
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I believe that the Skull is a 1 inch threaded fork and the Fireman's cruiser is 1 1/8 threadless. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Hi yes 1'' threaded mine also creeks a bit

I guess you'll have to wait for the landing gear to come out... it said on a old post the 1" threaded landing gear will be out in a few more weeks.

what a bunch of crap.... is this why they're not producing any more bikes?...

I researched this bike for months... why are the creaking problems coming out of the woodwork now?

thanks for all the help so far, guys...


can anyone help me out with finding a set of 1" threaded bmx forks for a 26" wheel?...


these creaking forks are driving me nuts.

Did you set the fork crown race with a lot of grease and beat the crap out of it? Mine stopped creaking after I got really brutal with the bike... of course now that I say that, it will probably start doing it again... if it does, I'm taking a blowtorch to it!

Is Skull Skates still making these cruisers and where can you get them?

Chris these are from 07 and only 100 made but I think PD still has one or two in the shop and you can buy it as a f/f also just email him www.skullskates.com