Bike Check: Greg Illingworth's Fraction with signature bars. By BdJ

Jan 31, 2013

Written by Bart de Jong

Read 13906 times

-Frame: Mongoose Fraction 21" TT
-Forks: SNAFU Pickle
-Headset: WTP
-Stem: Eclat Nathan Williams
-Bars: SNAFU Illingworth bars 29" wide, 8.7"rise, 12 deg back, 1 deg up.
-Grips: Cult/Vans
-Bar ends: WTP nylon
-Chain: Eclat diesel

-Sprocket: Eclat Sylar
-Cranks: SNAFU Mayweather
-Bottom Bracket set: Eclat
-Pedals: SNAFU Anorexic
-Seatpost clamp: built in
-Seatpost: built in to seat
-Seat: Eclat Complex
-Front tire: Eclat cntrl 2.3
-Front rim: SNAFU Kashiwa
-Front hub: Eclat Dynamic
-Rear rim: Eclat Jaw

-Rear tire: Eclat cntrl 2.1
-Rear hub: Eclat Dynamic LSD
-Hub Guards: Eclat Dynamic
-Pegs: WTP

Weight: Average

Can you explain the rims a little?
Greg: Yeah, the rear rim is the new Eclat Jaw rim. The idea is that you can replace spokes without having to take your tyre and tube off. I'm trying them because the cross spoking system seems stronger to me. I also wanted to see if the sidewalla would hold up against my casing. I dent rear rims all the time from casing copings in bowls etc. I'm not as hard on my front rim so I've chosen the light weight Kashiwa rim from SNAFU... it's strong enough and it's light.

Does a fresh new one feel good or do you need to break it in first?
Greg: It feels good but I'm not 100% comfortable on it yet. It usually takes a few solid sessions on an all new bike for me to feel dialed. I can feel that I need to make some changes to this one... like dropping the bars a bit lower.

Are you picky on how it rolls?
Greg: Yes, I don't like my bike to feel sketchy. When the bike is rolling how it should then I don't worry or think about anything being wrong with it and I can focus on riding.

Did you ever run smaller bars and how do you like yours now?
Greg: Yes, I think everyone that has been in BMX for more than a few years ran smaller bars. I feel a lot more comfortable with the size of my signature bars. I feel way more in control of the bike with that extra width.

What are the modifications you made to your bike?
Greg: I usually cut the fork down a little so I don't have to run any spacers. Other than that it's all pretty stock.

Any special reason for the black and white colour scheme of your new bike?
Greg: Yeah, my signature parts are coming out in 4 colours this year. Mongoose are getting me a frame in each of those colours and I'll match them up with the parts. The first colour is black. As for the white walls... I just think they look good. I will probably run white walls for the whole year.

Thanks to: Mongoose, Monster Energy, Fox, Snafu, Vans, CSG, Split Second, The Loot.