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Jim Cielencki 24″ Bike Check

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Jeff Z.

  • March 06 2009
  • 8,089 views
  • 33 comments

The Sunday Model-C 24″ cruiser is like the big brother to our 20″ BMX bikes. For the most part they feel and handle the same, but don’t take our word for it, here’s what Jim Cielencki has to say…

Name: Jim Cielencki
Age: 35
Location: In a chair at the Sunday office in Buffalo, NY
Sponsors: Sunday and Odyssey

Frame: Sunday Model-C 24” (Cruiser)
Fork: Sunday Morning 24.1
Bars: Sunday 24umph (uncut 28”wide)
Stem: Odyssey Elementary V3
Grips: Random sample Velo Longneck style
Barends: GSport Par ends
Detangler: I just whine and unwhine the cable when needed, so I guess myself.
Headset: Odyssey?  I can’t remember
Clamp: Odyssey Mr. Clampy
Seatpost: Odyssey Intac
Seat: Odyssey Mike Aitken
Cranks: Odyssey Twombolt 175mm
Sprocket: Odyssey 25t MDS with only one guard
Chain: KMC Dropbuster
Brakes: Odyssey EVO2
Cable: Odyssey Linear
Brake Lever: Odyssey Trigger
Front Tire: KHE 24×2.25”
Front Wheel: Odyssey Hazard lite 24” 36-hole, GSport Marmoset
Rear Tire: Primo Dirt Monster 24×1.95”
Rear Wheel: Odyssey Hazard lite 24” 36-hole, GSport Ratchet
Pegs: GSport Plegs
Pedals: Odyssey Trail Mix Jim C.

Modifications/Other/Extras:
Besides cutting down the seat post, I take pins out of my pedals just because I don’t like when the pedals are too sticky. Also, depending on what I’m riding I’ll make a grind side with no pins or I’ll just take a few out on each side.

So… is big really better? What are the advantages?
I don’t know if it’s any better. When we made this there was never a thought that we were going to make riding better. Rather we were just trying to have fun with bikes. And by this I mean different bikes, I just remember thinking it would be funny to do a handrail on a cruiser. It was a total experiment that became really fun and funny at the same time.  The bike acts like a big BMX because that is exactly what it is—just a larger version of what we ride today.

What are the disadvantages?
Well the disadvantages are getting the bikes in a car. There is a funny photo on the Odyssey Flickr page of me trying to put the Model C in the back of a van. It was really awkward due to the size of the bike and the limited space I could put it in. If it was a normal 20”, then it would’ve gone in easily. Maybe finding tubes for the bike as well as spokes. Those have been the biggest disadvantages of the bike.

Jim had no problem boosting this weird kinked street tranny on the big bike. Photo: Zielinski

How does the bike feel overall, in comparison to a 20” BMX?
I’d say it feels almost 90% the same. There are times when you are riding it that you forget which one you are riding because they feel so similar. When your hands and feet are connected then it feels exactly the same. The first time I noticed this is when we rode this 7ft mini in Fullerton [California]. You drop in and on the second wall you are at 5ft. I can remember thinking how it can’t be this similar, but it is. I think everyone on the ramp that was thinking the same thing especially after they rode it.

Street riding might be a little different on it. I’ve been trying to do all the tricks that would be weird with a bigger wheel like jump over grinds, backwards grinds, manuals and high bunnyhops. The backwards grind is really weird cause you need to be a little further away just so your wheel doesn’t hit. This then causes you to have momentum into the rail and you will fall over the other side instead of staying right above the rail. Jump over grinds will work no problem. Manuals are weird because you have to adjust for the bigger wheels and longer rear end. There has been a few times that I hopped up to manual something and thought I was on a 20”, this caused the front end to immediately drop.  Handicap rails might be weird, but I haven’t had the chance to do one since it’s been winter. Other than that… barspins and tailwhips work with no problems. Aaron Ross bunnyhop whipped it first try.

Does it feel weird when you get back on the 20”?
Yeah, it feels completely weird. Now I understand why mountain bikers can’t get on a BMX and do tricks. It’s like a total other world. The steering is way quicker for some reason, you are more over the bars, the wheels feel totally smaller and the bike feels way shorter and less stable. After riding the Model C, I added a quarter inch to my normal BMX’s top tube length and brought out the rear end to 14” just because I felt the bike would be more stable. It’s way easier to go from the 20” to the 24” than go back the other way. I try to not mix the two when I’m riding. I just pick one and use it for a little while then back to the other.

How often do you ride the cruiser?
It really depends on what’s upcoming. I’ve been riding it more lately because there is still more to figure out with it. I can’t wait for Spring because there are a bunch of things that I’d like to try. It’s still an experiment; we went to Woodward West the other day to test out some jumping stuff. To me, it seems like opposite 360s and backflips are easier on this bike, 360 whips are more difficult, 720s are totally possible and alligator wrestlers are also totally possible. I forgot to try decades on it, but that can be tried almost anywhere with a box jump. This thing has been so much fun as of late, so I’ve been riding it a bunch.

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