Chad De Groot about Flatland (Baco7) Q:"What is a flatland rider?" Chad:"A flatland rider is a rider who rides on the flat land." Flatlandbasics Besides rampriding, street and dirtjumping, flatland is a part of the so-called BMX-Freestyle. Tricks result from rolling on the front or rear wheel or from scuffing one of the tires in different positions on the bike. To actually ride flatland you only need a bike, a really _flat_ place and yourself, of course. The necessary equipment The frame itself should not be to long and leave you enough free space to scuff. The steering tube usually has a really steep angle in order to make frontwheeltricks easier. Some people nowadays tend to use straight forks which again helps in doing frontwheeltricks as well as it changes the behaviour of the steering in that way, that the bars can be turned around without the wheelbase differing. The bar itself usually has little sweep and a very low crossbrace. The german rider Mike S. developed a combination of bar and stem which is completely straight, thus giving the rider the same feeling forward and reverse. However, the brake levers (if any, *grin*) change positions. Flatlandpegs are relatively short and thick in order to offer good grip for feet or hands. Normally the saddle is way down the top tube(s) since having it in the way all the time really can turn into a harrassment. The flatland must-have is a freecoaster. This special hub is necessary for many rearwheeltricks. Many flatlandbikes use to have small chainwheels since those 43teeth monsters can disturb even the smallest foot from doing great scuff-stuff. Radial spokes look good! Note that it's _not_ the best and most durable way to build a wheel. The actual trend to ride without brakes (e.g. taking them physically off) seems to push people to levels where no man has yet rolled a wheel on. Though some tricks seem to be impossible using brakes, they are done without them pretty clean by some guys.