[kickstand]

Ok, junior has a 24" hardtail for XC. Old Kona Hula.
Has a 24" GromHit for DH.

He just sold his SE LiL wildman 16" wheeled "dj/park" kinda bike.

I'm looking to replace it.

He's also starting to outgrow his mini BMX bike.

So I am thinking a 20" bmx bike may be the ticket here, something he can take to Ray's, ride on the pumptrack and also ride at the BMX track. We don't race hardcore BMX, but he'd like to do more of it if we had the time.

 

[FlipSide]

If the main objective is to ride pump tracks and race tracks, go for a relatively light race BMX and not a heavy park/street bike. Race bikes are not really that expensive (compared to mountain bikes) and if there is a good BMX race scene in your area, used race bikes in good shape are generally possible to find.

Riding a track is always fun on any bike, but it really is the best with a light race bike.

 

[blindboxx2334]

i wish my dad was this proactive about me doing something cool like this when i was a kid.

 

[kickstand]

If the main objective is to ride pump tracks and race tracks, go for a relatively light race BMX and not a heavy park/street bike. Race bikes are not really that expensive (compared to mountain bikes) and if there is a good BMX race scene in your area, used race bikes in good shape are generally possible to find.

Riding a track is always fun on any bike, but it really is the best with a light race bike.

Should I just add riser bars to his mini in hopes of stretching it out for another year or two and then get him a more dedicated dirt jumper at that time? I think that may make the most sense

 

[kickstand]

i wish my dad was this proactive about me doing something cool like this when i was a kid.

He works hard at school and doing chores to feed his bike addiction , the least I could do is encourage a good hobby and reward him for good grades/hard work

 

[kidwoo]

i wish my dad was this proactive about me doing something cool like this when i was a kid.

Well yeah but.......he didn't love you.

 

[sbabuser]

Depending on how big he is, I'd say the 18" would be the next step up. https://www.danscomp.com/products/102556/2015_Cult_CC18_Bike.html
Too big = less confidence, and slower learning. 20lbs isn't too bad, and there are easy ways to lighten them up some - tires, tubes, bars.

 

[kickstand]

I thought about an 18", he's about 50" tall. I think I really need to find a bike shop somewhere within a 5 hour drive that actaully stocks some of this stuff so I can have him sit on a few.

 

[Jim Mac]

I personally think it will be tough to get a 'do it all bike' like that...maybe look at the lesser costing DK Bikes race lineup - Sprinter 20"?
http://www.dkbicycles.com/race.html

 

[FlipSide]

Should I just add riser bars to his mini in hopes of stretching it out for another year or two and then get him a more dedicated dirt jumper at that time? I think that may make the most sense

Take a look at the typical sizing charts to see if it is reasonable or not:
https://www.jrbicycles.com/sizingcharts/frames.html

Based on his height, you should be able to determine if it is possible to stretch his mini a little bit and purchase an Expert later (jumping over the Junior size)... If you say he is starting to outgrow his mini, he may already be at the shorter end of the Expert size.

 

[kickstand]

Take a look at the typical sizing charts to see if it is reasonable or not:
https://www.jrbicycles.com/sizingcharts/frames.html

Based on his height, you should be able to determine if it is possible to stretch his mini a little bit and purchase an Expert later (jumping over the Junior size)... If you say he is starting to outgrow his mini, he may already be at the shorter end of the Expert size.

This is the info I needed!

I am BMX dumb, so trying to figure out bmx sizing has been tricky, I didn't know there were juniors and expert sized bikes.

 

[FlipSide]

There is a ridiculous number of race BMX sizes if you look at high end frames: Micro, Mini, Jr, Expert, ExpertXL, Pro, Pro+, ProXL, Pro XXL, Pro XXXL... For example, the jump in TTL between Pro and Pro+, or Pro+ and ProXL is only 0.25".

If your kid is into pumptrack riding a lot, I'd suggest looking into a 20" race BMX for yourself as well. It is a great dad-kid activity... and pumptrack skills really pays off when you get back on you mtb. BMX was a real eye-opener for me this summer.

 

[kickstand]

We have a pumptrack in progress in the backyard. The kids also have raced BMX very casually for the last 5 years. (they both turned 9 this year).

I have a DJ and a 20", though I primarily ride the DJ when I pumptrack with the kids, it's also what I ride at the bmx track.

 

[sbabuser]

I was lucky and found a shop that was blowing out Intense mini frames for ~$40. My 7yr old is just under 47", and fits it pretty well still. Likely we'll be going to bigger bars on that next year, and I just flipped the stem and moved a spacer in order to raise the bars on her cc16. It came with taller/ wider bars, which she might be ready for next year. This video is from before I made the changes. Funny thing is, she decided she wanted her bars taller after riding my bmx a few laps at the pump track.