Monday, June 22, 2009

Laid Back (With My Mind On My Money and My Money On My Mind)

There was a time, back in the distant past when rims were plastic and pedals were metal, that a layback seatpost was more or less a necessity. Even the longest "pro XL" frames weren't very long, and so-called freestyle frames all had 18" or so toptubes. If you were taller than Eddie Fiola—heck even if you WERE Eddie Fiola—you needed a layback post to make your bike rideable. Some more than others.

By the time Macneil developed the Pivotal seat and post setup, things had changed a lot. Now you could get a frame in virtually any toptube size, from 18" all the way up to 22". And long gone were the days when seats were for sitting. Seatposts themselves were becoming mere vestigal remains of their former selves*, just a way to anchor your seat to your frame without resorting to the indignities of hose clamps or duct tape.

Still, there are those of us out there who run our seats high(er) and proud. Who follow the one- (or even two-) fist rule. Who have more in common with Brian Foster than Randy Taylor. And if your seat is more than just a padded seat tube plug, you might want to adjust the positioning fore and aft. A Pivotal setup does not allow for this. So the good people at Subrosa developed this—a laid-back Pivotal post. Hm. That's one option. The other answer is clear as brake pads: A railed seat and a conventional post. Yuck, but who would ever run that?

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* Looking up "Primo Rod" in Google image search with 'safe search' off while in a public place was one of the most daring things I've done in a while. Somehow all of the results were quite tame. Disappointed isn't even the word.

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Was fortunate enough to catch the NYC premiere of "I Love My Bicycle" (the story of FBM) at the Bicycle Film Fest this weekend. Great flick. Joe Stakun did a terrific job putting together vintage footage and current interviews (with everyone from Cranpa and Gilly to Dave Mirra and Jamie Bestwick), and the premiere was a traditionally rowdy FBM affair (although nothing got blown up or set on fire, at least that I know of). Also, I finally got to meet Kelly Baker, which was everything I expected. Check the trailer out here, and go see it as soon as you can. Thanks, Steve.

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6 comments:

psmith said...

haha awesome post. my little 13 year old brother asked if the bike with the slammed seat held on by the clamps got hit by a car. I said no, but the kid riding the bike got hit by a car.

Anonymous said...

22" toptube?

Is there really a frame of that size?

I've searched around but couldn't find any...

Anonymous said...

http://www.macneilbmx.com/blog/2009/04/jaumell-deuce-deuce/

I'm 5'7" and probably couldn't reach the bars if I sat down and tried to pedal.(oh yeah, you're not supposed to sit down on a BMX bike)

jason said...

I didn't get to see the premier of 'I Love My Bicycle', but I'm really looking forward to seeing it when I get the opportunity. The story of FBM conveyed through the movie is, I'm sure, a good one.

I agree, Kelly Baker is awesome. I met him and rode with him a couple times and he is a great rider (obviously), a funny guy, and a great dad.

layne rieger said...

haha. Hey where did you get that picture of that bike with the hose clamped on seat. That's my friends and the picture was taken on my driveway haha.

Russ said...

I think I just Google image searched "slammed seat BMX." Small world.