Pedals & Pegs

Flatland is a freestyle BMX riding style performed on smooth flat surfaces that do not include any ramps, jumps, or grindrails. It is sometimes described as a blend of breakdancing, ballet, or figure skating on a bicycle. more...

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Flatland occupies a position somewhat removed from the rest of freestyle BMX. People who ride in the above disciplines will generally take part in at least one of the others, but flatlanders tend to only ride flatland. They are often very dedicated, and will spend several hours a day perfecting their techniques.

Flatland also differs from the others in that the terrain used is nothing but a smooth, flat surface. Tricks are performed by spinning and balancing on the bike in a variety of unexpected positions. Riders almost always use gnurled aluminum pegs to stand on to manipulate the bike into even stranger positions.

Flatland bikes typically have a shorter wheelbase than other freestyle bikes. This shorter wheelbase requires less effort to make the bike spin or to position the bike on one wheel. One of the primary reasons flatlanders often ride only flatland is the decreased stability of using their shorter bikes on ramps, dirt and street.

A variety of options is commonly found on flatland bikes. The most unifying feature of flatland bikes is the use of four pegs, one on the end of each wheel axle. Flatland riders will choose to run either a front brake, a rear brake, both brakes, or no brakes at all, depending on stylistic preference.

The flatland bike

Although the flatland bicycle is similar to most other BMX bicycles, flatland is often performed with specially designed frames with geometry (head tube angle, top tube length, etc)suited to the needs of a flatland rider. Front and rear bolt-on axle pegs, a hollow compression bolt on the forks for the front brake cable, and a rear brake cable detangler or "gyro" to allow the bars to rotate endlessly without tangling the brake cables. A lot of riders use only a front brake, some riders use none at all. Also invented specifically for flatland BMX riding is the rear hub mechanism known as a "freecoaster", which allows the rear wheel to roll backwards without engaging the hub to make the pedals rotate backwards as they would on a normal freewheel or cassette style hub. Other technical bicycle setup specifics can include zero offset forks, narrow handlebars, very high pressure tires, and a very small front sprocket. But in theory, any BMX bike with axle pegs could be used for flatland riding, although a good bike makes a big difference to the rider.

Style

In competition, talent and skill are judged by the ability to maintain coordination, and balance while performing a variety of difficult and elegant moves. There are usually several categories for judging purposes which can include:

Read more at Wikipedia.org