Starting in urban/street BMXing

B00MSTICK

^^ Recommendations/Tips most welcome! Honestly don't know much at all about it, so I guess decent brands etc. would be a good start. A heads up on what sizes I should go for street might help too.

Reckon I should pick up a decent used one, don't want to end up with a new custom set-up that doesn't get used like my skateboard.

Cheers.

PeakOutput

hey man how tall are you?

edit; im just going to throw out there right now that im asking because i have a bmx for sale if the mods think its inapropriate let me know but he has specifically said he is looking for a second hand bmx

B00MSTICK

Yea I noticed that alright!

I'm 5'11" maybe 6'

Why's the TT size important? i.e why would a taller person go for a 21" over a 20"?

PeakOutput

thetaller you are the longer the toptube needs to be so your not banging your knees off the handlebars

there is a trade off with maneouverability the longer you go if i remember correctly but im not the right person to ask i havnt bmx'd in about 5 years so im sure you will get better advice i just want to get rid of my bike lol

pete4130

Top tube length doesnt really matter too much, once its not too long or too short. 7+ years ago, 20" TT's were the most common, people still rode some flatland and street wasn't as progressive as it is now and bikes were more specified for a certain type of riding (street/park, trails or flat). Trails bikes tended to have a longer back end and longer top tube length for stability (depending on your height too).

The past year or so, the trend has been to start makig bikes with a 21" TT for example, but they've shifted the angle of the seat tube backwards, so technically the TT length is 21" but the bike will ride and feel like a slightly shorter bike. This is because bikes are better made now, more versatile and can be ridden in park, street or trails with ease. Shorter bikes nowadays are more geared towards street riding.

I started on a 20.5 8 or 9 years ago, then moved to a 20.8 or something and abotu 5 years ago I went 21" and been riding 21" TT ever since. I'm 5'11" and I don't think I'd feel comfortable riding a bike smaller than 20.75.

Back ends on bikes are alot shorter now too. When I started riding back end lenghts were 14.5" to 15.5" I reckon. Nowadays they are as short as 13.5"-13.75" so the bike is alot more responsive for spinning etc...

Bikes are WAY lighter these days too which makes a huge difference. When I started riding, bikes were probably sotck weight at about 35 pounds and frames weighed about 7.5 pounds+. Frames these days are 5.5 pounds or less, some as little as 4.2 pounds and are stronger than bikes that weighed 7.5 pounds a few years ago due to better materials, heat treated metals, butted tubing.

I'm currently riding a Mutiny Sinister frame which is about 5.5 pounds I think. I know WeThePeople bike company are making really good frames right now that weigh 4.2 pounds or something ridiculously light like that.

I get all my stuff from a shop in Greystones called The Boardroom. The website is www.theboardroom.ie . The guys that work there all ride bikes and know what they are talking about. They'll be able to answer any Q's you might have.

Here's a few snaps of one of the guys from the Boardroom shop. Doing stuff like this shows he knows what he's talking about when it comes to BMX.











Hope this was some help to you.

Pete.

B00MSTICK

Thanks for all that pete!

So I'd be looking at 20.75" as a minimum then? (legs are pretty long tbh)

Im looking at either a Premium Solo/WTP Reason/Stolen Wrap. Yes, I promised I wouldn't buy new but...

Anyone bought from any UK online shops?

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com - deliver to Ireland for free apparently, haven't heard anyting about them though... mixed reviews on alansbmx and the source and I know to avoid winstanleys

pete4130

chain reaction are ok. I've ordered bits form them before. They aren't a bmx shop though so wouldn't have the knowledge or range of bikes.
you can't beat seeing & feelin the bikes before buying them in my opinion!! Just go down to the boardroom shop and see what suits you.

B00MSTICK

I'm in galway though so that's not an option atm, working evening/weekends and college during the day so I don't have a whole lot of time...

Unfortunatley they also seem to be a bit dear (I suppose this is Ireland...) From what I read I should go for a full Cro-mo frame, they don't have any for under €400... I'll prob go down and check it out anyway, the whole feel thing is important.

Great photos pete

pete4130

If you can stretch to a full cromo its definitely worth it. Lighter and stronger frame. They might have some '08 still in stock that could be a lil cheaper???
If you can't stretch to a full cromo frame it won't make that much of a difference if you're only starting out as you won't be riding the frame as hard.

Hope you get a bike sorted. There are a few riders living near the Oranmore area but I'm not too sure how much longer they are going to be living there?

lo-technician

i bought a few bits from the lads in the boardroom and they sent it for free....give them a shout if you spend a fair few quid they usually look after people

Terz

trust me man danscomp all the way american company really cheap amazing seletion of full set ups and customs

http://www.danscomp.com/serve.php?serve=html&html=bikes.html