Who is the go to entry level 18.5”-20” bike these days. The boy’s birthday is coming up and he wants a BMX bike. He currently has a jank 18” no name BMX bike. It’s time to build some ramps and get him real bike.
We are very limited locally and so far the only shop that has anything carries GTs. I am thinking an Air or Performer.

I rode Mongoose when I was a kid but they appear to be a big box store brand now. GT was around when I was a kid and they were legit then.

Haro, Redline, and the Specialized Fat Boy were all
Big names too.

Just doing some Googly searches Fit, Stolen, Subroso, Jet all seem to be popping up but never heard of any of them.

I think there is a Source bike store about an hour away that seems to have a bunch of BMX stuff but doubt I’ll get a chance to get out there.

GTs still good to go? Just keep it local and simple?

Is he interested in racing or getting massive air and flying off of dirt jumps?

If you want to buy him the best and strongest bike find something with a 4130 Chromoly frame and make sure it’s made either in the USA or Taiwan. 4130 can handle a ton of abuse at the cost of being a bit heavier than an aluminum alloy framed bike.

Unless you think he would actually take up BMX racing at a track your best bet is to go 4130 Chromo. Yeah it’s heavy but he won’t break it unless he is doing mental stuff. I cracked a USA made Mongoose Expert 4130 but only after a spectacular high speed crash that sent the bike flying into a telephone pole and contact in a weird spot where it was not designed to be hit hard.

Sunday, Kink, S&M, Standard (especially the STA) are brands worth looking at though the Standard is probably more of high end and $$$$.

Also consider maybe scooping up a mid-school era bike (1990’s- early 2000’s) if you can find one locally. Amazing deals are out there and those bikes were stout and not made in China. Not sure about current GT but for sure GT from that era along with Haro, Powerlite, Specialized, Standard & S&M would give you a lot of bang for your buck.

I’m currently building up a few mid school bike frames with my kids. Forget eBay and look locally.

Also spend the money and get him a decent helmet if he starts doing gnarly stuff. I got lucky and only had one bad concussion but a few of my friends got nasty concussions back in our fearless days of riding dirt jumps and racing at Hampton supertrack. None of us wore helmets unless we were racing on that track and only because they forced us to. We were damn lucky.

Sunday, Kink, Fit, Subrosa…

I would stay away from Mongoose, GT, the bikes that were good back in the day. Most don’t exist, and I wouldn’t vouch for their quality.

They all have bikes from beginner to expert. Top tube length will make a huge difference in how well he will be able to ride. Getting the right size frame is most important.
Three piece cranks and sealed bearings are worth every cent.

I have had a Subrosa, and it was a great bike. I’d still have it if my wife didn’t convince me to trade it for a mountain bike I never rode.

I now have a Sunday Scout and it’s a pretty fantastic bike. Sunday is the child company of Odyssey. The frame is pretty light for chromoly. It’s built really well. Great welds, gussets where needed, cassette hubs, etc. I swapped out the handlebars for some new old stock Peregrine aluminum bars, put my Diety pedals on, and upgraded the seat post and seat to a usable length. I also upgraded the chain from standard to half links. Aside if that, it’s stock and more bike than I am rider.

I would stick with the bikes that Stickman and I listed. These guys are now, the brands we rode 30 years ago.

Oh, get used to the sad fact that a 2.25”-2.40” tire is standard. Finding a normal (1.75”) tire made by a decent company, is next to impossible.

We’re pretty limited so it will mainly be free style stuff and the 2 skate/bike parks here are smaller concrete style parks.
This is just an entry bike to get him on a bike with hand brakes only. I’ll build a few ramps and things to get started.

I was concerned that GT had come down a few rungs since I am seeing them here locally.

I have looked locally for some old bikes to rebuild but haven’t found anything.

My 93 Mongoose Villian might still be in my mom’s garage.

If he likes it and wants to do more than just ride I will certainly be upgrading him.

I’ll hit the local shops to see if anyone can order anything else. I’ll check out the GTs they have in stock to see how they are built since this is just the intro bike.

If you are interested in something unique with some old school flavor shoot me an email. My kids have outgrown the retro PK Ripper I built for my youngest who is now 6’ tall at 14 years old. Very lightly ridden in good to excellent condition.

This is a tribute bike with modern frame geometry and components, no expense was spared on the build.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: TXJIM,

quote:

Originally posted by TXJIM:
If you are interested in something unique with some old school flavor shoot me an email. My kids have outgrown the retro PK Ripper I built for my youngest who is now 6’ tall at 14 years old. Very lightly ridden in good to excellent condition.

This is a tribute bike with modern frame geometry and components, no expense was spared on the build.

TXJIM that PK RIPPER is RAD!

Always wanted a PK RIPPER as a boy, that build looks fantastic.

HK AG

quote:

Originally posted by TXJIM:
If you are interested in something unique with some old school flavor shoot me an email. My kids have outgrown the retro PK Ripper I built for my youngest who is now 6’ tall at 14 years old. Very lightly ridden in good to excellent condition.

This is a tribute bike with modern frame geometry and components, no expense was spared on the build.

Guessing out of the budget currently but you’ve got mail. That is sick.

As you may be aware, the bike market is insane right now…

I started looking for a project BMX bike last spring and found that the ‘old school’ bikes (mid-90s) were fetching quite a premium and the more recent stuff was beat to crap with like new pricing. Switched to hunting for a frame I’d like and intended to piece together the full bike. Frames would show up and instantly go out of stock. Couldn’t put together anything that resembled a parts kit from a single manufacture or two and no lead times were available. I was super frustrated!

Ended up having my LBS, fortunately it’s our team shop and they have a really good relationship with QBP, work something out. Essentially the owner told his sales rep he’d take the model I wanted as soon as it came in stock and to not even call, just ship it and charge. That was in April of ‘20, showed up mid-November.

Went with a WeThePeople Envy.

Stopped by the local shop and they carry GT and We The People.

As much as I want to snag the PK Ripper TXJIM built I need to be a bit practical.
The boy wants a BMX bike and wants to BMX that does not mean he is actually going to be doing it.
He rides a bike and will put tons of time on the bike but not sure it’s the practical thing to do at the moment.
So they have two similarly priced GT and We The People bikes in stock. The fella at the store rides a We The People but says GT is still as good as they ever have been keeping in mind the price range.

My price range keeps me in the Ten Steel frame sets but at this stage in the game I am not sure that is going to make a difference.
This may very well end up being a knock around the neighborhood bike.
As much as I want to go balls out for this bike spending the extra hundreds of dollars does not really serve a purpose. It’s not like the skateboard I built for the other boy a few months back where we are talking an extra $75 to really build it out.

So, I am leaning towards the GT as it is cheaper and the in stock bike color suits him much more.
I just don’t see him out riding this bike at the stage in the game.
If turns out in the end he is going to be in the remake of Rad then we’ll get him a better bike and this can be a knock around for the other kids when they get bigger.

I bought a Kink Launch for my daughter for her 13th birthday.

She rides it pretty hard on some of the ‘off road’ dirt trails and paths near the house and it has held up very well so far after four or five months.

It was ~$400 or so which seems to be the approximate price point between not cheap junk or crazy expensive.

As other’s have stated availability and choice may be an issue.

We picked it up at Wolverton’s Cycling & Fitness in Reading, PA (no affiliation) which was about 30 miles from our house. Some closer shops had very limited or no availability at the time. This place actually had decent stock on hand of a few different brands (compared to everyone else).

Good luck in your search!

Nice to see some cool bikes, I wanted a Haro or Redline soooo bad between 85-88.

I saved up and bought a Fuji mtn bike instead...good bike under $350 (in 88)

https://bmxmuseum.com/bikes/redline/11995

some cool bikes

quote:

Originally posted by dewhorse:
Nice to see some cool bikes, I wanted a Haro or Redline soooo bad between 85-88.

I saved up and bought a Fuji mtn bike instead...good bike under $350 (in 88)

https://bmxmuseum.com/bikes/redline/11995

some cool bikes

I bought the 24” Hutch sitting behind the PK in my photo above on the site you linked. I also sold my original PK Ripper frame from 1982 on that site. Guy from Australia paid a premium plus shipping and was thrilled to get it.

The boy chose the We The People in Electric Green.


We’ll grab it at the end of the month closer to his birthday.

TXJim knows what's up. Those are great.

I raced Hutch back then, myself, but always loved the PKRippers and Haros.