sloppy12

So I am not a BMX guy rode some as a kid went MTB and road first chance I got never looked back. Its cool I like to watch it just not my thing. We do have a nice pump track ten minutes from house Kids dig it, so do I. Oldest (8 years old) now wants a BMX cause "real" daddy bought him a POS and took him to skate park to watch him fall down. I am not gonna put the kid on a POS to bomb around the pump track or skate park, I also dont expect this kid to stick with a BMX he wont push his MTB hard so I just dont buy this entire concept.

at any rate I would like to pick up used maybe a HARO, old mongoose whatever( I dont know what is good). I can rebuild, paint, replace parts, I also don't know how to size these things kid is pretty tall(4'9" long legs) for his age current ride a trek 820 13" frame it fits him great and he can toss it around at the pump track when he wants to. estimate of where I am price wise for used bike and rebuild? Would I be crazy to just swap bars on the trek 820 switch it a single speed and call it done? I have a rigid fork i could toss on it to dump the shock to. His biggest issue at least that he admitted is shifting is to hard, and he wants to do tricks.

Can I possibly get this done by Xmas? lol

cbrstar

It all depends what type of BMX riding your kid wants to do for sizing.

For Freestyle he's right at the cusp of changing wheel sizes. 4.7'' - 5'' they recommend a 18" wheel. Over 5'' they recommend a 20". The reason is in the 80's there was a lot of 20" bikes with 17-18" top tubes, and something like a 19"+ TT was kinda rare. Now just about all 20" bikes are min 19" and can go up to 22". So the 18" frame/wheel size is designed to be a little smaller and easier to thrash around. But how fast is your kid growing?

Haro are OK bikes but they are not that popular anymore. Mongoose went the way of Walmart and are garbage now. Bikes like Fit, Cult, Kink, and We the People are the "Cool" bikes these days.

sloppy12

I feel like cruising and pump track is about it. I found a 09 DK Siklon for like 50 bucks. 20" bike sounds like they are Mongoose/diamond back type from what I could find.

the kid is growing super fast. Long legs and skinny, but fairly strong I know nothing but 20" seems doable to me based on his size.

mack_turtle

I'd skip trying to convert a XC mountain bike to something for the pumptrack unless you have a lot of spare parts around.

for a kid his size, I think a bike with 18" wheels should work, but maybe a 20" bike with a very, very small frame. he'll certainly grow out of it, so don't think of this as a long term investment. give Empire BMX a call and see what they recommend.

I don't know much about older BMX bikes. I started riding in the mid-90s and those bikes were HEAVY. as a scrawny 13 year old, I could barely manage to move one of those bikes around. if you are looking at used bikes, just research exactly what you're getting before you buy. there are tons of HEAVY, crappy old BMX bikes out there that would be a horrible experience for your kid.

if he's looking specifically at something suitable for a pump track, a BMX racing bike (not a "street/ ramp/ park" bike) might work out well and be light enough to throw around.

mack_turtle

the DK Siklon looks like a good entry-level bike, but it's going to be large and heavy for him, at least for a while. it looks like a normal adult-sized BMX frame, but I can't find any specifics on the frame size. BMX bikes are usually sized by top tube length, which is not a helpful way to size bikes.

sloppy12

I wonder if large will be bad for this kid. I took him to look at 20"specialized rockhopper single speed. and he rode it like ten feet and was like this is to small to ride. I think the kid just wants a single speed cruiser but "real" daddy said the word BMX and now this daddy gets to find him one. lol I can pretty much guarantee his tricks will end at bunny hops he is not a chance taker.

mack_turtle

with that kind of attitude from dad, it's very likely.

sloppy12

Its not that I dont encourage him to try. LOL this is just the safe kid.

mack_turtle

when I was a kid, I picked up on conscious clues from my parents in ways that prevented me from taking risks in ways that stunted my personal growth. maybe you're not doing that at all and I'm projecting, but that's what I am hearing. get him a badass bike and lead by example.

sloppy12

Yeah I think you are hearing the wrong thing. I am the one saying lets ride down these stairs and he is the one yelling at his little brother not to do it. lol He is trying more and more so here I am looking for a BMX for him.

mack_turtle

Ha! That sounds like me and my younger brother!
keep an eye out on the local classified ads for a 18" BMX bike or a very small "expert" sized race bike.