I raced BMX in the 80’s but something tells me that the bikes may have moved on a little since then. What do I need to know? What tyres? What’s the best sub £200 starter bike for racing?

The girl in question is 11yo and 4’8″ BTW.

sounds like you need to go to the club with her!! Someone will have a second hand/outgrown bike there probably.

I guess at that age bikes not too important more having fun

Fantastic, you rode so you have a head start, just pop along and have a look, get your bearings again before you buy.

Bmx racers are some of the friendliest people I have met, they will give you great advice. Most clubs have bikes to hire.

Which club?

bmxtalk is a good forum with stuff for sale and plenty of info.

BMX bike sizing chart by http://www.sussex-mtb.com, on Flickr

Here you go, this is on the wall at Gosport BMX club, bike size / top tube length against height, should tell you all you need to know. Don’t get one that is too long or it will be difficult to handle

Is this Tamworth BMX? I didn’t realise it was open yet. Must pop down and have a look.

She could probably get away with 20″ wheels rather than an 18″ as she is only going to get taller, just make sure you get one with a short TT. There are loads of BMXs at that price as long as your not a brand snob. As fas as what to look for have a look at what material they are made from, you want full cro-mo or even alu, you are likely to find Hi-tensile steel. Have a look for the size, as you can imagine they dont go up in ST like MTBs they go on TT length with 20″ long being probably the most common.

She will only need a rear brake and for pure track riding she wont need nobbly tyres as they will slow her down.

At perry barr full face helmets, trousers and knee pads (or shorts with knee and shin pads) are mandatory. Dont know what other clubs are like.

Is this Tamworth BMX?

That’s the one. Great little track and my nipper is always up there. When she was there yesterday it was club day and was given the forms to join and my old man signed her up while I was at work. They were impressed by her so all them years of being dragged around Cannock chase with me are paying off.

Why would she even consider 18″ wheels I_Ache? These sized wheels are only seen on “Micro Mini’s” and are for childern of around 3-5yrs old. She needs a 20″ wheeled bike but needs to decided if her wheel thickness will be 1 1/8 or 3/8 or maybe even 1.5″.
She needs to go for aluminium not Chromoly, its not the 80’s. There are very few manufacturers making steel frames and some of those are a mix of metals, not just steel. Aluminium is lighter which is very important in BMX racing. Then comes the top tube length which again is very important. If the bike is too big/long the riders techique will suffer. The picture posted above from the container at Gosport BMX club is a very good guide to bike sizing.

On all tracks covered arms/legs/hands and a full face helment are mandatory.

HTH?

Matt (National BMX racer and BMX coach)

This looks a cracking deal – if only you could find somewhere with stock and ‘expert size’ would be perfect for her now. I’ve owned a couple of entry level Intense cruiser BMX bikes and the spec is great for the price. Plenty of deals around on Redline MX series entry level race bikes at the mo’ too.

Not much to add to the thread, other than it’s nice to hear stories about the ‘next generation’ getting into cycling at a young age 🙂

I was amazed by the number of kids at our local club!

How is the top tube usually measured, centre of the seat post to centre of the head tube? I bought a Haro from a car boot a couple of years back but never rode it much. It just seems crazy small, but I’m not sure what size it is. But I am 6’2 so maybe I should buy a bigger frame…

dave c – yes, centre of seat tube, to centre of head tube.

All I know is I tried to bunny hop my mates burner about a year ago and I still hurt