BmxFlatland.Net - For Beginner BMX Flatland Bike Riders

It Pays To Be A Pack Rat

2012-03-01T13:00:00.000-08:00

A word to the wise: when you inevitably end up replacing parts on your bike, don’t throw anything away. Keep all your old parts on hand, because you never know when you might need them again someday. Even if you’ve decided that you definitely don’t like this stem or that brake, it’ll pay to keep it around. Your new stem or brake might fail on you; and then if you don’t have a backup on hand, you’ll be stuck without anything at all to use in the meantime while you wait to get a permanent replacement. Since many people buy flatland parts online, that could cost you several days of riding if you have to wait.

Aside from the component itself, you might also come to need the miscellaneous nuts, bolts, and small pieces that come with it. If you have extra nuts, bolts, washers, springs, spacers, cable ends, or whatever else: keep them all! If not, you may come to regret it.

Keeping all these random parts stored can get to be a hassle. I used to stash them in an old shoe box; but that didn’t help to keep all those little parts organized, and the cardboard eventually came apart. Then I wised up and got a fishing tackle box:

Now my tools and all those little parts can be kept in separate compartments, all in one sturdy plastic container with a little handle to boot. Get one for yourself! It’ll be the best few bucks you ever spent.

It's Gotta Be The Shoes

2012-02-17T02:15:00.000-08:00

What shoes should you wear for riding flatland?

If you read this blog with any regularity, you already know that the answer will be something along the lines of whatever you prefer is fine.

Or you can just skip them altogether. Check out this vid of Toon dropping bombs while riding barefoot:

Having said all of that, the age-old question about which shoes to wear for riding flat is a valid one. Different people will tell you different things, and none of them are necessarily wrong or right. Rather than immediately point to a particular shoe, I'll share my experiences with picking shoes from when I first started to ride flatland until today, and hopefully that can help you to figure out what is best for you.

When I first started to ride flat, I had no concept of what shoes I should be riding with, or even that it was something I needed to consider. I've always been partial to Nikes, and I used to do a fair amount of jogging for exercise; so I started off riding with some old Nike running shoes that I already had laying around. They were a lot like these:

Now of all the various answers and opinions people will give regarding the best shoes to wear for flat, no one will ever say hey, you should wear Nike running shoes. But I didn't know that; I just rocked with what I had. And truth be told, they might work just fine for some people; but it didn't take long for me to figure out that I didn't want to keep riding in these.

First, a bit about me: I am of a somewhat chunky build (5'8," 170 lbs), with a history of foot problems from playing basketball and being kind of fat. So I'm always mindful of whether the shoes I'm wearing are right for what I'm doing, and I didn't like these for riding at all. They're made for cushioning your foot while running in a straight line, which is obviously not at all similar to riding flatland.

First of all, the shoes were too "squishy." When standing on a peg with all of my weight concentrated on one foot, the bottom of the shoe would compress, and I would feel as if I were standing on the peg barefoot, and it hurt - especially after riding for long periods of time. This obviously wasn't an issue for Toon in the video above, but it was for me.

So that was the main problem. Also - if you look closely at the shoes above - you'll notice that they have shallow cleats on the front half of the sole, as well as an indentation/cutout in the middle of the sole. I decided that whatever shoes I rode in going forward wouldn't have these things. I felt like the cleats caught awkwardly on the pegs, and the indentations were annoying because I would always feel as if I needed to stand with the indentation directly over the peg. It probably didn't make any real difference, and I'm not sure I ever slipped or anything as a result of the indentation not being directly over the peg; but I decided that I'd rather not have any indentations there, so that I wouldn't have to think about it.

So what shoes was I to wear for flat, if not running shoes? I decided next to buy a pair of Vans, because they make skateboarding shoes; and hey, skateboarding is an action sport, just like BMX, right?

But I knew going in that I didn't want a pair of flimsy canvas Vans, like the ones I had as a kid:

In my view, the bottoms on these would probably be too soft, and would leave my feet hurting as did the running shoes. So when I was in Vegas for a cousin's birthday, I stopped at a Vans outlet and bought the burliest-looking model of Vans I could find there. They were pretty similar to these:

In my view, these would be a vast improvement over the flimsy canvas Vans. The bottoms were definitely harder, and the stitched midsole looked like it would be a lot tougher than would the vulcanized rubber sole on the canvas versions. The upper part of the shoe looked tougher as well. Not to mention that the price was right: I believe I spent $50 on these.

And they did work fine... for a while. Before too long, the bottom of the shoe broke down and got soft, and left my feet hurting again. Also, the bottom sole had split from the side of the shoe and left a hole, which disappointed me since these were ostensibly made specifically for action sports. So off I went again, looking for something else.

A side note: I was always into basketball shoes as I was growing up. Whether I was actually playing ball or not, I've always been into shoes like Nike's Air Jordans and Reebok's Iversons. It so happened around this time that I had a pair of low-top Nike Air Force Ones that had gotten old and dirty; so I thought hey, why not try riding in them?

I liked riding in them immediately. Finally, I had found something that prevented the peg from digging into the bottom of my foot and making it ache. It felt kind of strange at first: the downside was that I couldn't feel exactly where the peg was, as easily as I could before. Since flatland comes down to precise, barely perceptible adjustments, you can see how this could be a disadvantage.

But in my particular situation - with a history of foot problems and all - I decided at that point that I would always ride in basketball shoes, and would never go back to anything else. Most recently, I've been riding in Nike Air Flight '89s, which were suggested to me by my friend Rich Aguayo and - as rumor has it - are preferred by Chase Gouin as well:

So that's me. Being a chunky basketball player with a history of foot problems - and being an Air Jordan sneaker head from back in the day - I like riding in Nike basketball shoes (provided that they don't have any kind of indentation or cut-out on the bottom). One downside is that shoes such as Air Force Ones or Air Flight '89s can cost upward of $80 or $90; but from looking on eBay or at outlet stores, I never spend more than $40 or $50 on a pair.

Now for a bunch of disclaimers:

These are just MY personal preferences. You'll want to sift through my ideas - along with those of other people, and your own - to figure out what is best for you.

A big part of figuring out your shoe preference is deciding which qualities you want for the bottom (sole) of the shoe. You can think of it as a spectrum: on one end are shoes with super-hard, stiff soles. They will never allow your feet to hurt from standing on the pegs; but the downside is that they make it more difficult to feel the pegs, and to make some of the micro-adjustments that are at times necessary in order to keep your balance. On the opposite end of that spectrum are shoes with super-thin, flimsy soles, which give you a good feel for the peg... and in some cases allow them to hurt your feet. Over time, you'll figure out at which point on that spectrum you feel most comfortable.

All shoes eventually break down and get softer over time and with use. My ideal setup is a pair whose bottoms are still stiff enough to keep my feet from hurting on the pegs, but have been broken in enough to the point where I can feel the pegs more than with a brand new pair.

I've seen people ride and tear it up with no problems in those flimsy Vans. A lot of people prefer other skate-type shoes, such as DCs, Loteks, Globes, etc. And still other riders prefer basketball shoes, as do I. All of these possibilities have thus been "proven right," as it were, and so it's up to you to determine your own preference. Hell, you can even do the Toon barefoot thing if it suits you. Don't let anyone say that you can't (except maybe your podiatrist).

Come to think of it, there aren't enough people in flatland doing their own thing. Want to truly create your own lane? Get yourself riding in these:

* I'm just kidding. You shouldn't ride in these. But if you do, please post a vid. Thanks.

Changing up your bike without buying new parts

2012-02-06T12:33:00.000-08:00

It’s generally best to leave your bike setup as consistent as possible, so that you can build your skills without the added challenge of adjusting to new parts, different angles, and so forth.

But if you’re absolutely stuck on a trick you’ve been trying to learn - or have reached a temporary plateau – then changing things up can sometimes break bad habits that have been holding you back, or can provide that little change that you need in order to keep progressing.

This doesn’t necessarily have to mean spending money on new parts; all you'll need are your tools. Here are just a few ways you can give your ride a different feel, without having to put out any cash:

-- Bring your seat lower, or make it higher. For certain tricks, this will change the angle taken by your body and/or the bike at the balance point. You may find that adjusting your seat height makes a trick feel more comfortable or more natural; but if you don’t like it, all you have to do is change it back. Raising or lowering the seat also slightly changes your bike’s center of gravity, giving your bike the illusion of feeling lighter (or heavier) depending on the trick you’re doing.

-- Change the angle of your handlebars. It’s common for riders to put the angle of their bars in line with the head tube; but if you were to angle the bars slightly forward (closer to vertical), it would make your top tube feel longer and your bars feel taller. (This effect is, of course, reversed when you flip your bars backward.) If these changes sound like something you might like, give it a try. It won’t cost you anything.

-- Want to try your bars a bit taller, but don’t want to change their angle? Try raising your stem up higher on the steerer tube of your fork. (This usually means you will need to add one or more spacers.)

-- Flatlanders love their high pressure tires, and with good reason: higher pressure decreases rolling resistance and makes the bike more responsive for spins, turbines, etc. But sometimes a trick will be made easier to learn when your bike is LESS responsive; so it can’t hurt to try riding with your tire pressure dialed down a bit, especially on super-fast surfaces. You don’t even have to take any real action: your tires will slowly lose air pressure when left alone, so you can try riding at lower pressure by just refraining from pumping them back up for a while.

-- Want to try a shorter back end? Slam your back wheel and remove links from your chain if necessary. Want to try a longer back end? Pull your rear wheel out further if your dropout allows, and lengthen your chain as needed.

-- Want to drop a few pounds from your bike and force yourself to focus on brakeless tricks? Take off your brakes. If you decide that the loss in potential tricks isn’t worth the weight savings, then just put them back on.

-- Want to drop even more bike weight and really challenge yourself? Lose those pegs! Maybe you’ll end up making Chad Johnston and George Manos look like beginners. (Or not. Or at least not for a while.)

-- If you use brakes, drip some Tri-Flow into your cable housings, and clean your brake pads and rims. Maybe the extra stopping power will help you nail a trick that was eluding you.

-- Try riding at a new spot. Maybe you’ll find that the added speed from a slight downhill slant makes learning a trick easier, or that a smoother surface helps with that turbine you’ve been working on, etc.

But here’s the best way of all to increase your chances of learning new tricks, without having to spend any money on new parts…

Spend more time riding.

How To Do A Fire Hydrant

2012-01-28T09:36:00.001-08:00

Added 1/28/12: Fire hydrant how-to page.

Full-length flatland films for FREE viewing at DiversionTv.Com

2012-01-22T11:08:00.000-08:00

If you don't already know about Diversion TV, do yourself a favor and check out their library of full-length flatland videos for FREE online viewing! Below are just a few of our favorites:

Ground Rules Vol. 1: Instructional video by Matt Wilhelm, the guy you saw riding on "America's Got Talent"!

Same Thing Daily featuring Dane Beardsley, Jody Temple, Bobby Carter, Brian Chapman, Gabe Kadmiri, Simon O'Brien, Aaron Behnke, Leif Valin, Hamilton Abe, Shintaro Misawa, Alexis Desolneux, and Travis Collier.

Impulsivity: A video snapshot documenting the riding of flat legends Martti Kuoppa and Jorge Gomez from 2005-2008.

How To Make Your Own Stem Pad

2012-01-04T16:15:00.000-08:00

Tired of banging your knees on the back of your stem? Follow these instructions to make your own custom stem pad. (NOTE: This design will work even if you have both front and back brakes and a gyro.)

All you'll need is

1) a computer mouse pad;
2) a thin velcro strap;
3) a pair of scissors to cut the mouse pad; and
4) a sharp-tipped knife to cut small slots into the mouse pad material.

Watch the video below for assembly instructions:

The colors and/or graphics of your stem pad are limited only by what you can find on a computer mouse pad.

Enjoy! Your knees will thank you.

If This Guy Can Learn To Fork Glide, So Can You

2011-12-19T01:53:00.000-08:00

It's often said that the first step in any journey is the hardest and most intimidating. With that in mind, it's no wonder that so many beginners need a lot of help with the most basic, foundational of tricks: the fork glide.

But anyone who really wants to do so can learn this trick. And once you have this one down, it serves as a building block for learning more and more tricks; and from there, the sky's the limit.

To demonstrate that anyone can do this, we took a total non-BMXer, taught him how to fork glide, and documented the whole process from the beginning. Our friend Dan is a master fisherman, a father of two, and is a huge fan of Roxette and mixed martial arts. But he doesn't know jack about BMX or flatland, so he's as raw a beginner as you can find. Spoiler alert: on his 22nd try, we had him busting a full fork glide circle around a basketball half-court! He didn't ride into it or ride out, and he didn't necessarily have it totally mastered; but it became clear that he could learn this trick, and any others that he were to put his mind to.

And the same is true for you: whether it takes 22 tries or a million, you too can do this stuff if you really want to.

Check out Dan's learning process from the very beginning:

(Cliff)Hangin' With Bill Freeman

2011-12-06T17:47:00.000-08:00

The inventor of the cliffhanger tells us about the value of trying different forms of riding; how important it is for beginners to have a very expensive flatland bike (it isn't); a major difference between flatland and artistic cycling; and the REAL origin and name of the forward-rolling Karl Kruzer.

BMXFLATLAND.NET: Hey Bill, the Los Angeles local heads get to ride with you a fair amount; but for those who don't, let us all know what you've been up to, and how your riding has been going.
BILL: Well, I have been mostly just working a lot and riding when I can. I typically work between 40 and 55 hours a week. I have a job that can be pretty physical at times, so there are plenty of days when I don't have that much energy to ride, or my body is just feeling too beat up to ride.

I try and ride about 3 to 5 times a week. During the week I either ride flat at the Ralph's spot that is near my apartment, or I just roll around Mid-City hitting the street obstacle-type spots that are near my hood: walls, banks, gaps, stairs, curbs, or ledges and that sort of thing. BMX is just BMX to me; the more you learn, the better off you are in the long run. You are able to use whatever skills that you've obtained as building blocks that can lead into bigger and better things. It also just adds to overall bike control.

I almost always have a lot of ideas floating around in my head that I want to figure out and learn when it comes to my riding, so I tend to always have a couple of dozen new tricks that I am working on at any given time.

Bike check time. Tell us what you're running right now for parts.

My bike is set up to be as versatile as I possibility could make it. I prefer it to be good for any type of riding that I want to do on it. I want it to be able to take all that I can throw at it. I need it to be solid. It is a great overall bike that is both durable and pretty maintenance-free. It allows me to go months at a time without having to work on it, and I would much rather ride than work on my bike.

Frame: S&M LTF 19" stock
Fork: Primo Strand
Bars: S&M Intrikat Prototype. Upsweep 3 degrees, backsweep 6 degrees. The height on mine is 8.25," and they are cut down to 25" wide.
Stem: Suelo 30mm reach with a Tree Headset cap
Grips: Bizhouse Gym Grips, grey mixed with black at the ends for durability
Barends: Fly nylon
Headset: Mostly a Shadow Conspiracy Corvus, with Cane Creek Interlok nylon spacers
Clamp: Federal
Seatpost: Suelo post for a long setup, or a Kalloy for my shorter and more laid-back set up.
Seat: KHE Watanabe
Cranks: Profile 160mm / Fit mixed with some Shadow Conspiracy pieces (mid BB)
Sprocket: Tree Lite spline drive, 28t
Chain: KHE Hollow pin half link
Front Tire: Primo Comet 1.5
Front Wheel: 48h Fly hub / Shadow Conspiracy alloy nuts / Primo Balance 7005 rim, stripped raw then clear anodized
Rear Tire: Primo Comet 1.5
Rear Wheel: 48h KHE Geisha light with 11t driver / Shadow Conspiracy alloy nuts / Primo Balance 7005 rim, stripped raw then clear anodized
Pegs: 4 Tree Bicycles Trick Sticks (4 x 1.5), but currently I am instead running Stolen Nano pegs - diameter: 0.78" (20mm), length 1.37" (35mm) - in the rear right now. Originally, I just wanted to change them out to work on Whoppers; but it is nice to finally get the rear pegs out of the way. I have wanted shorter pegs in the rear for about 6 or 7 years. It has really opened up my thought process as to what else has not really been done. It keeps me from relying on a lot of my back wheel standards, and yet I can still do forward "nub" trucks.
Pedals: Animal Hamilton plastic

Are you into other kinds of bikes besides flatland?
Yes, my bikes get used for every different type of riding, not even just BMX. I did have 4 completes until not so long ago. I just sold my vintage Schwinn cruiser; it was a bit of a Frankenstein-type beast, like a bobber sort of setup. The frame is from the '50s, and it had lots of BMX parts on it too. I also have a 26" urban assault bike that I use as a sort of commuter/thrasher type bike. It is a Black Market, but I have it set up specially for my needs. Then there are my BMX bikes: I have an Ares complete - used mostly for flat - that I keep in Arizona. The other main 20" that I have is the S&M described above. I use it for light commuting, flat, street/park, and - well - just bicycle soul riding. Also, I am in the process of trying to build up a FBM custom 24" BMX cruiser that is going to be a lot of all-around fun once it is rolling.

Let's get to some advice for beginners, and people who are considering taking up flat. I feel like if you want to get down with flatland, you don't necessarily need some mystical, hard-to-attain rare unicorn of a bike; you should just hop on a BMX bike and start doing tricks. Would you agree with that, or not?
I would say that if there is someone who is looking to get into riding, he/she shouldn't worry so much about having some super-expensive or specialized bike right away; it really is not so pressing of an issue. I guess it depends on their age, too: riding BMX can take a pretty big commitment to learn and advance your skills. It might be for you, and it might not.

I think that the universal best way to go would be to look on something like, say, Craigslist, and find a decent used BMX bike of almost any type. You could very well pick up a useable bike for less than $150. Our homie Jonathan Bresley got started on a Next bike, so that is about as far from high end as you can get. It might not be strong enough to last for years and years, but it is enough to get you going in the very beginning.

I know it's a strange point for me to want to make, since this very website includes an online store that sells high-end flatland items; but I think these are things that people need to hear and know. These perceived high barriers to entry are cool for making us existing flat riders feel like part of the exclusive "flatland club," but I feel like it may mislead some people who might otherwise find that they can participate in flatland too.

When I am riding, people will always ask if mine is a "special" bike; and I'm like yeah it's a nice ride, but what's more important are the hours spent riding it. Any thoughts on that?I would say it is way more about the commitment you put into riding, than just simply the bike. The only real advantages to an ultra-modern setup are the weight and the overall strength. When you are starting out, these things aren't really such pressing issues. I'd say it is best that you just work on making yourself a well-rounded rider, and try lots of different types of tricks. You should really try and get the basics down before you go out and spend a boatload of money on the "ideal" setup.

Now having said all that, flatland bikes have definitely evolved over the years; most people, if not all, would say they've changed for the better. You've been around long enough to see fads come and go, and to see which changes create real improvement. So where would you draw the line between these two extremes?

On the one hand, there's "Yes, these unique new aspects of flatland bikes make them better for our purposes;" and then on the other extreme, there's "Dude, just get on any old bike and work your tail off already." Where would you draw the line between the two viewpoints that makes the most sense?
I think it is best to have some knowledge and know-how under your belt before you can even have an opinion or preference as to what will work for your personal riding needs. Having a nice, shiny, new, expensive, pretty bike isn't really instantly going to make you a good rider; developing techniques and perfecting a wide variety of skills while gaining maximum bike control will. So it does not really require the perfect bike; it takes dedication and time put into perfecting the craft. If you develop these things first, and are still interested in taking it further, then there will always be time to work your way into a more pricey bike.

Agreed. My own definition of the perfect bike for any rider is one that doesn't hinder or diminish his/her highest capabilities of riding; so by that definition, even switching out to newer parts more often than is necessary can be less than ideal.

This topic reminds me of a story I once heard you telling about how an artistic cyclist was in town, and you were able to hop on her bike - which wasn't even a BMX bike, let alone consisting of only high-end "flatland" parts - and you surprised her with how well you were able to ride it. Can you recount that story for the readers?
Ines Brunn is her name. Look up some of her videos online; she has got some serious skills. She was in LA for one of the Bicycle Film Festival events, so we got to ride with her at Studio City. To clear up any confusion: artistic cyclists are only able to do a select set of tricks, and in a very certain way. There are a ton of rules when they compete; there is no open-ended ability to do anything that comes to mind, like with flatland. Flatland - as well as BMX for that matter - is very much a "think something up and learn how to do it" type of thing. There are no rules or guidelines whatsoever, and that is just the approach I took to riding her bike.

Artistic cycles have small rear pegs, but the riders are not allowed to use them for doing tricks. They are strictly used to aid in foot re-adjustment, since they ride direct drive and have to sometimes dodge the moving cranks. I was not limited to those rules; I was doing tricks on the pegs and standing anywhere I could. I was using flatland techniques to conquer the possibilities on her bike. So she was stoked on watching me ride her bike, because most of the things I was doing on her bike were things that she has ever even thought of trying: scuffing, wheel walking, mixed peg and pedal stuff (meaning one foot on the peg while cranking the pedals in different positions), standing on the pegs and hand cranking, tailwhip-type things, cross foot, switch foot, boomerang-type things, et cetera. She filmed me for almost 2 hours joking around on her bike.

She was also really caught off guard that I was able to do pedal death trucks and crank across the whole Studio City lot in more or less the first day riding her bike. Even though I have ridden many different unicycles over the years, her setup was not that easy to adapt to. The big wheels, wheelbase, and frame geometry make it a ton different from a flatland bike. I could not even stand on the pedals in a forward pedal death truck; the balance point was super hard to figure out. And that is one of the tricks that she can bust out in circles with no hands!

To wind things up , tell the people the proper name for a forward Karl Kruzer. I know you want to clarify!
Hehe, this is such a common misconception that in my mind has gotten WAY too much momentum. Karl Rothe didn't ever do the Karl Kruzer rolling forward; Dave Fox did do a forward rolling Kruzer, and that is why it is a Dave Duster and always has been. I am not sure how Karl Rothe got so much "credit" for this, it makes no sense to me. There were almost NO riders doing forward rolling tricks when Dave busted these out. It seemed impossible seeing him do them the first time. Dave was a sick rider, and I think he deserves the credit for the tricks he invented, that's all.

Check out some recent videos of Bill's riding. He's the very last rider featured in this edit by One Love BMX:

Bill comes in at the 3:30 mark of Ahmed Johnson's LA Flatland Metropolitan edit:

Interview With Mark "Rad Dad" Dandridge

2011-12-03T23:57:00.000-08:00

We've heard your story before. You used to ride when you were a kid, maybe during the big boom days of freestyle BMX, in the 1980s. For various reasons, you drifted away from the sport and completely stopped riding as you "grew up."

But now you're older and wiser, and yet I find that this flatland stuff is still just so cool. What if I were to dust off my old bike, or get a new one and try to start riding again? Would that be crazy? Could I even still do it, now that I'm older? And does anyone my age even do this stuff? Or will I look weird, the only old person trying to do tricks on what looks like a kid's bike, surrounded by youngsters?

We've heard your story before... because we've lived it too. And now we ride. Again. Come join us.

Today's case study: Mark "Rad Dad" Dandridge from Austin, TX, born in 1967 (you do the math).

Would taking up flatland again be fun? Well, let's ask the guy in this video... does he seem to be having fun?

BmxFlatland.Net: I know that you rode flatland in the late '80s - early '90s, stopped for a long time, and then took it up again in 2003. Likewise, I rode for a bit in the late '80s, stopped for a very long time, and then started up again in 2008. When we started out riding the first time, any new participants in the sport were mostly younger kids like us. Nowadays, I feel like a fair amount of the "newcomers" to flatland aren't only the young guys, but there are also a bunch of older people who used to ride back in the day and are now coming back to it. Would you agree with that assessment? If so, what do you think is driving this wave of older people coming back into flatland?

MARK: I think the wave of older generation riders is picking it back up because it's in our blood. Growing up, there were not many older riders. I remember when I was 19, wondering "Could I get to be 31 like Brian Scura and still ride?" We now realize there is no age limit, besides that of what our physical bodies can endure.

I started up riding again in 2008 because I had watched the DVD "Joe Kid On A Stingray," out of curiosity to see what the scene had become. What got you started again in '03?

It was after watching Mat Hoffman just about kill himself on a 50-foot jump. The moment that I saw him get back on the bike, put me back on my bike.

I know that when you came back in '03, you bought a bike, tried it out for a while, returned it, and then got it back and started again with a new determination. Just how hard was it to get back to whatever level you had attained before you quit riding the first time? And just how high a level of riding was that, anyway?

It was a big struggle for many tricks. My level of riding when I left was not very high, but I always had fun. The last trick I learned before stopping was a cherrypicker. I never did ride out of that trick, ha ha ha. That was the point in time when steamrollers and other rolling tricks were coming out. I was like, "That's just too hard," so I gave up.

Any particular advice you'd give to older folks who are considering a return to the sport?

If you're thinking about getting back in, just remember that it takes time to get your tricks back. Don't expect things to fall back into place after 1 or 2 tries. They will all come back in time. Most importantly, have fun.

Do you think there are any advantages to starting out (or re-starting) as an older rider, as opposed to, say, starting out as a 17 year-old?

I know that for me personally, when I was 19, I was not as focused, and I drifted in my learning process. At the same time, when I was younger I would try things that were more dangerous. Being an older rider has its advantages and disadvantages. You just have to focus on the positive things and not concentrate on the negative things.
How about disadvantages to starting out as an older rider? What would you say the main challenges are, specific to that situation? What advice would you give for overcoming those issues?

The biggest disadvantage is the fear of getting hurt. You can’t afford to get hurt while riding your bike, or potentially doing life-long damage to your body. The way you overcome those fears of falling and getting hurt is to wear pads and brace for impact. You're going to fall if you're trying to learn something. Pads will help you to not get hurt as much, so you can enjoy your riding.

You are living proof that older riders can get down for theirs. What tricks/combos are you working on these days?

I have been working on learning how to turbine any trick. I have been very close to doing one in a cliffhanger.
Where can we find the latest online edit of your riding?

I have been rebuilding my riding skills since a long break over the summer. I am back to basics. Nothing too fancy right now, but I filmed this just for BmxFlatland.Net:

I think one of the first things I ever read on your website was an interview with R.L. Osborn. What other kinds of good stuff have you got planned for BMX Freestyler?

BMX Freestyler has been my passion for many years now. I am in the process of reinventing the site all over again. I am building up some ideas for 2012; we will see what kinds of things I can come up with. I listen to the radio a lot, and I get ideas from there.

Thanks for the knowledge, Mark! Any shout-outs?

I want to shout out to my son Caleb, because he believed in me from the very start. Also, the ATX flatland crew and all of my flatland friends all over the world. Keep on Riding!

What flatland tricks should I start out with? And in what order should I learn them? (A sample curriculum)

2011-12-02T09:59:00.001-08:00

These are questions commonly asked by new riders; and with all the different kinds of tricks that have come out over the years, they are very good questions. "All these tricks look equally impossible, so where do I even begin? And how can I go from not being able to do any tricks at all, to doing something crazy-looking; like, say, a backward hitchhiker?"

Backward hitchhiker

As always, the answer is to learn whatever tricks you want to learn, in whatever order you want to learn them. Unlike college, there is no set "curriculum" of tricks; you can work on whichever ones appeal to you and ignore the ones that don't, and that would be perfectly fine.

Having said all that, a lot of the more advanced tricks certainly require the skills and techniques learned from simpler moves. To use educational terms again, you can consider basic tricks to be like "prerequisites" for harder ones.

If you are a new rider and are completely clueless as to where to start your training, here is a sample "course of classes" that other riders have started with, and that you might find useful as well - especially if you'd like to start by "majoring" in front-wheel backward-rolling tricks.

First, learn the fork glide. We have a how-to page for the fork glide up now; similar pages for the other tricks below will follow in the future.

Our man Tateo here can fork glide all day.

Next, get a taste of one-wheel action with the backward steamroller:

Fishyvincy27 demonstrates a backward steamroller.

Now you'll want to learn do do that backward steamroller double-footed, with one hand on the seat and no hands on the bars:

At this point you're ready to learn the backward halfhiker:

Psychoholicpimp representing for MD with a backward halfhiker

And finally, a mini-graduation milestone for this particular course of classes: the backward hitchhiker.

If at first you don't succeed at a backward hitchhiker: dust yourself off and try again.

Even with focused effort, this small sample curriculum should keep most new riders busy for many months, if not years; so have at it. (No one said this stuff was easy!)

If you progress far enough to learn these tricks all the way up to the backward hitchhiker: congratulations! You must be a true student of flatland to have gotten this far.

But of course, by no mean does your education stop here. You're now qualified to move on to all manner of variations and combos. And when you're not content to copy tricks that have been done before, then start inventing new ones and teach them to the rest of us!

eHow Article: How to Set Up Your Bike for Flatland

2011-12-01T16:52:00.001-08:00

The following suggestions (with some minor edits) are excerpts from an eHow.com article called How to Set Up Your Bike for Flatland Freestyle, contributed by an unnamed author. These tips are very general, but there is some valuable basic info here for beginners. Read on:

BMX flatland freestyle is probably one of the most difficult sports on the planet, but it is also one of the most rewarding. It takes years of practice and dedication, and it helps to have a bike that is set up for flatland. Follow these tips to get started.

• Start with a good flatland-specific frame. These usually have a short top tube, a short rear end, and steep angles.
• Do a quick check of the frame and everything else on the bike, to be sure nothing is cracked, bent or broken.
• Remove any pads, reflectors, chain guards or kickstands.
• Put axle pegs on the front and rear wheels, and install a cable detangler for the brake cables.
• Position your handlebars so that they are straight up and down, or parallel with the fork. You may be more comfortable with your bars a little further forward or back, but don't stray too far in either direction.
• Remove old grips if they're torn, or if the handlebar is showing through. Bar end caps will help protect you from the ends of the handlebar.
• If possible, choose a wheelset that has a rear hub specifically designed for flatland, usually called a freecoaster. Freecoaster hubs allow you to set your pedals at one position, and they will stay at that position when rolling backward. Conversely, hubs with a regular freewheel allow the pedals to travel backward when the rear wheel is rolling backward, and coaster brake hubs don't let you set the pedals easily because of the brake built into the hub.
• Use tires that have a smooth tread, and inflate them to the maximum air pressure. Most flatlanders run at least 100 pounds of pressure in their tires, even though it is usually well above the recommended pressure on the tires. When doing so, take care to use tires which are rated to near that pressure range.
• Tighten all nuts and bolts to their specifications, including axle nuts, stem bolts, pedals, cranks, seat and seat post nuts, brakes, and headset.
• Lubricate all moving parts, such as brake cables, brake pivot bolts, and your chain.
• Put a sufficient amount of tension on the chain, so that it doesn't fall off or have excessive slack when you're riding.
• Choose platform pedals over caged pedals or clip-in pedals.
• File down, cover, or otherwise protect yourself from any sharp edges on the bike, such as the edges of the stem or handlebars.
• Many riders are learning to ride flatland with only one brake, or even with no brakes. It's all a matter of your personal preference and style.
• When you're setting up your brake cables, make them as short as possible without sacrificing effective braking. Long cables tend to get in the way.
• Always make sure your spokes are tight and the wheels are straight.
• When choosing pegs, find some that are knurled or grooved for traction, or consider adding grip tape. Smooth pegs are great for street and ramp riding, but you'll want foot traction for flatland.
• If you can get pedals that have removable pins or pins which are not too sharp, use those. You're more likely to tear your legs up on sharp pedals than you are to slip off from smooth pedals.
• Always use pegs on the wheel axles, rather than on the fork or frame. The further from the axles you are, the harder the tricks are.
• Short crank arms - 165mm or 170mm - are less likely to get in the way than are longer ones, although for many cranks, 175mm is the shortest version you'll be able to find.
• If any part of the bike is creaking, check it out. It probably needs to be greased or tightened, or it may be cracked. A good bike is solid and silent.

2011-11-11T10:05:00.000-08:00

Welcome to BmxFlatland.Net! This site will feature content that appeals to all levels of riders, but its main purpose is to help those who have just started - or are considering starting - to ride flatland. The site is not intended to include everything in the world about flatland; other sites do a good job with their various roles already, so no need to duplicate them all here. Rather, we will aim to provide the info and resources that new riders need, and to present it in a simple, organized, and easy-to-navigate manner. There's a lot of information to get lost in out there on the web, so this site will aim to provide clarity for the riders that need it most of all: beginners.

The site certainly isn't yet "finished" at the moment, and probably never really will be. It will evolve according to what is or is not furthering its goal of assisting new riders.

To kick things off, check out our interview with Bobby Carter, up now! We pick his brain about his latest projects, the character traits it takes to ride flatland, what kind of people would never be able to ride flat, and more.

Enjoy! To paraphrase one of my turntablist heroes, DJ Babu: this site is dedicated to flatland riders past, present, and future.

All the best,
Mike C

Eastern Shock: Complete Bike Eyeball Review

2011-11-10T15:16:00.001-08:00

Props to Eastern for stepping into the game with an entry level-bike featuring flatland-friendly geometry. With an 18.5” top tube, 75 degree head angle, 71 degree seat tube angle, and 13.75” chain stay length, the Shock’s geometry is comparable to that of many pro-level frames which cost more than this entire bike. Other features that give the Shock flatland appeal are its included front and rear brakes, plus gyro detangler.

While the frame geometry and brake setup look good for flatland, some of the bike’s other features appear to be geared toward other styles of riding instead. Potential buyers who want this bike purely for flatland use will probably wish that it came with a freecoaster hub (even a cheap one), rather than the 9t cassette hub featured here. The Shock also comes up short out of the box by including only one pair of pegs. Sure, anyone can buy another pair of pegs; but another included pair would be nice, especially if we are to consider this as a flatland bike. Other street-ish stock components include the fat 2.3” tires and a small one-piece saddle/seatpost; nothing wrong with these on a BMX bike per se, but people who want to ride this specifically for flatland will probably opt to switch those out (especially the tires). The handlebars included here appear to be for smaller street-oriented riders too, with 10 degrees of backsweep and a height of only 6.5.”

Add the set of included 175mm heat-treated chromoly cranks, and you’ve got a pretty decent setup here, especially for the price (only about $290). But all in all, this bike seems most appropriate for a smaller rider with street intentions, rather than for an average-size adult flatlander. We suspect that this may have been Eastern’s intention all along, despite the fact that their website refers to the frame as being flatland-specific (instead of just being small).

In closing, an adult-size flatlander on a budget would probably be better off saving up an additional $50 and buying something like a DK Opsis, which comes with a chromoly frame and fork, two sets of pegs, and a freecoaster. But if you know a kid who’s dying for an entry-level BMX bike, the Eastern Shock would be pretty damn sweet. Hopefully this is a sign of more flat things to come from Eastern, a company with a long, well-deserved history of respect in BMX circles.

Get the 2012 Shock for a great price by clicking here.

Interview With Bobby Carter

2011-11-08T18:39:00.000-08:00

Originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan, Bobby Carter is the unofficial mayor of flatland in Los Angeles. From Zuma Beach to Riverside, whenever there's a session going down, chances are Bobby will be there.

In addition to his own riding, Bobby broadcasts the performances of BMX riders and other alternative athletes as the founder of the action sports video website DiversionTV.com. We caught up with him between all his endeavors to pick his brain about his latest projects, the character traits it takes to ride flatland, what kind of people would never be able to ride flat, and more.

BMXFLATLAND.NET: What's new with you, first of all?

BOBBY: I’ve just been working on Diversion TV and riding everyday. I’m trying to ride everyday from Oct.10 – Nov. 10 (2011). I haven’t missed one day of riding yet.

Good to hear that the website isn't making you too busy to ride. What's the one new characteristic or feature of Diversion TV that you're most proud of, ever since its re-launch?

Now the site is advertising-supported, so that allows fans to access and share the films in a manner that they need, while also allowing the film makers to monetize their internet distribution.

Free vids for the users? Pay for the filmmakers? Sounds good to me. Let's say I visited the Diversion TV website a few weeks ago but haven't been back since then. What's new that I've been missing?

The site is updated throughout the day with clips from around the net. Also, we have special features on our blog Monday thru Friday; so be sure to tune in every day or you may miss a sweet video or cool interview. The blog is on the home page, so just go to DiversionTV.Com for updates!

Okay, imagine that you're riding at your spot and some kid rolls up to you on his BMX bike. "Damn," he says, "Someday I wanna get down like you get down. How do I begin?"

What would you say to that kid, assuming you're in a mood to help point him in the right direction?

If you wanna get down, you gotta spin around and feel the sound from the crown all the way to the groun’! Know what I’m sayin’! LOL! I just say start out with some basic tricks and ride as much as you can. That’s the real secret to learning flatland. You gotta just go out there and ride as much as possible.

I know you're old enough that there was no internet when you started riding. How do you think it would have affected your motivation or ability to start riding, had the web been around back then?

There would have been a sea of flatland information; maybe I would have learned a lot of tricks faster from seeing videos of my peers all over.

About our peers: what do you think it is in a person that attracts them to do tricks on the ground with a little kid's bike? Flatlanders come from all countries, all personality types, and all socioeconomic backgrounds. What is it we have in common that draws us to this, when most of our peers have probably seen some flat somewhere before, but didn't have the interest in it?

It takes a certain personality to like flatland. For one, flatland is for people who want to do something special, have high achievement aspirations, and like to challenge themselves. Not just any geek off the street can hang in the flat game. Also, you can’t be worried about being super social and fitting in with the mainstream; most riders can think for themselves and can come up with their own paths in life and with riding. (Although lately, it seems otherwise within the community...)

Do you think there is some untapped base somewhere of potential flat riders who would like to try it, but lack some kind of resources or information that they need in order to start? Or is it just a matter of people not having the interest, only because they have never been exposed to it? Or, do you think at this stage that everyone's seen it in some form somewhere, but most people just don't care for it?

It’s really all of that. Most of the world’s population doesn’t know what flatland is all about, so more exposure will definitely get more people into it. However, there is a big segment of people who don't want to work hard and practice with slow progression and delayed gratification. Some people also don’t want to be seen on a bicycle that seems to be made for 9-12 year olds and is not efficient for long distance travel. Those that will want to participate can see that the bikes are really high performance machines, and that flatland is a high level art form that will take your mind and body to dimensions most people will never experience. We just gotta connect with more of those people.

On the flip side of that, do you think there is any subset of people that just would never be able to ride flat, even if they wanted to?

If you don’t ride a bike, you can’t ride flat.

There you have it. Thanks for the insights! Any shout-outs?

Shout out to all the riders and homies and people taking charge of their lives around the world!

How To Do A Fork Glide: Video by BMXFlatland.Net

2011-11-06T18:44:00.000-08:00

Includes some pointers on learning the all-important foundational trick called the Fork Glide, including the necessity of offsetting your own body weight, and not letting the bars turn in a way that can cause you to slam.