Getting Restarted
 

From middle school through high school I would only ride BMX bikes. They seemed like the go anywhere, take any trail, jump off anything type of bike. Plus it was a hell of a lot more stylish then riding a clunky old 80 pound mountain or your dad's old 10 speed bike to school.

I am going back to school (college) again in the fall and have been looking at getting a BMX bike. It will be my main mode of transportation aside from the bus (and very seldomly my car...I hate that thing). Mainly riding to campus, hitting some local parks and dirt trails, and abusing some curbs. I am 6'1" tall and just under 200lbs. I have been looking around for a bike that will not break the bank but I think I am running into issues with top tube length (???). I have tried a couple bikes out but they feel small. I am kind of on my own with this whole thing since most bike shops don't go out of their way to help you unless you are putting down $2,800 on a brand new road bike.

Any help would be appreciated.

Get a 21" toptube. Problem solved.

Yeah, a 21" TT would probably feel better, although you'll get used to almost any setup after a while.

The Eastern Jane is a really good complete for about $500, and it has a 21" TT.

I'm 6'0" 220lbs. & my bike has a 21.5" top tube.

So I went to the local Sport Chalet today. It suprised me that they had about four times the selection of BMX bikes than all the local bike shops. Nothing I would think of as super high end, but a decent selection in the $150-400 range.

What I found there that might work:
DK Six-Pack
Another DK bike in cruiser class (don't remember the name)
KHS Freeagent cruiser

The sales rep seemed like a nice enough guy, but started to come off as ignorant and disinterested in what I was there to look at...

"You're just too tall for a BMX bike," he said. "Plus, if you are going to use the bike to ride around town at all then you will want more than one gear for the hills." That's fine, but Lakewood/Long Beach, California doesn't have very many "real" hills.

I then asked him about cruiser class BMX bikes and he said that I was too big for those too.
"I guess we can order you a longer seat tube," was his reply. I thought this was odd since I have had the same inseam (just at 32") since I was a sophmore in high school (the time of my last BMX bike) and haven't grown an inch since then. I ended up riding the cruiser around a little anyway and it felt pretty good. Not as responsive as I remember my old BMX to be, but it was close enough for starting back into it. Besides, the local track has cruiser class races a few times a week anyway.

He was realy pushy about gettin me on a mountain bike or a hybrid. I don't think he realized that when I meant it would double as a commuter to campus that I am only going to be about three stoplights away. Not exactly pushing the limit of human endurance to get there (although there are some pretty sweet jumps along the way). He never bothered to ask about that though. Plus, I already have my long-distance bike covered (that I would never leave locked up at school). When I brought up taking the bike to some locally built trails for hitting jumps and bumps he wouuld push the mountain bike again...and a cheap/cheesey Diamondback at that.

The guy seemed real ignorant and pushy on all the wrong stuff so I ended up leaving without buying anything. If he had pushed other stuff like better cranks or pedals I most likely would have left with a bike and a few add-on purchases. I must have forgot to wash off the "sucker" sign on my forehead after leaving the strip joint last night.

haha good story. the moral is, ignore the shop guy and get a 21"tt bmx

maybe you can check out some articles like this one:

http://www.bikeguide.org/guides/geom...eometry101.php

I tried the DK Fury and the FreeAgent cruisers today. Seems to be the only thing around here. I am interested in trying out the General Lee but can hardly find a retailer that carries 24" bikes. For that matter it seems that every bike shop around only carries 19" and under frames. I am leaning real heavily toward the dk Fury...it seems to ride a lot better than the FreeAgent for some reason (probably the build). I guess you can't knock $180...I can replace parts with better onces as they wear out...and I get better.

I had one of those, the '04 one. It's not too bad, but don't get one if you think you'll want to do any tricks or serious riding other than racing with it.

dk six pack

What do you mean by serious riding, Madman? I wish there was a shop around me that carried more than just kids sizes so I could pick their brain for a while.

Riding at the local race tracks would be the main purpose. That was pretty much what my original BMX was used for. Oh yeah, and for getting around town/school.

I had figured on getting a bike with a decent frame and then replacing the parts as I went along. If it has that going for it then it should be good enough to get started. I don't know everything there is about which parts are good (actually very little). My attempt would be to upgrade as needed and see if I can really get back into the racing scene before going headfirst into it. If I can get a couple dozen races under my belt and still hunger for more I will start looking higher end. By then I would hope to know enough to build from the frame up picking and choosing what I like.

I meant actual street and park riding, and tricks. They're harder on a cruiser for the most part. It'll be great for racing though.

yeah if you just want to race and commute, go Cruiser. but if you want to dink around with Flatland, street, etc. go 20 inch. Although Cruisers can really bomb off dirt jumps and vert, IMO.

Good to hear the input. I will probably get the Fury tomorrow.