All about the bling factor???

[Gnarlyscoots]

Over the last few months, I have noticed that a lot of people's builds are being built with hard to find exotic parts, rather than the usual run of the mill parts or parts that we actually remember from back then. I don't see many Suntour stems anymore for example, it's all about the Tuff Neck or Pro Neck or ESP etc 

Also, polishing or polished chrome seems to back into the fray a lot more too.

I am guilty, in part, in wanting to find and fit exotic items to my bikes in the past and, two bikes I have on the go at the moment, I find myself hunting down high end items for them. The third though, I am looking to fit it out with good used run of the mill products and try to get back to the basics of building a good BMX bike.

Is this where BMX is at though, or am I alone in thinking this way?

Thoughts please......

[midschooljon]

To be honest I really like seeing guys build bikes with hard to find stuff. Its not for me, and I much prefer building bikes the way I remember seeing them at the track or trails back in the day. Saying that, I dont think there is anything wrong with guys wanting to build high end bikes though.

As for polishing things to death.... don't get me started on that. 

[oldschoolace]

It may just be the natural progression of building Terry. Most start with something simple or their childhood bike, then on to a few bikes they coveted bitd, one or two grails or tribute/replica builds then what? I guess exotica is the next logical step?

[Jaymz]

Survivor/riders all the way for me

[griff]

You on about here or the museum Terry?

Don't see so much bling on here tbh

[Gnarlyscoots]

You on about here or the museum Terry?

Don't see so much bling on here tbh

John, no offence to our American users but, some of them guys on the Museum only know how to put bikes together if the parts are red, white and blue. Not many can build a complete era correct bike or a very nice looking bike. Most of them have parts that are all from different era's, 70's, 80's and 90's all on one bike.

I'm probably going to regret airing those words though, too 

When I look at some of the recent builds posted, everything seems to be along the same line. Redline cranks, DX pedals, Tuf Neck stems, Bullseye hubs, PPP chainrings. I do like the variety of parts that we had back then but most people shy away from things like Viscount Aero seats, Shimano hubs, OPC's, SR stems, Sugino chainrings etc...

It just seems like everybody is chasing the, what we see as expensive, items these days, as opposed to what we really had fitted to our bikes.

Make sense 

[kungfunky]

BMX snobbery. Look at me with my nothing but high end swag, better than your opc tat..

[dancetothedrummersbeat]

There are certain parts that I really like, and try to put on most of my builds where appropriate. Favourite parts include MX 900/1000 style (Dia Compe on my higher end builds, and Chang Star/Lee Chi on more budget builds). I also like Sugino one piece cranks, and Suzue low flange hubs. I have a Suntour stem on my T/A and MT Fox, but generic Suntour style stems on some of my others. I like to mix up my grips a bit too, so have Am'e rounds on one, and Am'e cams on another. I like Oakley style F1 grips too, but use the Fuan copies. My Skyway T/A has: Am'e grips, a Kashimax MX seat, Profile anniversary cranks and a Tuf Neck chain ring. On one of my current builds (VDC Changa), i'll use some different parts to mix it up such as Oakley B2 grips, a Shot Gun II seat, JDB Hutch cranks and a Pro Neck chainring....   And before someone shouts snob, my other current build is a Falcon Pro Beta which will be factory spec using unbranded/generic parts. There's room for everything: High/Low value, rare/common. I think each is just as important as the other. The one bike I'd like to think I'd never sell is the lowest end bike I own - a Falcon Pro Kappa.

[MartyC]

I think there are still plenty of builds out there with great but not "exotic" parts.  TBH from what I can remember a lot of the exotic stuff broke more easily bitd or was used just for race days (Sonlites/Bullseye hubs with Pro Class rims) and most people I knew ran Suntour or Pro Neck/Tuf Neck stems and only one or two with Hutch Stems (Geoff Bonwick but he was Hutch sponsored).

I like to see a wide range of parts on builds, it reminds is all of how much variety there actually was bitd  .

[Spen69]

To be honest most of my builds start with an accidental purchase of a frameset I want, I chuck whatever I can find in the garage onto it and then change the bits slowly to get it how I want it. I always use a Suntour stem and GT bars if possible and you rarely find Kashimax saddles on my builds as they get ridden. The one snobbery I find hard to avoid is Dia-Compe brakes. I only worry about the calipers as they seem to be better made than a lot of the copies and I use sticky pad blocks, slick cables and newschool monolevers so I can actually stop the damn thing if it's really going to get ridden, or Tech 3's if it's just a pub crawler

I had a phase where everything had Redline Flights on it because I could never afford them bitd but a decent Sugino opc is where I'm happy now

I love looking at the high end stuff but it's not for my builds I'm afraid, I like stuff I can remember

Exhibit A m'lord - my latest park and skatepark hack when I'm out with my kids, complete with copy Tuff Neck freestyle stem and my original 80's ProClass wheelset waiting for a few tweaks (tyres and rear caliper changed already!)but getting ridden

[Gnarlyscoots]

Some great responses guys, thanks. I did recently pick up the Lotus Cobra frame set which turns out to be a re branded MT super fox. It has great welds, is really light and the geometry feels really good on it. It is something that I am struggling to decide what to put on it 

I have 3 others in the mix but due to their order in the exotic queue, I will have to them justice with exotic parts 

[chubby]

Buy & build most of my stuff while blind drunk.
ended up with some weird stuff mainly cos I thought it was such a bargain at the time 
do like a bit of bling here n there but has to be counter balanced with a survivor or 2

[nosepickben]

I like it all, bling or shabby, as long as it feels right, and works properly. I don't like one piece cranks because they bend, snap and come loose too easily. Yes they do. Calliper brakes don't work very well either, especially on coloured rims. And skyway wheels are flexy rubbish. That's my opinion. I formed my opinion whilst riding bmx a lot over 30 years of racing, jumping, street and park riding. 
If I want to put shiny gay bits on my bike then I will. At least they will work.

[pickle]

I'm trying to look at lots of 'different' type of parts for my latest build.

Gonna take a long time to build though 

[dancetothedrummersbeat]

The one snobbery I find hard to avoid is Dia-Compe brakes. I only worry about the calipers as they seem to be better made than a lot of the copies and I use sticky pad blocks, slick cables and newschool monolevers so I can actually stop the damn thing if it's really going to get ridden, or Tech 3's if it's just a pub crawler

I agree about the genuine dia compe calipers. The originals seem to be much more solid than the repops and copy brands like Lee Chi/Chang Star. The Formos copies were the best in my opinion. I have a set on my adidas build, and they look/feel chunky and well made. They actually work pretty well with OG Skyway Tuff Pads on Z Rims.

[CustardLips]

My GT pro will have some nice shit on it... mostly because it'll be my only Old School build.  It'll be a while before it see's the light of day tho. 

[Pooch]

If your a kid looking in that bmx shop window, that had all the ranges of bikes from high to low end.. You looked at the shizle . Nothing changes.  fook what I had BITD.. I don't want my night burner back.. I want the finger blast bike..

[deeman]

Kinda what Pooch said....I started trying to build a rep of the bike I had bitd but got carried away and it ended up turning into the bike how I would have had it if I was given a blank cheque bitd!
 I think most people are guilty of this to an extent! For some I geuss it's a kinda closure in the sense that they are finally able to own something neither they or their parents could afford bitd.
It's good to see everyday dependable parts i.e Suntour stems being used on builds but lets face it nearly everyone likes a bit of porn on their bikes, It's what makes them stand out...especially if  you are/ are still not able to afford it 25 yrs later!

[Bornintheusa]

Don't get me started. Bikes every year have gotten more ridiculous since the beginning. I for one love survivors and one piece cranks builds with unsealed bearings builds over exotica look how much money I have builds. I'll use maybe 2 or 1 exotic parts on a build but anything more than that is just not realistic at all. Don't even get  me started on the people that take great survivor condition stuff and ruin it because it's the "wrong color"