BMX - help required buying a BMX for my son
Discussion
I normally spend my time on the TVR forum, as I have an S3.
When not driving, I ride a Felt F1 road bike and a Specialized Langster, so know that there are good bikes and bad bikes.
My son, aged 11, wants a BMX. Neither of us know much about BMX. Problem is that none of his circle of friends know any better as they have what I consider to be toy BMX bikes from Tesco, Halfords etc.
Although I know about road bikes, and understand bikes in general, I know nothing about BMX and need some help understanding which are good brands and which are bad brands, and what to go for. The budget is £175, which I know is not a lot for a bike, but until I know he is serious about it, do not want to spend a fortune.
I recognise some of the brands such as Mongoose, Diamond Back, Felt, but have no idea if these are good or bad BMX bikes. Given he has just started senior school, I do not want him to get picked on for having a crappy brand of BMX.
For the budget I have, am I likely to be able to get a Chromo frame, which I understand is better for a BMX than HiTen Steel. I know from road bikes that you are sometimes better going for a top end Aluminium bike, rather than a low end carbon bike for the same money as you get better wheels, groupset etc.
My son is a big lad for age 11, and is just over 5ft tall. He is likely to ride the bike to school as well as take it on offroad on some trails at the local country park, and may even venture on the ramps at the park. Other than that is is not going to be doing any racing or freestyle tricks just yet.
These are on the short list :
Mongoose Capture
Fiction Savage
Stolen Casino
So in short, I need some advice. What is the best bike to get for the money? Are any on the short list any good, or is there something else I should be looking at.
When not driving, I ride a Felt F1 road bike and a Specialized Langster, so know that there are good bikes and bad bikes.
My son, aged 11, wants a BMX. Neither of us know much about BMX. Problem is that none of his circle of friends know any better as they have what I consider to be toy BMX bikes from Tesco, Halfords etc.
Although I know about road bikes, and understand bikes in general, I know nothing about BMX and need some help understanding which are good brands and which are bad brands, and what to go for. The budget is £175, which I know is not a lot for a bike, but until I know he is serious about it, do not want to spend a fortune.
I recognise some of the brands such as Mongoose, Diamond Back, Felt, but have no idea if these are good or bad BMX bikes. Given he has just started senior school, I do not want him to get picked on for having a crappy brand of BMX.
For the budget I have, am I likely to be able to get a Chromo frame, which I understand is better for a BMX than HiTen Steel. I know from road bikes that you are sometimes better going for a top end Aluminium bike, rather than a low end carbon bike for the same money as you get better wheels, groupset etc.
My son is a big lad for age 11, and is just over 5ft tall. He is likely to ride the bike to school as well as take it on offroad on some trails at the local country park, and may even venture on the ramps at the park. Other than that is is not going to be doing any racing or freestyle tricks just yet.
These are on the short list :
Mongoose Capture
Fiction Savage
Stolen Casino
So in short, I need some advice. What is the best bike to get for the money? Are any on the short list any good, or is there something else I should be looking at.
The problem is that he does not know what is cool yet. None of his close friends have a good BMX bikes. In fact only one has a BMX and that was from Tesco. He has seen older lads on BMX bikes, but as the current styling of the bikes are almost identical to the untrained eye, and graphics are fairly understated from a distance, it is almost impossible to tell one BMX from another until you get close.
Might get a magazine or two this week to have a look at.
Might get a magazine or two this week to have a look at.
Not much help I know, but one thing that I'd forgotten is how high geared BMXs can be. They seem to have long cranks and big front rings. (Unless you get one of those weird ones with a tiny front ring). Anyway, if your lad has short legs, or you live somewhere hilly it can be a pain. Don't forget you'll also need some bricks and an old floor board to make him a ramp. 
http://www.winstanleysbmx.com/category/263/Clearan...
Have a look through some of those. If he's 11, your better off getting him the colour he wants over anything else.
Have a look through some of those. If he's 11, your better off getting him the colour he wants over anything else.
The Stolen is far and away the best of that bunch. They've got pretty good 'street cred' and it'll be very well built, even at this level. If he's really concerned about image, you can't beat a Cult complete bike, but that may be a bit over budget.
btw, BMX's don't really come with massive chainrings anymore-that Stolen has got a 25T front ring.
btw, BMX's don't really come with massive chainrings anymore-that Stolen has got a 25T front ring.
poll250 said:
btw, BMX's don't really come with massive chainrings anymore-that Stolen has got a 25T front ring.
Some do though. This one's a 44T for instance.http://www.winstanleysbmx.com/product/55948/Felt_S...
I was just mentioning it as a young lad might struggle with it depending on his build.
I know my son did to start with.
Thanks for the feedback so far.
Looking at the bikes on Winstanleys are there any brands to avoid due to a lack of street cred/coolness. There seems to be a lot from ABD, Ruption and MirraCo in the budget I have.
How does the Haro 350.2 compare to the Stolen Casino in terms of its spec and street coolness?
Looking at the bikes on Winstanleys are there any brands to avoid due to a lack of street cred/coolness. There seems to be a lot from ABD, Ruption and MirraCo in the budget I have.
How does the Haro 350.2 compare to the Stolen Casino in terms of its spec and street coolness?
Sunday and Verde are very well respected brands that his mates will drool over. I can't believe the quality you can get for under £200 now tbh.
These all look great and will last for a good while:
http://www.winstanleysbmx.com/product/43567/Sunday...
http://www.winstanleysbmx.com/product/43290/Verde_...
http://www.winstanleysbmx.com/product/43289/Verde_...
I'd stay away from brands like Haro, Mongoose etc as although they have heritage, they aren't what people want to be riding nowadays really.
These all look great and will last for a good while:
http://www.winstanleysbmx.com/product/43567/Sunday...
http://www.winstanleysbmx.com/product/43290/Verde_...
http://www.winstanleysbmx.com/product/43289/Verde_...
I'd stay away from brands like Haro, Mongoose etc as although they have heritage, they aren't what people want to be riding nowadays really.
The Verde Prism does look like the best value for money comparing specs using the transferable knowledge from road bikes.
If it also passes the cool test, then it is a winner.
Thanks for the advice and help. If anyone else wants to chip in please do feel free to offer advice or shot my choice down.
If it also passes the cool test, then it is a winner.
Thanks for the advice and help. If anyone else wants to chip in please do feel free to offer advice or shot my choice down.
Has anyone got an views they are prepared to share about customer service from Winstanleys? Just had a look online, and struggling to find much that is positive in general about them and now slightly worried about ordering from them on the internet. Tried calling their sales line and cannot get through.
Smokey Boyer said:
Has anyone got an views they are prepared to share about customer service from Winstanleys? Just had a look online, and struggling to find much that is positive in general about them and now slightly worried about ordering from them on the internet. Tried calling their sales line and cannot get through.
I think I ordered from them about 15 years ago. I wouldn't be too worried they wouldn't be still going after all these years if they weren't any good. If you're not averse to buying second hand then there are numerous other makes. My 16 year old has just bought a 3 year old WeThePeolple Volta for £150. It needed new bottom bracket bearings and we did that ourselves for £8. That bike was around £600-£650 two years ago. The kid who owned it from new had barely ridden it. It needed a thorough clean and some TLC and it is fantastic for £158 in total.
He's bought this BMX purely for fun as he currrently rides with an amateur road racing team and rides a Specialized S-Works Venge.
He's bought this BMX purely for fun as he currrently rides with an amateur road racing team and rides a Specialized S-Works Venge.
Edited by Andy OH on Wednesday 23 October 09:21
You need to find out what he wants to do with it.
I've ridden BMX for 20 years over dirt, park, street and attempted flatland for a bit.
If he is serious about getting into it, each genre needs a different set-up to get the best from it. Angles change, top tube lengths, sprocket sizes change, crank length etc. It's a minefield. All depending on what it's ridden over and your size (height mainly)
There is of course 'all rounders'.
If he just want's it for hooning around on, then none of the above will make much difference.
Me, I'd go with the Stolen.
I've ridden BMX for 20 years over dirt, park, street and attempted flatland for a bit.
If he is serious about getting into it, each genre needs a different set-up to get the best from it. Angles change, top tube lengths, sprocket sizes change, crank length etc. It's a minefield. All depending on what it's ridden over and your size (height mainly)
There is of course 'all rounders'.
If he just want's it for hooning around on, then none of the above will make much difference.
Me, I'd go with the Stolen.
Thanks for the input. After much deliberation he went for the Blank Vision as it looked the best in his opinion. I think it was the red wheels that won it.
As a follow up on Winstanleys, I did get a reply to my email within 1 working hour. They have stock of the Verde Prism bike. So perhaps the mass of negative reviews about poor service is no longer an issue.
As a follow up on Winstanleys, I did get a reply to my email within 1 working hour. They have stock of the Verde Prism bike. So perhaps the mass of negative reviews about poor service is no longer an issue.
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