Adam Strieby Bike Check

dfreygang

• April 11 2003
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It’s not very often that Adam Strieby rolls into town, so when he showed up on our doorstep, I figured now was a perfect time for a quick bike check/interview. Wondering how Redline’s #1 dirt jumper sets up his ride? Wonder no more.Any special modifications?
I cut my seat post down as much as possible, I cut my bars down—not as much as some of the guys… I cut down the bolt on the Odyssey forks because you seriously have to turn it 43 times. If you take your bike apart every week to go to contests, you seriously hate whoever designed that part. I don’t know who did it, but I don’t like them (laughter). I have some ugly stack washers on there because I didn’t cut my fork’s steerer tube down enough… That looks bad. Lots of tape to keep the cables from clattering around, and custom flame decals (laughter).

Is working on your bike something you like to do?
I wouldn’t say I like to do it, but if I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it right. If I’m going to work on the brakes, I’ll set aside two hours to get them dialed so they actually work. Usually I’ll do it right the first time around so I don’t have to come back and re-work on everything.

Do you have good tools?
No, my brothers steal them and lose them. They paint them and then they claim that they are their tools. They paint them neon yellow and my brother Brian will be like, “That’s my tool!” because it’s neon yellow. We have really bad tools because there are three of us. I’m responsible, but they’re not (laughter).

So your bike has seen the block-and-hammer cup press method?
Oh yeah; we used to do chains that way, with a nail and a couple of pieces of board. That was before we actually knew they made chain tools (laughter). It teaches discipline (more laughter).

What was the last part you bent or broke?
I switch out pedals a lot because I bend the shafts; any pedal you get you’re going to bend the shafts… you come in from a superman way out over a 27′ set of doubles you’re going to bend pedals… three whips over that same set… Bars if you chuck your bike too much, but these bars are pretty sturdy; they’re pretty thick.

Are you a bike thrower?
I have a lot of restraint; I’m a half-assed bike thrower. I’ll almost throw it, but at the last second, I’ll grab it with the ends of my fingers and keep from sending it. I never ever threw my bike until I was factory sponsored and then I thought I actually had the right because I got the bikes for free. That’s a bad attitude, so I try and be a good example for the kids now… but I sure feel like it sometimes.

Do you do all the work on your bike yourself?
Yeah; I wouldn’t trust anyone else to do it.

How long do you stay on one frame?
These frames hold up good; I don’t like switching out stuff, so I’ll ride a bike for a long time. The guys at Redline are always like, “You need to get on the new model…” I’m riding last year’s bike and it’s held up for a while… It’s held up better than me; I broke my leg in three spots on this bike (laughter).

How long have you been on that frame?
For about the last seven months.

What do you do with all your old parts?
I give a lot of stuff away. I used to try and sell it when I was poorbut that’s just not cool, so I like to do the trickle down deal. If you don’t get flowed products, people really appreciate getting pedals that are just barely bent. Or, if I break something, I’ll send it back to Redline for testing…

Do they include you on new product design?
A lot; Redline seriously wants to make good bikes, so pretty much anything I say… As long as you’re talking to the right people, they actually change stuff. It’s good working with them; I’ll come up with ideas, throw them their way and they run with it.

Do you know what the differences are going to be between this bike and the ‘04 Redlines?
Not sure yet; we’re working on a few small changes. This bike I’m so happy with; once a bike’s working good for me I’m hesitant to change it, but there are always little things that we can do cosmetically, or places we can lose a little bit of weight. Overall it’s good; no flares on the head tube, that’s super burly, good dropouts—we might change those up a little bit; we’ll see.

You mentioned that you’ve got two bikes…
Yeah, this is the one that I bring on the road; it makes it a lot harder on me riding. When I’m at home I run one with pegs; you can do about 5,000 more tricks than you can without pegs, so that’s my deal back there. This one, no pegs; it makes me go big.

How important is weight to you?
Fairly important. It comes into play on certain tricks. I wish there was a way to adjust the weight on your bike; on supermans, a heavier bike is actually a plus just because the weight’s out in front of you and you know you can get your legs way higher. But lighter bikes are good on 360-whips; they pop back in there really well, so I try and keep medium ground and not go too light. Where it’s distributed on the bike comes into play too; if it’s in the front end, I’m not that worried about it because the front end doesn’t get thrown around that much, but if it’s in the back end, I’ll try and lighten it up back there.

Is that something where you’d choose one part over another because of weight?
Yeah, but basically I just choose parts that hold up. Most of the people are always surprised when they see my bike because I ride it stock as much as I can.

Do you stay on street tires year round or do you ever put on knobbies?
That’s something where I’ll let the people who are telling me what to do decide. I run whatever they tell me to run. These work good. I’m not that opinionated on tires, I guess (laughter). I’m not big into knobbies, so I’d probably run these regardless.

Are you going to do any racing this year?
I’m not sure; I don’t clip in, and I can’t compete with fat guys who do clip in and all of a sudden they’re ahead of you and squirrelly, so it drags me down a little bit. I seriously have to be in so much better shape to compete with them. I’m not going to switch to clips. It’s funny; I got #1 awhile back and it’s weird to get anything but. I can’t think about getting a #3; that would be a letdown, really. But if I went after #1 again, that would take a bit of training and I’d have to get the six-pack back. I don’t know about that (laughter).

Everybody seems to be into the black-bike-no-stickers look, but you’ve got a white bike that you put stickers on. What’s up with that?
Those are flames; you have to be tough to run flames because I think flames are played out; I’ve heard that like four times (laughter). I don’t know. No one told Adam Strieby so he’s slapping flames on his bike (laughter). But if that’s what it takes for me to be cool, I’ll paint it black, because you know I’m all about what everyone else does; I’m not much into doing my own thing (more laughter).

What’s next on the traveling/contest agenda?
I’m not sure; everyone’s scheduling their contests super late this year so I don’t know. It’s hard coming up with an itinerary right now. I’ve just been rolling around to the local trails, local skateparks having fun. I’m going to do the big contests; definitely the X Games or Gravity Games.

How much pressure comes with being a sponsored rider?
I used to put a lot of pressure on myself. Everything I do I try and do well, and there are a lot of guys out there that are super deserving of a place on a factory team. I feel honored to do it, but I didn’t get into biking to have pressure put on me. I do it for the fun, so I try and take as much pressure off of myself as I can. I realize I have a duty to do well because I’m paid to do what I do, but if it got in the way of fun, I’d do something to nullify the contract today.

Adam’s Redline “Supa X”
Geometry:
Head tube angle:74.5 degrees
Top tube:21″
Rear end:15-1/2
Dropouts:14mm slotted
Bottom bracket height:11-3/4

Frame:Redline Supa X. “It’s last year’s model, but it’s the same geometry as this year’s model.”
Forks:Odyssey Jump forks. “They’re the strongest forks out there, but there are way too many threads in that top bolt; you have to turn it 43 times for it to go down!”
Headset:FSA Pig, loose-ball. “I swap out the top cup for a Kink cup. I haven’t done it on this bike yet but I put a Kink cup up top so it doesn’t crack.”
Bars:Redline. “They look a little weird from the front, but they’re perfect on the bend, so I run em’; they’re good stuff.”
Stem:Redline Flight.
Grips:RL “Freaky V”. “They’re kind of soft; I like soft grips, and they’re not too fat. They work good. I’m not sure what kind of bar ends those are, but I run ‘em so I don’t poke a hole in my chest. I put a bunch of tape on them to make them feel softer and keep the dirt out.”
Tires:Tioga Comp ST tires.
Cranks:Redline Proline Flights. “They’re last year’s model…I haven’t gotten the new ones yet, but they’re actually better because they’ve got a lower pinch bolt that keeps your pants from getting caught on them. I don’t run the spacer on the spindle in between the bearings; that’s how I keep them from spinning; I keep them tightened down on the bearings.
Sprocket:Redline, 44t.
Rims:“Sun, but they look like Alex (laughter)…”
Hubs:Front: Redline Race; Rear: Poverty w/16-tooth freewheel.
Tires:Tioga FS 100’s, 20″x1.95″.
Pedals:“I switch between Poverty and Redline. I don’t get the sealed bearings; I take the loose-ball, pop the cap on the end and tighten them down really hard so that they don’t spin while I’m in the air.”
Chain:KMC “Z” chain, 1/8″. “See that rust on the chain? That’s another way I keep my cranks from spinning (laughter). That’s Indiana winters for you.”
Brake lever:Dia-Tech Dirty Harry. eby so he’s slapping flames on his bike (laughter). But if that’s what it takes for me to be cool, I’ll paint it black, because you know I’m all about what everyone else does; I’m not much into doing my own thing (more laughter).

What’s next on the traveling/contest agenda?
I’m not sure; everyone’s scheduling their contests super late this year so I don’t know. It’s hard coming up with an itinerary right now. I’ve just been rolling around to the local trails, local skateparks having fun. I’m going to do the big contests; definitely the X Games or Gravity Games.

How much pressure comes with being a sponsored rider?
I used to put a lot of pressure on myself. Everything I do I try and do well, and there are a lot of guys out there that are super deserving of a place on a factory team. I feel honored to do it, but I didn’t get into biking to have pressure put on me. I do it for the fun, so I try and take as much pressure off of myself as I can. I realize I have a duty to do well because I’m paid to do what I do, but if it got in the way of fun, I’d do something to nullify the contract today.

Adam’s Redline “Supa X”
Geometry:
Head tube angle:74.5 degrees
Top tube:21″
Rear end:15-1/2
Dropouts:14mm slotted
Bottom bracket height:11-3/4

Frame:Redline Supa X. “It’s last year’s model, but it’s the same geometry as this year’s model.”
Forks:Odyssey Jump forks. “They’re the strongest forks out there, but there are way too many threads in that top bolt; you have to turn it 43 times for it to go down!”
Headset:FSA Pig, loose-ball. “I swap out the top cup for a Kink cup. I haven’t done it on this bike yet but I put a Kink cup up top so it doesn’t crack.”
Bars:Redline. “They look a little weird from the front, but they’re perfect on the bend, so I run em’; they’re good stuff.”
Stem:Redline Flight.
Grips:RL “Freaky V”. “They’re kind of soft; I like soft grips, and they’re not too fat. They work good. I’m not sure what kind of bar ends those are, but I run ‘em so I don’t poke a hole in my chest. I put a bunch of tape on them to make them feel softer and keep the dirt out.”
Tires:Tioga Comp ST tires.
Cranks:Redline Proline Flights. “They’re last year’s model…I haven’t gotten the new ones yet, but they’re actually better because they’ve got a lower pinch bolt that keeps your pants from getting caught on them. I don’t run the spacer on the spindle in between the bearings; that’s how I keep them from spinning; I keep them tightened down on the bearings.
Sprocket:Redline, 44t.
Rims:“Sun, but they look like Alex (laughter)…”
Hubs:Front: Redline Race; Rear: Poverty w/16-tooth freewheel.
Tires:Tioga FS 100’s, 20″x1.95″.
Pedals:“I switch between Poverty and Redline. I don’t get the sealed bearings; I take the loose-ball, pop the cap on the end and tighten them down really hard so that they don’t spin while I’m in the air.”
Chain:KMC “Z” chain, 1/8″. “See that rust on the chain? That’s another way I keep my cranks from spinning (laughter). That’s Indiana winters for you.”
Brake lever:Dia-Tech Dirty Harry. “I bend it with a couple of wrenches.”
Brakes:Odyssey Evlover.
Seat:Redline.
Seat Post:Redline.
Seat Post clamp:Redline.
Extras:SST Oryg, bar ends, “cheap chain adjuster”

ry. “I bend it with a couple of wrenches.”
Brakes:Odyssey Evlover.
Seat:Redline.
Seat Post:Redline.
Seat Post clamp:Redline.
Extras:SST Oryg, bar ends, “cheap chain adjuster”