BB

JD

i did it cause the voices in my head told me to......

i always liked the baseball card in the spokes trick.that sounded cool like a motorcycle.brummm...brummm...

i always liked the baseball card in the spokes trick.that sounded cool like a motorcycle.brummm...brummm...

i never could figure out why i use to use them to throw at people so that is my reason for having them there

I always thought it was to transport the tennis ball without having to hold it in your hand. In Blyther's case, he just stopped off at Upland to do some 10' airs on the way there.

I used to jam a flattened soda can in the spokes instead of a baseball card, sounded WAY more badassss.

ya never know when you feel like a game of tennis,just use the bike as the racquet..
Or maybe your lake jumping and just need a little extra boyancy....Or maybe your sending a signal to a chick that you have green fuzzy balls......

ya never know when you feel like a game of tennis,just use the bike as the racquet..
Or maybe your lake jumping and just need a little extra boyancy....Or maybe your sending a signal to a chick that you have green fuzzy balls......

I never did it. I did try to get a football in there once, but the results were, shall we say, not positive.

Tie and solder, eh? Trick indeed...especially when it's time to true the wheel.

Doesn't have any negative effect on truing whatsoever. This method is decades old in the track bike world, and makes for really stiff wheels.

BB, where did you get the idea from???

I think I know, but it is kinda hazy...

Speaking of tennis balls. I blew up some tennis balls this weekend. (I still have some huge firecrackers left from the fourth...) These hit like a M-80.

I used a steel fence post driver, and dropped the firecracker in and then dropped in a tennis ball.


BOOOOM!!

It shot that sucker about 600 feet up in the air...

It was a blast. (literally)

Soldering the crosses of spokes is a trick that is way older than bmx itself. This originated in fixed-gear track bikes for velo racing where mad torque is generated. It prevents the spokes from moving at that point, which drastically cuts flex and makes for a really stiff wheel.

Growing up my friends dad was a meat butcher and used to squeeze tennis balls to build up his forearms. He used to hold them up so we could punch it as hard as we can, but man those things were rock solid and big. They were so strong that he was able to pop the tennis balls with his hand!
He also used to put my friend in a head lock that you could not get out of, one flex of his forearm could sufficate you and crush your wind pipe. He was a real nice guy but also kept in check with his son so he would stay out of trouble. That was why my friend had tennis balls in his spokes so he could have arms like his pop's.

What's the deal with the guys who ride track bikes and have cards in their spokes. Not noise maker cards, but cards with logos and artwork or whatever on them stuck in the spokes. I was once told it had something to do with races, but I see messengers and commuters with them, and I haven't seen any cards yet with any kind of markings that indicate any kind of race at all.

Probably something to do with Alleycat racing.

Yep, alleycat racing is an informal race between bike messeners where any route is legal between two points in the city. The organizers hand out these cards to the folks at the start to know who was originally in the race and who jumped in midway. Started out using cards from the same deck of playing cards, but then it became a point of pride for the organizers to make custom artwork and have them laminated. The riders keep them in their spokes as proof of participation, although spoke cards have become common for non-race events as well now.

We used to dip tennis balls in gas, light them, and roll them down a hill.