Advice on buying a BMX for my 5 year old son.

[John U]

Hi BMXers,
Have not dipped a toe in the BMX water for about 25 years after spending every waking minute from 1980 - 1986 on my Cross - Rider. A lot has changed.

My young fella is quite competent on his little 12 inch? giant but it's getting too small for him and a can see him having a few stacks because of this.

Went and checked out the racing at Park Orchards yesterday and keen to give him a go in the scene.

I want to get him a half decent replacement for his little Giant which is built like a brick shit house. It weighs about 10kgs. I don't care if he doesn't spend too much time racing it.

Been checking out the Redline range. Some awesome looking bikes in there. Nice and light too. The Redline Proline Pitboss looks really good, with 16" wheels, and fatter tyres than some of the other options (Redline Micro Mini, 18" wheels, 1.0 tyres).

I am thinking 16" should be fine, 18" might be OK but also might be a stretch.

Couple of questions, as I'm finding it hard to find good info in this area (happy to pointed to right thread/forum/whatever if it exists)

Is the Pitboss a good bike for a junior? Is it purpose specific, ie only good for racing, no good for a ride down to the shops/general purpose?

Would the Pitboss be any good on a track like the Park Orchards track which is covered in Gravel?

Is the Micro Mini designed for tarmac tracks with its skinny tyres? Are these bikes any good on gravel?

I checked out the BMX Mad site and they don't appear to have much in the way of Redlines for youngsters. Are there any good shops for these bikes in Eastern Melbourne?

Are there any other bikes I should be considering?

At this point I am expecting to pay anywhere upto about $550. Is this too much to be spending?

Thanks for your help.
John

 

[Frayed]

I bought this one for my daughter for christmas, she is going from a 12" to 16". I felt it was much better value then any others except for perhaps the academy and WTP offerings and it looks so damn nice.
http://www.backbonebmx.com.au/shop/product.php?productid=18753&cat=315&page=1

 

[jan1]

Hi,
Racing is a bug that you can't get out of your system, great for kids, 5 year old are sprockets and check out for info on BMXA and BMXQ website. BMX Ultra is a great forum to check out as well. Work out what you want street or race and go from there, any BMX can be raced on but the race ones are like riding a dirt jumper in a XC race. They all work but some are better than others. A 5 year old would be looking at a 18"micro or a 20" mini, size is most important and don't fall into the trap of they will grow into it. Both bike sizes sell well 2nd hand for good prices if well looked after as they are a good entry bike. Pit bikes are a great fun bike that can be used for everything and you always see big grin. Thin tyres - light weight - good tracks - fast. All the major brands have bikes in this range Redline, GT, ABD and others check out your local track and your LBS to see what is popular.
This is my 6 year old girls bike.

 

[darryl]

Started my son on a redline pit boss when he was 4 and then progressed to 18 inch micro within 6 months because the pit boss, whilst a great all purpose bike is not competitive on the track due to smaller wheel size and gearing. He rode the pit boss up until we sold it 2 weeks back, he is about to turn 8. If you can see if you can modify a 20 inch mini to suit, shorten the cranks, smaller bars etc., otherwise an18 inch micro is definitely the go. Redline in my opinion make the better spec'd bikes.

 

[CN001]

I have been looking for something similar for my 5yo daughter (at around that price level too). She has a 16" which is getting a bit small for her. I don't expect she will be racing but it seems the only other option to a bmx is a kids mountain bike which weighs more than my 29er.

I would recommend going into a shop (or at the track) to try them on for sizing. My daughter is 5yr 9mths and is too big for a redline proline micro mini but is just a bit too small for the redline proline mini. i found that the DK Mini is a smaller bike than the proline (1" shorter top tube) and fit her perfectly.

I like the look of the prolines, but a couple of shops have told me that some of the other brands (DK, SE Bikes) are better value, mainly due to them coming with sealed bearings (prolines are unsealed).

 

[darryl]

I have been looking for something similar for my 5yo daughter (at around that price level too). She has a 16" which is getting a bit small for her. I don't expect she will be racing but it seems the only other option to a bmx is a kids mountain bike which weighs more than my 29er.

I would recommend going into a shop (or at the track) to try them on for sizing. My daughter is 5yr 9mths and is too big for a redline proline micro mini but is just a bit too small for the redline proline mini. i found that the DK Mini is a smaller bike than the proline (1" shorter top tube) and fit her perfectly.

I like the look of the prolines, but a couple of shops have told me that some of the other brands (DK, SE Bikes) are better value, mainly due to them coming with sealed bearings (prolines are unsealed).

I have never considered the prolines. Was lucky enough to get great deals from my LBS on the flight models. They are the ducks wahoo and super freakin light.

 

[scblack]

Sorry to hijack BUT:

My 7 year old daughter is growing out of her 16inch bmx, which I fixed up myself from the side of the road.

Where would I find a used decent 20inch BMX for her size? Not looking to spend much, but don't want a Kmart bike.

Websites? BMX Club?

Please let me know.

 

[CN001]

There's some for sale every now and then on www.bmxultra.com.

 

[John U]

Thanks for the feedback so far. Keep it coming.

It's been that bit harder shopping for it because Santa is going to deliver it. I think I just need to go down to a local race meet to see if I can get him on a bike down there.

I am loving the idea of him possibly having a bike around 6kgs. It almost makes me cry seeing him pushing a 10kg 12" Giant up the hill. It has no trouble taking my weight and could probably carry a bloke weighing twice as much as me. Totally over the top stregthwise.

How do the skinny tyres on race bikes go on the gravel tracks as opposed to the fatter tyres on the Pitboss?
I am concerned about him wiping out on the gravel on those skinny tyres but reading a thread I found on mtbr the opinion there was the width of the tyre didn't matter so much for a smaller rider proportionally. Not sure if I'm sold on this train of thought.

 

[redbruce]

Thanks for the feedback so far. Keep it coming.

It's been that bit harder shopping for it because Santa is going to deliver it. I think I just need to go down to a local race meet to see if I can get him on a bike down there.

I am loving the idea of him possibly having a bike around 6kgs. It almost makes me cry seeing him pushing a 10kg 12" Giant up the hill. It has no trouble taking my weight and could probably carry a bloke weighing twice as much as me. Totally over the top stregthwise.

How do the skinny tyres on race bikes go on the gravel tracks as opposed to the fatter tyres on the Pitboss?
I am concerned about him wiping out on the gravel on those skinny tyres but reading a thread I found on mtbr the opinion there was the width of the tyre didn't matter so much for a smaller rider proportionally. Not sure if I'm sold on this train of thought.

Check out the BMXV website for upcoming open meetings. There is usually a "market" area where people sell off there unwanted stuff.

Second hand race bikes are a good idea as they are generally much better looked after than other bikes (pride goes with competitive spirit).

Best event to pick something up is the states in November as a lot of bikes are moved on to make way for the new ones next year as kids grow out of a size or the upgrade bug bites.

Having said that micros and minis are scarce. When you are at Park Orchards just ask to try some on for size, plenty of help available (how good is that club - I'm biased), just mention you are looking for a bike. The club demographic is heavily skewed to the younger riders so much more likely to pick up something.

http://www.bmxv.com.au/html/2012_events.html

BMX tracks are surfaced with granitic sand (rather than gravel like a bike path) and are groomed to remove sand build up during racing. Not really analogous to gravel paths.

As a general rule skinny tyres are looser on loose gravel than a wider tyre. Having said that my son can put on a mean pace with his road bike on the local paths, but then he has many years racing BMX and MTB under his belt.
Any of us (experienced or other) can have the unintended wipe out on a loose surface, the experience just goes into the memory bank and comes out as skill down the road (path?). Dont worry, his ability to cope (and indeed ) prosper will outpace yours.