Father Christmas has been sent a letter with “BMX bike” near the top of it.

Father Christmas has had a brief look on the web and thinks the Decathlon Wipe bikes look eminently suitable for a tallish 8 year old who’s not going to be super rad with it but will probably want it to last a while, and he likes the prices.

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/C-376963-bmx-bikes

Do the STW elves have any advice for Father Christmas before he parts with his cash?

There was a 13 year old kid, quite small for his age, on one of these at the trails the other day and he was absolutely shredding:

https://www.sourcebmx.com/Mobile/en/Fit-Eighteen-18-BMX-Bike-2018/m-m-34278.aspx?PartnerID=1237&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIv82GhOfZ1wIVTrvtCh33_AktEAQYASABEgJHZfD_BwE&utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=UnitedKingdom

Sorry for long link. Posting from phone.

Pricey but very decent

The decathlon bike might be OK if it really must be done on a tight budget, but it’s more or less a BSO. I remember having a cheap BMX as a kid. The handlebars never stayed put, it creaked, geometry was a bit wrong, it was heavy. It all got much more fun once I got a proper bike.

The one caspian suggests above is probably a much better ride. It’s over 3KG lighter(!), has 3 piece cranks with sealed bearings, a proper 4130 frame (not cheap hi-ten), comes from a proper BMX company etc.

You might find a good Black Friday deal at a specialist BMX store like https://www.winstanleysbmx.com, https://www.sourcebmx.com, http://www.alansbmx.com, https://www.customriders.com etc. They’ll be able to give you better advice than Decathlon can too I expect.

Hmm. Father Christmas can’t stretch to anything like £400, but I’ll get him to take a look at those links…

Cheers

Hi Bez

I am in the same boat as you, do not want to spend loads just want something he can play about on, not sure why the hate for mafiabikes but the mafia madmain looks good for the money 179 pounds in the black out sale.
Love to be able to find a really good one for this sort of money but they all look battered. 😆

kink kicker and wtp curse both 18″ for my 10&11 yr olds, really well made and have lasted them years..

I got a yoof BMX from sourcebmx. About £160 at th time. Really impressed with it. It was for my 7yr old

Second hand is a good bet if you know what you’re looking at.

I have a WTP Volta – tip top chromo BMX – not abused
Yours for £100 if you can pick up in West Mids

Hi private message sent any chance of some pictures and info please.

A WTP Volta will be huge for a kid (I sold mine as it was too long for me as an adult 😆 ).

He needs an 18″ wheel bike

Mafia sell sub standard bikes in pretty colours.

Thread resurrection!

Missed all the posts since my previous one above (sorry) but in the meantime I think I’ve Father Christmas has narrowed it down to:

– Verde Vectra
– Blank Tyro
– Haro Leucadia (18.5″ TT version)

They all appear to have slight pros and cons but there’s around £50 or so variation in price. I have a leaning towards one of them, but any specific thoughts on those?

I think a small 20″-wheel is the way forward even though an 18 would seem the better “pro” choice: he already rides a friend’s 20″ comfortably enough, and to be honest it’s only going to see casual use, not proper BMXing: just needs to be something that’s better for dicking around on than his 24″ Hoy.

I’d go for the Verde. Sealed bearings front and rear, 14mm rear axle, mid BB + 3pc cranks FTW

That was my leaning for basically the same reasons… It happens to be the most expensive, of course. Bah 🙂

He must be massive if you are thinking a 20″ for a 8 year old.

Well, over a year ago he was riding my wife’s 26” MTB”. But like I say, he’s not going to be doing tricks on it, it’s more of a keeping up with everyone else kind of thing.