so it turns out i live reasonably close to a large indoor BMX park. im thinking this could be a good winter option and will likely add some playfulness to my mountain biking not to mention build up new skills.
im also thinking that at 45 is this a good idea and will i actually see much benefit on the mtb?

so..has anyone given it a go, was it worth it and did it work out? more to the point are you still doing it?

Been a bmx’er for over 25 years now (im 42) i don’t get to ride as much as i like to anymore but when i do its always fun

Bmx is great for learning balance and bike handling skills, ramps and bmx tracks will help develop cornering skills, learning to lean the bike over etc… also you will come off the bike a lot on a bmx when trying tricks so you learn how to bail out without hurting yourself

If your 45 and never ridden one properly before the first thing you will notice is how small the bike is, some people cant get over this and give up, stick with it and you will come accustomed to the size, it does feel weird changing from a mtb to a bmx even now for me but after a few mins it feels natural

Whats the name of your local indoor park? try and see if they do an over 18’s session (some times called silver surfer sessions) you will find they will be less busy and have no kids zooming everywhere without looking to see if someone else is trying to have their turn

Most important thing is just have fun

Here’s a pic of me from a few years ago

[url=https://flic.kr/p/2hti5Kr]31247_10150200587200161_558340160_12388475_1079397_n[/url] by escrs1, on Flickr

BMXing will help your mountain bike skills. BMXes are very direct and a bmx track berm will help you figure out how your weight moves around when you ride one fast. Also you will learn to pump etc in a very direct way. This helps on a mtb too. just get one with a long enough top tube and enjoy it. go for second hand as there are loads of bargains out there. bmxes do not hold their value at all.

on a bmx everything is amplified. I am much more confident committing to fast corners on a mtb now as a result of good technique on a bmx. ( moving hips and hands/ learning bike over onto the outer edges of the tyre etc.)

i am not skillful enough to ride parks so i am not sure if they will help you at all.

check to see if there are any local decent bmx tracks near you too.

riding a bmx is good for your upper body and shoulders and is great for getting strength for sprinting on an mtb.

Yes, do it.

Really helps skills and is a great laugh.

All the above but one word of warning. It bloody hurts. From pedal – shin strikes, falling on concrete and even landing bunny hops on rigid bikes with rock hard tyres takes its toll on wrists and ankles. It is a lot of fun though.

Great
My ‘local’ park is Source BMX in Hastings there looks to be a good pump track not too far away as well. This could well be another nail in the dirt bike coffin

im also thinking that at 45 is this a good idea and will i actually see much benefit on the mtb?

In my experience no it won’t if you spend more time recovering from injuries from the BMX rather than riding it. At 45 those injuries just don’t go away as quickly.

Source in Hastings is Bas Keeps local I think.  Just saying.

Source is good but definitely has some top level features. I utterly mullered myself last year (at 35) doing the exact same thing, I came up short on a box, went OTB and landed on my head. Had a knackered wrist for a while and temporary memory loss after the accident.

I do enjoy the bike though, as said its much more direct, I put a back brake on mine as I’m not stupid and have too many hills around. Tyres make a big difference, I went from 2.1s to 2.4s and the handling became terrible, you don’t need a lot of volume (and weight) if you aren’t landing huge drops. Saddle is another pain, fashion seems to be around pivotal posts (saddle screws straight on) slammed right down with no post length to raise it up. It might as well not be there. But for £90 off gumtree I can’t complain and I could easily sell it on for that again.

@kayak23 Chaz Worther as well I think.

This could well be another nail in the dirt bike coffin

I still BMX and see lots of DJ bikes in the skatepark, you could use this at the skatepark, also look out for BMX race tracks and pump tracks.

Probably should have qualified the dirt bike statement a little, I meant dirt bike as in motorbike

Do it. Just set your expectations and risk : reward balance appropriately and have fun. There’s plenty of stuff you can do that is fun and relatively low risk.

A while back I was considering getting myself a BMX, but I was watching lots of street trials videos on Youtube and went with a street trials bike. A large part swaying my decision was the brakes on the trials bike.

On pump tracks for beginners there’s probably not much in it between BMX and street trials bikes. Both are fun, but the trials bike has brakes. In the summer I went up to the Velosolutions pump track in Gillingham. There were a few BMXers there and we swapped bikes for a short while. I didn’t stay long on the brakeless BMXes.

I guess if you’re more into gaining skills to remain in control then look at trials (and/or street trials), but if you a bit more fearless go BMX. Much of what Trumpton says applies to both.

BMX much cheaper though!

Sirromj, what was the gillingham track like, worth a visit?

My brothers 45 and ridden BMX all his life. He had a few years off due to injuries but has got back into it as my nephew is 7 now and discovered bmx.
One development that has helped him get back into it is 22″ wheels. If you are tall like we are bigger wheels and some tall bars can really help overcome the ‘tiny bike’ feeling of a 20″bmx

You can have 2,1 or no brakes on a BMX so it shouldn’t be the deciding factor really. Brakeless is fashionable and it encourages maintaining momentum in some situations but it’s not compulsory

so Source BMX Park, Revolution Park, and two pump tracks Swingfield and Gillingham, none of which are more than an hour away. DJ bike will probably be the easier option but cracking the BMX will probably provide the overall maximum benefit. i can feel a new bike coming on.

Personally I’d say don’t do it, at 45 and never ridden one you’re heading for some serious injuries.
I used to ride them but stopped at around 45 as I was just not getting and better and realised I was going to do myself a serious injury at some point.

Spend the £200 or £300 on some upgrade on your MTB and enjoy that.

FYI – There is a film on Amazon Prime on creation of Source park. Bit long at 1.5 hours but interesting if you are into that sort of thing.

Best Trick Jam at the recent Battke of Hastings comp at the Source Park.

https://digbmx.com/videos/best-trick-battle-of-hastings-2019-dig-raw

Whatever you do, don’t try to copy Morgan’s ridiculous alley-oop transfer.

The Gillingham pump track is over a larger area than the Swingfield one. It’s been a while since I’ve been to either, wish they were a bit closer otherwise I’d go more regularly as they’re great fun. Revolution skate park is on my door step but I only went once in the past year when I was still getting used to being on such a different bike. I tend to forget that option exists. Revolution has BMX/older people sessions some evenings, and when I went during they day, term time, had the whole place to myself.

What’s there to lose, I got a BMX a couple of years ago as I’m quite close to Adrenaline Alley. I don’t use it a lot but it’s a good laugh now and then and was only about £120 second hand.

I never do anything crazy but pumping round bowls is good practice for learning to pump round berms and foam pits are good fun to understand how difficult “simple” tricks can be without hurting yourself.

I think the risk of injury depends entirely on how far you push yourself beyond your capabilities, it needn’t be any more risky than mtbing.

Apologies for the shameless plug but here’s my cruiser, which is for sale:

https://m.pinkbike.com/buysell/2493555/

I’ve ridden/raced BMX on & off all my life – I’m 49 in December. The last time I got back on one I had difficulty with 20” so tried a cruiser. The difference was night & day – I felt much more at home after years of MTB.

The dialled I’ve linked above is definitely not for tricks and what have you, and is a very quick race bike. It seems to gather speed from nothing – it’ll teach you plenty about cornering and jumping but I wouldn’t try any stunts.

dc1988 reckon youre right.
thanks everyone for your input. now ordered a Wethepeople Revolver.

Did you look for second hand stuff? There’s some canny bargains around if you’re patient and less of a risk if you find it’s not for you. Also less stress if someone has pre scratched the bike

managed to get 45% off a new bike no need to look second hand!

Very nice bike and a good deal for £599 new. You are clearly not messing about with a £600 BMX to test the waters, like the approach.
Shouldn’t lose too much money when you sell if after you have broken wrist/collarbone/ribs 🙂

Nice positive vibes there Kerley.
Enjoy the bike mate

yep no point messing about and im sure like a MTB you get what you pay for. used to have a 15″ Orange Blood years ago, size wise im expecting it to feel similar so you never know the jumps and pump tracks might come easy even if the other tricks dont.

Hi Sailor74, a fellow Orange blood owner here (I bought your old FOX DHX coil off you for mine) I been riding BMX as well as got a skatepark and BMX track near work and they are great fun really good learnign curve, been to source a few times and the foam pit is a must great fun! IF you wanna go down sometime DM me.

hey goby sounds good and yea i spotted the foam pit and its a must!
i have a velosolutions pump track and a 3rd skate park near work, on top of all the other stuff i have stumbled across…who knew there were all these places to go!