BMX - newbie. questions.

hey guys,

for some reason, i developed an interest in bmx bikes within the past 2 hours of watching bmx videos.

i kind of want a really cheap one to beat around on and try out.

what is the cheapest you guys think i can get a complete bmx bike?

what brands should i be looking at?

any websites i should be searching or just classifieds on forums?

remember, i know NOTHING about bmx.

oh, i'm 5'7, 145 lbs. i'm guessing i want 20" wheels with a 19 or 20" top tube?

thanks

oh god no

i would say possibly the haro f1 or the backtrail x1, depends on your style of riding. If you want to do mainly dirt riding, get the haro backtrail x1 but if you want to do mainly park or street, get a haro f1.
Haro's are very good for beginners

You want cheap? So you want to pay extra to upgrade later when everything breaks? You can get a $200 bike that may last a month, then you'll need to put at least another $100-200 into it. Or you can spend a bit more and get a decent one right away.

i like the DK 6 Pack for $300 at www.danscomp.com

Cheap sucks. If you want to bang around, you're better off picking up a good used bike, but if you're serious about wanting to ride BMX for real, pony up and spend a few bucks doing it right. My $.02.

-Paul

If this is really your first time, I second buying a huffy/other crappy bmx. They do work, contrary to everyones "sold out" beliefs here.

I disagree. Look at it this way, if he decides he likes BMX and then buys a decent bike, he wasted money on a Huffy/Next/OtherPOS that could've gone towards a better bike. If doesn't like it, a decent bike has resale value, especially if he buys used (if done right a used a bike resold could easily break even, maybe even make a buck). No used Huffy is worth squat. Maybe $20 at a garage sale.

especially that huffy

okay, so what's the cheapest i can go, but not have it be a "walmart" or "department store" bike?

and what brands should i be looking at. obviously huffy is a generic brand, but since i don't know bmx at all, i don't know if DK or Eastern or anything else might be generic.

just give me a list of like, 10 brands, that are "known," so that i can go on ebay and look for a used one.


oh, and it won't be for dirt. i want it for park/street. mostly street.

also, what size am i looking for?

i went to the aforementioned website, danscomp, and found a dk rage for 180. is that fine?

A DK Rage is certinaly miles better than that Huffy above. Are you looking to get into this as cheap as possible, or do you have any specific things in mind (sizing, durability, quality of components, weight, riding styles, resale value, looking cool, etc)?

i just want to try it out. sometimes i'm too lazy to bring out my mountain bike to go down the street, so i just want something to mess around with. try some bunny hopping, tricks, etc.

i nkow for a fact i'll never get fully into bmx. i just want something fun to ride around, that also won't make me look like an idiot i guess (aka huffy).

For the record I was kidding about the huffy *** above. I say get a DK Six Pack as mentioned above - it's a pretty damn good bike for the money. Even one of the lower end DK's would be OK, like the General Lee or something.

I like how that front brakepad is aligned to grip on the tire's sidewall.

Pimpmobile!:eek:

If this is really your first time, I second buying a huffy/other crappy bmx. They do work, contrary to everyones "sold out" beliefs here.

Hmm. Ok, Huffy=$100. He loses interest, he's out $100. (And maybe his front teeth if he breaks the bike doing tricks) Or, he catches the bug, and spends $300 more on a decent bike. Total expense is $400, and he's got one boat anchor, plus a bike that still might get him $200 if he needs money for crack.

Scenario two. He buys a decent bike for +/- $300. He keeps it and has fun. Or he gets bored and sells it, losing maybe $100 on the deal. But he gets to keep his teeth and his nads, because the bars/stem/fork/cranks didn't break while he was screwing around.

I would go for a high quality bike. Don't buy some cheap thing. Cheap things don't work good. You will probably get really addicted to bmx once you start doing it so buy a good bike. I got a $300 dollar haro bike and the hub is already messed up. I had to spend $120 to get a new rear wheel. Then my stem was all crappy, so I spent $60 on a new stem. I also stripped my bars really fast, but thankfully I got some S&M dive bars for free from my friend. Go high quality, cheap stuff breaks fast and you end up spending more money in the long run.

10 brands:
Haro
Mongoose
Eastern
DK
Fit
GT
Hoffman
Wethepeople
Possibly KHE
Any custom bike, if your not sure if its any good, post it on here!

DK six pack.

Mongoose, GT

Pacific Cycle...you mean. :(


It's a shame that they bought several descent companies & turned them to mass-produced crap.

Pacific Cycle...you mean. :(


It's a shame that they bought several descent companies & turned them to mass-produced crap.
Yeah, i was sad to see that little "Pacific Cycles 2006" thing on the side of a Mongoose ad with Steven McCan (probly got his name wrong) Becuase mongoose used to make pretty good higher end bikes...Like the Fuzzy

Before they got bought out.

when did they get bought out?

If I'm not mistaken, 2000.

oh right

If I'm not mistaken, 2000.
I think your right as well.


It wasnt that big of news anyways...

I think your right as well.


It wasnt that big of news anyways...

It was if you liked one of the brands that just went to hell.

okay, i've been searching the craigslist postings in my area for bmx bikes, and came across 2.

one is a dyno vfr for 65 dollars, the other is a mongoose villain for 75 dollars. not sure what year they are though.

i'm going to ask if both of them will ever go lower. is 65 too much? how much lower can i go? (i have no idea how much these bikes go for, resale value, etc)





i know you'll prob. tell me to get a new bike, but i really don't want to spend more than 50 bucks on this. i might even ask if they'll go down to 40 dollars.

My Villian served me well for quite a while. Full cromo frame, lightish, the only downside was the one peice cranks really.

Honestly, I would say the Villain.

If you don't want to spend more than $50, take up knitting. Really. What do you expect to get for $50?

If you don't want to spend more than $50, take up knitting. Really. What do you expect to get for $50?


i expect to get the gt dyno pictured above.

if he says he'll sell for 65, i figure i'd ask if he'd go lower to 50. i mean, why not try to talk the price down right?

so, the question is, how much are each of the two bikes pictured above worth, so that i know how much i can try to talk him down to, or if talking him down is not even possible for the price already given.

the other question is, are those bikes even good, or am i trying to haggle a price for a bike that i shouldn't even purchase in the first place?

those bikes are a ***

....if your planning on doing freestyle

i expect to get the gt dyno pictured above.

if he says he'll sell for 65, i figure i'd ask if he'd go lower to 50. i mean, why not try to talk the price down right?

so, the question is, how much are each of the two bikes pictured above worth, so that i know how much i can try to talk him down to, or if talking him down is not even possible for the price already given.

the other question is, are those bikes even good, or am i trying to haggle a price for a bike that i shouldn't even purchase in the first place?

The bikes are worth whatever someone is willing to pay for them. No more, no less. They're great for riding to the pub, or Baja Fresh. Probably not much good for any more than that.

you can find a decent bike on ebay also