Gyro/Spinner On Old School Freestyler?

[BMX20]

Has anyone fitted a gyro to their old bike?  I'm building a DP Firebird at the minute to ride, and I'm contemplating fitting a spinner.  I'm wondering if anyone has done this and if there's a specific brand/kit to go for to make life as easy as possible.  I've already got a Potts mod on a pretty standard looking Diamondback stem.



As ever, your help is most appreciated.

Gordy

[CD17]

Yes I have fitted a few & they are fine as long as you take your time setting them up, the odyssey ones are good 

I think if your going to start doing bar spins & tail whips your DP will not last  so maybe think of getting a New skool once your sure your going to carry on 

Most of us on here have come to realize old skool for looking at & maybe rooling around on & New Skool for proper riding 

[BMX20]

Thanks for that - did the Odyssey one go straight onto an old stem without any modification?  As for the DP not lasting, I'm not sure I understand why that would be.  They worked fine in the 80s for all the stuff I intend to do on it, so why wouldn't it now?

Gordy

[MartyC]

Thanks for that - did the Odyssey one go straight onto an old stem without any modification?  As for the DP not lasting, I'm not sure I understand why that would be.  They worked fine in the 80s for all the stuff I intend to do on it, so why wouldn't it now?

Gordy

What Chris means is that old school bikes can take some punishment but they are not built for riders of our size, at some point your DP Freestyler is likely to fail so a new school bike would be a good investment  .

[CD17]

Yes it will go straight onto the stem, but you will need to install one of the parts before you put the top cup of the headset on

I'm just saying BMXs have evolved a lot since the 80s into what they are today, it's the same as MTBs & Road bikes, todays bikes ride much better than bikes of twenty years ago, I still ride MTBs & Road, so if your seriously going to ride your DP you may be better off investing in a New Skool, just ask any of the old skoolers on here who still ride   

[BMX20]

Excellent! I've ordered an Odyssey Dyro 2 in black - which should look nice.  Sadly, my budget constraints (and my road-biking) mean I can't stretch to another bike.  That said, BITD, Trevor Cowell and Glynn Lewis were doing things way beyond what I hope to achieve and they seemed pretty happy with the bike, so I think I'll be alright.  I'm under 80 kg too, so I'm confident in the fabulous bit of British engineering I'll be riding on!

Time will tell ...

Gordy

[TwoBobRob]

Sorry for the dumb question, but you have ordered a 1" gyro yes?  Important this as the cable plates are likely to slap around if you fit a 1 1/8" version.

Trevor is here on this forum, and regularly rides. Rides well actually 

I don't have any info on Glynn, last time I saw him was around a decade ago, he came to Rom for a ride - on his old DP. He did ride a couple of the Leigh on Sea jams I believe in the mid 90s.

[BMX20]

Good point.  I didn't specify actually - though hopefully with it being advertised as NOS it'll be 1" (I'm sure I'll be able to return it if it's not).  One thing about restoring - patience is a virtue ...

I seem to remember Trevor Cowell was the first guy I saw do a Cowboy.  I worked on that bad boy till I nailed it, and it's one of the first things I'll be working on once I get my DP up and running.  Anyone got a link to a vid of TC doing one?

Gordy

P.S. Brake pads, chain tensioners, and rear DC 901 turned up today.  Small steps ...

[Al Wyn]

[BMX20]

Just heard back via ebay, definitely a 1" steerer, so that's a relief.  Incidentally, I recommend rockchick_1 on ebay for outstanding service.

Nice vid Al, anyone find him doing a cowboy?

Gordy

[fischflo]

Usato garantito Enjoy 

[TwoBobRob]

All good then, happy days.

Just so you know, Rockchick on ebay is the fella who owns vert-ego.  Loved and hated in equal measures it would seem.

[BMX20]

Good gen everyone - but does anyone have some photos of their installation?

Gordy

[CD17]

 

[BMX20]

That's cool - gives me some idea at least as to how it sits.  But does anyone have a picture of how they've fitted the bottom cable stop to a twin tube such as a DP or Master?  I suspect I'm going to need the Dremmel!

Gordy

[TwoBobRob]

So in a nutshell, the gyro sits as such;  bottom plate, your exsisting headset cup, gyro bearing, top plate on top of your headset and the headset nut on top of that holding the whole thing together. You can add washers here and there to space things out nicely if you wish. Take note of the photo, you must have all cables adjusted right out so the gap that the bearing floats in is as large a gap as possible to avoid it 'topping out'.

What rear brake are you using?

[BMX20]

Thanks for that.  I've a DC 901 for the rear.  The only issue I think I'll have is the bottom plate which goes on before the top cup of the headset, as the Firebird head tube doesn't protrude far above the twin top tubes.  If it ever turns up we'll find out!

Gordy

[TwoBobRob]

You can afford to dremel away at the lower gyro plate a good bit.  If you end up riding so hard that you bend that plate, odds on you'll be looking for a newschool bike anyways. Or, depending on your point of view on these things, you could do away with it completely and drill & tap tabs direct into your headtube.

Get plenty of oil into those new gyro cables also, and run a quality set of brake blocks. You do lose some efficiency when you run a gyro, so everything needs to be tip top.



 

[MartyC]

Just heard back via ebay, definitely a 1" steerer, so that's a relief.  Incidentally, I recommend rockchick_1 on ebay for outstanding service.

Nice vid Al, anyone find him doing a cowboy?

Gordy

Funniest thing I have seen on Rad in ages, have a search on here for Biaggio, Rock_chick or Vert-ego; people either love him or hate him 

I know a guy that has been waiting over 6 months for him to send stuff he has paid for  .

[BMX20]

Oooer, that doesn't sound too good.  That said though, I can only base my opinion on the service I've had so far, and it's been faultless.  Does anyone have a preferred supplier?  For road biking I use Wiggle for pretty much everything, but they don't cover BMX accessories and parts. 

Suggestions welcome!

Gordy

[CD17]

Oooer, that doesn't sound too good.  That said though, I can only base my opinion on the service I've had so far, and it's been faultless.  Does anyone have a preferred supplier?  For road biking I use Wiggle for pretty much everything, but they don't cover BMX accessories and parts. 

Suggestions welcome!

Gordy

I've never had a problem with Biagio, rockchic, Vert-ego but I have heard of some who have.

For New School stuff, the rad shop is really good, for old school, on here, ebay etc, most shops don't have much old school stuff left now, so the problem is finding it 

[BMX20]

Got my Gyro 2 from Vert-ego today which, considering the 4 days without mail over Christmas, is pretty decent service.  They also answered my queries promptly too.  Anyway, each to their own. 

The bottom line is that, after a bit of fettling with the Dremmel, it went on like a treat and works beautifully.  I know most say the spinner should sit on the bottom cable stop but it flopped quite noticeably like that, and it doesn't now that I've adjusted it.







I'm well chuffed - now to destroy my trainers doing tailwhips!

Gordy