James Foster's triple backflip machine; the MGP Prototype.

Dec 14, 2013

Written by Bart de Jong

Read 8920 times

Name: James Foster
Age: 28
Hometown: Redlands, CA
Hookups: MGP BMX, Nitro Circus Live

Frame: MGP prototype. 75.5* HT angle, 13" rear, 20.5tt. 11.8" BB height.
Forks: KHE
Stem: Profile Push 53mm
Headset: Revenge

Gyro: Odyssey
Bars: KHE Pluma
Grips: Odi
Bar ends: Odyssey plastic
Brake lever: Odyssey Monolever small
Seat/post: one piece seat/post combo... I usually run a fat pivotal seat though.
Sprocket: 27t fit
Cranks: Profile 170mm
BB set: Profile
Pedals: Odyssey

Chain: Cult halflink
Brake: Demolition
Brake pads: Demolition
Brake cables: whichever ones were at the bike shop
Front hub: Profile with ti button head bolts
Front rim: Alienation Deviant
Front tire: KHE MAC2 park
Rear hub: Profile Elite with ti 9t driver and ti button head bolts
Rear rim: Alienation Runaway
Rear tire: KHE MAC1.5 park

Modifications: Cut the bars a bit. I run 105psi in my tires, and I like to keep everything dialed. Brakes, wheels, etc. If my bike doesn't run right or something is off center, I notice it and it drives me crazy.

Doing a couple of triple backflips per week, your bike needs to be solid. Do you check it on the regular for cracks, etc.?
James: Yeah, I had never really broken a frame until I started doing triple flips. Under rotate one of those and say good bye to your headtube. So if I wreck one bad, I usually check my bike out carefully, but I haven't had any issues in a while. I had to replace my cranks on this tour, I bent a set just landing hard. Didn't crash, just landed so hard they bent...

Can you explain the bar pad on your handlebars?
James: Yeah, I know it looks ridiculous, but I under rotated a triple flip on the Nitro Circus Live tour, and smashed my chest into my crossbar, which bruised my ribs. I made the crossbar pad after that with some foam and electrical tape just in case I hit my chest on my crossbar again. I'll take it off once my ribs are healed up.

You've raised your bars a bit with the help of a new stem. How does it feel now?
James: I always run my bars high, but I had a different top load stem and it just wasn't doing the trick. I got another Profile Push stem, which is what I usually run and put them side by side and found out the Profile stem was about 10mm higher bar placement than the other one I had. To get triples around consistently I need a short back end and tall bars.

Are the plastic pedals grippy enough for your big tricks?
James: Yeah, absolutely. I just change them out every couple months, and I have no issues. It also helps if you have decent shoes. I hate metal pedals, tearing up pants and shins and ankles is no fun. I've been on the plastic pedals for at least 5 years now.

Which part of the bike have you used the longest?
James: This is a pretty new bike. I usually keep stuff a long time, on my other bike I have a set of Profile cassette hubs that are about 4 years old and still run perfectly. On this bike probably the wheelset is about a year old.

Thanks to: MGP BMX, Nitro Circus, Profile Racing