IGX

There is no bad option. It’s all a question of familiarity and goals. Do you want to race BMX? Do you want to race 4X/DS on mountain bikes? Do you simply want to learn a new form of riding? Do you want to have fun in the shorter term or develop your skills in the longer term? How much can you spend?

A DJ hardtail like a P.bike will be the easiest transition for you. It will ride like your other mountain bikes, just smaller and stiffer. You will learn a lot, and this will make you better on your other, bigger bikes. Also, this type of bike is extremely versatile; I ride my P.3 all the time for errands, hill training, light trails, pump, jump, BMX, etc.

A 20” will feel very strange. The cockpit will be shorter than you’re used to, and the bars will be much lower. The quickness and stiffness will offend you at first, but this is the ultimate way to build real skills. Even pro cruiser racers train exclusively on 20s. As current ABA Pro Cruiser champ Danny Caluag told me, “You get all your skills on the 20. A cruiser is so stable and easy to ride, you can always hop on the cruiser and go.”

BMX cruiser style. Folding into a Western Denver pump track. This bike is trickier to ride, but when it’s on, IT’S ON!

A 24” cruiser is a nice compromise. The cockpit will be the same as a comparable 20, but the bigger wheels make it feel a bit more like a mountain bike. But it will feel different, and it will show you how slow and lazy you’ve become over the years. When you learn to ride this beast, you will be ready to kill your MTBs, and you can step down to a 20 with less stress.

After I broke some ribs a couple months ago, I spend six weeks riding my Intense Factory Alloy 24 exclusively. I rode it for errands, I rode it up and down the mountains in my neighborhood, I rode pump track. Once I got the hang of it, it absolutely ripped. And when I got back on my Enduro and P.3, I was a different (better) rider. Specifically, my movements became quicker and more precise. Now that I have this experience, I really want a 20.

Here’s what you should do:

Buy yourself a 24 BMX cruiser. You can get a new ridable one for $400 or a raceable one for $700 (about half the price of a quality DJ hardtail). Commit to riding it for a while. If you decide you like it, great. If it still feels sketchy, get yourself a P.bike or similar. You can’t go wrong.

I’m working on a BMX technique book, and I am learning a ton. Stay tuned.
—Lee

Blaidd Drwg wrote:The nomenclature is all fucked up so I can't tell what's what anymore. I know if you're going to race, a lot of adults race are in the cruiser class. If you are using as a weekend/huck bike, you might do better with a 26" hardtail set up trials style. I'm not tall by any stretch but the 24" feels cramped to me.

Here's a write up that kinda splains it.

http://www.leelikesbikes.com/

There is no bad option. It’s all a question of familiarity and goals. Do you want to race BMX? Do you want to race 4X/DS on mountain bikes? Do you simply want to learn a new form of riding? Do you want to have fun in the shorter term or develop your skills in the longer term? How much can you spend?

A DJ hardtail like a P.bike will be the easiest transition for you. It will ride like your other mountain bikes, just smaller and stiffer. You will learn a lot, and this will make you better on your other, bigger bikes. Also, this type of bike is extremely versatile; I ride my P.3 all the time for errands, hill training, light trails, pump, jump, BMX, etc.

A 20” will feel very strange. The cockpit will be shorter than you’re used to, and the bars will be much lower. The quickness and stiffness will offend you at first, but this is the ultimate way to build real skills. Even pro cruiser racers train exclusively on 20s. As current ABA Pro Cruiser champ Danny Caluag told me, “You get all your skills on the 20. A cruiser is so stable and easy to ride, you can always hop on the cruiser and go.”

BMX cruiser style. Folding into a Western Denver pump track. This bike is trickier to ride, but when it’s on, IT’S ON!

A 24” cruiser is a nice compromise. The cockpit will be the same as a comparable 20, but the bigger wheels make it feel a bit more like a mountain bike. But it will feel different, and it will show you how slow and lazy you’ve become over the years. When you learn to ride this beast, you will be ready to kill your MTBs, and you can step down to a 20 with less stress.

After I broke some ribs a couple months ago, I spend six weeks riding my Intense Factory Alloy 24 exclusively. I rode it for errands, I rode it up and down the mountains in my neighborhood, I rode pump track. Once I got the hang of it, it absolutely ripped. And when I got back on my Enduro and P.3, I was a different (better) rider. Specifically, my movements became quicker and more precise. Now that I have this experience, I really want a 20.

Here’s what you should do:

Buy yourself a 24 BMX cruiser. You can get a new ridable one for $400 or a raceable one for $700 (about half the price of a quality DJ hardtail). Commit to riding it for a while. If you decide you like it, great. If it still feels sketchy, get yourself a P.bike or similar. You can’t go wrong.

I’m working on a BMX technique book, and I am learning a ton. Stay tuned.
—Lee

Bram wrote:Mickey, I used to ride a 24" GT in college and loved it. I took it mountain biking (the lack of a front suspension was annoying on rutted ground), commuted on it and did small airs at a couple local spots. It flew, the most fun I've ever had on a bike.

I bought another one about a year ago -- don't know the brand, but looks the same. I hit a growth spurt in college after I had that bike stolen and at 6'3" the bike is just too small for me now (I was 5'11" pre-growth).

Both I got used for 150$ each in pristine condition. Craigslist for the second one, a guy on a bike team sold me the first.

Alfred_E._Neuman wrote:You should be able to find a used bmx bike on the cheap, but beware that those bikes get abused like a $2 whore.

Another cool beater is the Transition Klunker. Super old school MTB.
http://www.transitionbikes.com/2013/Bikes_Klunker.cfm
Watch the video on the bottom of the page. It's funny as shit.

Croatoa wrote:Point taken.

Ed Zachary wrote:I've still got the urge to do a little cyclocross.

Blaidd Drwg wrote:The nomenclature is all fucked up so I can't tell what's what anymore. I know if you're going to race, a lot of adults race are in the cruiser class. If you are using as a weekend/huck bike, you might do better with a 26" hardtail set up trials style. I'm not tall by any stretch but the 24" feels cramped to me.

Here's a write up that kinda splains it.

http://www.leelikesbikes.com/

There is no bad option. It’s all a question of familiarity and goals. Do you want to race BMX? Do you want to race 4X/DS on mountain bikes? Do you simply want to learn a new form of riding? Do you want to have fun in the shorter term or develop your skills in the longer term? How much can you spend?

A DJ hardtail like a P.bike will be the easiest transition for you. It will ride like your other mountain bikes, just smaller and stiffer. You will learn a lot, and this will make you better on your other, bigger bikes. Also, this type of bike is extremely versatile; I ride my P.3 all the time for errands, hill training, light trails, pump, jump, BMX, etc.

A 20” will feel very strange. The cockpit will be shorter than you’re used to, and the bars will be much lower. The quickness and stiffness will offend you at first, but this is the ultimate way to build real skills. Even pro cruiser racers train exclusively on 20s. As current ABA Pro Cruiser champ Danny Caluag told me, “You get all your skills on the 20. A cruiser is so stable and easy to ride, you can always hop on the cruiser and go.”

BMX cruiser style. Folding into a Western Denver pump track. This bike is trickier to ride, but when it’s on, IT’S ON!

A 24” cruiser is a nice compromise. The cockpit will be the same as a comparable 20, but the bigger wheels make it feel a bit more like a mountain bike. But it will feel different, and it will show you how slow and lazy you’ve become over the years. When you learn to ride this beast, you will be ready to kill your MTBs, and you can step down to a 20 with less stress.

After I broke some ribs a couple months ago, I spend six weeks riding my Intense Factory Alloy 24 exclusively. I rode it for errands, I rode it up and down the mountains in my neighborhood, I rode pump track. Once I got the hang of it, it absolutely ripped. And when I got back on my Enduro and P.3, I was a different (better) rider. Specifically, my movements became quicker and more precise. Now that I have this experience, I really want a 20.

Here’s what you should do:

Buy yourself a 24 BMX cruiser. You can get a new ridable one for $400 or a raceable one for $700 (about half the price of a quality DJ hardtail). Commit to riding it for a while. If you decide you like it, great. If it still feels sketchy, get yourself a P.bike or similar. You can’t go wrong.

I’m working on a BMX technique book, and I am learning a ton. Stay tuned.
—Lee

Blaidd Drwg wrote:I kid..Sort of. Riding a 23c roadbike tire offroad can be awesome but it's trixy. Many newer hybrid bikes are quite decent but look to ones that allow an aggressive MTB type position and fit, have disc brakes and accomodate a tire at least up to 40cm ( ..more like 45cm). This will open up a lot of options if you want to hit some modest trails.

Honestly, if I were in teh market for a bike, I'd look hard at the long distance hybrids.



Discs open up the ability to use drop bars offroad, which is actually quite nice. With skill, you could adapt yourself to serious single track and still put in a century on the road without issue.