Matt Sparks bike check

Sparks has always been known for having a pretty custom bike.  His newest one may be the most custom one yet.  I bet you did a double take when you saw the photo above.

Grim reaper style cut outs in the headtube and bottom bracket.

New Snafu forks 08' Lite forks

Removed the seat tube...who needs it?

Fly Brake, new Snafu lite cranks and 08' sprocket

Custom CNC'ed smooth Profile hubs front and rear

Solid Bikes Custom - 20" TT, Spanish BB, 5 1/2 lbs the way it looks now.
Snafu 08 Lite forks
Snafu 08 Morgan Stem (not shown)
Snafu 08 Sissy Lite bars w/ thread in bar ends
DUO Doyle grips
Snafu Mobeous Gyro Spinner
ODY m2 Lever
Snafu Stump post with a wedge system
Premium Fat Pivotal Seat
Snafu 08 Sprocket - 25T and 7075
Snafu Prototype cranks (5 months in still on my first set)
Primo Stricker Pedals
Fly Bikes Brakes
Snafu Kevlar folding tire on front 2.20
KHE Kevlar folding tire on back 1.85
Custom profile mini front hub laced to a Sun Rhyno Lite 36
Custom profile mini rear laced to a 7KA - Drilled with 14mm holes
8T Profile driver
Shadow half link chain - accept no imitations.
DK Double butted spokes on both wheels.
Ti studs, front n back.

Sponsors - Albe's and Snafu

CHECK THE UPDATE ON THE SPARKS BIKE HERE (11/14/07)

Comments

[dan]

i hope he dies from this, it is retarded.

[alex]

wow thats the dumbest thing i ever seen, im with dan.

[Turnbuckle]

good way to fuck up a legendary frame!

[Sparks]

Thanks to Todd n Flip @ Albes, Mike Collins @ Snafu, Tony D @ Haro, Scot Towne, and Sean Miksys. You guys make this shit possible.

ps. No, your retarted.

[wethefeeble]

my frame weighs 5lbs and I havent chopped it up and never will!

[flip @ albe's]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!

[gob]

Speaking as a Profile Racing representative, DO NOT DO THIS TO YOUR PROFILE HUBS. YOU WILL DAMAGE THEM. Sparks is clearly a special induvidual with special skills. You, on the other hand, are not. The cnc work on the rear hub in particular is dangerously close to the drive side bearing seat, so it wouldn't surprise me if the drive side hub flange tears off it eventually. Obviously, any warranty on any part is null and void as soon as you take any cutting tool to it. Save yourself a lot of headaches and potentially serious bodily damage and do not modify any bicycle part unless you're an engineer or a machinist yourself.

[james]

and there was me thinking profiles warranty was null and void as soon as you took the part out the box...

[pip]

ur tying two granny knots in a loop and it aint happening

[Dan]

Actually you are retarded.

Maybe you should go to school, learn some things, then come back.

[mb]

http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/4111/pict1sg6gc7.jpg

that's my S3,i've cut the toptube (who needs it?),now i have a lot of room for whips etc..

[sparks]

gob- we actually split the first rear hub in half on the lathe, got too close to that driver ring, gotta new hub and completely avoided that part, you can still see the profile style machining in the picture, as far as on the driver side.

if your reading this, EVERYONE agrees that this is how a profile hub should look. get on it.

ps. no, your retarted.

[todd...]

i remember just a few years ago when everyone was chopping their seven inch high bars down to twenty inches wide because it helped with bar spin tricks, now all those same people are running eight and a quarter rise bars. before any of you start with the shit talking stop and think about what your own set up may be like six months from now. nutty things like this can either be the start of a trend or a dumb mistake, only time will tell. and i'll bet if de-tubing your frame starts showing up more often each and every one of you will have the ol' hack saw out faster than Dave Mirra can cash an Oxy check.

[wafnsklf]

^^^^ NO

[Luke]

What is the Weight?

[cornfed]

You should put one of those spring loaded toilet paper thingies from the bathroom in the open seat tube space and mount up a roll of T.P.

That would look sweet.

[Kieran]

fuck everyone else that is sick

[Dan]

YOU'RE RETARDED.

MOTHERFUCKING GRAMMAR.

[pee sha]

It's great to see function and common sense thrown to the curb just to save a couple grams. Next you should get out the power drill and put holes in everything, save ya a gram or so.

What a joke...

[JASPER]

WHAT A BUNCH OF HATERS. I'VE RODE TWICE AT TRP WITH HIM ONE OF THE TIMES WE PULLED OUT A CINDER BLOCK AND A X-GAMES RAMP AND HAD A JUMP CONTEST WHICH HE ENTERED EVERYTHING SEEMS TO HOLD UP FINE PEOPLE SAID EASTERN WAS STUPID AT FIRST WHEN THEY WANTED TO PUT CUT OUTS IN A FRAME LOOK AT THEM NOW EVERY ONE RIDES THOSE REAPERS. WAY TO KEEP IT FRESH SPARKS! DON'T LISTEN TO THE HATE.KEEP SHREDIN! ALSO ARE YOU HAVING A HALLOWEEN PARTY KEEP US POSTED

[lame]

your bikes not too heavy, your just too weak... eat your Wheaties lil' punks

[jc]

sparks=vampier

[creeden]

frames are geometrically designed to support and transfer engery through the frame. that shits going to fold.

[conniewest]

i dont even know what to say about this thing all i know is that frame doesnt look safe at all but if it works out after a couple months its gunna be the new thing for everyone out there trying to save a couple ounces i shouldnt be talking though with a 21 pound bike haha

[conniewest]

i dont even know what to say about this thing all i know is that frame doesnt look safe at all but if it works out after a couple months its gunna be the new thing for everyone out there trying to save a couple ounces i shouldnt be talking though with a 21 pound bike haha

[sparks]

i really don't know how many times ill have to repeat this, but the tube cut out has nothing to do with wanting to drop weight.

that bike currently weighs a pinch under 24lbs. when i had it 'light' it was just over 20, and i have complete confidence in all of the parts. tried and proved.

most of you haters are just fucking hack jobs.

[mr.Ed]

sparks is gonna take his death crashes to a whole new level. tubes and shit sticking out of him....

[ambro]

if you were really trying to loose weight get rid of the brakes and get some fucking pc pedals.

[dan]

come to chicago and let me beat your ass,

[jesus]

hahahhaha sparks is a fag, what a stupid ass idea

[jesus]

hahahhaha sparks is a fag, what a stupid ass idea

[pee sha]

trying to save weight or not...

It will be funny when that monstrosity collapses and sparks has to eat his words.

Opinions are like a**holes – they all stink!!

[tfbmx]

that is gonna clapse even when you jump out a 4ft let alone a mis footed tail whip!!!

[idiot]

You are all saying it will break yet you have no idea what you are talking about, you are just assuming that the seatube actually adds to the structural strength of the frame. I doubt it does although it seems strange to do it as the frame isnt the lightest even after it and also it seems like thats another bit of bike to mangle yourself in

[Strappy]

SPARKS X BMX = MASTER !!!!!

[marcum]

Shit, this junk aint light....wait till you see my new line of bike parts!

[Chance]

Well hell, lets just start running one fork leg instead of two just like those fancy mountain bikes. The only reason that thing could hold up would be because it's a Solid.

[sparks]

no one would stand a chance in a cage match against me, ill fucking put money on it. all my money, all my bike parts, and all your skills.

again, haters = hackjobs.
dan , your most likely 15, 17 tops.

ps. in such said cage match, Micah Kranz would be my tag-team partner. eat my asshole haters

[sparks]

and one more thing, i've ridden that bike for over 2 months. miscalculated dbl whips over spines to flat has not wrecked that frame yet. ill keep trying though.

[mytur binisdurty]

is that o.s.h.a. approved?

[Danny]

Haha, how stupid, all your weight is on that part of the frame, he's gonna land on his seat one day and his frames gonna go in half just about, no offense but this is a pretty stupid thing to do.

[matt]

I agree, the shaved profile hubs do look cool. Although I don’t see what the point to a non existent seat tube. Why did you decide to do that? What is the purpose? Easier for tail whips? Or Miami hoppers?

[rob]

pisss in my assssss

[pee sha]

seat tubes are an endangered species, SAVE THE SEAT TUBES!!! if you save a seat tubes life, someday it might just save yours... frames and seat tubes have been coexisting for eons and eons, happily frolicking through fields of half pipes and launch ramps. stop the seat tube genocide. groove on your bike and let the seat tubes be free. because, when was the last time a seat tube did anything bad to you?

pee sha,

advocate for Save the Seat Tubes of America

[lewis litanzios]

i'm still undecided on the frame, but i would still love to find someone who can ride that chain without it breaking. piece of crap in my book.

pz

[jordan]

wtf?, you r gonna eat it next time u miss a dwnside wip. thats some crazy shit

[james]

it seems like the frame would lose a lot of structrual integrity with no seat tube, but if it dont break then fuck it.

[matt osborne]

sparks this is by far the most tits frame iv ever seen screw all the guys hatin on this they are probly riding haro f-3's or the older brother mongoose way to keep the sport fresh so it dousent get over kill like the skateboard

[Vandal Andy]

Very nice bike Sparks.
I'd love to see how it holds up.
Most of these kids hatting on you are probably just little bikeguiders that are pissed they didn't do it first.
Lovin the bike.
Keep shredding in the name of progresion.

[steev]

if it works for you, do it! but im not cutting up anything of mine

[block]

I new this kid in school, you could lift his bike with one finger. And when the wheels bent, you just put 'em the freezer to straighten 'em out.

[steve]

ohhh every one talking abouts hubs and shit ....... if u look real close at the hubs u can see taht they have just been smoothed out its only taking the raised edges out of the hub body .. if u actually cut into the body then the profile logo would be lost ... so it would have to be re sparked in or cnc engraved in ... i have modified all of my profile hubs and loads of over parts like this ..... and by the way im a machine enginner for aston martin i even have a super lite weight front hub system which fits into a profile hub its nearly 2/3 liter than a profile ali axle with ti bolts....

[hemi]

remember when specialized did the same thing to their jumping frame a few years back.anything new is stupid unless you are ruben or someone like that,run it sparks.

[hemi]

i also knew that kid in high school with the bike you could lift with pinky and wheels that fixed in the freezer,man could he catwalk........duuuuuuude!

[pee sha]

I'm a structural engineer for Ferrari, and I can tell you blah blah blah... kill yourself ;)

[pee sha]

and I would ride some z-rims like ice skates out the freezer bitches....

[DAve]

Whoever said that they doubt the seat tube doesn't affect the structural integrity of the bike, congrats on being a fucking retard. As far as the bike and Matt Sparks goes, hey if it works for you bro, then more power to you.

[dave]

correction:

Whoever said they doubt the seat tube affects the structural integrity of the bike, congrats on being a fucking retard.

[chris]

it is fuckin sweet those ass hole are just jellous

[asd]

those hubs looks actually better that way

[circumstancebmx]

Taking a old part design and turning it into swiss cheese isn't progression... I'm not saying this frame wouldn't hold up in a park but on street with the drops that are going down these days... Would snap in a New York min. Also with the Profile hubs... Hey its your bike but come on... Profile has already proven that they have some of if not the best hubs around. Why would you machine them to the point of where a representative of Profile has to send out a disclaimer telling you don't do it? Just does not make any logical sense to mess with such a great part like that. I'm not saying Matt Sparks is a loser/asshole/reject/shit talker whatever... The guy rips and we all know it. Just because he did some wild things to his bike doesn't mean you have to make him the sole marder of all this.
I cut my axle to short one time, as a result I could not run pegs until I got a new axle. I did that to see how I liked the axles short. But when I got another one I just cut it even with the top of the nut. So I learned to pay attention to what I am doing to my bike. Same thing here. He is just trying something new if it works great then he is right. You might even catch it on lower end frames. Not higher quality companies like fbm, s&m, fit, sunday, etc. for they know that its better to stay with the older design and have durability as a constant. Then to try this and have warranty claim after warranty claim pop up.
But if he is wrong then he will "pay for it" in a sense. We all know what that means... I know he is a smart guy so if it does collapse and break he won't do it again... simple as that. But until then we shouldn't deem someone a sucky ass rider or talk shit because of it.

[circumstancebmx]

Taking a old part design and turning it into swiss cheese isn't progression... I'm not saying this frame wouldn't hold up in a park but on street with the drops that are going down these days... Would snap in a New York min. Also with the Profile hubs... Hey its your bike but come on... Profile has already proven that they have some of if not the best hubs around. Why would you machine them to the point of where a representative of Profile has to send out a disclaimer telling you don't do it? Just does not make any logical sense to mess with such a great part like that. I'm not saying Matt Sparks is a loser/asshole/reject/shit talker whatever... The guy rips and we all know it. Just because he did some wild things to his bike doesn't mean you have to make him the sole marder of all this.
I cut my axle to short one time, as a result I could not run pegs until I got a new axle. I did that to see how I liked the axles short. But when I got another one I just cut it even with the top of the nut. So I learned to pay attention to what I am doing to my bike. Same thing here. He is just trying something new if it works great then he is right. You might even catch it on lower end frames. Not higher quality companies like fbm, s&m, fit, sunday, etc. for they know that its better to stay with the older design and have durability as a constant. Then to try this and have warranty claim after warranty claim pop up.
But if he is wrong then he will "pay for it" in a sense. We all know what that means... I know he is a smart guy so if it does collapse and break he won't do it again... simple as that. But until then we shouldn't deem someone a sucky ass rider or talk shit because of it.

[fuck you sparks you punk ass bitch]

and progression takes a huge step backward into retardation... hey thanks, you make riders look like idiots:)

[sparks and retarts]

save another tenth of a gram and go hang out with some mountain bikers ya fucking retard, do you have any idea how a frames geometry works????????? god damn, your to stupid to console, you fuckin fuck-

[steve]

Id like to see how this frame holds up for sparks, Id also like to see some stress analysis on a frame without the seat tube in there. I bet it cracks someday on the bb welds.

[Pat Ellis]

Not my style, but it looks sweet to me.

[DANIEL]

YO!,

Sweet ass idea, hows it holding,

FUCK THE HATERS.......

Looks sweet anyway...

[MIKE]

You guys are all fucking stupid. I don't see any of you inventing tricks or getting paid to ride your bikes. Quit hating and ride more, then maybe you'd be able to compete with him. Much love Sparks, keep shredding.

[DANNY]

Why don't we all just cut off our toptubes, seat tubes, and seatstays? Or we could just buy a scooter.

[nwshredder15]

yeah dude thats like a sick way for the frame, like without the seat post, and forget the other people therye dumb

[Jbuck]

Um What happened to bmx meaning you can go and do your own thing, that its not just a trend but a way to express yourslef, anyone who disses on spark's bike is clearly a faggot, and needs to remember that innovation comes from experimenting. Dont diss on what you dont like give respect for other riders opinions, were a brotherhood, or were supposed to be.Btw all you fags that knock on it, will most likely suck up to matt, when he shows up at your park, your all fucking computer pussies.

[nwshredder15]

yeah jbuck we are supposed to be a brotherhood! people are just stupid as hell and dont relize that we have to stick together before the bmx rage dies! who cares about toehr peoples style man just respect him

[Justin]

Sparks this is fucking sweet everyone is just haters cause they didnt think of it first keep it up.

[Jbuck]

Thanks for the support nwshredder15. It seems as if there hasnt been anymore bad comments awesome.

[dave kournole]

(A good bar modification that does not take strength away) step 1: cut your cross bar off, not too close to the welds. step 2: drill holes going from the cut through the bar. step 3: get a piece of 3/8 rope from your local hardware. step 4: tie the rope tight as you can(this will replace your cross bar) Step 5: heat the ends of the rope with a torch to melt the knot to itself, keeping it secure. this usually takes out 8-12 oz depending on the bars you have. ; )

[jstowell]

the guy that said replace ur fucking cross bar with rope
GO SUCK A DICK
dumb-ass-mother-fucker

[brady]

Dave!!! r u flippin serious?!?! does that work?!?!? im going to do that right now! and in fact! ill cut out my down tube and use rope on that too!!!! and fuck chain stay tri's!!! ill just rope those off too!!! omg thats like 3 pounds of weight saving!!!!

go suck a dick....

[Lemontime]

You're all fucking retarded.
Don't you realise that riding a bike isn't about being all fuckin' scene? He's doin' what he wants, so what's wrong with that. Go fuck horses.

[Hurst]

i cut my seat bar out like 5 monthes ago before i ever seen matt do it, and i havent had a problem with it yet.

[jeff]

omg dude. what if you land hard and you rip out your bb? lol im not saying its dumb, but i wouldnt try it unless someone tested it. lol.

[nwshredder15]

yeah buck but the guy that said to to replace your cross-bar with a rope must be dumber than a brick!!!!!

YOU ARE DUMB DAVE!
stick to the metal piece that comes wiht your bars... it works....lol

[slant six]

not a bad idea, but id be a little worried about the grip of that clamp. just how much weight r savin anyway?

[Liam]

I appreciate that this was posted quite some time ago by internet standards but I'd be interested to know what the point of this was if not weight savings. I can see absolutely no reason to do this whatsoever with the possible exception of saving weight. If this isn't the case as you claim, then what is?

Frames are designed in the way they are for strength. Triangles are known to be extremely strong structures and the seat-tube is there to create and support both front and rear triangles. This bike is essentially a rhombus, which is most definitely not famed for it's strength. Looking at a rhombus you can see that the best way to improve the strength of it would be to have an intersecting line from the left to the bottom right in order to brace the sides. Once this has been done, you are again left with two traingles.
Also, the reason that Dan repeated his "you're a retard" comment was because you wrote "your a retard" as a reply. "You're" is a contraction of "you are", which should be fairly clear to anyone with eyes and a functioning brain cell or two. "Your" indicates possessive on the part of the person you are speaking to. For example, your bike, your dog, etc.

[m]

i'm retarded

[Ray Briant]

person who cut your top tube off- it's not cut off. you're messin with us. is's photoshopped.

[brendan]

realy nice bmx how can i buy 1 off this web page??

[kyle]

ay dan thats edited it you can see where look closely near his seat post

[jimbo]

i did the sames to my bottom bracket and its is boss as hell i dont care wat any one thinks it holds up just fine. did u do the cut outs to the head tube or did i come like that

[Dan]

well, i can honestly say that i would not chop my frame up like matt did but if it works for him then who am i to bad mouth.

[lolcat]

fuckin dumbass, SNAP! i hope he gets a serious injury and learns the hard way.

[Pee Shang]

You're all retards. He will die once he tries to jump it. We can all laugh and that will be the end. No trend or shit like that. Fuck you mutha fucka!

[chris]

Good job I don't have the balls to ride mods like that yet but I guess there always has to be a first, my max is cuting slits in the seat tube all the way down and slits in the headtube cutting both dropouts and take a detail wood carving tool and put a special metal bit on it and carve some cool designs over painters tape spray it black or what not take the tape of and there,the rihno lite isn't even worth cutting into let alone I don't think its stong enough, that 7ka was really worth drilling into its like taking some of the 2 best rims into one, that 7ka probibly weighs as much as that rihno light now too,next thing I see happining is a fly rim with 5mm holes all the way around the rim wall on both sides.

[kieran]

thats stupid it would fuck up as soon as you hop on it props on all the parts tho i have those snafu forks there freakin mad but the cut seat tube is fukin stupid

[TDot]

it will break at the chainstay to bb weld guaranteed. maybe somewhere else first..FAIL

[Marc]

http://media.photobucket.com/image/slingshot%20mountain%20bike/stidds/Slingshot/DSCF2278.jpg

I'd never pay for one but Slingshot's been cutting tubes out of bikes for a long time and they're still in business.

[dragonfly]

Why the hell would anybody think that its logical to say that the frame can handle having a whole tube removed..

If all the work done by bike manufacturers didn't come to this point, why would you assume or even brag that its gonna be fine.

Those frames are completely fucked up..

If that happened to my frame ,,it would be considered broken.

I have a hawk v1.. 4.9 lbs.
cheapo stolen cassette wheel. ruben tires
clear pc pivitol seat and post.
shadow torrid pedals with ti spindle.
ti bolts on my back wheel
s&m xlt redneck stem
wtp helium forks.
fly front wheel on rhino lie hub.
21.5 lbs with one peg.

Wow..lol.. Imagine how light it would be without the peg,seat and post,chain,tires,and half the spokes removed, and helium filled tires.

Its all stupid.. good luck convincing anyone with a brain that you are using yours!!

[Nike Shox Rivalry]

For the world civilization, as humans, to build the happiness, I created the national youth, the family, the national youth, the youth, the earth and human youth, the universe by its infinite.Do you think so?

[Nike Shoes On Sale]

This, the developer failed to answer, it touches on nearly million Hongfa the first

[uggs.com]

I remember the themes of new student week at my university: diversity and tolerance. I soon discovered there was no diversity of thought and precious little tolerance for thoughtcrime.