Am I medium stupid, or monumentally stupid?

Never know if you don't try!  

I have two new BMX bikes, a STLN Zeke XLT 26" that is perfect for cruising rides and running around town on and a STLN Saint XLT 24" - literally did not plan to have two basically identical bikes but when one is $150 and the other is $125 you can't really say no.  The wife rides the 24" around and enjoys it.

Still have my Dyno Detour from 1988 in pieces in the basement and another one from 1990 that was a survivor I got at a garage sale that could use some love to be 100%.  Really want an old Bully Bashguard but those are pretty much unobtanium at what I am willing to spend.  Love those RL graphics though.

There is something about showing up to a casual no-drop ride on a sweet chrome BMX wearing a Pro-Tec helmet and some full finger gloves that makes you out to be a Bad Man, while all the other middle aged frumps are on $400 base model Specialized and Trek 700c city bikes wearing their Walmart Schwinn helmets. 

Mndsm said:

In reply to Knurled. :

Oh I know. I found my exact old compe online yesterday.  It would take 500$ to get it to me, and it would still be old, fragile, and heavy. I'd buy a modern one, with big bars and stuff, for about the same price and it would be way more durable and rideable. 

Yeah, that's the reality. The old stuff is cool, but it can be kinda small. And expensive. And fragile. 

Go ride some bikes. The right one for you is out there. There are some great completes out there--like, a lot of them. 

Dammit, that T/A kills me every time.

David S. Wallens said:

Mndsm said:

In reply to Knurled. :

Oh I know. I found my exact old compe online yesterday.  It would take 500$ to get it to me, and it would still be old, fragile, and heavy. I'd buy a modern one, with big bars and stuff, for about the same price and it would be way more durable and rideable. 

Yeah, that's the reality. The old stuff is cool, but it can be kinda small. And expensive. And fragile. 

Go ride some bikes. The right one for you is out there. There are some great completes out there--like, a lot of them. 

Yeah, I ran the idea past swmbo this morning (I showed her this thread actually) and she was into it. May go to my lbs tomorrow and talk to someone.  My biggest problem is I want front brakes (I cannot do foot jam anything) and that seems to be a dying thing. 

Mndsm said:

David S. Wallens said:

Mndsm said:

In reply to Knurled. :

Oh I know. I found my exact old compe online yesterday.  It would take 500$ to get it to me, and it would still be old, fragile, and heavy. I'd buy a modern one, with big bars and stuff, for about the same price and it would be way more durable and rideable. 

Yeah, that's the reality. The old stuff is cool, but it can be kinda small. And expensive. And fragile. 

Go ride some bikes. The right one for you is out there. There are some great completes out there--like, a lot of them. 

Yeah, I ran the idea past swmbo this morning (I showed her this thread actually) and she was into it. May go to my lbs tomorrow and talk to someone.  My biggest problem is I want front brakes (I cannot do foot jam anything) and that seems to be a dying thing. 

You're in or near Orlando, right? If so, check out Chad's shop: https://www.facebook.com/MRBIKESNBOARDS/. He knows BMX. Tell him I sent you. He's on 434.

Ransom said:

Dammit, that T/A kills me every time.

Thanks. It was originally built with the blue tires, but I recently swapped over wheels and tires. The Graphites with the all-black Comp IIs are for the Kappa, which is still awaiting completion. 

David S. Wallens said:

Mndsm said:

David S. Wallens said:

Mndsm said:

In reply to Knurled. :

Oh I know. I found my exact old compe online yesterday.  It would take 500$ to get it to me, and it would still be old, fragile, and heavy. I'd buy a modern one, with big bars and stuff, for about the same price and it would be way more durable and rideable. 

Yeah, that's the reality. The old stuff is cool, but it can be kinda small. And expensive. And fragile. 

Go ride some bikes. The right one for you is out there. There are some great completes out there--like, a lot of them. 

Yeah, I ran the idea past swmbo this morning (I showed her this thread actually) and she was into it. May go to my lbs tomorrow and talk to someone.  My biggest problem is I want front brakes (I cannot do foot jam anything) and that seems to be a dying thing. 

You're in or near Orlando, right? If so, check out Chad's shop: https://www.facebook.com/MRBIKESNBOARDS/. He knows BMX. Tell him I sent you. He's on 434.

Definitely my plan. I'm looking to keep it as local as possible. 

Ok, as I research this more, I'm learning a E36 M3load of new bike labels. Gt and dyno are owned by Pacific, as is schwinn.  I'm trying to find local companies to work with, or at least us based, because....I am. I like the little guy. I know subrosa is as local as it gets, as well as shadow conspiracy- both based out of Florida. Frames made in Taiwan- which in and of itself isnt a deal breaker, makes it a bit tougher for me. S&m had been the gold standard for a LONG  time, and seemingly the frames are made in the USA.  Hooray!  There is also fbm bikes, which appears to be newer on the scene than most, and built in the us. Also yay! I am reasonably certain I want an XL frame (I'm 6' 275ish) and some pretty beefy components. I'm not opposed to putting my own bike together, either. I would love to build a weight weenie bike but let's face it, if I had that kind of money for a bmx, I would know more about this stuff. I know little to nothing about modern geometry, and quite frankly cant tell most of the frames apart other than color and top tube length. Is a 22" from subrosa going to be the same as a 22" from fbm? I'll keep reading, to be sure. 

Yep, Subrosa and Shadow Conspiracy both hail from Longwood, Florida--great people who do a lot for the scene. Glad to see them finally offer a 22. (True story: My own 22 was mostly assembled in their shop--like everything except the brakes, which I then forgot there--and I've been lobbying them to enter the scene ever since.)

Profile no longer makes frames, but all of their parts--cranks, hubs, etc.--are made in St. Pete. Deco is also based in Orlando, but they don't make a 22. Chad DeGroot owns Deco as well. Planet BMX is up in Jax. 

When I built my bike, only a few companies offered 22s. Faction (English company but bikes make in Asia) offered completes. And then there was S&M. Honestly, at the time I didn't even know that 22-inch bikes existed. I couldn't fall asleep one night and surfed over to the S&M page. I just wanted to see if they still offered their Gay Bars. Anyway, I saw the ATF frame for 22-inch wheel and wondered what that was about. So I called them the next day with a few questions and, a few minutes later, bought the frame kit from Gabe Weed at Cheap Goods. 

FBM is out of New York and is also known for making beefy frames. Last time I checked, their 22 shares nearly the same geo as S&M. 

Another frame company to check out: Pedal Driven Cycles out of Athens, Georgia. They're located around the corner from my old apartment. They're about to release another 22-inch frame, too--one more for park. If I built another 22, I'd probably do a PDC based on the feedback and Athens connection. 

David at 22-inch BMX knows the scene really well. His FB group is a great place to get info. He also sells bikes and parts. My friend just bought a complete from him and is totally happy. He's about your size. 

As far as frame size, sounds like you'd want the bigger one. I'm 5-8 (or 5-7.75) and ride the shorter S&M. I think that the bigger one would be too big for me. 

In reply to David S. Wallens :

I think we've talked at least to some degree of my enthusiasm for Scotty Cranmer and subsequent enthusiasm for Trey Jones as well. I've dug through a lot of the Florideah backlog on Facetube and it's readily apparent to me what Shadow and Subrosa do for the company. Swampfest and all the other jams are regular video watches for me. Bit of backstory- I found scotty cranmers page back when he still owned his STi, because I was looking at car videos and whatnot. Then of course, I watched a lot of his videos because bmx. Then of course BMX popped up here like it tends to do, and back and forth and here we are. I know you've mentioned that Trey, Jabe, and his mom are super solid people. I would have a tendency to agree. It's an odd cycle.

I think at this point I need to put myself in a bike shop and ask some questions. Chad's shop is at the top of my list- for multiple reasons. I like Wekiva springs, Longwood is right other there, and there's a super dope pinball spot in Oviedo that I would love to go back to. I did not know that Chad owned Deco bikes, that's pretty awesome. I did know that PlanetBMX was out of FTL- I keep watching it for old school styles and the tuffs. Mags will always be good to me. 

I feel like this is going to be some sort of story eventually. Some old fat guy buys a bike. Watch him suck at bike stuff. 

Awesome. Yeah, go see Chad. Plus he has a billiard table in his shop. (Or at least he did last time I was there.)

And speaking of Shadow, repping them tonight. 

FBM isn’t really new either, although they were kinda a team/crew before they actually were making bikes. Fat Bald Men still makes me laugh as the name of a company though. 

I sold my 21” Standard after my last back injury and now that I’m good again I’m kicking myself, they really worked better than the old bmx geometry!

In reply to chandler :

Yeah,  I'm pretty hurt right now, so this isnt the best plan. But I need to move more and honestly this is the most I've been interested in excercise since ever. So, there is that. 

You're just normal! I had a "Muscle bike" back in 1969 and it was my first and last new bike. Tall sissy bar, rams horn handlebars, banana seat, fancy paint...the whole 9 yards. Well I found its twin at a swap meet 2 years ago and quickly got $300 into it to make it a good riding beast. It was a hit at local car shows and kids loved it. But it kept talking to me..."Do a Wheely...remember how fun they were. J-slide that racing slick, build a ramp" and all the other bad ideas.

Luckily I sold it before the voices talked me into serious injury.

It would be monumentally stupid if you were trying to find a pair of Roces majestic 12s or Senate Kill Team Eisenbergs. 

Which if anyone has a pair of either in size 13, let me know.

RevRico said:

It would be monumentally stupid if you were trying to find a pair of Roces majestic 12s or Senate Kill Team Eisenbergs. 

Which if anyone has a pair of either in size 13, let me know.

You're a fruit booter?

In reply to Mndsm :

Was a few lifetimes ago. To old and fat to be again.

In reply to RevRico :

My whole right leg is telling me to berkeley off right now and I'm still looking at pro grade bmx bikes. You can do it too. I'm gonna start a revolution.  

NOT A TA said:

I'm 60 with many previously broken parts and ride regularly, do it.

 

For when you get old and your neck can't take it anymore.  One step before a three wheeler. 

Wow. This is a deep hole. I've been reading the hell out of everything I can, and I am...lost. I've really kind of honed in on Subrosa as a brand, for the moment. I keep coming back to them, being local as local gets. I can't give ALL my money to the mouse, after all. Plus with everything Shadow seems to do for local jams and all of that, it's only logical. 

First thing I can't seem to figure out, and will probably involve a trip to the LBS- top tube length. Nearest I can tell, I want a 21.5. Most head tube and rear triangle lengths seem to correlate to that, and big fat dudes need space. 

Second, brakes. I came from a pre-brakeless era. I like brakes. I can still ride front brakes. I seem to be in the minority for that. Rear brakes are a dead given for me, I'd like to learn to manual a lot better, and whatever sort of rear balance tricks there are. Fronts- footjams and stuff are cool, but I suspect those are out of the question for me. Where and how I've broken my feet mean that if I happens to have healed, I am prone to breaking them again. Obviously this isn't a great plan to begin with, but that's why I started with medium stupid. Front brakes it is. I'd love to be able to work up to a whiplash/halflash line some day. 

Next is- freecoaster vs. cassette. I've watched enough cassette riders to think that I am not capable of backpedaling if I learn to fakie without eating absolutely stupendous amounts of E36 M3. I'm already anticipating crashes. A LOT OF CRASHES. I wish to avoid as many as I can. What I cannot figure out is, what the benefit of a cassette would be. More direct drive? Weight? Steez points with the local skatepark kids ? I don't get it. 

Next- BARS. This seems simple. Bars steer the bike, right? Right! HOWEVER- Jesus I have no idea. They all seem to be roughly the same. Last set of bars I owned was a set of 1994 GT 4 piece bars, that went on my 1994 Dyno Compe, That was about as stereotypical 90s as it could POSSIBLY be. What I do remeber about those bars is I seemed to have slightly more room for my knees. I rode a set of hoffman knee savers once or twice, and I liked them. I don't know if any of that makes a difference anymore- though I do prefer the look of 4 piece bars. Something mechanical about them appeals to me. And really, if I'm gonna eat E36 M3, I might as well look good doing it right? 

Pegs- seems like the big deal here is sleeved or not. I'll likely run sleeves because I don't want to trash pegs and IF I ever try grind tricks, I want as much help as I can. 

Now- the big one. Street Vs. Park.....I just don't know.  Will I probably be a "street" rider? Yeah, I don't see myself hitting box jumps and bowls and quarters any time soon. Maybe never. So, probably a street bike? The problem is, I like park bike features. I like brakes, I like pegs. These seem to be against the street bike code, but does it really matter? Who knows. I'll keep reading, trying to figure all this out. This game has changed a lot since you went to your nearest bike shop and got a 4 peg, layback post, kneesaving tank. 

As a novice, pegs will probably bite you so I'd leave those off till you've ridden a while. You'll need to ride quite a bit before you try things like grinds.

By what you've written in your posts you're a pretty big guy who hasn't been riding for a long time so just get an entry level bike that fits you and start riding.  Not being 12 years old you're not going to learn as quickly and have slower reflexes, balance, etc.   You'll have to work your way up just trying to bunnyhop a soda can, before even thinking about curbs.

+1 I think you're overthinking this. 

Go see the guy who was recomended. If you don't have the budget for a new bike tell them and get some recommendations and see if they have used bikes. If not, hit cl.

How old is this thread? That's how many days you already could have been riding!

Remember, even if a used bike isn't exactly right for you, it will still sell for most of what you paid. The stakes are low here. Just get something and ride.

+2 on the overthinking. 

Don't get hung up on a front brake for a 20". Unless you plan on doing flat-land tricks, they aren't really good for much.  Although I have front brakes on all of my other mtn and road bikes, I don't miss it when I ride the 20".  

It seems "modern" BMX geometry started in the late 90's.  My 20" is a Gary Fisher Lush Rush from 1998 and it feels substantially better than my old BMX bike from the early 80's (which I still have).

Without question I am overthinking it. This is an unfortunate side effect of my former marriage, where I had to be damn sure I wanted to spend the money, otherwise she would find ways to suck me dry. The only things I impulse buy are cars, but- I am always ready to buy a car,finances aside. The last bike i bought was an early 2000s rockhopper i got new from chain bike dispenser I used to get my bmx stuff from. I just like to be informed as humanly possible when I'm looking at parting with a stack of green larger than a tank of gas. It's still another bit before I can get to the lbs too, just due to time concerns. So, I read.