Modern bmx bikes SUCK nowadays! Seatpost too short... NO GYRO... NO FRONT BRAKE! At least they aren't making heavy overbuilt frames like in the midschool years! Heavy HAROs suck!

I just bought the best 09 modern bike with front and rear brakes - the 09 Eastern Metalhead! A steal at sale at Danscomp for $325! I changed the pegs to Tree Sticks, seat to a UNI Seat / Seatpost combo, and put a bike computer on it and my total weight is 27.6 lbs! Total cost $488.72 It's now my main ride, my lightest freestyle flatland bike, and probably my best bmx bike too!

So don't you guys think modern bmx bike trends suck? They're just trying to go for ultralightweight bikes by not having brakes ... but man I need F & R brakes... They should go back to making lightweight frames like the Eastern Grim Reaper!

No. I don't
My Sunday Funday! is one of the most AWESOME bikes I've ridden.
I don't know how much it weighs & I don't care. I'm glad it isn't carved up with gimmick holes like the Grim Reaper.
My seat is as high as I want it - about one fist high & I can raise or lower it if I want. Sometimes I have no brakes & sometimes I have just rear. But I do have fork w/ mounts incase I want fronts. Forks with mounts aren't exactly hard to find...

As far as trends go - who cares how other riders have their bikes set up. Set yours up how you want
-Bill

I need the seat up high so I can pedal FAST while sitting down. With seatposts so short nowadays your legs are too cramped to pedal fast sitting so you gotta stand to pedal fast.

No front brake = no oldschool front brake tricks...

No gyro - hurts the tailwhip, boomerang, + other spinning tricks...

So MODERN BMX BIKES SUCK!

I like the 25T chainring 9T driver cassette technology though...

There is no shortage of choices out there when it comes to bikes right now... I have found no less than 8 different frames I would consider based on the frame geometry. Sure, there are some trends out there that come and go, but finding a good ride has never easier.

Oh yeah.. Uni Seat and post on a freestyle bike? Are you looking to get reconstructive surgury in the near future?

Brian

I'm using the bigger Uni Seat with a 12" long carbon fiber post; not the "kid's small" Uni Seat that'll bust your ass!

I think that's true but it is getting hard to find a frame with a reasonable rearend length.

With that said, this:


I run a pretty racer style setup but I've got a fist of seatpost which is actually a little lower than I used to run it. Front knobbie, back brake, two pegs when I run them.

Who the heck sits down to pedal? If i'm gonna sit down for a casual ride, I'll take my SS MTB.
If I wanna hammer down & pedal fast on my BMX bike, I'll stand up.
Like a man.
-Bill

I mostly do road biking to travel, for errands, and for workouts to lose weight; and ALL road bikers mostly pedal sitting down.

On my fastest bmx bike, my Hutch Trickstar with sealed bearing Skyway Mags, - I pedal the fastest and go the fastest sitting down on the seat raised up high enough for proper bend of the knees throughout the total crank motion. Modern slammed down / short pivotal post seats, - when sitting on them, give you a way cramped knee bend so you have to stand to ride / pedal fast.

And it's really sad that almost ALL of the complete bikes on Danscomp.com have no front brake except for the Eastern Metalhead. And the top end ones have NO Gyro too! Sucks!

I do oldschool style freestyle so I need my F & R brakes! Not gonna wear out shoes going brakeless!

Sounds like someone has a case of 'old man-itis'. These are not the bikes of yesteryear. Ride your old school bikes if you like the way they are set-up. But the new bikes are just that. New. New geo, new trends, new colors. So suck it up and ride. They are bikes. And bikes are awesome. Ride them however you want. But don't complain. Just ride and have fun.

I love the new bikes, especially now that the trend is starting to shift back to having colors other than black and doo-doo brown.

Yes, there are a lot of bikes without front brakes, and gyros, but there are probably more that do have gyros, and front brakes are an easy add on if the bike you like doesn't have it.

And slammed seats are personal preference. Take your allen wrench, loosen the bolt, and raise it as high as you want.

Well I hate to tell you but the new school bikes do not suck. In fact they are easily as good as if not better than the very best of the old school bikes. The advances in technology are way better. I'll take an integrated headset and a pivitol seat anyday instead of crappy always coming loose 1 inch threaded headsets and old seat guts. And while I feel ya on the whole I need front brakes thing, today's riders do the same tricks without brakes. BTW did you know your Metalhead only has a chromoly top and downtube?

I can't imagine how silly a bmx bike would look with the seatpost high enough so someone could pedal "correctly" on it.

Actually, if you look at some of the frames intended for dirt, finding a 14in rear tri is pretty easy... Examples:
S&M Dirt Bike
Fit Lurch
Sunday Model D
Macneil Bibi
Macneil Duece duece
Supercross Passion (If you don't slam the rear wheel)
DK RT
Kink Farside
Or...
for $450 and a little bit of a wait, FBM will make you pretty much whatever you want... $450 for a full custom frame has got to be one of the best deals out there, IMO.

It was pretty funny... A couple of kids were fully checking out my ride last night... A first gen Chris Doyle DK Legacy. They were wishing they could get new frames that last as long as this one has. They were complaining how they go through parts so fast... I told them that's the downside to newer light weight parts, especially when combined with the more aggressive riding styles today.... But, it is cool that the freestyle companies have really pushed things to the point that you can have a park bike that weighs almost as much as a race bike, yet it can still take some abuse....

Brian

I've got one of those in a box in the closet...waiting to get built.

The local superstars keep breaking bikes right and left. both Street and park. It is almost normal nowadays.. wierd, eh?

Stand up like a man!

Well, I'm not hip dude.. All bikes today are the same.. Don't matter what you buy.. barely.. the only thing that changes is the paint every year...spec this spec that.. It's all bogo...

I don't ride park or street but still do a little dirt jumping. I have no problems with today's bikes. When I look at my older bikes and look at my new school ones, I wonder how come some of the technology didn't come quicker. Threadless forks and todays stems are far superior and easier to work on. Same goes for seatposts. I actually had to deal with some OS seat guts the other day and I said, "Why did they ever make it like this because this is stupid!" The concept of front and rear specific rims is another thing I like.

My only gripe about today's bikes is that so many look alike. Also, I don't ride with a cassette because Bullseye doesn't make one, lol.

Like the old saying goes... "Light, strong, and cheap... Now, pick the 2 you want..."

But, at least some of the guys are smart enough to realize what comes with the territory when you beat the carp out of a superlight bike... Not such a prob if you are getting flow of some sort, but if you are shelling out the cash, you need to shop wisely..

Brian

No I don't hate modern BMX bike. This topic probably should have been put in vintage freestyle. BMX bikes have never been better. Progression is infinate.

I love my Lurch.

(that`s all)

I'll do you one better: Haro F5, full chromoly frame, F&R brakes, four pegs,$500 smackers.

As for modern bikes sucking, it's been said already the struggles we avoid with modern advancements. I think you just came on here to create conflict.

http://www.rscycles.co.uk/haro-f5-bmx-bike...o-f5-3271-p.asp

According to this webpage the Haro F5 weighs 33 lbs - still a heavy ass HARO TANK, LIKE ALL HARO'S - TOO HEAVY TO FREESTYLE ON! My heaviest bike, a lightened up 2000 Schwinn Powermatic Mag, weighs 32.8 lbs and it's hard to bunnyhop this bike. You feel the inertia in 180s too. I can't afford the loss of selling this heavy junk but Jay Myron did great tricks on a Schwinn Powermatic.

The green 09 Haro F5 like pretty though. 09 Eastern Metalhead claimed to be 28 lbs but no way, maybe it was 29.5 to 30 lbs instead.

I like some trends of making bikes lightweight. I like pivotal seats but they make the pivotal posts too short. I like the new lightweight plastic pedal trends. Also love the 25/9 gearing.

I went to Critical Mass today and there were badass dudes freestyling real good on their modern brakeless bikes. But their bikes weighed around 23.6 lbs, and my modded Metalhead is 27.6 lbs with full brakes. But yeah, 4 lbs bike weight can make a difference still.

But I still like my Haros - 87 Sport, 88 Master, 2006 Sport Retro Remake.

I'm an old school freestyler that needs his brakes and I don't do extreme tricks or jumps that would break my bike or bones. Never cracked my 1983 Hutch Pro in all these years!

Mirraco gambino is 26 lbs on the dot, measured on a digital bike scale at my shop. Full chromoly,479 smackers. The bikes are out there, just have to actually accept the new school brands.

I don`t think the intent was to start drama, my guess is an infatuation with mid school.

Oh, and the `06 Sport remake was a TANK

That's my main pivotal gripe, too... Macneil and Primo both make a full length (330mm, over 12in.long) posts. Yeah, I have been shopping... Just in case my lottery ticket hits... LOL

The parts are out there... You just have to look a bit...

Brian







You are a much braver man than I am...

Brian

Well I have said this several times on the site, in different forums. I for one agree about the heavy frames from the 90's. WTF? And it seemed like everything was chrome. This is what I have said before, I am glad to see the return of colors to freestyle.

Hate is such a strong word...

I love my new school bike and nothing on it is older than 2008. Sold off my old school riders so I could throw this one around and not worry about damaging irreplaceable parts. To me it retains an old school look with all the benefits of new school. Oh, and it is pretty light, I imagine it is reasonably strong, however it wasn't cheap. Like has already been said, pick two. I don't do a lot of hard riding so strength wasn't a big issue. As it turned out most of the parts are FlyBikes anyway.

i'm so glad they finally figured out and started making frames with geometry i've wanted since the early 90's and that some of us are light weight enough that we don't need a tank in order for our bike to hold up.

i love my mcneil 330 pivotal post. i had to borrow a stubby seatpost for a while when i was waiting for the 330 to show up in the mail. my lower back would ache after riding around for just a few miles since i had to stand up the whole time and be hunched over. i have a friend who rides a stubby post and he's always complaining about his back aching. hmmmm.

Do you mean to say a lot of guys riding slammed down seats get aching backs from riding / standing up all the time?

Too bad the mcneil 330 only comes in black!

I dont know about your guys areas but around here all the kids take their bikes to the park and the track in a car and only ride them in a place where they never travel more than 30 or 40 feet at a time. I drop the seat when Im at the park because it does get in the way but out on the street I raise it back up, Im too old to travel 10-15 miles with a slammed seat.

Hey, one of these threads! Awesome!

Hate can be a strong word....your pic shows exactly what I like about the modern rides, the return of some color.

The Gambino has no F & R brakes -- http://store.formatny.com/MIRRACO-BIKES--Gambino_p_367.html
The Five Star has, and I admit it's a good budget buy bike! Tempted to get one as it's 26.95 lbs and $340 -- http://store.formatny.com/MIRRACO-BIKES--F...tion_p_63.html#

Yeah, I found out after I bought my 2006 Sport that it was a 35 lb TANK; that's why the bike shop, Grand Cycle - does not have a weigh scale in their shop. I bought the bike strictly on looks and potential, and it's a good rolling flatland bike but heavy for those bunnyhops, 180s, or 360s so it'll keep you grounded unless you got lotsa muscles!

And when I bike to Chicago Lake Shore Drive and freestyle there and at the skatepark then goto Michigan Ave to eat I do a total of around 32 miles on my bmx bike after going home. Doing that all standing up would suck big time!

I'm not that into super low slung top tubes, but the rest of what makes modern bikes kinda strange looking is the way they're set up, not the way they're made. I ride a Sunday and I have it set up for what works for me, front brakes, back brakes, 4 pegs, seat a reasonable height (a bit over one fist height).

It's true I couldn't do much with the brakeless, pegless, slammed seat, 29" wide bars bikes that all the young kids ride these days, but there is so much that's great on new school bikes. Thanks to internal headsets, built in bearing races, and the awesomeness of the mid BB, new school brakes like Odysseys or Flys, and pivotal seats, it takes less than 30 minutes to get a new bike together. I wouldn't go back to 1" threaded headsets and hammering in bearing cups for overtime wages.....

I don't know what my bike weighs. '04 Kappa Starsky and it's heavy. I'm much bigger and stronger than I was 20 yrs ago, so I just deal with the weight. Besides on flatland it's not that big of a deal for me. I just muscle it where I need to. I like that it's hefty enough that I don't need to worry about tweaking everything.

I've always been over-insured in everything and I do the same on my bikes. I'll take the 14mm axles, 1/4" dopouts, thick wall tubing, 48 spokes. Whatever makes me not have to worry about tweaking it. If I struggle with riding it, then I need to spend a couple extra hours each week weight training I guess.

Bars are wide, stem is high, seat is high enough for side-glides and pegs are big enough to be comfy and not ruin my shoes. The kids snicker a bit at first until I get down to riding. Then they know why my bike is set-up the way it is...because that set up lets me rip.

Have you seen some of the burly stuff some of these kids are doing nowadays? Hopping on rails without hesitation, and just all around killing it. If the riders these days wanna run their bikes the way they do, let them. They will worry about comfort when they get older. BMX goes in cycles