space_bound_kid

im 17 years old and im about 150 pounds im about 5'7. i been wanting to bmx for a long time just havent had the balls to do it. now that i want to do it i want to give it a try i want to do like street bmx. it looks awesome. i need lots of advice and tips if anyone could help it would be a big help. i hope for my age its not to late to start. i really wanna do it. plus everyone i know skateboards which i tried is boring and i think bmx will catch peoples attention i dont think theyve seen a bmx biker before. i wanna know whats a good ameaure or good beginner bike in a good price range?

MMACH 5

What part of Texas are you in? Since you're just starting out, don't spend a fortune on the bike. In Dallas, you can go to the "City Store" and buy one from the city for less than $20-probably closer to $10. It's where they get rid of surplus and recovered items. The bike might need some work, but it will get you something to try out.

StephenH

First off, get a reality dose. Go to Youtube.com, do a search for "bicycle wreck", "bicycle accident" or something along that line, and watch some of the videos of people hurting themselves in every conceivable way. It looks cool when someone does a backflip while jumping off the stairs and all, but you can just about kill yourself trying to jump over a cinderblock, too.

The problem with the bikes is that bmx bikes are physically small, which means little kids can ride on them, which means Walmart and others sell all manner of cheapo bikes that are BMX-styled, but not necessarily suited for anything other than riding around the neighborhood. Visit a regular bike shop that handles higher-end adult BMX bikes and it should be pretty educational. If you want to jump, land, and have both yourself and the bike in one piece and ready to do it again, don't expect that to come real cheap.

When you start riding a bike and doing tricks and all, keep in mind there are people your age that have been doing that for 12 years already. Ditto on the skateboards. So don't expect overnight miracles.

If you happen to be in the Dallas area, you might swing by Don Johle's Bike World in Garland. It's a general bike shop, not devoted to BMX specifically. However, Don Johle made his name about 30 years ago doing BMX racing. So I expect the folks there could tell you a bit about the bikes.

There is also a BMX forum here, so check in there with specific questions as well.

MMACH 5

Can I retract my previous statement?

Learn from what StephenH posted.