What do you look for? What makes good parts? What makes a good bike?
What makes for a good BMX bike? What makes parts good? Who makes good parts? What makes parts better for vert, or flatland, versus racing?
I know those seem kinda odd questions. But here's where I'm coming from. I'm a roadie. With road bikes, all other things being equal, you go for the lighter parts. If the weights the same, you go for the stiffer part. What makes stiffer parts is pretty obvious, for instance, large diameter crank spindles. Large diameter frame tubes. large diameter handlebars. Those are all the "good" things to have on a bike. This even holds true for track bikes (which mechanically seem pretty freaking similar to BMX bikes.. and i'm talking track, like velodrome, not hipster.)
I've looked through the bike builds thread, and I don't see a whole lot of consistancy. It seems more often than not, bike parts are chosen for looks, rather than performance. And I can't wrap my head around the brands yet.
It seems weight is only of vague concern. With 22lbs being a "light" bike. My whole mountian bike is 23lbs. And without doing anything fancy, my road bike is under 20. And there's a whole hell of a lot more bike there with either my 26" mtb, or 700c road bike.
So, how about a few more "real" questions?
Why do BMX bikes still use american bottom brackets? I've seen a few that are euro, but they're uncommon.
Are the pin drive front sprockets common to just flatland and vert applications? Or do you still see those at a bmx course? Are road/mountian bike cranks more common there?
Why would one go with 14mm axles versus 3/8? You don't see oversized axles on MTB unless you're talking dirt jump, or downhill rigs. Are bent axles a common issue on 20" bikes?
I've never seen a BMX bar with oversized clamp diameter. Are bars always bought for durablity, or is weight a concern?
The bike I just bought, came with a short seat, what's the purpose of this? I've even seen seats with the noses cut off.