Ben Hittle Bike Check

Ben Hittle has been popping up more and more in BMX the past few years, and for good reason; he's got an original style, good bag of tricks, and is a fun guy to hang around.  Ben recently passed through Chicago on a Props trip and I snapped a few photos of his new Kink.

(Photos: Andrew Brady)

Frame: 21" Kink Empire Rev. C, 3/8" dropouts
Fork: Kink Empire
Headset: Kink
Stem: S&M Redneck XLT
Bars: Kink Lynx
Barends: Fly
Grips: Fly Ruben, the shorter gum ones
Tires: Fly Ruben, the bigger ones
Hubs: Madera cassette and Madera front, both 3/8"
Spokes: No idea
Rims: Odyssey 7KA
Cranks: Profile 175mm
Pedals: Odyssey Ttwisted plastic
Sprocket: Profile Imperial 30t (I just got a 32t to try out though)
Chain: 3/32" KMC Z510HX (I think, the one in the gold box)
Seat: Kink capital
Seat Post: FBM
Seat Post Clamp: Kink
Brake: Fly
Cable: Kink
Lever: Odyssey medium
 
Name, age, sponsors?
Ben Hittle, 20 years old, Kink Bike Co.

You recently joined the Kink Am team, are you psyched on that?
Of course, I'm SO psyched Jay asked me to be a part of it. I've known him and most of the other dudes for years and we're all friends.

What is your main concern with your bike and why?
Comfort I guess. I keep it real and I like having a handful of seat post of sit down on. A slammed seat would hit my ankles and is not comfortable at all. Plus, I don't think it looks good, it makes your bike look like a scooter.
 
Is there anything special modifications you make to your bike?
Not too many. I cut the seat post, grind down the back of the pedal bosses on my cranks so I can run my cranks further in (mostly for better chain alignment), grind down the edge of my crankarms around the spindle bolt so it doesn't hit me in the ankles so much, and bought different bolts for my hubs.

 
Are there any certain things you like to do to your bike?
I do ride a pretty good amount of PSI, like 100 or 110 in the back and like 80 in the front. I hate the feeling of low tires. And my bars definitely aren't Chicago, but they are a tiny bit more forward than even with the forks. I like my bars pretty high and my seat at a decent height.
 
How has your bike setup changed over the years?
When I was younger, like 13 and 14, I was really into doing tech stuff on ramps with my pegs. I wanted to try something different since all I did were peg tricks and I didn't really know how to air that well, so I took them off, and they've been off for like 5 years now. Other than that, the bars have slowly gotten a little wider and the seat a little higher. A couple years ago my bike was starting to get kind of heavy and haggard, but then Jay started hooking me up with stuff and its been dialed since.