son wants BMX jumper, recommend

[plowtechie]

I'm very familiar with road/mt bikes but know nothing about a BMX bike. My
son want a BMX bike especially for jumping. How do I size a BMX frame. He is
5'8.5" @ 148 lbs and growing, he'll turn 15 in two weeks. What should I look
for, what avoid. Be checkin out deals on eBay but don't have a clue where to
start. Is there a web site for BMX beginers?

Thanks yous guys,

plow-Alaska

[spademan o---[) *]

"plowtechie" <pl...@ak.net> wrote in message
news:103lo1o...@corp.supernews.com...

Theres some useful beginner information in the alt.bmx FAQ, I don't know the
address but Gene posts it every week so it'll be about 3 posts down... do a
search for FAQ.

BMX frames don't really change much in size, only the TT length changes
really and this only from a fairly short 20.25 to a fairly long 21". If your
son is already 5'8" then he'll have no trouble with a longer frame,
something like a 20.5" or 20.75 but I somethimes wonder how much difference
does .25" really make???

Try and find out what kind of riding your son wants to do, just as in
MTB'ing there are several slightly different 'disciplines' in BMX, broadly
catergorised as racing, trails, park/street and flatland. You can usually
get a bike that will be adequate at all of these but it might help to narrow
the possibilities down. I wouldn't try racing on a flatland bike though...

Try and avoid buying from a supermarket type shop e.g. walmart etc as bikes
sold there are often inferior quality as well as shoddily assembled (last
week my missus had to stop me from trying to change the forks to face the
right way on a bike in Tescos...). Depending on your budget you want to aim
for at least a full 4130 cro-moly frame, 3 piece cranks are nice but can
sometimes mean the rest of the bike is compromised better to go for a decent
frame etc and upgrade cranks when they were out.

Oh and don't forget to pick up one for yourself too.

Cheers,
Steve.

[plowtechie]

Thanks loads!

"spademan o---[) *" <steve.e...@its.lancscc.gov.uk> wrote in message
news:403b3a79$1...@news.yourcomms.net...

[spademan o---[) *]

"plowtechie" <pl...@ak.net> wrote in message

news:103p3h3...@corp.supernews.com...
> Thanks loads!
>
No problem, and if you need any more help just ask, not exactly busy in here
anymore.

Steve.