BMX for a 12 year-old

[pincher]

I'll admit it, I'm confused! My son wants a BMW to replace the ridiculously heavy bike that he has now grown out of. We went to a shop yesterday and he sat on a couple - one seemed really small (I understand the fashion is to have the seat as low as possible) and the other that looked as though it was OK, got a suck through the teeth from the shop assistant and that as it was a 20.5" top tube it would probably be too big for him. He's dead-on 5' and could reach the handlebars whilst sat down just fine. Apparently, you stand up more nowadays and sitting is just for a little rest in between standing up?

I don't want us (he is paying half out of his birthday money) to buy a bike that is going to be too small in a year but equally, I don't want to buy one that is effectively an adult-sized bike and that he is uncomfortbale on. Should we be looking at this size or something a touch smaller??

This is what he sat on yesterday - http://www.mongoose.com/nor/legion-l40-20082

[pincher]

Thanks for the comments - I really don't think a 16"/18" wheel bike is going to last him 5 minutes. If I got one of those, I'd be buying another one in the summer (sorry all you bike salesmen but that's not happening! )and this suggests a 20" wheel is the one to get and this reckons that anywhere between 19.75" and 20.75" is the correct top tube length.

I'll take a closer look at Winstanley as they seem to have quite a few and will look at ones with cro-mo and 2 or 3 piece cranks

Budget is around £250, so if anyone sees any good deals that might fit the bill (other than the ones already mentioned), then please do add them to the thread

[pincher]

Revisitng this as we still haven't got one!

Been browsing and found this Daimond Back. Is about £30 less than anywhere else I can find (plus a tenner delivery).

Any good?

[pincher]

I thought that was Mongoose?!?

Why is this so difficult?

ETA - It's more Cro-Mo than Hi-Ten and in all honesty, my boy is no Andy Ruffell (showing my age there!), so he's unlikely to be table-topping every five minutes

Edited by pincher on Monday 25th May 18:26

[pincher]

I think I'm sorted now

Will post a pic when I get it, which will be pretty soon all being well

[pincher]

Ended up getting an 'as new' KHE Goldie from another forum member - chromoly frame and bars and a 3-piece crank.



He loves it and has been out all over the place on it over the past couple of days - so money well spent in my book.

Thanks for all the advice imparted - much appreciated

[pincher]

That was an addition by the previous owner - will probably get rid of it once he is used to it.

[pincher]

trails said:

The LumberBlacks signature frame; can't go wrong it's essentially S&M Dirtbike geometry

I genuinely have no idea what that means at all

[pincher]

Got it



(Why couldn't you just have said that in the first place?!? )