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Building a 26" BMX Cruiser - this post is about cockpits

Del

Monkey
Feb 20, 2004
366
0
Alexandria, VA
Before too long I'll be building up a 26" Firemans Texas Cruzer:



It's going be my all-around "play" bike and ridden when it's not necessary to take my mountain bike. It'll see a lot of casual city riding and the occasional dirt jump.

Handlebars
What rise should I be looking for? It seems 5.5" is the norm for what is called "cruiser bars" but I also see pictures of cruisers with taller bars. I was recently looking at the S&M Cruiser Slam Bars as an option.

What effect does the rise have on a bike like this?​

Stem

The laid-back seat post angle on this bike will result in a lot of cockpit room with the post extended. I'm 6'5" tall so I need room but I don't want to be too stretched out. They sell this as a complete bike and it looks to come with a 50mm stem - does that sound like a good length?


The other parts should be pretty easy to figure out but man, the handlebar and stem thing is stressing me out. I need a drink.
 

cmc

Turbo Monkey
Nov 17, 2006
2,052
6
austin
I see a lot of Firemans Texas Cruisers in Austin....


I think the way they set them up complete is pretty solid, for the intended purpose, which is mainly street cruzing and a little bit of old school tooling in the dirt.


A 50mm stem is perfect.... That's basically the standard bmx size. (Just look down the list of www.empirebmx.com stems--all of them are in the 47-53mm range. Occasionally you'll see a 55 (like the Atomlab that I have). 60, 65 and 70 are pretty rare in bmx.

As for the bars, I think 5.5" is probably what they have stock on the 26"--which you'll probably like just fine. The cruiser Slams at 5.75" would be rad too. On a 24" a tall guy could run 7"s, maybe even 8"s if you want an old school feel. 8"s on a 26" would be too tall. It depends on the stance you want. Do you want to lean forward/low xc mtb-ish, or do you want to sit back and cruise?



 
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Del

Monkey
Feb 20, 2004
366
0
Alexandria, VA
I think the way they set them up complete is pretty solid, for the intended purpose, which is mainly street cruzing and a little bit of old school tooling in the dirt.

A 50mm stem is perfect.... That's basically the standard bmx size. (Just look down the list of www.empirebmx.com stems--all of them are in the 47-53mm range. Occasionally you'll see a 55 (like the Atomlab that I have). 60, 65 and 70 are pretty rare in bmx.

As for the bars, I think 5.5" is probably what they have stock on the 26"--which you'll probably like just fine. The cruiser Slams at 5.75" would be rad too. On a 24" a tall guy could run 7"s, maybe even 8"s if you want an old school feel. 8"s on a 26" would be too tall. It depends on the stance you want. Do you want to lean forward/low xc mtb-ish, or do you want to sit back and cruise?
That's good info - thanks!

I'll go with the 50mm stem. Regarding the stance - I'm not really too sure what I'll be happy with. Unfortunately my attempt to find a local owner of one didn't turn up any riders so I don't know what it'll feel like one way or the other. The laid back stance sounds pretty good since it'll be an alternative ride to my mountain bike, which has standard MTB risers.

I like the way the bars look on that gold bike, which I guess is around 5.5". I'll probably go with that.
 

cmc

Turbo Monkey
Nov 17, 2006
2,052
6
austin
That's good info - thanks!

I'll go with the 50mm stem. Regarding the stance - I'm not really too sure what I'll be happy with. Unfortunately my attempt to find a local owner of one didn't turn up any riders so I don't know what it'll feel like one way or the other. The laid back stance sounds pretty good since it'll be an alternative ride to my mountain bike, which has standard MTB risers.

I like the way the bars look on that gold bike, which I guess is around 5.5". I'll probably go with that.
most people build their Firemans with Profile bmx cranks. so if you order some from Profileracing.com, you could go ahead and order a stem there too. they have some rad ones.


if you really want to splurge, get some wheels built with Profile hubs.

and if you want to do some serious old school sit-down wheelies, a firemans cruzer with a laid back post cannot be beat. so try to find a laidback post, not sure where you'll find one in the correct diameter. (old school bmx/freestyle bikes had 7/8" diameter seatposts).
 

Del

Monkey
Feb 20, 2004
366
0
Alexandria, VA
I was planning on the Profile cranks and hubs. Might as well make it a Profile stem as well. I've been lusting after this frame for many years and this will be a slow build, and one where quality comes first.