I took my son to an indoor park for a friend's birthday, and it turns out he really enjoyed it! Now i want to set him up with a nice starter bmx since current ride is a geared mountain bike that we fixed up. Also I have no clue what i should be looking for really and that has me wanting to just get something new for him and then he can learn and upgrade himself if he is interested. And i have to mention i'm not the most financially well off, so just blowing 500 on a bike is not going to happen. That is why we got him a mountain bike that we could fix up for 50 off craigslist.

So, BMX people, if you were in my place, which of these smaller bikes would you trust for your kid to beat up. We do have more than a few outdoor and indoor skate/bike parks that he can get to easily.

https://www.amazon.com/SE-Bikes-Bron.../dp/B01ETNGK3O

https://www.amazon.com/Mongoose-Legi...f_rd_i=desktop

Blank Tyro BMX Bike 2017 | Chain Reaction Cycles

OR would this be a decent deal? i don't recognize the brand but the size is right: https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/bik/5944404421.html


Thanks for any help that anyone can throw my way!

I suggest buying a used bike that appeals to him and then let him decide what he likes. For me growing up with BMX bike I was always changing parts, buying, trading or whatever. Part of the fun is learning what you like and how to work on them.

None of those bikes look too good to me... I would go for a decent used BMX. Some of the better brands are: Fit, We the people (WTP), Kink, Cult, and Sunday.

You can pick these up probably for just as much as a cheap walmart bike if you look hard enough.

If you're going to buy new, go with the Mongoose Mode 900. Here's why:
-full chromoly frame & fork
-chromoly handlebar
-chromoly 3 piece crank
-double wall rims
-sealed cassette

There's a seller on eBay blowing them out at $169.99, or they can be had from Walmart for around $200. For the price, they can't be beat. Any full chromoly frame set will be $500+ from other bmx company's, and chances are they'll have single wall rims.

What to look for in a bmx is a full chromoly frame, fork, & handlebars. It's stronger & lighter than mild steel. There's a lot of mash ups between the 2 in bmx bikes. 3 piece cranks are lighter, & you have more flexibility for upgrades over a 1 piece crank. Double wall rims are far stronger than a single wall rim. Ideally you want a sealed rear & front hub, bottom bracket, & headset for low maintenance. Of course, if 1 is just starting out then none of that is dogma, but it will save money in the long run.

Any bike you look for in your price range will be mild steel, with maybe 1 chromoly tube in the frame, mild steel handlebar, single wall rims, & 1 piece crank.

If your sons interest drops from bmx you would have no problems selling the Mode 900, & without much of a depreciation loss.

How old/heavy is your son? Little kids that are just beginning don't need full chromoly frames. There's a nice Mirraco Gargoyle on your CL that is mostly chromo and has some upgraded parts for 100 bucks. Looks like it's great shape:

https://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/bik/5960699174.html

This looks pretty nice but your son might want brakes:

https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/bik/5958321521.html

thanks for the input!
i was able to grab a 30$ chromoly framed old diamondback off craigslist. i'm not sure what the fork is, and trying to figure out how to tell. most of the other parts are pretty beat up, and the rims are very sketchy but we have plans to piece it together over time as his interest grows. he is actually pretty excited to get to pick what he wants and has already picked out a few things that he likes the look of! I might still try to grab him the mode 900 in the next month so that he has a nice safe back up incase the rebuild doesn't pan out safe enough for the indoor park. also because i like to bike and never got into it when i was a kid, we were all about mountain bikes. once again, th1anks a bunch! we have a lot of research to do and this has helped a bit.

Figured i would update since we got the Frankenstein put together! It still needs brakes and I have to fix up the wheels I got with the frame. And I guess we could make it a bit prettier too, but cromo everything and all sealed bearings!

https : // drive. google. com/ file/ d/ 0B-MNnoKCtnwObHRtZC1VOWxDaGM/ view? usp= drivesdk edit I cant link yet.

A question though, should it have pegs? If he wanted to learn tricks they would be wanted?

Also, lighter is better or should there be some weight? A lot of the bikes we looked at for comparison were surprisingly heavy, around 30lbs for some of them, which is much heavier than my mountain bike making me wonder if there was a reason for it.

Let's see if this works

Sorry for double post

"A question though, should it have pegs? If he wanted to learn tricks they would be wanted?"

Pegs are always a cheap fun ad on, if he doesn't use them for tricks he'll end up using them to double his friends around.

"Also, lighter is better or should there be some weight? A lot of the bikes we looked at for comparison were surprisingly heavy, around 30lbs for some of them, which is much heavier than my mountain bike making me wonder if there was a reason for it."

It all depends on what the bike is made from, Hiten, 4130 Cromo, Aluminum. The avg weight for modern freestyle BMX's is anywhere between 23-35 pounds. Some of the reasoning is that the frames are tripple butted along the joints (Or even thicker) to give extra strength. And BMX's are made somewhat to take a fall. Not to mention the wheels can be double and tripled walled.

Some of the old school BMX's were 20lbs or lighter, but some people claim they are too fragile. And I imagine the new race bmx's to be fairly light as well.

He doesn't need pegs unless he's grinding or doing flatland.

thanks again! i decided against the pegs, he can get them himself in the future if he sticks with it to that point. for now he is a little dude and needs to build his strength. his bike is about 22ish lbs with the wheels on it which will help for that, hopefully it lasts for a few years, but considering i've already seen him lose it down a ramp i am mentally prepared for it to not.

ps if you take all the spaces out of the link i shared previously it works if anyone is interested.