I been riding brakeless since 1999, mainly because I got fed up with fixing my snapped cables and also being obsessed with Chase Gouin. I have to say I regret it a little because I could have learned so many more tricks, and all these years later I feel pretty minimal with what I have learned. BUT the one thing I feel I gained from it is STYLE, a feeling of pure control and knowing how to keep my front wheel combos going only using balance and straight up muscle memory (from practising same combo over and over). I feel like I know my bike very well now and am still very happy with my riding today. I am nearly 40 now and slowly still learning, I'm happy if I learn 1 trick a year now but I guess that's how it is if you dont push yourself hard which I probably never did. Anyhow I'm gonna watch your video now and see what is said. Biggup all passionate flatlanders everywhere, brakeless or with brakes it's still such a beautiful thing. I would say my favourite flatlanders are the ones who had dope styles WITH brakes. Those 80s/90s/00s years are still the best to me, and my favourite to watch.
I took the brakes off my Flatland bike back in 2008. The idea of riding brakeless use to scare me. Now I think I have a better chance of being injured if I try any tricks that do involve the brakes.
I got that $20 Odyssey 1999 front brake kit that works without 990 mounts that you refer to at around the 11:50 mark. I'm sure it could be better, but I don't have anything to compare it to and it's doing what i need until I'm good enough to justify an upgrade. 😂 Edited the time stamp to catch the beginning of the part i was talking about.
That’s awesome man. Great recommendation. I’m glad to hear that does seem to be working well. Next time my morning to put brakes on a fork that doesn’t have 990 minutes I will give those shot!
I've always had brakes. Since starting in the late 80's through today. Front & rear. I did build up a street bike without brakes to try it. Absolutely hated it. I like being able to rest a finger on the lever when cruising. The one thing is you CAN ride brakeless with brakes. Just don't pull the lever. 🤣
I started in the 80's...and I still use breaks, F & R... and I have to say I STILL hate the new bikes geometry...but..hey..you get used to it...I can't even imagine a brakeless fire hydrant..I mean I tend to rub my foot on the front wheel to manage my speed...or do some mc circles...but yeah..I need my brakes... I like this dscussion...could you do one about zero offset forks? I keep thinking of getting some..but I'm uncertain still...on the fence.
There can be a bit of a misconception with some new riders to flat, in that they can assume you must be brakeless. It's not, just as it's not mandatory for street/park etc. I've seen it where they're trying to learn something and they keep falling and be struggling but can't see that not locking a brake is part of the reason. A brake has it's positive in that it stabilises the bike and makes it easier to actually do the trick/tricks. Despite that there's brakeless riders that'll say no, you don't need them. But not everyone's the same in how they ride etc. If you want to master brakeless it can look sloppy in changing from one position to another, that's with the tricks that almost totally need a brake. It forces your body reaction time from moving into other positions, which possibly can make you more tired. However, again, not everyone's the same. Some adapt and can ride and progress quite well without brakes. It's an old one, so it's a personal choice.
I went with the Springfield kit, honestly I don’t know how much ‘adjustability’ you need on a u brake, but it went from two tension points to one central spring, I didn’t have to adjust anything. Upgraded to clear pads and whammo no issues at all.
They are pain to setup even with high-end parts, now I drilled throu brake leaver to get mor power and i hope with compressless aluminium housing from china they will be fine (had to put bearings in brake caliper and screw-in cable stop flex and are usually in strange place that bends calipers)
Personally I found it easier to learn brakeless as I would often grab the brake at the wrong point and throw myself off the bike, usually over the bars 😂😂😂😂
I'm running a pretty similar set up to you - front brake, Evo2. Had a lot of issues getting the brake to stay dialed in. Was considering switching for the springfields to save myself the headache. Seems like the front brake with single cable is harder to get dialed.
Ya it took me a while to dial it in. I also thought about switching to the Springfield for simplicity, but eventually I got the Evo brakes working really well.
Great info man! Do you use anything special for cables and pads? I'm playing around with a vintage early 80's bmx and want to keep the Dia Compe MX1000 side pull brakes....but they aren't great, I'm thinking I'll get some better cables and clear pads (although I hate how loud the Kool Stop clears are) and maybe a better lever and see if I can get them to stop hard enough to lock up good for practicing tricks. Anyway, wondering if you have any suggestions for any of that! Thanks!
Hey Stephen, thanks for watching and commenting. It sounds like a pretty cool bike said if you have! I’d love to see it. As for breaks, the side pull ones are pretty notorious for being difficult to get working well enough to lock up. Four brake cables, in my experience the brand is not as important as making sure you have a fresh cable. It’s amazing the difference a new brake cable can make. As the cable wears out overtime, more friction develops in the cable housing, which really affects the performance of the brakes. I typically put a little grease along the whole cable before putting it through the housing. I’ve use the odyssey slic cable and that seemed to work well, but more recently I just bought a giant pack of generic cables on Amazon. Those seem to work fine as well. As far as brake pads go, I am still experimenting with them myself.
Stops fingers getting stuck in there when doing back wheel tricks holding the front pegs, most people don’t usually care about this though, personally I love my scars
I'm curious what it's like to try the same tricks without brakes after learning with brakes. Eg how hard is brakeless boomerang after learning with a front brake?
That’s a good question. For some tricks, I think it is a somewhat natural next step. A whiplash for example, I learned with brakes, and it was very natural transition to then do it without brakes. A boomerang though, may be different. I’m still really inconsistent with them, even with brakes. When I get a bit more consistent, I will try without brakes and see how natural or unnatural the transition is. P.s. Let’s try to get a riding session this summer.
Land your foot on the frame, like a decade, and let it roll like its a different trick. Doing that will give you the feel. You can start with the front brakes and let go right away so it can roll. Once you see you can roll with the foot there, snapping the bars straight will come natural. Then you can worry about pedal to pedal later. Much more fluid trick if you let go of the brakes.
@@flatlandjourney, the one on the right side, if youre in the saddle looks like its unwinding. If its like that flip it upside down. You want them to wind when tensioned, not unwind.
I been riding brakeless since 1999, mainly because I got fed up with fixing my snapped cables and also being obsessed with Chase Gouin. I have to say I regret it a little because I could have learned so many more tricks, and all these years later I feel pretty minimal with what I have learned. BUT the one thing I feel I gained from it is STYLE, a feeling of pure control and knowing how to keep my front wheel combos going only using balance and straight up muscle memory (from practising same combo over and over). I feel like I know my bike very well now and am still very happy with my riding today. I am nearly 40 now and slowly still learning, I'm happy if I learn 1 trick a year now but I guess that's how it is if you dont push yourself hard which I probably never did. Anyhow I'm gonna watch your video now and see what is said.
Biggup all passionate flatlanders everywhere, brakeless or with brakes it's still such a beautiful thing. I would say my favourite flatlanders are the ones who had dope styles WITH brakes. Those 80s/90s/00s years are still the best to me, and my favourite to watch.
I took the brakes off my Flatland bike back in 2008. The idea of riding brakeless use to scare me. Now I think I have a better chance of being injured if I try any tricks that do involve the brakes.
I got that $20 Odyssey 1999 front brake kit that works without 990 mounts that you refer to at around the 11:50 mark. I'm sure it could be better, but I don't have anything to compare it to and it's doing what i need until I'm good enough to justify an upgrade. 😂
Edited the time stamp to catch the beginning of the part i was talking about.
That’s awesome man. Great recommendation. I’m glad to hear that does seem to be working well. Next time my morning to put brakes on a fork that doesn’t have 990 minutes I will give those shot!
I've always had brakes. Since starting in the late 80's through today. Front & rear. I did build up a street bike without brakes to try it. Absolutely hated it. I like being able to rest a finger on the lever when cruising. The one thing is you CAN ride brakeless with brakes. Just don't pull the lever. 🤣
I got a used bike that needs the gyro repaired or replaced. The brake no brake decision was on my mind, but I have decided, brakes. Thank you.
I started in the 80's...and I still use breaks, F & R... and I have to say I STILL hate the new bikes geometry...but..hey..you get used to it...I can't even imagine a brakeless fire hydrant..I mean I tend to rub my foot on the front wheel to manage my speed...or do some mc circles...but yeah..I need my brakes... I like this dscussion...could you do one about zero offset forks? I keep thinking of getting some..but I'm uncertain still...on the fence.
There can be a bit of a misconception with some new riders to flat, in that they can assume you must be brakeless. It's not, just as it's not mandatory for street/park etc. I've seen it where they're trying to learn something and they keep falling and be struggling but can't see that not locking a brake is part of the reason. A brake has it's positive in that it stabilises the bike and makes it easier to actually do the trick/tricks. Despite that there's brakeless riders that'll say no, you don't need them. But not everyone's the same in how they ride etc. If you want to master brakeless it can look sloppy in changing from one position to another, that's with the tricks that almost totally need a brake. It forces your body reaction time from moving into other positions, which possibly can make you more tired. However, again, not everyone's the same. Some adapt and can ride and progress quite well without brakes. It's an old one, so it's a personal choice.
Well said!
I went with the Springfield kit, honestly I don’t know how much ‘adjustability’ you need on a u brake, but it went from two tension points to one central spring, I didn’t have to adjust anything.
Upgraded to clear pads and whammo no issues at all.
Yes, the Springfield brakes are great! I had them as rear breaks on another bike. They are made for simplicity and no need for adjusting.
They are pain to setup even with high-end parts, now I drilled throu brake leaver to get mor power and i hope with compressless aluminium housing from china they will be fine (had to put bearings in brake caliper and screw-in cable stop flex and are usually in strange place that bends calipers)
Personally I found it easier to learn brakeless as I would often grab the brake at the wrong point and throw myself off the bike, usually over the bars 😂😂😂😂
Hope you'll make a video about flatland pegs and fat saddle
I use the full bike every break, every peg
I'm running a pretty similar set up to you - front brake, Evo2. Had a lot of issues getting the brake to stay dialed in. Was considering switching for the springfields to save myself the headache. Seems like the front brake with single cable is harder to get dialed.
Ya it took me a while to dial it in. I also thought about switching to the Springfield for simplicity, but eventually I got the Evo brakes working really well.
I picked up some Odyssey Springfield brakes. Wow! Easiest setup and they LOCK.
Great info man! Do you use anything special for cables and pads? I'm playing around with a vintage early 80's bmx and want to keep the Dia Compe MX1000 side pull brakes....but they aren't great, I'm thinking I'll get some better cables and clear pads (although I hate how loud the Kool Stop clears are) and maybe a better lever and see if I can get them to stop hard enough to lock up good for practicing tricks. Anyway, wondering if you have any suggestions for any of that! Thanks!
Hey Stephen, thanks for watching and commenting. It sounds like a pretty cool bike said if you have! I’d love to see it. As for breaks, the side pull ones are pretty notorious for being difficult to get working well enough to lock up. Four brake cables, in my experience the brand is not as important as making sure you have a fresh cable. It’s amazing the difference a new brake cable can make. As the cable wears out overtime, more friction develops in the cable housing, which really affects the performance of the brakes. I typically put a little grease along the whole cable before putting it through the housing. I’ve use the odyssey slic cable and that seemed to work well, but more recently I just bought a giant pack of generic cables on Amazon. Those seem to work fine as well. As far as brake pads go, I am still experimenting with them myself.
nice video bro 🤛🤛👍👍
Why does the front wheel have hub guards on both sides with flatland pegs??? What's going on there?
Stops fingers getting stuck in there when doing back wheel tricks holding the front pegs, most people don’t usually care about this though, personally I love my scars
What’s going on with the brake spring on that front brake? Doesn’t look right. Sorry, commented before watching the whole video.
I'm curious what it's like to try the same tricks without brakes after learning with brakes. Eg how hard is brakeless boomerang after learning with a front brake?
That’s a good question. For some tricks, I think it is a somewhat natural next step. A whiplash for example, I learned with brakes, and it was very natural transition to then do it without brakes. A boomerang though, may be different. I’m still really inconsistent with them, even with brakes. When I get a bit more consistent, I will try without brakes and see how natural or unnatural the transition is.
P.s. Let’s try to get a riding session this summer.
@@flatlandjourney thanks for replying and yes I'd love to session this summer.
Land your foot on the frame, like a decade, and let it roll like its a different trick. Doing that will give you the feel. You can start with the front brakes and let go right away so it can roll. Once you see you can roll with the foot there, snapping the bars straight will come natural. Then you can worry about pedal to pedal later. Much more fluid trick if you let go of the brakes.
I found that learning to do the same thing without brakes is like learning a new trick.
can I ask what are the gold pegs you are using ?
They are 25nine pegs with grip tape
I run a Hoffman super forks with 990 mounts
A mola do freio ta errada. Tem que encaixar no outro furo.
should not use a brake with a fire hydrant or a boomerang. Rode lots in the 80s, before and after the rolling revolution happened.
I think your spring is on backwards.
Do you mean they are on the wrong side? Or actually flipped backwards?
@@flatlandjourney, the one on the right side, if youre in the saddle looks like its unwinding. If its like that flip it upside down. You want them to wind when tensioned, not unwind.
Great, thank you for catching that.