Matthias Dandois & Raphael Chiquet Bike Checks

ltyoung

• June 27 2008
• 3,086 views
• 2 comments

These two French flatland riders live and ride together and are best friends. We caught up with them a while back when they were in New Orleans for the Voodoo Jam. Check out their bikes from A Bad Thing and read what they have to say about them.

Name: Matthias Dandois
Age: 19
Location: Paris, France
Sponsors: Adidas footwear, KOXX (A Bad Thing), Stereo Panda clothing, Eastpak, Pull-In underwear, La Cremerie BMX shop

Frame: A Bad Thing, Version 1.1
Fork: A Bad Thing, Version 1.1
Bars: In the picture: OG Cygo bar - On now: Odyssey BS bar (Chase Gouin signature.)
Stem: Try All (KOXX), with titanium bolts.
Grips: Odyssey Team
Barends: Plastic Odyssey
Headset: Wethepeople
Clamp: A Bad Thing with an Inox insert.
Seatpost: A Bad Thing Pivotal
Seat: A Bad Thing Pivotal
Cranks: Profile Magnesium
Sprocket: Demolition
Chain: KMC
Front Tire: Odyssey Frequency G, 1.75″
Front Wheel: Try All (KOXX,) 32h single wall rim with a KHE Geisha hub, double-butted KOXX spokes radial-laced, and aluminum KOXX spoke nipples.
Rear Tire: Odyssey Plyte Frequency G, 1.75″
Rear Wheel: Try All (KOXX) 36h, double wall rim with a KHE Geisha light freecoaster hug, double-butted KOXX spokes, switch laced, and aluminum spoke nipples.
Pegs: A Bad Thing
Pedals: Try All (KOXX) magnesium

Modifications:
I cut the nose of my seat. I run all the spacers my forks can take under the stem to make the bar as high as possible. I get all the grease off my chain so it’s locked and doesn’t move. (No crankflips, haha.) I took off some spacer from my freecoaster to make it work better… Nothing really special, I f+!?ing hate mechanics.

Other:
I have caps at the end of my pegs that you can unscrew. They are better for the pivoting tricks, when your foot moves from one side to the other side of the pegs. Also, you don’t have to buy a new pegs when your cap is destroyed, you just need to buy a new cap, and your pegs look brand new.

Extras:
Carbon spacer in the headset.

Which parts do you go through the most?
I would say grips… My hands are really HUGE and grips last me less than 3 weeks…ALL grips! Spokes too, maybe three spokes a day, but I guess it’s because all my nipples are fucked and I’m too lazy to change them!

Which part on your bike do you like the most?
My fork…the best ever made because it’s really thin so you are closer from the middle of the wheel, which makes the balance easier. And it is really clean, so your foot doesn’t hurt when you are on the peg.

Describe your bike setup and how you like your bike to feel…
Well, I like my bike to be really long. My back wheel is at the very end of the dropout and my bars are really far forward. My seat is really low (yes, for a flatlander this is really low) because I have long arms, so having the seat low makes it easier to grab. I like my bars to be really tall (8 inches) and large. I want my to be more than 9 kilos (around 19.8lbs) because it doesn’t feel good when it’s too light. I like my bike to be a lil’ bit fucked up. I hate new parts or changing parts. It’s so good when it moves a lil’ bit, hahh!

Do you remember your first “real” BMX bike?
Yes! It was a Huffy! My parents bought it at Carrefour (similar to Wal-Mart) for my birthday and it was the best day in my life. I was 13 and I just ran all over the house when I saw that. Then one year later, my first flatland bike was a Twenty Parking. I learned so many tricks with that bike!

When we shot these photos, why did you have an Ares back wheel and no chain on your bike?
Well, My bike didn’t make it to the plane in Paris and I had to wait two days before it arrives in the U.S. When I built my bike in New Orleans before the Voodoo Jam, my freecoaster was totally fucked up due to the plane transfer! Scott O’Brien kindly gave me an Ares wheel but it was just…not the same. I mean my freecosater had some modification and worked perfect (thanks to Raphael) and this Ares wheel didn’t work the same way. I got pissed and just took the chain off for the contest. I hated that! Fuck chainless riding! I put one back I soon as I got to Paris, haha!

Why did you cut the nose off your seat? Since you ride for A Bad Thing and you and Rafael both have the nose cut off, do you think A Bad Thing will make a seat that is already shorter?
I cut the nose off my seat for extra space between my bars and my seat when I go through this space (boomerang, for example). I know Raph cut it to loose some weight, haha! Well, I don’t think we can make it because the mold is so expensive. We bought the mold from Macneil Pivotal system. To make the mold, I heard it would cost over 50,000 dollars…

How tall are you and what size is your top tube? Why does such a tall guy like you ride such a short bike?
Yep, I’m 186 cm (about 6′1″) tall so I am tall, haha! Well, my toptube is 18.6″, but my setup is really long. Short enough for back wheel riding, and long enough for the frontwheel! But the A Bad Thing frame v2.1 is going to be over 19″ for me, so it’s going to be perfect!

Name: Rafael Chiquet
Age: 24
Location: Paris, France
Sponsors: A Bad Thing, Eastpak, Stereo Panda

Frame: A Bad Thing, 18.2″
Fork: A Bad Thing
Handlebar: A Bad Thing stem/bar combo
Pegs: A Bad Thing
Cranks: Profile Magnutanium, 140mm
Seat: A Bad Thing
Seatpost: A Bad Thing
Seatclamp: A Bad Thing
Pedals: Mini Try All magnesium
Sprocket: Crank-X
Barends: Crank-X
Grip: Try All
Chain: Try All light
Front Wheel: Try All
Rear Wheel: KHE Geisha light freecoaster and Alienation rim
Tires: Odyssey Frequency G

Modifications/Other/Extras: I have cut the end of my cranks, which was causing pain to my ankles. I have put some grip flanges as some hub guards in the front hub, and I have cut the front of my seat to have more room while landing tailwhips.

Which parts do you go through the most?
Back wheels.

Describe your bike setup and how you like your bike to feel…
My bike is quite small, the bar aren’t too high, and my seat is very low. My bike is according to my back wheel riding. I like my bike to be strong, and beautiful to look at. I don’t like my frame color, but I painted it for a job…

Do you remember your first “real” BMX bike?
My first BMX bike was an 80’s MBK with plastic wheels… Then I had a GT Perfomer, like everybody I guess.

Why did you drill all those holes in your seat? Are you that much of a weight freak or were you just bored?
To be honest, I was a little bit bored and I was thinking that I could loose some weight. Plastic is soft, so it took me maybe 20 minutes to drill and cut it all. I only saved 40 grams.

What are the rubber flanges for in your front hub?
These are some grip flanges used to protect my fingers when I grab the front pegs and to stop the wheel while I’m riding on the back wheel only.

What are you most particular about on your bike? Are you picky about PSI?
I hate when it’s making noise, so everything is very tight. I don’t look at my tire pressure before every session, just maybe ones a week, and I put around 140 PSI. For me, 120 PSI is the minimum.