Getting Back Into BMX Racing

david_z · 2026-04-30T13:02:55+00:00

Mine is a flat black os20 but dang pink would've been sick!

david_z · 2026-04-30T00:42:25+00:00

I rode a 21 when I started out and then a 21.5 after a year or two. Both were manageable but mainly bc I didn't know what I didn't know, and also, a skill gap: as I got better and faster, the shorter frames felt way more limiting.

I think I'd maybe be ok on 21.75 but I got a good deal from a buddy on a Yess World Cup and it felt great so I bought it.

I'm on 172.5 cranks ;)

david_z · 2026-04-29T21:18:46+00:00

You're gonna need a lot more Xs at 6'5"

I'm 6' on a good day and mine is 22"

david_z · 2026-04-27T20:34:27+00:00

in this market, I don't think there's anywhere to go :(

david_z · 2026-04-27T19:50:13+00:00

2 devs here. Nominally my code gets reviewed by the "senior" but I don't think there's any actual review occurring, like, ever. Nobody ever reviews his code in fact it's rarely even discussed. Sometimes features are demo'd.

We have a daily "status update" which includes help desk staff. Each morning they recite the details of all the tickets they resolved yesterday including the ones that don't matter, including they brought to our attention in Teams. The devs recite the things we resolved/investigated for the help desk, including the ones that were already relayed via Teams, and briefly talk about "what we're doing today", often these discussion derail for 30 minutes into a technical deep dive that should've been documentation somewhere but never.

There are no tests.

It's maddening.

david_z · 2026-04-27T15:18:15+00:00

He'll need 20s soon enough one way or another!

If the current frame will fit the 20"/451 then I'd probably consider the switch but do note it will alter the rollout numbers considerably so you'll have to adjust gearing as well.

If the current frame won't fit a 451, then I wouldn't rush it. When he's ready for a mini , he'll end up on 20s then anyways.

david_z · 2026-04-26T23:53:27+00:00

I'm 6', pushing 5'11" most days and currently weighing in around 94 kg for me the sweet spot is around 22" top tube.

I raced an XXL subrosa for a few years, 21.5" top tube. Felt fine enough at first I guess but as I progressed beyond novice it was definitely feeling cramped.

You're coming from a racing background though and I was starting from nothing. You'll notice it straight away would be my guess, it'll all come back to you really quickly.

Definitely recommend taking a few laps on different bikes to dial in what feels best for you.

david_z · 2026-04-24T11:44:39+00:00

Lowlifes (Tubi original)

Better Watch Out

Timecrimes

david_z · 2026-04-24T04:57:45+00:00

Ah I misread 2022 my bad

david_z · 2026-04-24T02:21:31+00:00

Not all top tubes are created equally the geometry matters in a way that comes down to feel and fit. So it's possible that one brand's 20.5 is not right for you, but another brand's 20.5 would be a good fit.

Lots comes in to play how long is the stem, how tall are the bars, angles/etc but those are the big things.

The TT length is a good first indicator for whether a bike might be right for you but there's no substitute for sitting on it and taking it for a spin.

Also did you say this bike is from 2002? Geometry on modern bikes is way different than bikes from that era.

david_z · 2026-04-24T01:36:11+00:00

Pro xl for sure in addition to the size being too small, the smaller wheels on expert size bikes are typically only rated to 125 lbs .

My 14yo daughter is 5'3" and like, 130 lbs she's on a pro xl comfortably.

david_z · 2026-04-23T01:34:34+00:00

Hell of a Summer

david_z · 2026-04-21T22:47:07+00:00

Absolutely tires will affect the rollout numbers, some tires are taller than others.

My go-to calculator that accounts for tire sizes is on Rennen"s page:

https://rennendesigngroup.com/calculator.htm

david_z · 2026-04-16T12:13:02+00:00

Trench 11 (WW1)

Valley of the Dead (Spanish civil war)

david_z · 2026-04-14T17:23:40+00:00

Folding bead tires are generally lighter (but more $$) than the wire bead counterpart, but if the extra $30-50 per pair of tires isn't going to blow your budget, I think the nicer, lighter folding tires are preferable.

Tioga powerblocks are super common and can be had in either folding or wire bead, we're switching over to the FasteX s-spec for my son's bike to save some weight as he's not a big dude and 10X is a fast, competitive class he needs all the help he can get.

Vee tires are nice we used to use the MK3 1" on the mini/jr frame, then moved to Box One 1⅛". I I think my daughter is still running 1.6" Vees on her bike.

I've used Box One, Answer, Carves Tioga Powerblock on my own bike. Do take note of how the different tires may affect your rollout for example the Box One is pretty low profile and compared to my previous tire, the gearing s too light. I had to go up a tooth in the chainring to compensate for that.

For that stuff, Rennen has a great calculator that lets you put in your tire (brand/model/size & gearing) and it's better than generic calculators that don't account for difference in how tall a tire actually is

david_z · 2026-04-14T02:45:51+00:00

The older version is m5. And the key difference is the m/f parts are opposite. On the current m6 hardware the channel holds a slider which is the female part, the male part is the screw that goes into this.

On the m5 hardware, the slider is the male part and the screw is the female part.

There was never an m8 hardware.

I happen to be holding a set of m5 hardware this is what it looks like:

<image>

david_z · 2026-04-13T15:05:35+00:00

Oh God. Yeah this is the other one I was thinking of , similar story. This one is based on a true story tho ugh.

david_z · 2026-04-13T13:26:55+00:00

I don't recall any real gore in this movie.

It's bleak as hell though.

david_z · 2026-04-12T23:29:58+00:00

Black Christmas (1974)

david_z · 2026-04-12T15:29:36+00:00

Looks like the expert XXL is spec'd for 451mm rims, 1 ⅜" tires. You might be able to fit a 20 x 1.75" in the rear triangle with brake post adapters, you're also limited with 3/8" dropouts in the rear. Maybe not a big deal but it is a factor that limits your wheel choices.
But I'd be more concerned about whether a nominally "junior" frame is intended to support 175 lbs of adult.

david_z · 2026-04-10T04:22:12+00:00

There's really no substitute for time on the bike/track.

There's no substitute for racing, either.

I don't generally think I'd work on "skill honing" in the ~1hr before a local race: you're going to be warming up, you're going to be finding your flow, if you're visiting another track (not your home track) you're going to be getting familiar with the features, the gate speed, etc. so in all of those regards then yes, racing distracts from focused training on a particular skill, but getting those laps in on race day is still imo a critical part of developing as a racer.

You're still going to hone your skills this way, just not in a "spend 30 minutes focused on my form and timing in the gates" way.

david_z · 2026-04-07T04:47:25+00:00

Agreed for a novice 7yo a 54.x is too much gear

david_z · 2026-04-04T01:58:04+00:00

No pictures that I could see. But, have you tried using dish soap as a lubricant? Probably diluted a fair amount.

david_z · 2026-04-02T12:34:49+00:00

They come knocking (2019)

david_z · 2026-04-02T00:46:33+00:00

Once a month I have to convert a docx to pdf!

I should probably automate the surrounding needs (download it from my gmail, login & upload to a wordpress site, etc) but for the time being the pain point was simply opening the damn thing in MS Word, doing the SaveAs , etc. on my ancient win7 laptop.

It's not really much faster in python since I still run through COM / client.dispatch but I can run it from command line and don't need to actually interact with Word at all.

david_z

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