JCC

My son would like his first BMX style bike. I would like the bike to last him for a reasonably long period of time and will pay more for a bike that he won't grow out of in a few years. I don't know whether to get a freestyle bike or dirt jumping bike. He uses his current mountain bike for riding on some small ramps we have in our driveway. I don't know of any skate parks in our Chicago area that allow bikes on their ramps. There are no large dirt jumping hills where we live. An all purpose bike would seem to make the most sense if such a thing exists. He wants the bike to have front and rear pegs and wants the detangler for the brakes so he can rotate the handlebars. The only bikes we have looked at so far are the SE Quadrangle 1.0 freestyle bike($159 on sale) and the SE Mauler 1.0 dirt bike ($140 on sale). The Mauler comes with no pegs. SE is the only brand that the one shop we went to sells. When I have checked online the popular brands seem to be Haro, Hoffman, Trek, etc. Dad would hope to spend under $250 and would prefer $150. If buying a bike that will last for more than 2-3 years is unrealistic, let me know.

jrt1990

i like www.danscomp.com is the best place to look, all there bikes are very good except the khes, u dont want a khe and unless hes becomin a future racer dont buy him any of the racing bikes, id say if u were spendin that amount of money u would want one that he'd be riding at 11, 12, 13 years old so dont get a 16" bike, the brands without a bike or two in that price range are DK, Eastern, FIT, FREE AGENT, Hoffman, Huffy (but im pretty sure those arent that great), Mosh, Nirve (no gyro on the bike in that price range), Poverty, and Stolen. As u can see there are alot of choices so ask BMXTRIX wat the best choice is out of those since hes an expert on this kinda stuff. If he reads wat i just said hell be sure to help u out.

haro_rider09

id go with www.danscomp.com
dont go with a flatland bike because of the gearing
but actually theres a bike on www.flatlandfuel.com
its a 16" bike...you could swap the chainwheel out
but then again you never know
go to www.danscomp.com and/or ask BMXTRIX (a very respected member)
he'll give you a good decision

PGZX3

I would try to find a 18 or 16" bike for an 8 year old, or even a cheaper flatland bike just because of the shorter geometry may lend well to a smaller rider. Its inevitable that you will be buying another bike when he gets older just because he'll break stuff, it could get stolen, or he'll just outgrow it (it happens).

Mr.Noobie

hey JCC im curious do you live in the san marcos, or escondido area?

because i was at a escondido bike shop getting pegs, and they had several SE bikes.

jrt1990

well i got a lil brother, 8 years old, and he does fine riding my old 20" gt, and not many eight year olds pound on em hard enuff anyway, he'll want a 20" bike to last him for a few years or maybe even more and if his son everdoes get that serious that he does brake stuff on his old bike or he needs a new bike because for some reason all those huge tricks he can do, cant be done on his old bike, i think he'll be just fine gettin a big boys bike so his dad doesnt have to spend $600 dollars buying diff bikes for the kid