Really?!
 

You can never be too old! Adrenaline should take you back to your childhood!

44 years of age and I ain't stopping for nothing! I broke my 2nd collarbone earlier this year and I'm back at it. I'm having as much fun on my bike now as I did 20+ years ago. It's a more than a mindset too. It's a way of life.

I joined a forum called vitalbmx and there are some threads of older guys like us still riding. It's been really encouraging.

I couldn't help myself and started going bunny hops on my cruiser bike in the fall. I get so much air!!! LOL. Like 2" if that. Ugh. I don't spend a lot of time on BMX tricks but I'm starting to more and more. I was trying to do barspins on my cruiser night before last but I biffed it. I gotta get some good pads.

About a week ago I was doing my nightly ride for exercise and fun and there was an el cheapo BMX bike at the end of a driveway in a heap of stuff being thrown out. So, I picked it up. It actually all works. It needs some dialing in and it's really meant for a kid but I don't care. I started riding it a little and it's serviceable. I figure I can try to do some tricks on it. It's got small geometry though. The top tube is only 18.5" The chainstays are 14.5" though. So it doesn't feel all that small to me. The bars are actually tall enough to feel right but I don't like the backsweep to them and I'm going to try to find some good bars used. The cranks were short so I started looking for a longer set and ended up with a parts bike for 20 bucks. I can use the crank and pedals and I think I might use the rims. Or at least the rear. The first bike has a coaster brake and this one has a cassette. I might actually use the front forks too. I don't like the geometry of the frame on the newest one though. But I have been doing tricks on it.

So.... I'm on my way to having a full bike I can do tricks on. Albeit a cheap one.

I will say this, I need to get some knee pads cuz I biffed it trying to do wheeline and landed on my knee on the concrete. I layed there in pain laughing. But I was concerned I did damage. It was fine though. Only hurt for 2 days and a little bruised. But it was a learning experience about being more careful, being that I'm 47, going on 48. Probably best to be as careful as possible.

The first one I found, I don't know what it is. The frame is brush painted with wall paint. LOL. But I'm trying to remedy that. But I call it "BOU". Bike of Unkown Origin. And the second one I call "Bling City". Which will be obvious as to why if I can get the pics up.

I know it's all cheap stuff, but we don't have much extra money right now, and it's Christmas time, need to spend on other people. I did by new tires though on sale at Kmart....

https://imgur.com/LU6PhOd

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*Winces

Isopropyl Alcohol dissolves household latex, FYI. I learned that when I was wiping down a frame for paint prep and the paint on one side of the fork disappeared!

The thread is old, but no one has added this...

I think the question is: When are you too old to take the slams?

There comes a time when you have to accept that you can't send yourself quite so big anymore. That reduces the slammage. I know guys well into their 50s still riding and at a good level!

Facebook group, Ride On is where the magic happens. It's a group for over 30s only. Based in the UK but has members from all over the world. Daily inspiration on there.

Well, I'm a little late to the thread (plus I haven't logged into bikeforums.net in nearly 10 years! :twitchy:) but I also joined over at vital bmx as well. Adding to the age pool, I'm 36 and just picked up my first BMX bike in 20 years and probably the first bike I've been on for more than a few minutes in the last ten years. It's a Fit PRK, so 20" wheels and it's not so bad. I'm 6'2/175ish and I feel just fine on it, though it is twitchy and I'm trying to learn some control. It's a hell of a bike for bombing hills! With its responsiveness, it's more fun than my old Bianchi Nuovo.

I like it so much that I'm considering selling my remaining two bikes and picking up a 26" BMX cruiser for a multipurpose ride (light trails, town rides, urban terror, etc.).

Guess my opinion on the "too old" bit is that as long as you can pedal it and have fun, you're not too old.

The 26" bikes are definitely more comfy for just riding around casually, getting exercise and such. I've been doing tricks on mine until I get the bmx back together. I put some bmx bars on it the other night and I'm pretty sure they helped my bunny hops get a little higher. At least once or twice. LOL. Which isn't saying much but I'm learning.

Thanks for sharing and good luck with your riding. What tricks can you do so far?


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And too young to die? Hope so.

Okay, I'm slow.

I appreciate that the 26ers are more comfortable for riding (as I came from mountain biking) but they seem much more cumbersome for parks/dirt riding and pump tracks. With the explosion of mountain biking popularity in my area, I have several locations to choose from now that I never had previously. I'm mostly interested in the 26" BMX cruisers so I can consolidate the bikes I own as I'm a little limited on space for this sort of thing. Going to be hard to part with my other bikes as they each served their purposes and I (re)built them from the ground up on my own.

Regarding the height of your hops, maybe try adjusting the angle of the bars? Also remember that hops are as much upper body as they are lower body. You gotta lift the rear of the bike as well to make it happen.

As far as tricks I can do at the moment, not a whole lot. I can bunny hop about 1-2ft if I really mash hard but it's usually about a foot average, way lower than on my mountain bike and I don't completely understand why. I can manual a bike length or two but I'm terrified of doing that now that I looped out and nearly broke my tailbone. Couldn't ride for a week and a half. Going to get some padded shorts and try that again. I can drop in on shorter quarters (6-4ft), while not a trick it's a confidence thing. Can do some fast plants and fast plant 180s with some regularity. I can fakie as long as the bike is rolling. And I can also do silly stuff like ride standing on the seat or top tube and 'track stand' for a decent amount of time.

Current plan is to get higher bunnyhops, land longer manuals, learn to roll out of a fakie, pick up a flat 180, and maybe toss some pegs on the bike and pick up a grind or two. I have little desire to do any high flying super dangerous stuff. I just want to hit the local skate/bike parks and generally ride street when I'm not hanging out with my son.

Yeah, I'm still learning the technique on bunny hops I'm getting there. I'm getting higher lately. Not sure how much. Need someone to take a video.

I wonder if your MTB is lighter? If you have like a high quality build it might be..... Or just the bigger frame gives you more leverage? I don't know. But it's impressive that you can bunny hop on your MTB.

I wracked my knee one night trying to manual and wheelie, so I hear ya. I plan to get some knee pads before I do that too much. I can't do it on my cruiser so.....

I'm trying to fakie but I don't have a good spot to hit something in my driveway. And the park close to my house doesn't have the traditional concrete curb stoppers in the parking lot..... I need to go somewhere else.

But yeah, my only tricks I really wanto to learn are bunny hops and manuals. And then go from there. I want to do barspins. But like you I don't really plan on doing anything extreme. I think just learning those will take long enough to keep me interested. LOL.

I pickup quality bmx bikes once in a while. I never get anyone under 40 coming out for them. I'm in my 60's and way too beat up to ride a 20, but someone has to test ride them. My neighbors get a kick out of it.

It's quite possible the mountain bike is lighter. It's a Salsa Juan Solo and I used to race on it so I had it about as light as I could possibly get it. It's gotten beefier/heavier parts on it over time as I quit racing and took more to just general XC riding. It may also help that it has clipless pedals so maybe I get more pull when I jump. Though, I did put flats on it once just for kicks and was able to bunny hop pretty dang high still. I think other than weight, I'm working against two things: my legs aren't as strong as they once were due to becoming sedentary and the frame geometry is *completely* different.

Regarding pads, I've got shin guards (already stippled with pedal bites) and knee pads as well as gloves and a skid lid. The shin/knee pads are Shadow Conspiracy Invisalites and they fit under my clothes so that's an additional layer of protection and comfort. I like them quite a lot but I had to stitch the gloves up after a few rides, they're pretty poorly made. The pads help my confidence greatly and now I'm too chicken to try a manual or a tail tap again so I'm going to have to get the butt pad going before too long.

For fakies, what I've done when I can't get to the park is to close my garage door and ride directly into it at a moderate speed, press into it, and pop backwards. That was usually enough momentum to get me moving backwards though it did make a hell of a racket on my wooden garage door. Left some tire scuffs, too, but they'll wipe off.

I don't think it'll take me terribly long to learn the tricks I want to learn but riding around town like an idiot on my mountain bike was a common thing for me a decade ago when I couldn't get to the trails. This little bike gives me *much* more flexibility with that type of riding, plus I can do it with some style! :D

I do fear the day when I'll be too old to take the slams or do the tricks so I think that's why I'm going for it now. Might as well utilize my body while I have it. A cruiser will do me some good in a few decades when I don't have much ride left in me.

I think some people might feel self-conscious riding a small framed bike, but BMX is a great arm of cycling with a different image than most others. Get a 24" or 26" bike and be as careful (or as reckless) as your old bones allow.

I successfully did a 180 degree barspin tonight and didn't fall. I felt like a kid. LOL. I was like " I freaking did it" aloud. Of course no one was there to see or hear. It was not a hard trick to do, but it's still feels good to pull it off.

My paint is done... Just need to wait a little while to let some hardness set in and then reassemble. I'm cleaning up the parts that need cleaning. I'm still unsure as to which bars I'm going to put on. None of the ones I have are exactly what I want, but maybe by the time I'm ready to put it together I'll have scored a decent set.

New tires on.....


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Two nights ago I successfully did a 180 barspin and rode away. Then last night I did it 4 times. And got one on video. It's hard to see but if you watch the light you can tell.....

https://imgur.com/B1yAofa

not there yet haha

Not sure what you mean. I guess I didn't rotate them completely 180 if that's what you mean. I did better last night and can do it both ways now. I just have to change my foot position when going from backwards to forwards again because of the curve of the forks and tire hitting my foot.

I'm guessing they mean not too old.

Ah, yeah, that would be good that I'm not.. LOL. Who knows how much time I have left to do it though. This slow stuff isn't too hard on the body though....

I haven't really been posting about BMX over here. There's not much going on. But glad you are riding!!!!!


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I'm turning 49 next March; been riding park since 2007 with a few injury fuelled hiatus in between. Started track bike riding 4 yrs back, thinking it may divert me away from the 20" bike & the injuries, but no... they always find ways to lure you back. Started flatland last March just to see if I will finally decide that I'm too old for park, and that doesn't work neither.

What kind of bike are your riding for freestyle? Got any pics?

Its a mix n match of what I can afford from around here, ordered a few from state side when our currency was better, I m in Malaysia. Now running 2008 Colony frame, plus some Odsy, Shadow n Proper parts, an average setup. Changed to 2.1 tyres recently, the skinnies are not too grippy

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fa358621e1.jpg

Lookin good! That's a nasty dent on your bottom tube. Wowz.

I'm still shopping for a proper bmx bike. Hopefully in the next month I'll have one.... My piece of junk works with little tricks for now... My tires are 2.125 also. Just some cheap Bells I bought from Kmart when it was going out of business. Were your previous tires fatter than 2.1? I think tread has something to do with how sticky they feel too....

I'm surprised there are so many older guys.

Dent was act of vandalism! I guess they were trying to remove the lock and take the bike. I nvr tried anything bigger than 2.1, my frame will only allow 2.2 I think. Modern tire compound are so unbelivable, they work awesome despite the slick look. Be careful with the cheapies, don't ever consider their frame fork or crankset! If they give way while you're on 'em, might be some painful experience.

Haha we are everywhere, but a bit shy and illusive tho! I remember in the late 90's n early 2000, when bmx-forum was alive, nice to get in touch with bmx dads from across the globe..

Werd. We've got a few years left of doing some activity. Might as well make the most of them!!!!!!!!!!!! I wish I would've gotten into BMX earlier in life. Although even though it's not as popular now as maybe in the past, I think the bikes are better now.