Terrid's Bike Check:

There are some people who don't give a crap about the state of the bike or what parts they use. I admire these people, I envy them, but I'm not one of them. I am what is commonly known as a 'parts whore'. I can't help it. I have a problem.

Thinking about it, I don't actually buy new stuff that often (apart from tyres, tubes and chains), but nearly every part on my bike has been thought about for a very long, very sad amount of time before purchasing. I use my bike for having fun, so I try only to buy parts from companies who don't whinge and moan. I want my parts made by someone who's having fun too. I bloody hate politics.

There are still one or two things that I'll probably change at some point in the distant future, but for now, here's my bike:

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Frame: S&M Black Bike (21.25tt with gyro tabs). This thing's awesome. I really can't believe how much I love this frame. I never thought I'd actually find myself getting excited over a headset, but the whole hidden set thing is just so sweet it's ridiculous. The bars just spin and spin and spin. The only problem I've had with it is that the dropouts seem a little big and I run my rear wheel slammed right in, so I've pinched them a bit whilst bumpin' and grindin', but Chick says he'll angle grinder them down, so it's no big deal. (yeah, yeah - I know that S&M are DEEPLY entrenched in BMX politics but they make me laugh and I like Moeller's style, so there.)

Forks: Volume. I've heard horrible things about these forks but I've had them for nearly 5 years and they're still holding up. They're first on the 'things to swap' list though, due to how much Brian Castillo seems to whine and moan and (more importantly) they weigh a metric tonne. I want some MacNeil IDs.

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Headset: Campag internal. See above. Awesome. I got hold of some spare bearings from the OBM guys (cheers Euan), so when I was bored one night I did the sad thing of popping all the bearings out of the ring holder thing and putting them in loose because this means you can fit in another five or six, so it's even smoother.

Stem: Hidden Nation. I only just got this but I love it. It's tiny and weighs nowt (especially compared to my old stem which was one of the original Rednecks. It was also a great stem but weighed a fair bit more). It lets me run my bars higher which has made manuals easier and I also really like the whole Hidden Nation gig, 'cos I reckon the guy's got a lot of good ideas, and it's nice to buy British.

Bars: S&M Berringer. Best bars ever.

Grips: ODI Longneck. Best grips ever.

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Front Wheel: High flange, sealed Suzue hub with Standard 3/8 axle and Araya Super 7x 48h rim. I bought this off Grant after I tried that whole 36h race hub/Araya Aero rim thing and it died on it's arse. Grant says he bought this wheel in '97 from the now defunct Trend Bike Source, so that means it's been built by Tom, the master wheel craftsman who now co-owns Empire. I put the Standard Axle in myself (I'm so clever) and I've never had any problems with it. Never broke a spoke and never had to true it (probably because all the spokes are seized).

Front Tyre: Primo Dirt Monster. I don't like Primo - they're always winging about something boring or other, but I've had this tyre for about two years and I'll be damned if I'm going to replace it for that reason alone.

Cranks: Profile Race (175m). I once owned a pair of DMR cranks. The pedal boss thing snapped clean off whilst jumping down two steps. Fergus also snapped two pairs. They wouldn't replace them on warranty either (?!), so I did what I should have done in the first place - borrowed £100 off me brother and bought a set of Profiles. I've had them for about two or three years and they're still fine. I'm told they're bent but I'm used to them, so I don't care.

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Sprocket: BSD ti 28t. Grant's drunken antics have lead to him being hated by many, but he's a great bloke and he makes great sprockets. BSD forever!

Pedals: DMR V8. Made by the same company who made them crappy cranks - urgh. I used to run Primos but seeing as how I dislike the two companies as much as each other and since the Primo ones are about a ton heavier, I've opted for these until something better comes along that doesn't cost the earth. I might go for those Wellgo magnesium ones, but I've heard they break easily.

Chain: KMC 510. Taj told me to buy one so I did.

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Seat clamp: Random generic twin bolt clamp that I sawed in half. Mike Taylor runs the same kind of thing and I liked the idea of it. I had a HUGE double clamper at the flat, so when we got home from Toronto I got it out, took the hacksaw and file to it and now I have a nice, wee seat post clamp (with tasty DT Spokes sticker placement).

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Seat post: Hidden Nation. My seat post was hella heavy and the guts were crap. My seat moved every time I crashed, so I bought one of these. The guts are welded on, so you can only have your seat in one position, but it's at the angle that I'd have it anyhoo and it's lighter and hasn't shifted yet. Yet another triumph over adversity - hurrah!

Seat: Demolition. Demolition are the same as Volume so it bugs me that I ride something that's made by such a winging company, but it's really comfy and tough, so it's staying put for the time being (although I might swap it at some point for a Fit or Hidden Nation seat).

Pegs: Kink Lite (four of 'em). I've had these for about two years and they're still going strong. Before hand, I had a set of Snafu pegs and they were hella bad. So soft. These things last for ages, don't weigh much and make sparks, and sparks are nearly as good as skids.

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Rear Wheel: Original Odyssey cassette with 10t driver and hollow axle, laced with half DT Swiss spokes and half Primo (as the Primo ones broke, I swapped them for DT) on a 48h Odyssey Hazard Lite rim. I've had this wheel for about two years, and despite having to swap nearly half of the Primo spokes, it's held up great. If I was going to buy it again, I'd get a chrome rim (for better braking) and despite everyone advising against it, I've always fancied a freecoaster. The new Odyssey one looks good, but I'll have to save up a bit before I get it. I'd never buy Primo spokes again either - they're like marzipan. DT Swiss all the way.

Rear Tyre: Shadow Conspiracy Undertone (1.85). I had an Odyssey Path tyre before this, which was good, but a bit too thin and wore down really fast. This one's nice and tough and rolls really fast. I like thin, hard tyres 'cos I like going fast.

BRAKE: I've been brakeless since the braking surface went on my rear rim, but when I finally get round to getting a new one, here's how I run my brake:

Lever: Tech 99. Bent.

Cables: Odyssey slic cable. Chopped up so that I could run twin cables top and bottom. I use an old Dragonfly Gemini cable stop to let me run the twin cable up top and a London Mod for the lower half.

Rotor: Odyssey GTX. I had to get one of these because my old SST rotor wouldn't fit over the bigger head tube of the Black Bike (I was secretly and pathetically pleased though, because the GTX is much shinier and nicer-looking). The built-in knarps were also very handy for doing the whole custom cable thing.

Brake: Dia Compe 990.

So there you go. That's my bike. Thanks to anyone who I pester for advice on what to buy (mostly Grant) and thanks to people who've made bits for it - it feels amazing and makes riding more fun.

REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!!

Terrid

If you have any pieces of kit that you swear by, email us with a review or even a full bike check at airtight@bbc.co.uk, and we'll put it live. Cheers.