too old for a bmx?

Hi All,

I've been without a bike for a good few years now and am feeling ready to buy one. The questions is really - what do I need?... and is this compatible with what I want?

I live in Brisbane, Australia - here we can take bikes on trains and this is one of the things I want to take advantage of. My car isn't reliable - when it breaks down I often can't afford to get it fixed straight away... and, I don't like feeling stranded. Where I currently live I am reasonably close to a train station and there are heaps of shops in my local area - I could access everything I need by foot but would rather do it by bike because I find walking a bit slow and uninteresting (especially bad on hot days).

In the past when I lived in a different area I borrowed a 12 speed racer to cycle to the train station (which was further away). I guess this bike was good for speed but what was scary was that with traffic always whizzing by I always had to stay riding in the gutter and the surface was really bad - I was always worried about dinging up my wheel rims with such narrow tyres (and in fact did a bit). I also felt quite threatened because in an emergency there is no way to jump a racer off the road and onto the footpath - those bikes are just not made to do that type of things. They really seem too big for footpaths and anyway - you tend to go too fast on them for pedestrian safety. And my last complaint - the shape of the handle bars always had me with my shoulders hunched down and my neck angled back to be able to see the road properly - it always resulted in a sore neck.

So... fast forward to now. My dream bike would be a BMX. Yes, probably this has partially to do with a romantic notion carried over from childhood - my family never had enough bikes to go around but we shared a couple of bmxs and I did really enjoy riding them. Also, I can see these being good for taking on trains because they are small - I have observed as a commuter people bringing both full sized adult bikes and smaller (bmxs/childrens bikes) onto the train and seen the smaller bikes to cause far less hassles to everyone on the train. I wouldn't ride a bike on main roads for fear of being struck by a motorist so I see taking a bike on a train as a good option - you can go long distances on trains and just ride in the local area at either end of your journey. With a bmx in a suburban area you could choose between footpath and roadside according to the particular situation and you could easily switch back and forwards between the 2 because its not hard to jump the gutter.

So, the problem - I'm a 27 year old female (fairly small in size) walking into bike shops and checking out bmxs and getting lots of strange looks from sales-people. Should I let them put me off? Is it so strange? And finally, could I actually be comfortable on a bmx - would it really be quite big enough? I'd love something with old fashioned high handlebars that curve backwards (rather than the straight T-bar ones that seem all the rage today). Maybe I could buy a bmx & find an old set of handle bars to switch to.

Does anyone here have any thoughts about this? Any advice or observations? I'd just like some guidance. I'm dreaming of a bmx - but maybe its not really practical? Please, either put my mind at ease or suggest something more realistic. I'd really appreciate it!

In case it helps to form an opinion on this matter - I'm about 160cm tall and around 50kg.

Get one! Don't have to worry about gears, it's smallish and stout and fairly cheap. There are basically two different kinds though... the I'm a skateboarder on a bike (tricks) & the race ones. I'd opt for the rarer race bike as it may be lighter and the geometry may be better. Ask around as I am no expert on them..

Get it and enjoy it!!!

__________________
-Meek
"Some people train to look pretty. I just train so I can be the strongest man there is. And then again, I'm already pretty." -Magnus Samuelsson

If that's what you want then go for it. Maybe see if you can pick one up cheap on eBay or at a pawn shop. This way, you haven't spent too much on it only to find it's not what you want. Try to inspect it beforehand if possible. It would also help to know what to look out for if buying second hand.
FWIW, I work with a 35yo guy who earns a pretty good wage as a programmer but loves to ride to work daily on his BMX. He could easily get a good road bike or mountain bike but doesn't want to.
I'd like to get one but probably wouldn't use it anytime soon so it's on the backburner. Maybe the next project.

when i used to ride bmx bikes i got really weird looks from adults because they thought the bike was "too small" for someone my height. they were just ignorrant to the concept of bmx bikes.

From the other topic: I suggest you start by looking at adult BMX bikes. There are many on the Felt website:
http://www.southcottcycles.com.au/southcott/?id=contact

Choose a frame with a long top tube, to suit your body size. Next set a budget, this can cost as much as you want to spend, $180 or $18 for a pair of pedals, you get to choose!

__________________
Cheers,
George.

Are all the Felt BMX bikes targeted at adults? I'm not sure how to tell otherwise.

It would depend on the size.

__________________
Cheers,
George.

I've been looking at the various types of bmx available and am wondering about whether those in the "cruiser" class might suit be me better.

They have 24" wheels... so, I'm thinking, if the whole bike is kept in proportion to the average bmx the top tube is probably also about 24" making the whole bike about a foot longer than an average bmx. So, just wondering if this is getting a lot closer to the size of a mountain bike.

The size of the bike might suit me better... but I'm still wanting to take into consideration how cumbersome the bike will be to get onto a passenger train... and I've also started thinking about the fact that at home I'll have to carry it up and down the front stairs as the front door is the only one that unlocks from the outside.