BMX - Lightweight Bike for a 5 year old?

I'm looking for a lightweight bike for my 5 year old son. He has gotten really good on his 12" but now that he is around 3' 5" or so I'd like to get him a bike that he can go faster on. Lots of the department store bikes seem way to heavy so I'm looking for something lighter. Any suggestions? $60 - $200 range.

thanks a ton in advance.

Hit some bike shops and see if they have micro bmx bikes. Not sure you are going to find a light one for $200 or under unless you can find a used one. In bikes, going light costs money, generally.

An 09 Redline Flight Micro weighs less than 13 lb, but costs over $600

https://www.jrbicycles.com/storefront/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=2482

that is an awesome bike but way out of my price range, how about the Redline MX16? anyone know how heavy that bike is?

This shows the MX16 at 35 lbs. https://www.derbybicyclecenter.com/store/products/Redline-MX-16%22-BOYS-BMX.html

I have a Specialized HotRock 16, a Haro Backtrail and a Redline Mico Mini for my boys. The Redline micro is half the weight of the other bikes.

I highly doubt that MX16 weighs anywhere near 35 lbs.

I'd say the best bet is the Specialized Hotrock from what i've looked at.
I just got a 16" for my sone (he's still small for it). It has real components, an alum alloy frame and alloy wheels to keep the weight down.

BTW - I have a 20" Hotrock for sale but I'm in Socal and not sure you are looking for something used.

Thanks a ton we went to a LBS and looked at the Specialized Hotrock 16 last night, it is pretty nice! The one thing I didn't like about it is that there is no mounting holes for a rear break, so we'd be stuck with the coaster break on that frame. Other than that I thought the weight was nice for the price, from somewhere I read the hotrock 16 is right around 20lbs .. and a lot of the other 16" kids BMX are in the 25 - 30 lbs range so right now the hotrock is at the top of my list if I don't find something better.

Haro makes a few nice 16"ers as well. They are a little over the $200 mark, but they're pretty good for a 16" bike. The first one is about 28 lbs., but you could shed about 4-5 pounds by taking the pegs and front brakes off.

Down at the bottom of this page. (http://www.harobikes.com/bmx/tab2_subNav3.php)
Also this one. Go to bottom. (http://www.harobikes.com/bmx/tab2_subNav2.php)

Specialized must have changed the Hot Rock 16, as I installed a hand brake on my son's bike that we bought in 2005 or 2006.

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r162/jsharr/redline/redline010.jpg

I would not be too concerned about weight at this point if you are not racing. My 4 year old, who is under 40 lb. in that picture, has absolutely no problems with the Hot Rock 16.

Wait what kind of bike are you looking for? A BMX freestyle, a BMX racing, or MTB?

Just for reference, here is a picture of the 4 year old with the HotRock16 and the 7 year old with the Redline MicroMini. I think you will be happy with a 16.

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r162/jsharr/redline/redline008.jpg

Wait what kind of bike are you looking for? A BMX freestyle, a BMX racing, or MTB?

well he likes riding fast, doing tricks and off roading ... but hey he is only 5 ... I kinda see his need as the following:

- bmx freestyle bike
- dirt jump bike
- single speed kids road bike
- single speed mountain bike

basically he is 5 and thinks of something new to try on his 12" everyday but with short cranks and 12" wheels he can only go so fast on that thing.

thanks so much Isharr for the pictures, they help a lot. I'm pretty sure there was no place for brakes on the hotrock we looked at but I guess I need to go look again and make sure. He likes coaster brakes anyhow .. I just think it would be nice for him to learn a hand brake too.

I looked at the Hotrock on the Specialized website and it was a 16" MTB. That's why I was wondering. And just saying, does he really need to learn how to use a handbrake at that age? Unless he's racing and needs to that's one thing. I didn't learn how to use a handbrake until I was probably 8 and I'm fine now. I don't want to sound ignorant, just wondering.

The Redline proline pitboss is a very cool 16" race/pit bike. super light and 16" will be easy for a 5 year old to ride.