[Closed] BMX for a beginner

Look for something with a long TT - something like 21inch, which is what I (6ft bloke) ride. There are some good ones out there.

Cruisers aren't the best - 20inch all the way.

Thanks Bushwacked, I'm also 6ft.

also consider a 24 inch wheel dmr sidekick or similar, thats what i ride, but when i had a bmx had a federal extension which was a nice long frame, but much prefer a small jump bike with rigid forks, i picked mine up from ebay for £200 fully built.

I made a similar post on here recently, and got half a dozen decent bmx's offered to me. Bought one for £150 that, although not the lightest, is certainly bombproof. Love riding it, but depending on your use, a cruiser may suit you, certainly if you ever want to sit and pedal.
Also look at a DMR Reptoid or Saracen's new fully rigid 24 jump bike, for great parts at bmx prices.

20" all te way.

I just bought one last weekend trying to get back into it, but its really not going very well - never ached so much from all the falls I've had on it! Think its probably a bit too small for you at a 20.5" top tube but if you're interested give me an email 🙂

I went the 20" route - my first BMX at age 44 1/2. Starting to get the hang of it now after a week of riding - even managed to clear some small doubles this morning.
My new Mongoose Legion.
[img] [/img]

a week????

jedi - Member

a week????

Well 8 days of BMX experience to be exact. I did try my mates Mongoose Supergoose back in 1981 for a couple of hundred meters. I do have nearly 30 years of road + track racing experience plus 25 years of MTB riding. BMX still aint easy though - but it's a heck of a lot of fun on the new track here in Hereford.

skateparks are more fun. i been on bmx 2yrs after a 25yr break too

skateparks are more fun. i been on bmx 2yrs after a 25yr break too

Parks are awesome! However I got caught out big style when I returned after 17 years. Back in my day the parks were rad! but a lot more sedate compared to modern stuff. The new stuff is mega! I looked at a quarter with a wall and thought 'nae bother'. Man, my mates were peeing themselves laughing at how high I managed to go - at the top I suddenly realised there was no way I was going to be able to turn and make the landing so came straight back down, landed on my hip and burnt my jeans.

hahahah!it was pretty funny...

skateparks are more fun.

Yeah, I'm reserving proper judgement on my bmx til I get it on a proper set of ramps. The local mini ramp is metal which is really horrible to ride on - slippy and painful to land on! It's fun to flow and pump around though so long as you keep a straight line! Perhaps we should arrange a STW skatepark meet some time if there's enough interest.

Don't even know if the one I used to ride at back home is still going, it was in a bit of a state when I stopped bmxing a few years ago so god knows!

me and a mate had a disaster at the old 'reviving our bmx past' attempt..

we borrowed his stepkids bikes and headed to a nice purpose built concrete bowl a few miles down the motorway.. how pleasant it must have been to see two middleaged men sitting quaking with fear at the thought of dropping into the shallow part of the bowl.. (about 8 foot)... as 9 year olds sailed through the air above their heads..

we eventually conquered our demons and did the scary deed only to be crushingly defeated by gravity/poor skills/lack of bottle/lack of mobility/poor muscle structure once inside the smoothly curved arena of maximum doom..

It was quite busy that day and us two wobbling around like hippos on rollerskates was quite amusing for the regulars and they didn't complain about us being in the way and were extremely helpful and encouraging.. BUT I think the lesson to be learned is start small and work up as your skills improve.. don't expect it all to come flooding back after 20 years!!

It was quite busy that day and us two wobbling around like hippos on rollerskates was quite amusing for the regulars and they didn't complain about us being in the way and were extremely helpful and encouraging.. BUT I think the lesson to be learned is start small and work up as your skills improve.. don't expect it all to come flooding back after 20 years!!

The kids tend to be a lot more patient than you think + are always willing to give good advice. It's great when i tell em how old I am + good to break the stereotype image of anyone over 40 being more interested in gardening + having an afternoon nap (although I don't tell them I still do both of those things on the odd occassion!).

BMX is a great form of riding 🙂

Right all sounding good, can anyone point me in the direction of a bargain?, secondhand or new...

we should deffo have a stw bmx meet 🙂
just for s+g's

Any suggestions for a decent skatepark? Preferably in/near the Midlands, outdoors and with a decent variety of ramps and ledges/stuff to grind 🙂

redditch? or corby indoor?

Both look good to me, Redditch looks like a load of fun. Corby closer but I don't seem to like indoor parks as much for some reason.

I can't do this til I get my car sorted though, won't start at the minute :\

corby has massive variety from tiny ramps/bowls to massive vert 🙂