After 20 years or so away from a BMX track I decided to get back in to it. I just bought a new Haro F24 cruiser the other day. It was set up as a freestyle bike and since I wanted to race it I had the bike shop remove all of the pegs, chain guard, and front brake assembly before I picked it up. I took it out to the track for the first time this past Monday and started getting acquainted with the bike and going around a track again. Now while it may be a while before I start buying my upgrades I already have them on my mind. So my question to you guys is where will my money be best spent right away? I know the bike is still heavy so weight reduction will be on my list of to-do's. Here is a list of what the bike has that I took right from Haro's website.
frame F24 Crmo DT - 21.7" TT.
fork 1 1/8" Crmo Steer -Threadless
grip Haro Stripe Grips
handlebar Hi-Ten- 5.25" rise.
crankset Haro 3-pc Crmo - 175mm. Sealed bearing USA BB
gearing 39/16 ACS Freewheel.
tires Kenda K-Rad 24x1.95 Front and Rear
hubset 48h alloy shell loose ball front and rear w/14mm axle
rims Alex 48H Alloy
seat/post Haro Slim Saddle w/Steel Post
pedals Haro "Recycled" plastic pedal
rotor WinZip Rotor
pegs 2 pairs Steel
Full Version: What should I do first?
Welcome to Vintage BMX. First make sure that your bike is set up to fit you. I took me a while to get used to modern bikes with the seat all the way down and the bars "seem" to be too far back. Get comfortable and the speed will come. Talk to some of the fast guys at your local track. As far as weight goes. Rotational weight has the biggest effect on performance. Tires, tubes and wheels will have the biggest impact on speed. Best of luck.
Dan
Dan
Rotating weight is a big deal but these days, wheels get expensive fast. It is easy to drop $500+ on wheels but that is going to make a huge difference over the 48's the bike came with. You can watch Ebay, Craigslist and your local track for a better price on wheels, but just about anything will be an improvement. Also, your bike has 14mm axles. You'll need adapters to make your new wheels fit unless you make sure to get a hub that has a 14mm axle. These axles are really strong and durable, but also super heavy IMO.
Another place to lose some weight on your rig is your bars. Yours are Hi-tensile steel, switching to chromoly or even alloy will save a bunch of weight and not cost and arm and a leg. Your bars are not as important as wheels but they are relatively inexpensive. Next do your cranks. There's tons of options these days when it comes to cranks and just about all of them will be lighter and stronger than your current cranks. Going with some DXR's, Profiles, Supercross or Eastern cranks will do you a lot of good. There's also other brands that are very good too.
One thing to remember is that today's bikes are not as light as the ones we had BITD. 23 to 25 lbs is completely "normal" for a chromoly framed bike. You might be able to do a ton of little things to save weight here and there like titanium spindles and hollow allen bolts in your stem and seatpost clamp, carbon forks, etc., but even then, you are still talking about something that's still around 22 lbs.
Another place to lose some weight on your rig is your bars. Yours are Hi-tensile steel, switching to chromoly or even alloy will save a bunch of weight and not cost and arm and a leg. Your bars are not as important as wheels but they are relatively inexpensive. Next do your cranks. There's tons of options these days when it comes to cranks and just about all of them will be lighter and stronger than your current cranks. Going with some DXR's, Profiles, Supercross or Eastern cranks will do you a lot of good. There's also other brands that are very good too.
One thing to remember is that today's bikes are not as light as the ones we had BITD. 23 to 25 lbs is completely "normal" for a chromoly framed bike. You might be able to do a ton of little things to save weight here and there like titanium spindles and hollow allen bolts in your stem and seatpost clamp, carbon forks, etc., but even then, you are still talking about something that's still around 22 lbs.
QUOTE (omartcruisers @ Nov 5 2009, 12:35 AM) 
Rotating weight is a big deal but these days, wheels get expensive fast. It is easy to drop $500+ on wheels but that is going to make a huge difference over the 48's the bike came with. You can watch Ebay, Craigslist and your local track for a better price on wheels, but just about anything will be an improvement. Also, your bike has 14mm axles. You'll need adapters to make your new wheels fit unless you make sure to get a hub that has a 14mm axle. These axles are really strong and durable, but also super heavy IMO.
Another place to lose some weight on your rig is your bars. Yours are Hi-tensile steel, switching to chromoly or even alloy will save a bunch of weight and not cost and arm and a leg. Your bars are not as important as wheels but they are relatively inexpensive. Next do your cranks. There's tons of options these days when it comes to cranks and just about all of them will be lighter and stronger than your current cranks. Going with some DXR's, Profiles, Supercross or Eastern cranks will do you a lot of good. There's also other brands that are very good too.
One thing to remember is that today's bikes are not as light as the ones we had BITD. 23 to 25 lbs is completely "normal" for a chromoly framed bike. You might be able to do a ton of little things to save weight here and there like titanium spindles and hollow allen bolts in your stem and seatpost clamp, carbon forks, etc., but even then, you are still talking about something that's still around 22 lbs.
Another place to lose some weight on your rig is your bars. Yours are Hi-tensile steel, switching to chromoly or even alloy will save a bunch of weight and not cost and arm and a leg. Your bars are not as important as wheels but they are relatively inexpensive. Next do your cranks. There's tons of options these days when it comes to cranks and just about all of them will be lighter and stronger than your current cranks. Going with some DXR's, Profiles, Supercross or Eastern cranks will do you a lot of good. There's also other brands that are very good too.
One thing to remember is that today's bikes are not as light as the ones we had BITD. 23 to 25 lbs is completely "normal" for a chromoly framed bike. You might be able to do a ton of little things to save weight here and there like titanium spindles and hollow allen bolts in your stem and seatpost clamp, carbon forks, etc., but even then, you are still talking about something that's still around 22 lbs.
Thanks for the great info. I have another question. This one may be a dumb one but I have been out of the game so long I'm really behind on my bike knowledge. Out of the parts you listed above besides the wheels is everything else pretty much interchangeable between 20" and 24" bikes i.e cranks, handle bars, etc.?
Well, yes and no. You can mount cruiser bars on a 20" or you can mount pro sized bars on a cruiser, but usually you wouldn't unless you were really short with wide shoulders (cruiser bars on a 20) or really tall (if you put pro bars on a cruiser). Generally cruiser bars run between 5" and 6.5" in rise. As far a cranks go, yes, they are interchangeable, along with pedals, seat posts (as long as the the post is the right diameter), seats, brakes, chain wheels. Some people prefer an inverted stem for cruisers but just as many do the same on a 20 it seems. Today, there's many stems that can be used inverted or right side up.
Wheels would be the first step. Nearly any 36 spoke wheel set will be lighter than the 48's you're running now. 48's are great for durability and you may want to run them for awhile if you plan on jumping. There are some people who have their race wheels for race day and a less expensive wheeel set for daily riding. I don't don't personally do it but did as a kid for awhile. If you hunt around on the net, you can find some good deals. Not all wheels cost $500+, I was just trying to make an example. You should be able to find something around $200 that will be lighter.
Wheels would be the first step. Nearly any 36 spoke wheel set will be lighter than the 48's you're running now. 48's are great for durability and you may want to run them for awhile if you plan on jumping. There are some people who have their race wheels for race day and a less expensive wheeel set for daily riding. I don't don't personally do it but did as a kid for awhile. If you hunt around on the net, you can find some good deals. Not all wheels cost $500+, I was just trying to make an example. You should be able to find something around $200 that will be lighter.
QUOTE (omartcruisers @ Nov 5 2009, 01:24 PM)
Well, yes and no. You can mount cruiser bars on a 20" or you can mount pro sized bars on a cruiser, but usually you wouldn't unless you were really short with wide shoulders (cruiser bars on a 20) or really tall (if you put pro bars on a cruiser). Generally cruiser bars run between 5" and 6.5" in rise. As far a cranks go, yes, they are interchangeable, along with pedals, seat posts (as long as the the post is the right diameter), seats, brakes, chain wheels. Some people prefer an inverted stem for cruisers but just as many do the same on a 20 it seems. Today, there's many stems that can be used inverted or right side up.
Wheels would be the first step. Nearly any 36 spoke wheel set will be lighter than the 48's you're running now. 48's are great for durability and you may want to run them for awhile if you plan on jumping. There are some people who have their race wheels for race day and a less expensive wheeel set for daily riding. I don't don't personally do it but did as a kid for awhile. If you hunt around on the net, you can find some good deals. Not all wheels cost $500+, I was just trying to make an example. You should be able to find something around $200 that will be lighter.
Wheels would be the first step. Nearly any 36 spoke wheel set will be lighter than the 48's you're running now. 48's are great for durability and you may want to run them for awhile if you plan on jumping. There are some people who have their race wheels for race day and a less expensive wheeel set for daily riding. I don't don't personally do it but did as a kid for awhile. If you hunt around on the net, you can find some good deals. Not all wheels cost $500+, I was just trying to make an example. You should be able to find something around $200 that will be lighter.
Thanks again for the info, this helps a lot. Now I guess I will just have to do some research to find out what are good upgrades and what is just factory replacement. I've found some wheels on the web but I still don't know if they are better than what I got. Being that most of these guys are asking 70-80 bucks I'm thinking not.
This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here.