 I made myself another new frame and this one is a little larger. I keep telling myself that I want to make myself a mountain bike but there are so many things about mountain bikes that I don't like so this is as close to one as I could bring myself. It is almost the length of a MTB but with a much lower standover height. What don't I like about mountain bikes? Three main things really bother me. (1) derailleurs and loose chains slapping about and falling off at inopportune moments. I am not particularly fond of band aid contraptions that are designed to tame the wild flapping of the chain either (mrp). (2) I still think that euro BB shells are too small to fit a truly strong spindle AND a decent set of bearings. (3) MTB parts are way too expensive and they break way too often. Way.
The trail bus is a hybrid that takes the best of both worlds (BMX and MTB) and combines them into one durable, fun-to-ride machine. One of the cool things about mountain bikes, more specifically downhill mountain bikes is that they have evolved some good tire technology. Three inch wide tires are quite fun but they don't fit in many frames. These tires are on 24" cruiser size rims but they are so tall that they actually measure almost 26" in diameter (25.5"). Downhill MTB Racing has also evolved nice wide rims to match these monster tires. It took a long time but mechanical disk brakes are pretty good now and they are not too, too expensive. The Avid one I got is fairly easy to adjust too. From the BMX world comes the low profile, single-speed, diamond-frame with an American sized BB shell. BMX gives us the simplicity of a low toptube, no suspension and a short headtube. Real BMX world parts include cranks, pedals, grips, seat and front hub. MTB stuff includes the rims and tires, quick-release seatpost clamp, disk brake and disk compatible rear hub. The four parts that I fabricated include the frame, fork, bars and the gutless seatpost. I would classify these four parts as BMX style with little MTB influence.
|
