Flatland - skill share?

Hello,

I really really want to learn flatland but I don't want to get a bike until I've had a try.

Would anybody like to teach me v basic intro, show me how things work please? I have been asking about for nearly 2 years and not many people flatland/want to show me so haven't been able to try. For what I have found out, there are only about 7 people in London who practice Flatland...

London.

ta if you can help/point me in the right direction.

Flatland is really hard. I've been riding bmx for 12 years and can barely pull off any tricks that loosely resemble flatland.

Because it's a very niche and complicated sport it's quite unlikely that you'll find a flatlander who will take their time to coach you through the basics (and drop their bike numerous times in the process).

In the meantime the basics of bmx (bunnyhops, manuals, 180s) apply to flatland as well, being able to throw the bike around and knowing where the balance points are are the keys to everything. I would advise having a look around for a bmx of your own though as practise makes perfect, and you get a good idea of how the bike handles whilst riding from a to b and bunnyhopping everything in sight.

I know the female bmx community is quite tight knit (I'm not sure if there are any on here though) so this might open far more doors than approaching some old flatlander who just wants to spin in peace.

Get a bmx. For the basics anything will do to start with. Without your own bike you wont learn much.

Master wheelies, manuals, on pedals and pegs and rolling in circles.

Makes me want to get a new bmx and just roll about with my head phones in.

My dream as a kid was to learm to do a decade. Never did.

Because it's a very niche and complicated sport it's quite unlikely
that you'll find a flatlander who will take their time to coach you
through the basics (and drop their bike numerous times in the
process).

You could be onto something about the dropping their bike bit but I used to knock around with a bunch of flatlanders in South Norwood (Norwood Park) and I'm pretty sure lots of them would be delighted to have some new blood/try and get someone interested in the sport.

Try googling "The Green Mile + Flatland" - there was an article about them in The Albion a few years ago that might give you a good idea if they're still knocking around. I last saw Jason (Forde) at the Olympics last year when we were both going to be in the closing ceremony and he was certainly still doing flat land then (I can't imagine he'd ever stop doing flatland tbh!)

That's just the salty old bmxer in me talking, I get tired of the endless requests for a go on my bike when I go to the local skatepark. If I see someone struggling at a trick and I can give them pointers then I will but often my time on my bmx is my time to be creative and escape rather than become a teacher for a few hours.

If you're serious about it then you need to become one of the regulars. Become a familiar face and talk to them, some scenes are more accepting than others but if you show willing and have your own bike then chances are you'll get helped out. Maybe try and convince someone else to learn with you, having someone at the same level makes it fun to learn new tricks and it won't seem as frustrating when you're trying to 180 whilst the other guys are linking tricks together like it's nothing.

I did some flatland about 10 years ago when I last had a bmx. I found it much more peaceful and relaxing in comparison to jumps so was happy to jump around on my bike for ages mostly lit by orange streetlights as they are far superior to new white ones. Didn't have anyone to learn from so in the grand scheme of things I was shit at it but could do flatland tailwhips and a few other fun things but none of the time machines or anything.

I would look up some eBay collection only beater bmx. I can throw some forks your way too(got them in a bunch of stuff from eBay).

I know southbank used to be flatland friendly but I remember constant issues between skaters and bmxers as "bmx pegs chipped our grind thing" and flatlanders would get the same from the more noob skaters who hadn't learned which bmxers did what.

You mostly fall on your back/bum jumping away from the bike as you send it to the floor or onto the bike as you lean too much.

Thanks for the advice @pootsmanuva @markxrat @bmxed @Clockwise.
Yeah I wouldn't actually approach/annoy someone, it's the same as being asked if XX can wear your glasses...
I don't have time to hang about and become a familiar face though so it's not really an option to get bezzy with a flatlander.
I'll look about for a second hand bike then and pave my garden over.

Fair play. A bit of company really helps when your learning though, it can get quite repetitive and frustrating. As all you need is some flat ground you might get some helpful tips of how to bunnyhop, etc if you head to one of the polo nights and have a play around before/after they've played polo.

On the topic of second hand bikes make sure you look for something flatland based as the geometry is quite different to a normal bmx (steep angles and short wheelbase) and you'll probably end up with a freecoaster. This will help when you start learning more complicated tricks.

I attempted to ride flatland 10 years ago, ended up just using the bike to get from a to b so built up a dirt bike instead, pinching the front end off the flatlander. The frame, drivetrain and rear wheel ended up in my friend's stash but I honestly don't know if he ever built it up/still has it. Will shoot him a message and see if it's still knocking around. Was a Fly bikes something or other. Basic but flatland specific all round. If he does still have it and is willing to part with it it's in Edinburgh but he'll be down next month for my wedding so something might be doable. Will send you a pm if I get any positive noise from him.

I had a couple of tricks but couldn't link anything. As with anything it's just endless practice...
Oh, and learning to jump over the bars onto the front pegs is the hardest thing in the world to summon up the bottle to attempt but really not that hard! You probably will catch your toes and go down face first a few times though, it's really hard to bail from safely compared to most things on a bmx.

Sweet, thanks. Okay I'm excited to near smash my face in.
Was/is dirt biking safer??

Never been to watch polo but have wanted to, on the to do list. Wonder if there is combined flatland polo? This is next level, I'm going to head this up. (Completely running before I can walk) ! :)

dirt is more satisfying in the short term, just to fly through the air with enough height/speed and to land isn't too challenging, getting the tricks in is where it gets harder and more likely to get injured.
flatland is a long learning curve, particularly if you are of a smaller build and your balance is off. From my experience bigger riders tend to pick it up quicker. But at worst its like falling off a curb, a mate of mine broke his wrist once flatlanding and that's about all I can remember for injuries. The dirt injuries were plentiful though... we didn't have anyone to tell us why bar ends were important until after a coring accident.
Dirt has a really good community spirit about it if you're building everything yourself, too. You spend weekend after weekend riding out with shovels and a radio to hang in the trees, digging and shaping... pseudo science when the ramps will be dry enough to use... good times.

I'm going to |Lea Valley with lfgss ladies to bmx in two weekends, so perhaps I'll experience this flying feeling a little then @Yukirin - I'll have to report back!

Are flatland and standard bmx much different aside from the previously mentioned changes in geometry? For instance could a flatland frame be used for non-flatland things?

I would probably get a street frame and use it as a jack of all trades rather than a flatland frame used for jumps too.
Free hubs (disengage the chain in both directions when coasting so pedals don't move, used for flatland) are more fragile than traditional free wheels (at least, they were considered so 15 years ago) but you can still learn flatland tricks on a traditional freewheel. Only a couple of people who took flatland really srs bsns bothered getting free hubs.

Update: I have now got a bmx .. tad heavy I reckon for flatland, but hopefully can work on some bike handling skills, has spinny bars too, so I can do fancy thangs. Just need to replace cables and then I'm all go.
@Yukirin @edmundro @bmxed @Clockwise @markxrat thanks for your advice again

@Ethel How's it going?
Just stumbled across this as I'm reminiscing my yoof on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9C9Nhva-K-M

@Yukirin hey! Nice video link, craving summer even more now.
I put my bike in the shed for the time being because it's too dark and cold atm.
Saw @Clockwise do some fancy shit at CM on Sat, HIII