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I've moved in to the city for the summer, and I'm missing my mountain bike already. Thinking about getting a dirt jump bike to play on local BMX track and skate parks, as well as a few lines of dirt jumps I've seen relatively locally. Can anyone recommend what I should be looking for/avoiding?
Look for something with 26 inch wheels
Single Speed
1 rear brake
alu or steel,
Rigid front forks give a big bmx feel but a sub 100 travel fork will keep most of that feel and give a bit of forgiveness
bars are narrower than normal MTB bars (720ish) gives room for barspins
3 piece steel BMX cranks look great but add a chunk of weight that usually isn't needed
the NS bikes metropolis or Movement completes are good
or a custom build around their suburban or decade frames (steel vs alu)
Octane one are a sister company to NS so they have comparable bikes/frame
canyon DJ complete is also good value if your looking new
https://www.canyon.com/en-gb/mountain-bikes/dirt-jump-bikes/stitched/stitched-360/2366.html
they can also be a great way to use up old 26inch wheels or forks you have lying around. unless your going real big most trail stuff will be strong enough ( im running flows and sectors on mine)
also consider looking second hand a lot of these sorts of bikes end up in sheds not really being ridden (im guilty of this) so can make good value second hand if you pick well. but watch out for bikes that looks scruffy they generally have had a hard time
If you are after cheap then mongoose do a decent looking geared bike.do not forget to explore the area and make up some street riding routes. For this type of riding I like to use gears.just be careful about rough areas esp at night or in the darkness of winter
There are some bargains out there to be had! I picked up a Haro Steel Reserve 1.3 (£1300+ in 2015), ridden a handful of times, for £230 last year!
https://www.skatepro.uk/152-12272.htm
octane one zircus is a good frame, especially for a mountain biker. It is relatively long, and has a slightly lower bb than many jump bikes. I love mine, and ride it a lot at pump & bmx tracks.
I tried race bmxs and cruisers, and an older Evil D.O.C. with both 24 and 26" wheels, but I'm much more confident in the air and on the back wheel on the zircus. There are probably better bikes for tricks etc. but I don't do that stuff!
also, they're dirt cheap. Mine's build up with old superstar/flow wheels, and a 100mm rev with 20mm bolt through. I've got a front brake too...
There are no bargains to be had. Lockdown has everyone out on their bikes or wanting to be out. Anything cheap will be shagged or ancient (heavy), you might get really lucky but right now I doubt it.
If you have bits already then CRC still has a couple of Octane One Zircus frames available for 150 notes. Seem to be well regarded.
DMR are doing Sect full builds for about 8-900.
Just saw that Millets and Blacks are selling the Calibre Astronut as frame only. I've got a full build with an upgraded fork and they're really good for the money.