This episode of Daneosaur Tales I have been toying with a new set-up that I will be taking to the 2014 Grands.

Not sure if BMXers have come across Tioga/Alienation’s OS20 wheel set-up as of yet, but when I got wind of this, I had to try it.

Most of you know that I stand at 6’4 and have pretty long legs. I have struggled to find a 20″ bike that really fits my height ever since I started riding a BMX, with most frames I have ridden ranging from the 21-21.75 in top tube length.

At the end of last year, Simon Anderson had sourced a 22″ TT GT Speed Series, and I gave it a try. Having that extra room certainly made a huge difference! Fast forward to September, and Simon was riding a GT Power Series XXL OS20… This was the first that I had heard of this and when Simon said that this would be a perfect set-up for you, I was intrigued.

Into the mad scientist’s workshop we went and stripped his OS20 and test fitted the rear wheel in the Speed Series with great success. The only problem that was presented was the brake mounts were lower on the seat stays which meant the tire would rub on the top of the brake. So he decided to take the expert to pro size set-up and get some brake mount extenders. Most of you know that when an expert transfers to a pro sized frame but still runs expert sized rims you need to run these brake mount extenders.. seems like they can be used for the bigger kids too… The forks from the Power Series are slightly bigger than normal 20″ forks to accommodate the bigger wheel and went straight into frame like any normal fork. Funnily enough, the bike now seems to be in proportion. The bigger wheels have raised the bottom bracket slightly, but has made no difference in the way the bike snaps out of the gate and around the turns. It feels more stable, and is not as twitchy.

The gearing will be a challenge, as it is a bit hard to work out the roll out of the wheels and compare it to a standard 20″ gearing. The bmxultra.com gear calculator gives you the opportunity to manually put in the dimensions and work out your gear ratio. All in all, the Frankenstein set-up is a success, but if you do not want to do be messing around with this, GT offer the Power Series XXL straight out of the box retailing for $699.

I have put together a small video of the testing. Click the link below and check it out! If you want to know more or even have a ride of the bike come say hello at the next open meet and take it for a whirl!