Bike parts

Hi I'm new to BMX and, while I'm waiting for my bike to show up in a few weeks, I'm trying to do as much research as I can about the sport. I'm getting a Kink Launch 2009 series. So right now, I'm trying to focus on the mechanical aspects of the bike.

Could anyone here give me a list of the parts that make up the bike and what they do, why they're so important, and what I should look for when getting new ones, etc. This will help me understand the bike and also help me upgrade later on. I've already looked the few parts I could dig up information on, but an actual list would help tremendously. Thanks a bunch!

Well, first and formost you have your cranks. The crank is attatched to the pedal and the sprocket. It cranks the sprocket as you pedal. Easy right?

Then you have your back flywheel. This is attatched to the sprocket via your chain, and makes the bike move. The flywheeel is apart of your cassete which is centered in the middle of your rim.

Generally in BMX you want a small sprocket. Smaller sprockets allow you to accelerate faster but do not have as high a top speed as bigger ones.

EX: A 43T sprocket will accelerate slower than a 25T sprocket, but a 43T sprocket will have a higher top speed than a 25T.

Your front sprocket and your flywheel always have to have a correct gear ratio. (See danscomp.com gear ratio chart for more detail.)

Then you have basic parts-

Frame: What everything is attatched to. Light and sturdy.
Handle bars: What you hold when you're riding. Light and sturdy.
Fork: Holds the front tire. Light and sturdy.
Stem: Holds the handle bars in place. Light and sturdy.
Seat: What you sit on. Optional.
Brakes: What make you stop. Optional.
Tires: These are what provide the friction that makes Newton's 3rd law of motion possible: Movement! Depends on your preference of riding.

Let me know if I left out anything.

that was great, thanks.
the Kink has a small 25T chainwheel.
My friend recommended that I increase it to 36ish just so I get the overall speed up a little bit. No point in accelerating if there's nowhere to accelerate too. If I did that, I'd have to bump up the front wheel too?
And about gyro's/detanglers and pegs.
I know what gyros do, but does it really matter from model to model?
And pegs. For street, would I get small or big ones? And what type should they be? Does it matter where I put them? I heard somewhere that people only put them on certain wheels. Is it fine if I only put them on one side or all 4 places, or does it add too much weight? I dont see how it would though...

And isn't riding brakeless really dangerous for street? What do people do if they shoot out into an intersection? I'm pretty sure your knees won't hold up for long if you keep using your feet to stop yourself. Do they do it just for the sake of not having to use a detangling system?

Well thats not exactly what happens with breakles. When you ride brakes your a whole lot more cautious of your surrondings. To stop i usually just ride till friction starts to slow me down or if i really need to stop i will put one foot down and kind of stomp and push me back a little bit 3,4,5 times maybe and i will roll a little bit more but slow enough to put both feet back down.

I always rode breaks but im loving the feel of breakless and i might never go back even though i have brakes in my garage.

hmm
im not sure about that though
i can see how brakeless gives you a lot of freedom
but theres still the matter of shooting down an intersection/road
what if you dont have enough time to slow down, or need to stop right then?

Heres a question for a question. Why would you be going that fast in the first place if you know your on a road and cars might turn into you. Just coast down the street at a moderate speed. You can go with breaks but they will start to be a pain because they usually rub the rim and you will spend a ton of time fixing your breaks.

I'd go for a back brake at least. And when brakes rub the rim for the first few months, they leave a coating of pad that is required for consistent braking. It's like a car. That's why you don't want to go down a huge hill at top speed on new brakes.

That coating is the "Rub the rim" part. You don't want to fix that.

shubbyalert wrote:

that was great, thanks.
the Kink has a small 25T chainwheel.
My friend recommended that I increase it to 36ish just so I get the overall speed up a little bit. No point in accelerating if there's nowhere to accelerate too. If I did that, I'd have to bump up the front wheel too?
And about gyro's/detanglers and pegs.
I know what gyros do, but does it really matter from model to model?
And pegs. For street, would I get small or big ones? And what type should they be? Does it matter where I put them? I heard somewhere that people only put them on certain wheels. Is it fine if I only put them on one side or all 4 places, or does it add too much weight? I dont see how it would though...

I personally love 25T sprockets. But it's all a matter of preference. The front sprocket is the 25T or in your case the 36T.

You would however have to change the back cassete to match. I'm not familiar what a back flywheel is for a 36T but its definetly not a 9. The cassete will run you anywhere between $70-200. Cassetes are a pain in the ass to install though. You need to center them and then respoke your rim. It's easier to buy a new rim with the cassete you want. This will run you $130-250.

I'm downgrading my sprocket from a 43T to a 25T and let me tell you, it ain't cheap. For everything I got (back rim w/9T cassete, 25T sprocket, and a new chain) It ran me close to $170. And that was taking the basic cheap stuff.

Pegs: You can put the pegs anywhere you want on the bike. Some people put two on either side to grind. Others put all 4 on to grind both sides. I personally use 4 because I grind on both sides and do a little Flatland here and there.

The size matters depending on what your using it for. If you're flatlanding, you want larger pegs to support your foot. If your grinding you want lighter pegs with a smooth non course surface.

Pegs can significantly affect the weight of your bike. I have 2 flatlanding pegs on my back and 2 standard DK grinding pegs on the front. I took the front two off and I lost almost 1lb 1/2.

Again it's all a matter of preference. Just try some pegs out and see what floats your boat.

Admin wrote:

Heres a question for a question. Why would you be going that fast in the first place if you know your on a road and cars might turn into you. Just coast down the street at a moderate speed. You can go with breaks but they will start to be a pain because they usually rub the rim and you will spend a ton of time fixing your breaks.

That's a good point. But I live on the hills, and I can't help but going fast, unless i brake every few seconds going down. I guess you should always be careful around streets, but still. Pedestrians, and other stuff can pop up pretty quickly. Anyways, I guess it is just preference. I'll stick to the brakes just too sooth my paranoia, but i'll try it without em later on. Thanks for the opinion

Vistagecko: thanks that helped. Pegs must be pretty solid to weigh that much... I'll try to find a bike shop around my place to try out some different ones. As for the sprocket........ I'll stick with the one I have. It's not in my interest to pay close to the value of the bike for the wheel area lol.

Yeah vistagecko is a very good member hes very infomative. Whoever your friend was that told you to get a larger chainwhell dont listen to him if anything you want to get as small of a chainwheel you can. I think your launch is running a 25 though so dont wory about the chainwheel. As for breaks you dont really need a front break but backbreaks are good i always run them but im brakeless now. If you are going to run breaks run a straight cable not a gyro because gyros dont have very good stopping power plus your straight cable can usually take 2 spins. As for pegs its just a choice ive always just run your basic pegs like snafu hexagons and stock pegs for grinding and some sort of flatland stuff.

ah alright. He runs trail, so i'm not sure if he's giving me advice thinking that i will too...
Yeah the kink is at 25T, which seems pretty nice. I also think it only has rear brakes, which is even better. It comes with a stock detangler and removable gyro tabs, so idk if that'll matter. Should I remove them or let them be?

You can leave them be but you will have better stopping power with just running a cable straight to the breaks and it will probably save some weight if that matters. As for pegs you should just get a peg like this http://www.danscomp.com/518066.php?cat=PARTS or spend a little more for the same shape but lighter if you want but that peg will work just fine for about anything.

alright cool. I'll get a new set in a bit.
I'll take of the gyro if i think it's hindering my braking. If not, i won't mess with it.

Do the pedals make any difference at all?
What about handlebars?

Um pedals dont really have much to do with it but some people prefer to ride bigger bars as in very long and a little tall like the s&m grand slams and other bars. but just sort of ride with what you have and you can change what you want from their.

Oh i was wondering about pedals because danscomp has such a large collection. What's the difference between regular and clipless? And why are some pedals like the Time Z almost 100 dollars?!?!?

It's cool if you can't give me recommendations on how to change parts. I just want to know the different types of each part and how it works.

For handlebars: Aren't bigger one's harder to control? Or do they offer more control?

Personally I think both of those things matter alot.. If you dont feel right on your pedals your not gonna feel confident on your bike. Find some that fit your foot size just how you like it. I like plastic after trying both just for lighter weight and feel but some prefer metal. As far as handle bars the they change the feel of your bike completely.

When buying bars there are a few things to keep in mind

Back sweep - The degree angle of the backwards curve. I prefer 12 degrees. Feels just right for quick but not to quick steering. Just experiment with what you like best.

Upsweep - The degree angle of the upwards curve. I run 1 degree currently. Ive noticed upsweep changes the way the bars feel more than anything in my opinion. If its to much it feels kind of cramped and if its to little it almost feels bent downward lol..

Rise - Mostly preference but I think its easier to bunnyhop higher with higher rise.
Width - Preference as well BUT..It is much easier to balance manuals, fakie, ride bowls and manhandle the bike with wider bars

alright cool.
so handlebard determine how you........ handle the bike lol.
high angles mean cramped and low means too wide

Do wheels make a big difference? I mean, if you keep the sizie the same. Different designs, and materials. Apart from making it lighter, what does it do to the bike?

back to the breakless topic u can always rest your foot on you back tire but if u have good shoes than i highly dont recomend this

shubbyalert wrote:

alright cool.
so handlebard determine how you........ handle the bike lol.
high angles mean cramped and low means too wide

Do wheels make a big difference? I mean, if you keep the sizie the same. Different designs, and materials. Apart from making it lighter, what does it do to the bike?

weight reduction and strength. There are alot of options in wheels. First decide weather you want 48 or 36 lace then just pick a rim you like. Id stick with a light weight, double wall, 36 spoke wheel.

I think tires are the only thing on a wheel that changes the way the bike feels.

different weights of tires?
or tread patterns?

they have street tires and dirt tires.

whats the difference? Just materials used to build and tread?

There is a huge difference between steet and dirt tires.

Street tires: Smoother, more grip on concrete, different tread pattern.
Dirt tires: Higher raised tread, less grip on concrete, raised rubber islands on the tread.