What exactly is a BMX bike?

Question

I read on Wikipedia that they have standard 20" tires, but that's all it said about it. My 9 year old son has a bike and has been trying to turn the one he has into a bmx bike. He removed all the breaks so that the front steeringwheel now freespins. Is that normal. He now has no breaks. (Doesn't really matter because we live way out in the country where it's flat). Anyway, do bmx bikes have rear breaks? I'm thinking of buying him one for his upcoming birthday, but don't know anything about them. Which is a good brand to buy that's not too expensive ( $100 or less)?
Any answers will be much appreciated!

Answer 1

just to put bike prices in perspective check out

http://www.danscomp.com/

for a 9 year old that is less than 5 5 i would have to sujest the 16inch general, or the hoffman rhythm 16

http://www.danscomp.com/101106.php?cat=BIKES

http://www.danscomp.com/101319.php?cat=BIKES

for a 9 year old, those would be fanominal bikes to start off on. but if your just looking for something to sample the waters

Ebay, if you get this within the next 3 hours i would have 100$ on hand because that is an awsome deal.

http://cgi.ebay.com/haro-16-inch-back-trail-x16-bmx-bicycle_W0QQitemZ130132775877QQihZ003QQcategoryZ64644QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com/2006-GT-Pro-16-Freestyle-BMX-bike-New_W0QQitemZ170130515643QQihZ007QQcategoryZ98082QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

just look for something in 16" top tube that is along those lines and you cant posobly go wrong.

http://cgi.ebay.com/BMX-Bike-Mosh-DJ2-400_W0QQitemZ190130609206QQihZ009QQcategoryZ98082QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

another awsome deal!!! hell i may even place a bid on this one ; )

http://cgi.ebay.com/GREY-16-BMX-BIKE_W0QQitemZ140136974297QQihZ004QQcategoryZ98082QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


so a bmx bike usualy has a few charicteristics. strait tubes, bars that are even or a little pulled tords the rider from parallel with the forks, 20" wheels, and a top tube range from 16 to 21 inches for freestylers. if your kid turns his handal bars and his front wheel doesnt turn acordingly that means hes in danger... he lossened his stem "that conects his forks, and handal bars while keeping the front end together. unless its a star nut stem that means hes just going to pull up some day and the bars are going to come off.

brakes on the other hand arnt such a big deal. if the kids just learning how to work on a bike its normal to ditch the brakes front and back. just means your going to be paying for shoes a little bit more often. ive been riding brakless pegless for 8 years now and havent once come into a situation that "it would have saved my life" to have brakes and in the end i can count up more times where my brake lever got cought up in my clothing and made me crash. eather way brakes are a preferance that he will develop if he sticks with ride.

if you would like to show him a few things of intrest search google videos for BMX.

bikeguide.org spend 10 mins surfing that sit and you will know more about the curent sport than you would probobly ever want to know.

i think ive thown as much as i can into your question. i hope things work out for you!

Answer 2

A bit difficult for me to answer really helpfully from here in Africa, since prices aren't really comparable, but I'd say for the equivalent of $100 you should be able to get a very basic model BMX. Brakes ("brakes", by the way, not "breaks") are important front and rear. Don't let your child take them off. No matter how flat it is and how isolated it is, there will be times when he has to stop suddenly, and brakes will be essential. The name BMX comes from bicycle moto-cross, which basically means they can be ridden on rough terrain. They're kind of like the kids' equivalent of mountain bikes for adults (though BMXs came before mountain bikes). The simplest, though, is just to go to a bike shop and look around. Don't buy the first time you go there. Ask questions. Any decent bike shop (avoid buying from a general store like a supermarket) will advise you if you tell them what you're looking for. Hope this helps.

Answer 3

Try your local craigslist (craigslist.org) if you have one, and check the bike sections for BMX bikes. You can find some pretty good deals. Bike shops that sell used bikes can also be a good place to look. Also find out what kind of BMX bike your son wants - if he wants to ride around in dirt piles, don't get him one with pegs (they'll get in the way and trip him up). If he wants to do tricks, find one with the pegs. They all definitely have brakes too - at least a rear one. Front brakes are mostly just for tricks, so not all BMX bikes have them.

Answer 4

I would get him a DK General Lee 12" for 149.99, or a 16" frame for 219.99. All "good" BMX bikes are pricy, unless you get some ghetto bike from Wal-Mart (which don't do!) Wal-Mart bikes may have a gyro, and have 4 pegs, but they're horrible for BMX. I personally have a old DK General Lee 20" bike and it's the nicest bike out of all of my friends. But, every part on it is aftermarket except the frame, lol.

Answer 5

i think you should plan to spend about 200-250 for a decent bmx bike, it will be more durable, bmx bikes take alot of abuse so you need something strong, professional bmx riders, ride with no brakes, rear only brakes, or front and rear brakes, it justs depends what the rider feels comfortable with.
rear only brakes is a good starter bike. It depends what kind of style your kid is going to ride if hes going to do dirtjumps and ride in the dirt, he wont need pegs which are things that are attached to the axle in order to grind on ledges, thats called more street riding, if hes going to ride in the dirt look for one with dirt tires. as of right now ive spent about 1200 dollars on my bike, but ive been doing it for a while and my bike has the latest parts. i doubt you can buy a bmx bike for less than 100, dollars, plan to spend about 200 that way it can last for a while. you should go to a bike shop and ask one of the people working there if you need more information there more knowledgable about it than people who work at wal mart or target where they sell bmx bikes, because all they do is bikes.

Answer 6

BMX stands for bicycle moto cross, which was popular years ago before mountain bikes became all the rage. Yes real BMX bikes are expensive, costing $500.00 to $1000.00 on average. (at least the BMX bikes we sold )

http://www.gtbicycles.com/bmx/index.php?country=usa

GT makes a good bike. Above is their web site.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMX

Here is "wikipedia's" def. of BMX

P.S. Don't let the prices scare you. A lot of our bikes were built from scratch.

Answer 7

Big Male X-dresser bike man... everyone knows that. If he "has no breaks" then he can't breakdance either...

Answer 8

bicycle moto cross