Flatland Freestyle on a 26″ Racer/Touring/Road bike.

I used to compete in BMX races and does BMX flatland freestyle and ramp riding for fun. The sport has evolved to much when I have started in 1989 but after all those years, I have never seen such graceful flatland freestyle, dabless, flawless, flatland freestyle tricks NOT on a 20″ wheel BMX/Freestyle bike. But on a 26″ Road bike. Although I watched the movie Quicksilver starring Kevin Bacon, the freestyle there on road racing bikes were still done by the hard core flatland BMX freestyles of that day like R.L. Osborne, Martin Aparijo and Eddie Fiola. I am not sure if Dennis McCoy was in Quicksilver but there was definitely someone doing multiple boomerangs which look like Dennis McCoy’s signature moves of that day. Some bike spinning looked like Pat Romano.

But I recently found this video online, that is a flatland freestyle video, but on a racer/touring/road bike. Although there are a few obvious modifications like, there is no freewheel. It was a continuous peddaling gear, so unicycle type of balancing tricks were possible, handlebars were like modified road racing handlebars turned upward and I believe there were no brakes since it was not using a freewheel anyway and thus did not need any brake cable detangler like a gyro, oryg, spinmaster, spintech or rotor. There seemed to be small axle pegs as well. The freestyler is a female (which reminds me of Krys Dauchy).

You got to see this video. Her routine goes like this:

  • It starts out with just coasting in circles, then does a gymnastic pose with both hands on the seat and legs extended forward. Totally not a part of BMX flatland freestyle.
  • The does a surf and controls it quite well since she gracefully rides it out in a figure 8 path.
  • She then does a trick similar to a framestand. But it is a seat stand! Again gliding in a figure 8 path.
  • Then a boomerang.
  • Does a wheelie next, climbs over the bars and does a unicycle type of moneuver, does some variations then goes into spastic circles.
  • Then does a reverse wheelie with 1 footed variations. Reverse wheelie is the normal wheelie position but doing a rollback with it. Maybe we can call it a fakie wheelie?
  • Continues doing a rollback, then rollback surf/surf fakie?
  • Rolls out into a 180 rock walk and goes into a grip ride and rides in a figure 8 path again.
  • Then runs into an in-and-over type of technique going into a backride.
  • Then going into a no handed rolling (and peddaling) backyard.
  • Transitions into a reverse grip ride.
  • After that she does a backward rolling and pedalling backyard. You got to see it to understand it.
  • She just decides to stop running backward and balances, then run forward like an ordinary backyard, but pedalling and does it spastically.
  • She then goes over the bars in a pedal picker position but does a unicycle thing and does it spastically again.
  • Now from here, she just lets the bike fall on its wheels while she is still in front, balances, pedals making the bike run backward, and suddenly goes into a seat grinder position, and does spastic circles. A seat grider but she is not grinding the seat, and is actually balancing on the rear wheel. And she ends her routine there.

Crazy! She does it gracefully, never touched the ground, no sign of wobbling. And looks like ballet with the Vanessa Mae violin background music.

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