bmx for son

Jack Bauer

Jack Bauer

Jack Bauer

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Looking for a bit of advice on buying a bmx for my son if anyone knows about these things. I am looking at one of these two

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/bmx-bikes/mongoose-scan-r90-bmx-bike

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/bmx-bikes/voodoo-malice-bmx-bike

I don't know much about bikes so really just want to know if I am getting a reasonable bike for the money or if I should be looking at anything else.

Bit of info - he is 11 and will likely just use it for messing around with friends. I don't want to go crazy as it is unlikely he will do anything serious with it, but at the same time I want a bike he can have fun with if he takes to it.

Cheers in advance
 
Cheers for the suggestion. Out of interest what is better about that one?

Something around the £250 mark is my max I think. Looking even to my eye bikes less than £200 look poor but I could be wrong.
 
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cool :) here's a couple of bikes worth looking into -;

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/kink-curb-bmx-bike-2015/rp-prod125173
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/blank-cell-bmx-bike-2014/rp-prod111666
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/blank-ammo-bmx-bike-2015/rp-prod125468
http://www.alansbmx.com/1624121/products/hoffman_2015_immersion_bike_blue_plus_free_stuff.aspx

you'll be able to pick up a blank, stolen, ruption, subrosa, hoffman and a few others for that price! they're all basic/starter bikes but even if he gets into bmxing he will be able to perform a lot of tricks of them, they won't break and have standard/up-to-date fittings/frames for all parts.

problem with halfords, argos etc is that they're all out of date, NOS parts, old standards etc!

if you don't like any of the above look at these shops -;

chainreactioncycles(recently took over bmx-shop.com which was great)
sourcebmx
alansbmx
winstanleysbmx(be careful with cheaper bikes)
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/pitbikedirect/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=25&_trksid=p3692 - seem to stock mafia bikes which used to be good bang for buck and it looks like they still do quite a few bikes, example -;

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mafiabike...URWAY-Black-/261962276744?hash=item3cfe2b1f88

You'll be looking for 20" wheels and probably around 20.4" to 20.75" top tube on a frame, more than that is for taller riders - think 6ft +
 
grudas said:
You'll be looking for 20" wheels and probably around 20.4" to 20.75" top tube on a frame, more than that is for taller riders - think 6ft +
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the suggestions - I think I have a good idea now. However, with regards to the size, a basic sizing for bmx suggest that he needs an 18" frame. He is 4f9 at the moment but at his age he is growing fast (to clear up the first post he will turn 11 tomorrow). Having looked at the 18" frame bikes they are aged 7-10 and sometimes 11. In addition I have read at one of the bike shops linked above that size isnt important in a bmx and sometimes people buy larger ones for stunts...

In summary I am a little confused. I guess I am looking at at least a 19" but should I just go straight for the 20"?

Again, thanks for the help.
 
Jack Bauer said:
Thanks for all the suggestions - I think I have a good idea now. However, with regards to the size, a basic sizing for bmx suggest that he needs an 18" frame. He is 4f9 at the moment but at his age he is growing fast (to clear up the first post he will turn 11 tomorrow). Having looked at the 18" frame bikes they are aged 7-10 and sometimes 11. In addition I have read at one of the bike shops linked above that size isnt important in a bmx and sometimes people buy larger ones for stunts...

In summary I am a little confused. I guess I am looking at at least a 19" but should I just go straight for the 20"?

Again, thanks for the help.
Click to expand...

go straight for 20" :) that's like the size to get, everyone rides 20's(Which is the wheel size rather than frame) as far as frame sizes go, on bmx only look for TT(top tube length) this is so he can comfortably clear his knee's and not hit the bars but if he's 4.9 he'll be fine with a 20.4 TT I wouldn't go above 20.5! I'm 5'9 and I ride a 21TT but rode 20.5 for years and had no problems!
 
I would look at a good bmx shop like source or alans, or custom riders
avoid winstanleys they are the worst shop ever

brands like united, sunday or fit have the best specs as well as having a good image / brand that kids will get excited about
 
gettothechopper said:
I would look at a good bmx shop like source or alans, or custom riders
avoid winstanleys they are the worst shop ever

brands like united, sunday or fit have the best specs as well as having a good image / brand that kids will get excited about
Click to expand...

have got like 40+ orders with them over the years, including bikes never have they failed :) including my brother and my mates! they used to have bad rep back in 2009ish but it's looong gone.
 
My advice from BMXing when i was around his age, is get one that's nice and light, The cheaper Halfords ones from my experience weigh a bloody tonne! (years ago might not still be true)
 
Don't get any of those from Halfords..

Its the same crap that Walmart here in the US sells.

Do yourself a favor, and goto Danscomp.com and familiarize yourself with the brands.

There's two type of bmx's race and freestyle... race have bigger sprockets and are made of aluminum and will not last long doing tricks on them.. Freestyle have much smaller sprockets so they do not get in the way of steep ramps, and have pegs for grinding and are much stronger. Cheaper ones made of tenstile steel, and the more expensive ones made of chromoly.

Any of the brands that Dan's comp sell are good ones that are worth looking at.

I have six BMX's in my collection... three redlines (for racing) a haro, a cult and a Felt (which isn't really a known brand for bmx) My two boys are very much into it... actually two of those are for me to have a play with at the track and freestyle park.. Well if i've got to be there several times a week, i may aswell participate. :)
 
BTW my boy is 9 and short for his age, though his Haro is an 18.5 tube / 20" wheels, he's comfortable enough with the 20.5 top tube / 20" wheels.

At that age i'd definitely go with the 20.5 top tube. He'll quickly outgrow the 18.5.
 
its not great

hi ten steel is heavy and not as strong as 4130
loose bearing bb is pretty rubbish as well (will fall apart)
front hub is also rubbish with loose bearings (will fall apart)
eastern are not a great brand overall these days

something like this is much better for the same money
4130 fork legs
4130 front triangle
sealed hubs and cranks will last much longer

http://www.sourcebmx.com/en/Fit-Dugan-1-BMX-Bike-2015/m-28452.aspx
http://www.sourcebmx.com/en/Fit-Benny-1-BMX-Bike-2015/m-28450.aspx

this is seriously excellent for £250 (was £400)
http://www.customriders.com/prodshow.asp?prodid=15998&cat=57&parent=1010&sid=3
has decent bars, tyres, grips, brake, seat, pedals, cranks, rear hub,
some chromo steel on main tubes and fork steerer will make it lighter and stronger too
plus its Araron Ross signature so all the kids will think he is cool
 
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