[WhatMACHI]

Well in the past few weeks ive become pretty interested in the style of flatland BMX'ing. And like all hobbies all the forums ive read are flooded with the same old "what bike should i get". After reading a whole bunch of those, and a few well made stickies at pinkbink.com, global-flat.com, freestylebmx.com.au and some more ive realised that like most hobbies its expensive

Another thing that ive realised is that many of the recommended "beginner" complete bikes arent even available in Australia or are available but more costly making it more of an investment for a beginner (say $400 AUS and over for anything decent and worth modifying over time). Sigh

Anyone out there Flatland? if so, for how long, what kind of setup did you start with? and if anything what advice would you have for someone hoping to get a bike in a few weeks if all goes well

 

[okay_player]

hey WhatMACHI,

I dabbled in flatland for a couple seasons but never got any good at it. I was totally sucked in after seeing some clips online of guys linking together mega-spins, timemachines, etc, and simply decided "I must do that." I picked up a used Haro Master from a friend at school and still have it, but I mostly just use it to get around the neighborhood.

Advice? Start with the basics, obviously. If you have any friends that ride flat, ride with them. I never found anyone in my area who rides flat and I think that's a big part of why I stopped.

It's a really hard style of riding to just pick up and run with. Expect to get frustrated, and expect bruises. I think shin-pads are almost a necessity for beginners. You have to be really persistent and practice a LOT if you want to start pulling off some of the harder tricks. I'd suggest finding a low-key location to practice in... flatland has the tendancy to make a lot of people stop and stare, and that usually doesn't help when you're trying to learn. At least it didn't for me.

Try and find some fellow riders, start at the beginning (track-stands), keep at it, and practice practice practice.

Good luck.

 

[oicdn]

I messed with flatland for quite some time...

Here's what I started out with:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showth...light=flatland

My advice, spend ALOT of money on your first bike. This way, you won't have to upgrade, and there won't be ANYTHING you can make an excuse on for not learning something because of the bike/part. You'll end up learning things ALOT faster....

Anyhow, I ride trials (not so much anymore, no bike ) and thought it would be fairly easy since trials is a balance sport as well....not so much the case....by far, the hardest discipline of biking....BY FAR.

 

[WhatMACHI]

lol, i should have run a search before i posted this

Some nice pics over there.

Ive got a 29 hours of work in two days coming up soon im considering getting a bike

As for your comment on how much to spend hopefully if ill think about it a little longer and if i do decide to go ahead with riding ill try spend at least $500 AUS on it.

Hmmm i really need to bring my friends into this

 

[oicdn]

I'll tell ya..>flatland is HARD without the right support or group of friends. Around here, there was only ONE flatlander, and learning these kinda tricks on your own without any feeding off somebody elses energey or getting any tips from somebody much better than you....sucks. It's the reaosn I sold mine.

Granted, I'm the ONLY person who rides trials in my area, but you'll find that you can ride trials anywhere. You may think you can ride flat anywhere, but in all seriousness, if you're not riding on a tennis or basketball court, all you'll end up doing is gettin frustrated from little pebbles, or cracks in the concrete, or unsmooth concrete, pebbles, uneven pavement, slanted pavement, the crown in the road, etc....trust me, it's not as "I can do it anywhere" as you initially think. Once you ride on a tennis court, you'll NEVER want to ride on anything else...and once that begins, if one isn't within walking distance from your house, you're already taking one step back in terms of motivation....in my case atleast.

I would love to get into flat again...but everytime I think about what it takes to get back into it...I say "no..."

 

[WhatMACHI]

Yeah, one of my real concerns is that there isnt anyone around me riding flatland

Oh, well ill ask in at the bike stores what the scene is like in my city.

 

[bhd812]

When I hung out with my older brother and a few of his friends we used to "flatland" ride around back in the late 80's- early 90's. i was young then and could only do a few tricks. used to Ride a 88 Haro sport and I never had any problems with it besides the mags and brakes. i remember my shin's, knee's, and elbow's bleeding and in pain every day! i always thought you would fall more riding this style then even riding ramps when you start out.

not sure what kind of bikes are out there today but i understand how the bigger and tougher stuff is for riding ramps. these peeps these days ride the ramps HARD! they need the thicker pegs,rims,frames then we had back then.
i would not think Flat land is all harder on a bike today then it was back when i rode...i mean how hard can you ride like that? but also we all rode nice bikes that cost lot's of money to us back then so..

i still have that haro, neither i or the bike today probably could not do a en-do..

i am so old!!!

 

[okay_player]

Quote:

Originally Posted by oicdn /img/forum/go_quote.gif I would love to get into flat again...but everytime I think about what it takes to get back into it...I say "no..."

I'm in the same boat. It's just such a unique style of riding and that feeling you get when you stick a new trick is amazing. But with work raping my soul lately, I just don't have time to get back out there. And for a beginner like me, a couple hours of practice a week is probably not going to lead to any progress.

I wish I had started with flatland when I was younger.

At the Toronto bike show this past year there was a flatland area setup and it was awesome to watch some of the more advancaed guys. It reminds me of break-dancing, but on two wheels

 

[oicdn]

Now I can breakdance....and that's the reason I thought I would be dece at flatland. It's all about body position, and analyzing where you need to put what, and how much body english you need, and to do it smoothly and with style. It was partially the reason I picked up moves brakeless easier than I did with brakes, cause it's all about flow.

But like you, with work raping me, and it being gnarly hot outside, 4-6 hours a week is hardly anything even worth trying to do, especially when a beginner. As a dece rider, it would be fine, just polishing your skills, but when you're new to it...it's more destructive than constructive, which is why when I think about it I go "no...".

It's funny you mention breakdancing, cause I could have been pro. One kid I break with, started the same time as me, and was good when I quit, and is argueably the best breakdancer in the world....I always think to myself "what if I didn't quit...." I'm now just doing it 2-3 times a week for 4 hour sessions just to stay in shape...and well, see where I end up. I'm a little on the old side now (25), but I still have it, just a little rusty...muscle memory is a BI^ch.

 

[choomanchoo]

Wowzers man, the last time I rode a BMX was when the movie Rad was out in the theaters in 86' I was 12yrs old, Daayaam!