BMX Weight Weenie

[xnavalav8r]

Oh man! Restoration! My mother gave away my all-original 1979 Mongoose Supergoose and my mid-80s Redline PL-20. Both were in superb condition but had been hanging in her basement for 20+ years. I didn't realize she still had them until after she gave them away. So sad! I suspect the kids who got them are leaving them out in the rain tonight...

[Dalai]

Damn xnavalav8r, sorry to hear! Mine would need a full ground up rebuild; I rode my bike literally into the ground!

[CSquare43]

Here's a great BMX forum.

http://www.vintagebmx.com/community/index.php?act=idx

If you rode bmx as a kid, then you'll love the forum and be absolutely amazed at the prices that some of the older items can bring, ie Hutch Aerospeed cranks going for $2k+ anytime they drop on ebay.....

[madcow]

Ted that FMF is one of the most common carbon frames, though not full carbon. They weren't very expensive when they made them so you can usually find one for a good deal. They aren't any lighter than an al bike but they look better and they aren't really heavier unless you compare them to something like a ti reaper and then still only 1/2 pound. Personally I'd continue to look for a Morpheus as I think it's more unique.

[xnavalav8r]

I bought the FMF. It's pretty cool...! It's a 20-inch pro-xxl frame with a ti fork. I also picked up an older Schwinn 24" cruiser. That one will need a little upgrading but I couldn't pass it up for the price. Now I just need to finish up 3 more weeks of physical therapy and get the doctor's OK to ride before I lose all my fitness. I haven't been on a bike in nearly a month. UGH!

[xnavalav8r]

Reviving an old thread...

My son has been tearing up the BMX circuit since April. He's currently ranked first in the district and loves riding and racing. He has even made the transition to SPD pedals and shoes. Can you believe 5 and 6 year old novices are racing in clip-ins? I couldn't believe it until I saw it. Anyway, he is just about to outgrow his micro-mini... he may have already. Since he likes the sport so much, and is obviously good at it, I'm willing to buy him a high end mini that will last him a couple seasons. Ideally I'll just buy him a frame as all the other parts can swap over. But I'm a weight weenie and want to build something lighter than the 12 pounds most minis weigh. 12 pounds!? My 56cm road bike weighs less. I looked around online for a gucci, custom, one-off mini frame. I actually found a couple by Independent Fabrications, Serotta, Kirklee... but they were true one-offs, cost several thousand dollars, and won't be reproduced. So, does anyone know of a lightweight BMX mini frame in production somewhere. The lightest I have found is 2lbs 4oz for an aluminum frame. I've already got crazy wheels planned... 20" carbon tubular rims (for racing recumbents) with ti spokes on carbon/aluminum hubs. Other parts on the current bike are already just about as light as I can find... carbon bars, fork, seat post, seat. There are no lightweight cranksets in his size. He should be on a mini until he is about 100 pounds so I expect to get 2 or 3 seasons out of this bike... then I can pass it on to his little brother.

Suggestions?

[Estelja]

xnavalav8r,

For cranks check out the Sinz experts:

http://www.danscomp.com/products.php?brand=SINZ

You can get them in either square taper or ISIS, around 450 grams and only $50.

I put a set of 135mm on my son's DK Expert and the chainline was perfect with an old XTR 107mm square taper BB that I had lying around.

I think most of these BMX manufacturers could use a good dose of weight weenieism for their race product. There is plenty of stout product to choose from on the freestyle side of the sport. Imagine a Scott Scale frame sized down to 20" wheels! That could go below 1 lb.

[sakic]

Hi, i have been going to the bmx track with my kids, my son is getting quite good at it also and he is 5, been asked to bring him to kids development at the dunc gray velodrome. Too young for me to take him yet.

He is already riding a gt power series mini. Ibrowsed looking for some nice parts, but just got the bike at a good price and I know he will bin it too much for expensive parts, my daughter who is older now loves bmx too and I have to get her a bike, they keep fighting over the one bike. Fun to watch though, better than fighting over nintendo or something..

Anyway, i was speaking with a pretty famous track racer here in aus who pretty much quit racing and now does bmx again, for fun, he mentioned the mbk have a full carbon bmx frame out and it is meant to be awsome. I have not searched the web for it yet. But am looking for a new bike for the girl, who has skinny long legs, has trouble getting on the gear the race bike has now, a bike for me ( i am still riding an ex worldcup raced pro bike from 1998).

Its great to ride again, jumping the smaller things is nice and smooth, i did try to show the kids a 360 bunny hop and landed on my tailbone hard, neck even hurt the next day, 38 years old and touch the bmx twice a year.

So i am too keen for info. Mind you the next years redline top of the range bikes look good, answer carbon forks etc and such a good price.

[Bradley]

This still something you're interested in,i m sure i'll be able to help you when chosing components etc .

[xnavalav8r]

I'm in the process of building my son's newest BMX bike. He outgrew his micro mini.

[BmanX]

I just found this thread and will be following it very closely as my son has just moved up from a 12" wheeled bike to a 14" wheeled bike. We keep the 12" at my house and the 14" at his mom's house. I have been looking at a 16" bike and of course one for me as well. He is already jumping of curbs and understand the concept of doing a wheelie to pop up the front wheel and land on both wheels.

I will follow this thread to see what you guys come up with and maybe just maybe I can purchase some of the used stuff for my son. Being as he is only 4 years old, it might be nice.

I love it BMX weight weenies.

I so miss my Diamond Back Formula One with CW bars and the UNI seat.

[xnavalav8r]

Most 5-6 year olds are racing on bikes that weigh about 15 pounds. 12 is considered light. I got my son's FMF micro mini down to 11. But that was still 25% of his weight. Considering my road bike is less than 7% of my body weight, that makes his bike-to-rider weight ratio terrible. I'm hoping to get below the 10 pound range for him and still have a bike durable enough to make it through the season.

edited

[sakic]

Well, I recently scored a raced once, 22 inch tt staats cruiser, ciari headset and a raw finish cromo fork, I think a sinz fork? It is the staats importers personal bike. I have stripped my powerlite of its 60mm stem and "powerlite" stamped profile cromo cranks.

Got some newer tioga pwerblock tyres, as my old wheels still had black side wall comp 3s. Wheels are 2000 era dx hubs, sapim spokes and velocity aeroheat rims, might spend 6 or so months on them, case a few hundred times and then buils something abit more nice.

S&M race bars (used to always have slams, then butlers for a while), might use a campag seatclamp and centuar alu post, can get some dxr v's and lever for next to nix so will go that route

Any opinion on rhythym hubs? Might go for some hazard lite rims or the envy and those hubs, if not dxr.

Our current natinal champ in both elite and the juniors champ is running ultegra pedals and Road shoes. Tyring to get them, as well as another aussie bmxer and current 4x wc to try some speedplay zeros, maybe the teack version. Only thing maybe the cleats might suffer walking etc in the dust. The secure hold might be good though, esp with the float locked down as I know they are riding with red shimano cleats.

Any racets in the usa using road pedals &. Shoes? Even the coaches here are putting them on that set up.

[sakic]

Sorry for the typos, going gun on the ipad.

[xnavalav8r]

I have seen a few guys using bebop pedals or crank brothers.

I tried crank brothers for my son, but the spring tension was too much for him. The adjustability of shimano pedals was better. I personally use crank brothers candy sl on my bmx bikes.