BMX strictly for road cycling

[captaincook]

I am just getting into cycling for sport. I have a BMX bike (the one in my profile picture) and im wondering how my workout compares to a regular street bike with gears. I ride 50+ miles a week purely for the exersize but i do not do any tricks on my bike, its just for cycling right now. I am standing up the entire time because the bike is so small and because it is one gear I have to work much harder. Im wondering if it might be a better workout for my whole body because i am standing. i just dont really feel like spending money on another bike right now and i wanna know if my bike will work for strictly street cycling

 

[alfeng]

FWIW. IMO, using a "stock" BMX bike on the road is a tough choice ...

UNLESS you treat it like a Single Speed "folding" bike whose frame doesn't fold AND change to a 58t or 60t chainring + possible change the bike's current Freewheel to a 14t-or-smaller ACS Freewheel.



YOU will eventually need to decide the most suitable gearing for the type of roads which you will be riding on ...

I'm pretty sure that you can change the seat post to one which is longer ...

Hi-Rise ("Monkey") bars may eventually be a good idea.

 

[alfeng]

BTW. If your current crankset has a one-piece (Ashtabula, aka "American") chainwheel then you can replace it with a 110BCD "spider" which you would use to mount the larger chainings.

OR, get a "Euro" adapter which will allow you to install any English threaded BB & then use a large variety of different cranksets.

Check www.danscomp.com for reference and/or purchases.

 

[maydog]

Will the bike work for street cycling? Sure, that is what you are doing now. I'd have to imagine that it is not the most enjoyable way to ride over the road. I see many kids riding BMXs on the trail, going slow with their knees hitting their chins.

Is the workout better? That is debatable, from a cyclist's standpoint I think the answer is no. A BMX bike is not optimized for sustained power output. Riding a BMX will not make you a better road cyclist than riding a road bike. Standing up and riding a BMX will work different muscles harder, which will make you better at riding a BMX a longer distance. I doubt that you could get the same cardiovascular benefits riding as you are.

I highly reccomend that you look into getting a bike proper for the type of riding you wish to do.

 

[danfoz]

it's an apples and oranges activity, with different physiological adaptations, and based on the riding position a different set of muscles. Not saying your riding is not physically demanding, but you could ride that thing all day and while possibly winning a bmx race, you may likely get dropped in a road race if you swapped bikes. Which is to say, if I were training for bmx, I wouldn't do it on a road bike.

But will it work for street cycling? If it works for you, it works.