Is this still BMX? For this bike check we take a closer look at Sem Kok’s Titanium Fingers Crossed Suspension BMX. This thing hauls ass and is tricked out to the max, so start scrolling!

Frame: Titanium Fingers Crossed Fully Frame build by Viking with 22 inch top tube
Fork: Manitou Expert
Bars: Stay Strong Straight Bars in 8.5″
Grips: ODI Lock-on soft
Bar Ends: ODI
Brakes: Hope Tech 4
Stem: Profile Racing Push (53 mm reach)
Headset: Hope Tech
Seat: Profile Racing Slim Logo
Seat Post: Pivotal
Cranks: Profile Racing Column in 170 mm
Bottom Bracket: Profile Racing
Pedals: Yosimura Chilao
Sprocket: Profile Racing Galaxy
Gear Ratio: 30/10
Chain: KMC Lightweight
Tires: Maxxis DHF Minion in 2×40
Wheels: GSport Rims w/ Profile Racing Elite Hubs
Pegs: none
Modifications: none
Tire Pressure: 40PSI
Weight: 12 kg
Your height: 170 cm

INTERVIEW WITH SEM KOK:

Hey Sem, what’s up? What have you been up to lately?
I’m doing really good! Been pretty busy with a lot of riding, road trips, video projects. Trying my best to work it all out with working full time at Telekom.

Busy guy! Let’s take about your new Fingers Crossed bike. Why did you feel the need to get a BMX bike with shocks? I mean, you could just ride an MTB instead…
The BMX bike never gets old, but I got the change to ride one of the full suspension BMX bikes few years ago in Málaga, Spain together with Ruben Alcantara and been really thankful for this moment!

How does this bike ride compare to your other BMX bike?
I would say, this feels like a long BMX frame with some extra pop due to the suspension, which makes it really playful. It just rides a lot different than a normal BMX bike. You just gotta try it out and then you would understand why.

Is this your main bike now or something you only ride occasionally?
I still ride my normal BMX more then my Fully suspension BMX.

Is this something you would ride in a skatepark or a bowl?
No, this is more fun in the mountains, riding bike parks or having fun on some ruff shape trails.

At 22″ the top tube is very long, especially for someone your size. Did you have trouble adjusting to it? Or is this the same length you ride on your other bike too?
My new prototype is a lot longer. It makes it more stable with the speed that we have at bike parks and more controllable going downhill.

Another thing I noticed size-wise was, that the bars seem somewhat low. Is that because of the longer steerer tube?
Yes, that is true. I run 8.5″ inch rise bars with a 53 mm topload stem.

Why do you rock front and rear brakes?
Sometimes you are going so fast and you really need the brakes at bike parks, because most of the time you are on the brakes.

What’s up with the fender in the front?
Helps with mud flying in your face or rocks that will stick in the knobby tires.

What’s the length of the rear stays on this thing? It’s gotta be more than 14“, right?
Yeah, the rear end is about 14.7″, because you need a stable rear end for going so fast on these bikes.

So the frame is made from titanium, which seems a little sketchy. How’s that been holding up and why not 4130?
I got the change to try out the titanium. There will be 4130 frames online soon …

Full-suspension bikes are a new thing in BMX. Was it difficult to find all the parts for your ride because of this?
No, not at all. You can buy the suspension on MTB websites and you need some good brakes. Other then that everything will fit from your normal BMX bike to this set-up.

Considering the length of the bike I would not have been surprised if the cranks were a little longer too. Any particular reason why you settled for 170s?
I always rode 170mm cranks, so that’s why I’m sticking with the same cranks as on my normal BMX bike.

30/10 seems like a pretty hard gear ratio. Is it difficult to get this thing going?
I run this also on my normal BMX bike and don’t really need to pedal too much, because this bike is made for going downhill and hitting big jumps.

“This bike is made for going downhill and hitting big jumps.”