digaz

I am in my mid 40's and grew up in the 80's at the time when BMX and freestyle bikes and skateboarding where starting. I have been riding a mountain bike and a few years ago switched to a road bike, but simply find it those kind of bikes extremely boring. I really miss the feeling I got as a child when riding a bmx bike. I had a GT Performer. I am looking to purchase a bmx bike for casual riding and the occassional trick while riding when I'm bored. Nothing too technical or crazy though. Would you guys recommend it for casual riding though? I am about 5'7 and I know the trend now is to slam the seat as low as possible. But since I will be using the bike 85% for riding and about 15% for basic tricks I figured that I can just raise the seat higher.

wesmamyke

Larger wheel "cruiser" would be the way to go. They make almost any variation you could want, 24" wheels, 26", 29", maybe even 27.5".

Most modern 20" bikes do not come with seat-posts that have any usable length to them. You could certainly just buy a longer one though.

Bikerider007

If you are doing tricks. Definitely go new school. Guys cruise them all the time. I do all kinds of group rides...road, fixed, 20" bmx. The angle of the seat is what makes it ok being so low. You will peddle most of the time standing and then just coast. Just don't drop post or tilt seat too far back.

On the other hand old Performers are great for just a cruise, super long laid back post, short bars but stems were longer. But literally suck for street riding. I'm not downing, I have the Maui blue 87, but it feels weird and outdated now.

mack_turtle

either get whatever 20" BMX bike excites you and replace the seatpost with an extra-long one. most stock seatposts are made short because the customers will never use them with more than 4" of exposed seatpost. if you're going to do tricks on it, put a high-quality quick release seatpost on the frame so you can lower it.

unless they changed recently, BMX bikes tend so use a 25.4mm seatpost and finding a dropper post in that size is unlikely.

SE Bikes makes a ton of fun cruiser-style BMX bikes. you could also get a Fairdale Taj.

There are also 26" dirt-jump oriented mountain bikes that will be more likely work with a full length seatpost. that might not be great for "tricks" but if you want to be able to jump, bunnyhop, and manual on it, that should work.

fietsbob

Bicycle trials bikes have no saddle at all , the jumps of freestyle are the opposite of cruising

no jumps or half-pipes on my Bike Friday (I'm too old) but It has 406 20" wheels

DMC707

No - a 20" bmx bike is not a good tool for a grown man to cruise around on. Several companies make 26 and 29" cruisers that would work for this task though

Save the little bikes for actual trips to the jump park.

Most adult males I have seen cruising around on little BMX bikes are either stoners, homeless, or restaurant staff riding to work, with the occasional DUI recipient here and there who takes his kids bike for transportation. Bonus points for all these demographics if the cruising is accomplished with a cigarette dangling

mack_turtle

this is true. your best source for a "long" BMX seat post might be FlatlandFuel. Even then, you might not really be able to get the saddle to full pedaling height like you would on a bigger bike. think long and hard about the amount of miles you're actually going to ride on this bike. if you're going to put any real miles or effort into it, a 20" bike is going to be too small to ever be comfortable. but if it's just for shorter rides in an urban area of a mile or two at a time, a BMX bike with a reasonable, but not full-height saddle will be fine.

Cpt.America

What a fun coincidence. I am in almost the same predicament as the OP and came here to ask the exact same question. I have come here to ask for advice on a basic, non-bank-breaking BMX style bike that I can use to roll around the neighborhood or trail with my 6 year old son.

I am in my 40s, and have no real need for a mountain bike... don't need gears or anything fancy at all. A single brake lever fixie will absolutely do the trick, and I think it would be neat for the boy for dad's bike to look like his bike. Plus, I can pull off the occasional wheelie or two. I will literally be rolling down the road at 3 mph with a 6 year old.

I don't need ANYthing fancy, but don't want a super heavy piece of junk from Walmart, either. I hopped on to amazon last night and found a few redlines, mongooses, etc that seem decent that wont' break the bank. Are these an OK way to go for under 500? My next question, is it appears they come with either 20" or 24"... what would you recommend? (im 6'1' 200)

DMC707

This thread has got links to a few good bikes -- the OP here went with a Redline PL-26 , I personally have a 26" SE OM Flyer. Riding a 20" at your height will get old fast, even if youre just putting along with your son (and kudos to you for wanting to ride with your son - that's awesome man !)

https://www.bikeforums.net/bmx/11933...x-poser-2.html

Cpt.America

Thanks. I have looked around quite a bit more, and found a bike like the redline mx-24. Seems to be a solid built beginner, nothing fancy, but not a piece of crap bike. However... finding bikes in stock right now, for anything less than 3x their normal price, is STRANGELY difficult. I think covid has really spiked sales in bikes and camping gear.

cbrstar

A few years ago I woke one day and had to have a BMX bike.

NS was a huge learning curve for me. I think I went through 8 of them before I found something that I liked. The game changer for me was when I bought some S&M 11 bars. They look huge and ridiculous but they are tall enough that I can ride comfortably. They also have the long johnson post. Only problem is I don't know if they make these parts anymore?

IMHO if you want that authentic "I'm going to die, but this is awesome" BMX experience you have to get a 20". The 24" Cruises a lot better but is way less nimble. And with 21" tt on modern 20" the 24 won't provide more leg room. The 24 will how ever provide a better seating position.

People will try to sell you on the new 22". You get the worst of both worlds. Less nibble then a 20" and doesn't cruise as nice as a 24".

26" is a personal pet peeve of mine lol. It's a fixie mtn bike with bmx bars. They look the part, but the ride experience is more like a old MTN bike.

I LOVE my OS bikes the best though.

paulmalva

I bought an old Redline Monocog with 26" wheels and a small frame from Craigslist.
With a long seat post, it's very comfortable to ride around.
Then when I get to the skate park or jump area, I can just lower the seat and have a nice stunt bike

You can probably find different frames that will work too.

mack_turtle

1. what are you talking about? almost no one rides a "fixie" mountain bike. single speed, yes, but not fixed. a few nutters have FG bikes for cross country riding but fixed gear jumping and street riding is just plain weird. I am sure it could be done, but 99.99% of the 26"DJ bikes you see have coasting hubs, not fixed gear.
2. I've not used one but I can totally understand 26" DJ for dirt jumping. like bike park type stuff with doubles and big gaps, just flowing around a park and bombing stairs. for skateparks and doing spinny tricks and grinds, or course a 20" would be better. I know, I did that kind of thing for most of my life. it really depends on your goals. at this stage in my riding life, if I wanted something that could be used to go short distances in no particular hurry but I could still flow around a skatepark, zip around a pump track, and play around on ditches and curb cuts, I would go for a 26" DJ type bike. I would not assume that every wants to do icepick grinds and barspins, so a 20" is not the best thing for a lot of people.

urban_cyclist

I have a 20” bmx I do some commuting on. I installed a lean back seat post which helps...but it’s still kinda’ cramped. If 22”, 24”, or 26” had been available I would have gone that route.

Viich

Race BMX world sells seat post extensions used for 'warm down' sitting down spinning between heats, usually on rollers. Would probably work for your purposes.

gdawg55

You sound a lot like me. I recently bought a Redline PL-26 to tool around with my son. I will be out of my 40's in a couple of weeks and this bike fits my needs perfectly. It feels pretty nimble for what it is and rides nice and smooth. Check them out.

Cyclepro357

that must be a nice bike , do you have any picture ?

Cpt.America

I finally found a 24" bmx cruizer. I went with a mongoose title elite 24. I liked the look of the redlines a little more, but those might be out of stock for the next 10 years for all I know. This is just for rolling around the neighborhood with my son, so I am not really picky:

https://www.mongoose.com/products/title-elite-24-m20

Question for you guys, can you help point me towards a new saddle? Something a little taller, and something a little softer. I'm just dad (6 foot tall)... rolling around. Just need something that isn't quite so low, and is a little more comfortable.

-Do I just get a 27.2mm seat post (got this dimension from the mongoose website) that is longer than the factory 250 (maybe a 350?)
-Being 6 foot tall, should I buy a setback post or a straight one?
-Then do I pick any saddle I want? Or are there only certain saddles that fit with certain brand seat posts?
-Do I go steel? alu?
-Are the saddle bars that mount to the top of the seat post all a standard distance apart? Or are there different ones I need to watch for?

For example, will these two work together? (don't laugh too hard)
saddle - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...A1E76L50A6L56T
seat post - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...=ANJV6645IUNGA

Thanks for any help you can provide.

gdawg55

Sorry, I don't, but would be happy to take a couple for you if you like. Let me know.

bwilli88 

I built this during my lockdown quarantine. It is a fun bike to ride.
it has a EB-c100 shimano coaster brake, Schwalbe Big Apple tires and a hot chili DH bar.
The seat is a Brooks Cambium.

sworley

I recently had a '87 GT Pro Performer in Dayglo. As much as I loved that bike, a cruiser it was not! At least not for my old bones...

mack_turtle

you bought a BMX race bike. it's designed to be raced on a BMX race track. there's very little sitting down in BMX racing, so the seatpost is short for that reason. no point in a long, heavy seatpost that will just get in the way when you're trying to manual rollers and float over doubles. however, there's nothing stopping you from putting a taller seatpost on it so you can use it more casually.

any long 27.2 seatpost should work. I'd start with a 350mm long one like that, but you can go longer. how long is the seat tube on that bike, and how high do you need the saddle to be? do the math yourself and see if 350 is long enough. with few exceptions (I-beam, Tripod, Pivotal, some oversized carbon fiber rails, etc), all saddle rails should fit the same way on a standard seatpost.

that couch of a saddle actually looks miserably uncomfortable. it would be at home on grandma's beach cruiser. use a similar saddle to the one you'd put on your road/ mountain bike. or get a BMX saddle. I'm sure Dan's Comp or Empire has dozens of those. BITD, i had a Primo Balance and that was quite comfy for BMX.

cycler56

Whole conversations help me more.
Thanks all.

sloppy12

I am just throwing this out there but your 6 year old wont be doing 3 miles a hour. Last ride we went on (6 year old and 8 year old) average speed was 10 top speed was like 28 on a down hill. Granted those are my speeds with them and I did pass them both on the down hill. Guess my point is dont underestimate them..