Spec me a BMX.....

Castiel

Castiel

Castiel

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My 12 year old boy wants a BMX for Xmas, now I know absolutely nothing about BMX bikes.

He says he wants a With The People Reason 2012, alternatively he also mentioned a Mongoose Subject 2012.

The issue is that the WTP bike is around £450 and the Mongoose is £200. He prefers the FTP, but I am concerned that I am paying for the name to the tune of £250.

Could anyone explain if the WTP is actually worth the money, whether £450 is a bit much to spend on a BMX for a 12yr old and what are the alternatives, bearing in mind the cool factor that I am sure is paramount in my sons choice here.....

help an old man out.....
 
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Castiel said:
My 12 year old boy wants a BMX for Xmas, now I know absolutely nothing about BMX bikes.

He says he wants a For The People Reason 2012, alternatively he also mentioned a Mongoose Subject 2012.

The issue is that the FTP bike is around £450 and the Mongoose is £200. He prefers the FTP, but I am concerned that I am paying for the name to the tune of £250.

Could anyone explain if the FTP is actually worth the money, whether £450 is a bit much to spend on a BMX for a 12yr old and what are the alternatives, bearing in mind the cool factor that I am sure is paramount in my sons choice here.....

help an old man out.....
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If he's starting out, a good beginners bike are the Haro's, they're about the £200. FTP is too much money to spend on a bike for a 12 year old, unless he's very good and will abuse the bike a lot.
 
gettothechopper said:
mongoose isnt really a "proper bmx" brand these days
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Of course it is. I'd just associate it more with racers than trials, street/park or flatland riders.

Ultimately his choice is going to come down to who his favourite riders are and what they're riding as well. Unless he doesn't have a favourite rider, or a preference for trails, street/park, flatland, in which case it's a fad and you should go with the cheaper option.
 
don't get the mongoose.. no way :) haros also have weak points + they are crazy heavy.. WTP will be too advanced for him id say :)

whats you budget?
 
Vita said:
If he's starting out, a good beginners bike are the Haro's, they're about the £200. FTP is too much money to spend on a bike for a 12 year old, unless he's very good and will abuse the bike a lot.
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Atrox Moris said:
It'll be a "We The People". And it's the better bike. Ask him what he prefers riding, park, trails or street. £450 is mid price for a good bmx.
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He is only just starting to get into this stuff, he has always been into boarding and unicycling rather than BMX.

If he was a little older I wouldn't be questioning it so much, but at 12 I'm concerned we may be throwing money away on a name.

I will have a look at the Haro's and see what he says.
 
grudas said:
don't get the mongoose.. no way :) haros also have weak points + they are crazy heavy.. WTP will be too advanced for him id say :)

whats you budget?
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I was thinking a max of £450, which the WTP is at the top end of that, I would like to keep it lower as it means he can have the other stuff he wants.
 
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its not FTP its WTP

£450 is a good price for someone who wants to really get into it
£250 or less and the bike wont take much of a beating or will weigh a ton and will also suffer the indiginity of not being "kewl"

fit, WTP, united, kink are the better brands of complete bikes

haro and mongoose I would avoid like the plague

pijin, alans, source, are the best shops in my experience

dont know where you live but these are pretty decent spec for the price
http://www.pijin.co.uk/#!/product/1635/Fit_2012_Aitken_1_BMX
http://www.pijin.co.uk/#!/product/148/Kink_2010_Whip_BMX

4130 frame / forks and sealed hubs, decent three piece cranks can all be had for around the £300-£350 price
 
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Castiel said:
He is only just starting to get into this stuff, he has always been into boarding and unicycling rather than BMX.

If he was a little older I wouldn't be questioning it so much, but at 12 I'm concerned we may be throwing money away on a name.

I will have a look at the Haro's and see what he says.
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If he's just getting into it, I would go with the Mongoose then.

I would also highly recommend a helmet. I knocked myself out plenty of times riding trails when I was younger and I smashed in my front teeth as well (so rode with a helmet and gum shield after that). It may not look cool, but dammit I wish my front teeth were still real and my memory didn't suck.
 
gettothechopper said:
its not FTP its WTP

£450 is a good price for someone who wants to really get into it
£250 or less and the bike wont take much of a beating or will weigh a ton and will also suffer the indiginity of not being "kewl"

fit, WTP, united, kink are the better brands of complete bikes

haro and mongoose I would avoid like the plague

pijin, alans, source, are the best shops in my experience

dont know where you live but these are pretty decent spec for the price
http://www.pijin.co.uk/#!/product/1635/Fit_2012_Aitken_1_BMX
http://www.pijin.co.uk/#!/product/148/Kink_2010_Whip_BMX
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Yeah, writing it one way, saying it another. my fail.

I live in Wiltshire, I am trying to get out of him what he wants to do with the bike. I got a feeling that his friends have a mixture of WTP and Mongoose and that is where his ideas are coming from.
 
Atrox Moris said:
If he's just getting into it, I would go with the Mongoose then.

I would also highly recommend a helmet. I knocked myself out plenty of times riding trails when I was younger and I smashed in my front teeth as well (so rode with a helmet and gum shield after that). It may not look cool, but dammit I wish my front teeth were still real and my memory didn't suck.
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Yeah, he has got all the safety stuff from skateboarding.
 
mongoose will FALL APART.. so will haro.. my brother has had his haro for ~2 years now parts replaced - cranks, rear wheels, pads, stem, headsets, cables+brakes, sprocket(tooth broke off) etc... :)

get a fit/kink/sunday/WTP

the two posted above look great.. :)
 
the fit aitken i posted is a pretty similar spec to that WTP for a bit less cash and comes with aprox 25% more street cread too!

edit - its only 20" tt though - he may want something bigger
 
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gettothechopper said:
the fit aitken i posted is a pretty similar spec to that WTP for a bit less cash and comes with aprox 25% more street cread too!
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yeah its a nice bike.. but 20" TT is a bit worrying.. :) how tall is he ? you don't want him to hit his knees in the bars a lot so proper TT length is important i think.
 
also aitken is the greatest rider of all time IMHO so thats also a bonus!

try find one with a longer TT maybe! like 20.5 upwards at least (unless your kids a proper shortass)
 
Castiel said:
I was thinking a max of £450, which the WTP is at the top end of that, I would like to keep it lower as it means he can have the other stuff he wants.
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I ain't sure on what bike, but I recommend you look on the link below. There prices are amazing and normally cheaper than anywhere else. I brought a bike from there before and got an amazing price.
http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m10b0s0p0
 
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