BMX for family rides!?!?

[Emmaroid]

I am soon to get a bike for road and light off road cycling. I was hoping to have some family outings thus meaning getting my 9 year old daughter and my 12 year old son a bike. My stubborn (almost teenage) son is stating he will only go out on a bmx! Am I right in thinking this is totally ridiculous? He is saying it is just like riding a single bike but as a newb I haven't a clue

If nothing else please give me ammunition by way of fact for me to throw at him as to why it isn't an option! Or prove me wrong!

 

[wisdom]

With a bmx they pedal like billyo and go fairly fast,but only for short distances they'll soon tire though.I speak from experience,my teenage son who is quite fit being a keen sportsman soon gave up when we went for a ride.

 

[sabian92]

They weigh a tonne as well. At least my ex's did when I had to push it 5 miles uphill when she couldn't be bothered to ride it home then wanted it. Those bloody stunt pegs made a mess of my shins as well

He's probably just being a "Kevin". He's getting to the teens, he'll only get worse

 

[I like Skol]

He's sort of right. It has to be a bike he wants and want's to ride. It is just like riding a single speed. The only snag is getting the gearing right (this can be altered by changing the freewheel). I guess most bmxs will have quite high gearing for sprint starts and nimble manoeuvring but what you want for longer distances is taller gears that will reduce the egg-whisk effect. 'All' you need to do is find the right compromise gear that will allow longer rides and still not be too hard for messing about on and setting off from a standstill/riding up hills.

There are two ways to do this, one is to fit a smaller freewheel/less teeth or fit a bigger/more teeth chainring on the crank/pedals.

Hope this helps

 

[mickle]

Like a moped on a motorway a bike ride is not the right environment for a BMX. And it's the seat height not the gearing thts the problem.

A 24" BMX, a 'cruiser', can cope if set up right. They're rare and exclusive but they are out there. I had one years ago and loved it for bombing around on. Look up 'Big BMX' too a 26" mountain bike scaled BMX styled one speed.

 

[I like Skol]

Like a moped on a motorway a bike ride is not the right environment for a BMX. And it's the seat height not the gearing thts the problem.

Yes and no. Kids can be very adaptable (and stubborn!) so might well put up with the huge compromise of riding the bmx just to be seen on the 'right' bike. Also, reading between the lines of the OP I get the impression Emmaroid is new to cycling so I guess were not talking about killer 20+ mile rides here?

 

[Emmaroid]

Haha defo not Skol! I'm talking smallish rides but i'm kinda hoping if all goes well we will all be upgrading! I just dont want to put the money in now if the kids dont like it... Thank you for the replies, they have been really useful! :-)

 

[MrJamie]

Is it going to be one of those tiny ones with the seat way too low for actually riding? I remember having a kids BMX bike (late 80s), but im sure the frame was properly sized and the seat was properly raised, where as the popular BMX bikes at the moment seem to be the tiny ones designed for vert ramps/skate parks.

My nephew (9) had a dramatic improvement to his cycling when he switched from a standard single speed kids bike to a 15 gear mountain bike even over flat routes. He was consistently a few mph faster, didn't struggle with short sharp hills (think underpasses/bridges) and went from 5 miles to easily doing 15+, but most of all it made him want to go out on his bike because it wasn't such hard work and it was a much less frustrating speed for me - I used to run alongside him instead.

Probably depends how far/fast you intend on going as to whether he can comfortably keep up on a 'less than optimal' bike. He'll probably be more put off if he can't keep up with his sister

 

[summerdays]

Quite a lot of the teenagers around here seemed to have swapped their BMX's for flashy fixed bikes....

 

[Emmaroid]

Thank you for all of the advice. after explaining everything to him h has decided if he can't have the bike exactly how he wants it (a 'small crank' he said) he doesn't want one. Happy days

Looks lik i is me and my daughter out for rides in summer...!

 

[Sandra6]

My youngest two daughters both have bmx bikes - one is a bmx-style, the other a "proper" bmx and in the summer we did quite a few 10 mile round trips -they are 7 and 10. They don't know about gears and these are the only bikes they've ever done "proper" cycling on so they don't know any different.
I know a few bmx riders who do 20 mile trips on theirs without problems, though it amazes me anyone can go more than a few yards on one!
If my son wanted a bmx I'd buy him one, I'd rather he had a bike he liked than no bike at all.
And if he changes his mind you can sell it and buy a "proper" bike later.

 

[Crackle]

Get him a jump bike

It looks cool and can still be used for proper riding. My son has that one, uses it for scratting about on, mtn biking and even touring.

 

[Boris Bajic]

The OP is a noble aspiration, but the real world will intervene at the most inconvenient times.

I will mention and then drop immediately that a BMX will become hugely frustrating on a 'family ride' both for the rider and for the others who have to keep slowing and stopping. Now to the meat of the post:

All my children (13, 17 and 19) are keen cyclists and have been since they were first able to turn a pedal. I ride with them all, but in all those years have ridden only twice with all of them (for pub lunches) and only four or five times with two of them together.

A 12yo boy may not want to ride with mum and a 9yo sister. I do not recall any of mine (who all get on well) ever feeling the need or desire to ride with a parent and a sibling. When they did it, it was for some other reason not connected with the ride.

It may not be helpful to say this, but mine seem to like riding with me because they've been doing it since they were tiny and it has become a 'normal' thing to do across years and years. But even the (just) 13yo does most of his riding alone. 9 may not be late to start with your daughter, but in terms of 'family rides', 12 might be a little late to start with your son. Apologies if this seems blunt or is wildly inaccurate.

My feeling is that if he likes the idea of a non-BMX bike, he'll find a way of letting you know. Is he so much smaller than you? Would he be able to ride your new bike?

I wish you well with this. As a family, we've had excellent times on bicycles.... It's just that it was almost always in groups no larger than two.

 

[Hicky]

We're in a position that our eldest son(9) has a MTB at our house and a old type(not jump) BMX at his nannas(it was a hand me down and cost nowt), on either bike he copes on distances of 5+ miles rides and has done for over a few years on the BMX, on the MTB he's commuted from Rochdale to Manchester via the canal(10+miles) and home last summer.

If your son is fit / stubborn enough he'll cope I'm sure.

Also if he's allowed out on the bike in his own time, it has to be something he will make use of......unless it is a jump bike with the saddle about a foot off the ground

 

[Kins]

Jump/Stunt bikes come in a variety of types and styles. My step brother had one that had 6 gear cassette on the back and single front. Looks like a cross between a mountain bike and a BMX and the saddle post is "normalish" height.

Best bet is take him to a bike shop and let him have a look round, if its decent you might get a sales person to have a chat about the different bikes with him.