Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - BMX as a city bike?

I've been thinking that it might be fun to get a BMX bike to cruise around on, especially since they are so cheap for basic models. Trouble is, I havent ridden a BMX bike since I was a little kid and really don't know whether they would be any good for city riding.

Any BMX riders out there? Could you do a 5 or 10 mile commute on a BMX? Is it better to get one with 24 inch wheels? Is there any point in getting one? Are they fun to ride even if you don't do tricks or jumps?

yes it is very fun. I would suggest going with the cruiser(24") if you have not been on one for a long while. I love the fact that I can go places on a bmx that I can not go on a fixed gear. Or maybe I will rephrase that as places I shouldn't try going with my fixed gear. Down large flights of stairs and what not.

i think another option to consider would be single speed mountain bike. maybe throw on some 2.1 conti town and country tires... hot. redline monocogs are fairly inexpensive and decent for the money. right now on chucksbikes.com there is a tsunami single speed mountain bike frame for 150. i've been using a single speed 16" mountain bike for around town, which is way too small for my 6'4" arse, but since it's so small it feels sort of like a bmx. however, i am starting to set it up for actual mountain biking. i think my next single speed townie and dirt bike will be a 29"er, such as a surly karate monkey. those things roll over anything! small children included! yeehaw!

i have both a bmx and a track bike. both breakless. i use the bmx to cruise on with friends that are not riding fixed. if we go out and jsut want to cruise slow and not really worry about it i ride the bmx. But it is not something i take a long rides by any means. Bmx are really fun to ride in the city. do it if you can find a deal.

d

I rode a bmx fixed for several months. I had to part it out to build a bike for my nephew.

If it's set up right, and you fit it OK, there's no problem riding a bmx several miles. The problem is many BMX frames really aren't terribly well suited to such setups. I'm only 5'2". Someone 6'2" may have a bigger deal even finding a reasonably priced BMX frame in XXL size.

My old mtb is kinda like a oversized BMX bike. I've set it up as a single speed coaster brake with 26x1.25" slicks and front cantilever brake. It's a old, beat up chromo 16" hardtail frame and rigid fork, with some cheap steel 3" rise handlebars, and a funky mattress saddle. Very simple setup, almost nothing to break. Very upright riding position. Currently geared at 77", but I occasionally go down to 58" when I need to pull a trailer. It's pretty nimble and fun for rides of several miles.

i have my ss mtb setup with a 2:1 gear ratio. 175mm cranks, 32t chainring, 16t cog, 2.1 rear knobby tire, 2.3 front knobby. it makes it super quick off the line and easy on most hills, but it's not too fast down hill or on flats. i do have to push it up some hills when on trails though. hahaha i think if it was only a townie, i would gear it much higher, as shecky has his set up, and throw on some fat semi-slicks. i had it ridgid for quite awhile as well, but threw on an older double clamp sid 4" travel fork this weekend. i love it. i have a 6" boxer waiting to go on it, but i need new lowers for it... it's going to be obnoxious.

shecky,
does your ss mtb have horizontal drops? if so, what do you use for a chain tensioner? i'm using a trials chainguide. it works fairly well. a few of my friends with horizontal drops on their ss mtb's use rear derailleurs, which seems to work well.

I've been thinking that it might be fun to get a BMX bike to cruise around on, especially since they are so cheap for basic models. Trouble is, I havent ridden a BMX bike since I was a little kid and really don't know whether they would be any good for city riding.

Any BMX riders out there? Could you do a 5 or 10 mile commute on a BMX? Is it better to get one with 24 inch wheels? Is there any point in getting one? Are they fun to ride even if you don't do tricks or jumps?


i asked a very similar question about the evil imperial and got yelled at quite a lot.. so no.

I've got an old (think late 70's) Raleigh BMX bike that I like to tool around on, not really urban riding since I'm not in an urban area but fun none the less. Size is an issue. I'm about 6 foot even and I still need a longer seatpost to get reasonable leg extension so my knees are happy. I can actually get one for about $10, just haven't done it yet. Older BMX frames are better suited to setting up to actually ride longer distances because they have much longer seat tubes. The seat tube on my Raleigh is 13 inches long but the seat tube on my modern Free Agent BMX (which I'm trying to learn flatland on) is a bit under 10 inches long. I can get a seatpost to make the Raleigh comfortable to pedal, maybe enough that I'm considering taking it on some 50 mile group rides for fun. I can't find a seatpost that would make the more modern BMX bike really rideable for any distance, they just don't make them. That's pretty representative of modern frames so it's something to think about and something to look at when you're considering a BMX bike.
I still think they're a pretty cool idea, only time will tell if they're a really practical one, I'll let you know.

does your ss mtb have horizontal drops? if so, what do you use for a chain tensioner? i'm using a trials chainguide. it works fairly well. a few of my friends with horizontal drops on their ss mtb's use rear derailleurs, which seems to work well.

Yes, the frame has horizontal dropouts. I don't use any tensioners. I don't think they're useable on a coaster brake, if it's the kind of tensioner I'm thinking of. There's enough adjustment to accomodate rear cogs from 12t to 18t with the existing chain.

i have my ss mtb setup with a 2:1 gear ratio. 175mm cranks, 32t chainring, 16t cog, 2.1 rear knobby tire, 2.3 front knobby. it makes it super quick off the line and easy on most hills, but it's not too fast down hill or on flats. i do have to push it up some hills when on trails though. hahaha i think if it was only a townie, i would gear it much higher, as shecky has his set up, and throw on some fat semi-slicks. i had it ridgid for quite awhile as well, but threw on an older double clamp sid 4" travel fork this weekend. i love it. i have a 6" boxer waiting to go on it, but i need new lowers for it... it's going to be obnoxious.

shecky,
does your ss mtb have horizontal drops? if so, what do you use for a chain tensioner? i'm using a trials chainguide. it works fairly well. a few of my friends with horizontal drops on their ss mtb's use rear derailleurs, which seems to work well.

Not shecky but...

I've also got an SS mtb set up with a 2:1 gear, 32:16 to be exact. It's a 14" Kona Lava Dome I got off of ebay. It's fully rigid with a Motoraptor DH 2.4 up front and a Continental Explorer Pro 2.1 on the rear. It's a nice bike to kick around on on the trails here in North east PA. It's got vertical drops so I'm running a Bell-branded KMC BMX chain with a half-link I obtained from one of my LBSes. I also lucked out with my gearing and chainstay length so I have the pelasure of running tensionerless. I still have to walk up some hills but I'm hoping my fixed riding will help with that somehow. If I were to run around town on it a la Rad: the Movie, I'd switch to some IRC slicks I got from MEC a while ago and up the gearing.

ok...damn stupid question, especially comming from one who constantly gets asked about my brakeless fix. how do you control a brakeless bmx?

tim

ok...damn stupid question, especially comming from one who constantly gets asked about my brakeless fix. how do you control a brakeless bmx?

tim

you mostly should ride those in a park and scrub off speed with tricks, etc. plus, you don't go that fast and can drag your feet. or just use mind control... bzzzzzzzzz

i was running tensionerless until one day when darting between two on-coming cars i threw my chain, which threw off my momentum, made me fall sort of to the right, making my bars turn into my gut, and threw me over the bars and into one heck of a roll. i kept thinking "shouldn't i be done wrecking by now!?" needless to say, it was hilarious. i was bleeding from every limb, but the worst part was where my bars stabbed me in the gut. i had a huge bruise for weeks.

i have a 7 speed 105 cassette and rear derailleur i think i'm going to throw on it and keep it with just one chainring. there are some STEEP hills around here. i'd rather ride more than walk. i push a big gear on my fixies, 48:16-170, but i guess i'm still too much of a wimp for the hills on the trail. plus, colorado trails are so loose with gravel/scree and trying to climb through that crap with one gear is sort of tough.

shecky,
when i asked horizontal, i meant vertical. sorry. hehehe i have vertical drops on my frame. and i forget you said you were running a coaster. i think my mind is melting from work today.

p.s.
sorry for the long, blathering post... it's quittin' time!!

I agree with hamyee 24" BMX crusiers ia a good choice and are a blast to ride.

I rode brakeless bmx (flatland) for fun and for transportation before i started riding a fixie. You can do it, five miles wouldn't be too bad. 10 miles you would start to get pissed. That little bit of respect we get from cars riding our grown-up bikes completely goes out the window when you are on a bmx bike. If you did it you should get someting with 24's or 26's. Check out firemans bikes also look at the redline monocog. Both would be better for gettin around while still being to bunnyhop and ride in the dirt.

BMX bikes are excellent for transportation as they allow so much more entertainment on your trip (wheelies, wall rides, manuals). When I lived in Austin, I rode a 20" and a 24" all around town. The 24" is a much better distance ride, but if you are only talking a couple of miles, the 20" is much more fun.

I rode the 24" on a number of long rides (ASAP: Austin to San Antonio Pedal, 98 miles; Shiner Bash, 90 miles) with no problems. When I moved to Houston, I sold the 20" and my 24" got stolen, so I set up a 26" Fireman's Cruzer. It has been an excellent investment. I rode it on the MS 150 (Houston to Austin, 180 miles) and the Shiner Bash recently. The frame is built on BMX standards so you can take it to a track and jump it, or just cruise. Without brakes, though, it is much more difficult to do wheelies.

The Fireman's Cruzer is made by a guy in Austin. Do a search and you will find the website. Good luck!

I rode brakeless bmx (flatland) for fun and for transportation before i started riding a fixie. You can do it, five miles wouldn't be too bad. 10 miles you would start to get pissed. That little bit of respect we get from cars riding our grown-up bikes completely goes out the window when you are on a bmx bike. If you did it you should get someting with 24's or 26's. Check out firemans bikes also look at the redline monocog. Both would be better for gettin around while still being to bunnyhop and ride in the dirt.
I agree with the lack of respect on the bmx bikes.