skribs

I'm not looking to BMX, what I want is a smaller bike with the full 360 rotation on the front handlebars. I find these bikes to be nice and portable compared to a mountain bike or a street bike. I'd mainly use it just for riding around town. Here's a bit about me and what I'm looking for:

• I'm about 5'5" male
• I want a bike that's good on dirt
• It needs to have a rotor brake
• Longer crank is preferred
• The lighter it is, the better
• Cost isn't a major factor, but I don't want to spend more than I have to
• I prefer a simple color scheme
• I don't care if it comes with pegs or not. I won't use them, but I'm capable of taking them off if it comes with them

I'd love to hear your advice on what would be a good bike for me.

SkyDog75

I'm not current on BMX makes and models, but a few 20" bikes that come stock with a detangler (Gyro/Rotor) are listed below. At first glance, I might lean toward the GT Slammer XL. It's a 20" bike so it's compact, it's relatively inexpensive, totally capable for 'round town use, its semi-transparent blue color is simple but cool, and its frame has a longer top tube to fit taller riders.

Diamondback Grind 20
Diamondback Grind Pro
Diamondback Venom
GT Slammer
GT Slammer XL
Haro Downtown DLX
Haro Leucadia DLX
Felt Mystic
Felt Ethic
Felt Heretic

skribs

Thanks for the suggestions! I notice on a lot of BMX bikes I see either reviews "I got this for my 8 year old" or the size guide on the website (such as with the Diamondbacks you linked) it's listed under kids bikes. Is the recommended sizing different for BMX bikes than for mountain bikes?

deapee

Dude...I don't know a lot about BMX bikes, but my son rides a 20" BMX bike and he's 6.

I have ridden it for fun, and it's very small...I'm like 5'9.5

skribs

Deapee, what size would you recommend?

SkyDog75

Yes, sizing is very different for BMX bikes. Because of the tall handlebar on a BMX bike, you can adjust height and reach a lot to accommodate riders of various height. Short rider? Drop the saddle and tilt the bar back. Tall rider? Raise the saddle and stem and angle the bar forward.

Here are a few sizing guides from Dan's Comp (a BMX shop) and Eastern (a BMX bike brand):
https://www.danscomp.com/serve/produ...riderchart.htm
SIZING FOR BMX BIKES - Find the right size Eastern Bike

As for being kids' bikes, it's not so much a sizing thing as a marketing thing. Buyers of BMX bikes tend to be kids and teenagers, so that's who the companies target their marketing at. That doesn't mean you have to be a kid to ride one. I mean, the guys doing BMX freestyle at competitions like the X Games aren't 8-year-olds.

If you hadn't mentioned that you wanted a BMX bike and a gyro (detangler), I probably wouldn't have steered you toward BMX bikes. But hey, if that's what you want, go for it.

deapee

I appreciate the direct question, but here's what I know:

I ride a 54CM road bike.
I ride a M mountain bike.
My 6-year old son rides a 20" BMX bike.

I tried googling this for you and ended up confused. It appears almost as if 20" is the "standard" bmx size, but they might make a 24" also.

This is a video of 20" BMX


And here's a 24" BMX


To me, the 20" looks like a kid's bike -- I couldn't imagine riding on that.

cbrstar

First of all you have to ask what yourself what you want to do with it. Bmx bikes may all look the same, but there are subtle differences that can be a big difference later.

There's basically two groups: 1) Your classic race BMX, which will be light and agile 2) Your classic Freestyle BMX which are usually heavier but hopefully stronger, and will have space for foot mounts, you buy one of these to do tricks. Riders may use sub category's like bike "A" being a good ramp bike etc.

If you want to basically cruise around and do jumps, to be honest a mountain bike maybe the way to go. Which might be why BMX's aren't as popular as they were in their hey day. Back in the 90's when I was riding BMX's, mountain bikes were still basically 10 speeds with fat tires and wouldn't hold up. But mountain bikes have improved dramatically, and may have exceeded BMX's.

Once you have decided what you want to do, go check out the local bike shop. It's one thing to look at a picture and it's another to actually sit on the thing. You'll know which is the right one for you by doing this more than anything else. You'll know in your heart which bike will excite you the most, as even the most expensive bike in the world, if it's a poor fit and doesn't feel right won't get ridden.

And don't worry about the 20'' being a 8 year old thing. Back in the day (80's) they used to make a even smaller frame for under 10's and would call them a "mini" and 20'' was considered for older teenager 12-18 year olds. 24'' were actually a lot more uncommon unless you raced, and were considered a cruiser. I think the whole 8 year old thing is because they want to sell BMX's when you are young, but want to sell way more expensive mountain bikes to teenagers with disposable income.

I rode BMX's all the way into my 20's though I did get into road bikes/racing a lot more in my late teens and 20's. But there was still nothing quite like the freedom of cruising with your friends, and grabbing tons of air off jumps with your trusty BMX.

DMC707 

There are different sizes of 20" bmx bies, - they are all short, but top tube length is how they are sized, With

Sizes are Expert, Pro, Pro XL and Pro XXL

With a Pro XL bike, you have a machine suitable for someone between 5'6 and 6'

Classic BMX machines, - Mongoose's etc, are all quite small by modern standards , - as in, not comfortable for most over about 5'3 or 4

N3gr8

Most BMX bikes have 20.5-21" top tubes. If you are above 6 foot you should get a bike that has 21-22" top tube but in my opinion it's not really a BMX if the top tube is above 22". I recommend getting a fit, fiend, or cult complete from sites like danscomp or empirebmx. Best of luck!

CHILDISHGAMBINO

There are lots of riders over 6' tall that ride 20" BMX. I feel weird on a 20" bike but I'm 40 and have a lot of injuries. I have a 24" BMX(well I have 2 of them)and it might feel too big as trick bike to someone 5'5". Go try a few different top tube sizes if you can. You can probably find a 20" bike that feels comfortable.

DMC707 

Wrong---


And the brands you listed are not BMX brands, they are street/freestyle brands




doesn't really matter though - the OP signed off month ago ---

N3gr8

I was generalizing and from what I've seen most riders over 6 ft prefer to ride 21-22 top tubes. 21" TT have become common even with short riders. I agree though, you should try to ride several frames with different top tubes before you make a large investment.

N3gr8

I suppose you are correct in a sense. Everyone's point of views of BMX difers. If you asked a racer the same question I'm sure he'd reply with several different brands and tt sizes. Good insight though and my apologies for bringing up an old thread!

CHILDISHGAMBINO

I was referring to the guy a few posts up calling 20" bikes "kids bikes".

DMC707 

No apologies needed, we are all learning from each other and spit balling ideas around, -- even if the OP is outta here, it may be good info for others in the future

That said, i just noticed in the original post , something was said about a gyro or a de tangler. That would mean you were spot on in recommending the street/dirt jump brands. I normally look at things from a racing perspective so that skewed my vision

fietsbob

X games Stunt riding use 20" wheels because they are potentially super strong , as a wheel gets larger it is more damageable

with the same effort a 20" wheel will shrug off..



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