[Tame Ape]

I have decided to franken-park-mcbash bike from the bones of a cruiser. Problem now is getting my hands on a big BMX on the cheap. So far I've only seen Danscomp online and the have two DK cruisers for less then $240. Any suggestions as to where I should look? What I should get?

This thing is gonna be a kickass sub $400 SS.

 

[RandomV]

Well...

Have you looked in your LBS? Haro makes an okay DJ oriented 24" Backtrail. I believe Dan's Comp also has a Free Agent cruiser that doesn't suck. The DKs are okay as well. Any of those should be fine for what you're wanting to do.

Now, if you were just buying a frame and building it up, my reccommendations would be a little different...

 

[Tame Ape]

Yeah, I'm all about keeping this on the cheap tip. I'll swap the fork ASAP for the sake of my wrists and ride everything else until breaks...

I was wondering if there is a better deal then the DK General Lee at DansComp floating around...

 

[RandomV]

Okay. The thing about those DK cruisers is that the frames (on both) are *not* full chromoly. The rear triangle is high-ten steel. So, if you plan on doing any serious stuff on this bike, I think you're going to want to reconsider your options. Go in to a LBS that has a pretty good selection of BMX companies. Redline, Haro, and to a lesser extent even Diamondback make good cruisers with either full chromo or aluminum frames. And they won't cost that much more than the DKs.

There have to be a couple of shops that have that stuff in a place like NYC... right?

If all you plan to do is cruise around on your new toy, then you should be alright.

 

[freeride6]

I bought a haro cruiser the a couple months ago and I love it. It is about $240 and it comes with 3 piece cranks.
Here are some pictures of me with mine.
http://www.pinkbike.com/modules/photo/?op=view&image=80958
http://www.pinkbike.com/modules/photo/?op=view&image=80955
http://www.pinkbike.com/modules/photo/?op=view&image=80951
http://www.pinkbike.com/modules/photo/?op=view&image=80950

I hope this helps,
~kyle

 

[SwisSlesS]

I'm going to get a 2004 Diamondback Reactor 24. Retail price is around $400.00 I believe. But my wholesale price is a lot less .

 

[Tame Ape]

Originally posted by freeride6
I bought a haro cruiser the a couple months ago and I love it. It is about $240 and it comes with 3 piece cranks.

Hey-
Thats exactly what I'm talikng about! Where did you find that for $240?

tame

 

[Mtbkngrl]

Too bad you're down in NYC. The shop I work at sells DK and we have a 24" General Lee or two. We kick Dans Comp in the nutz, so if you're ever in the Rochester vicinity drop into Trailblazers. Or you can check out the website at TrailBlazersBike.com I also own a 24" General Lee, and I love it. I rode it at the skatepark all winter and it improved my mountain bike handling skills in a big way. It's also a really great dirt jumper, lot's of fun. I left the rigid fork on(I guess I'm into pain)but swapped the cranks out for some 3pc cranks.

You can order online from our website, and if you were to consider doing that PM me and we'll talk about a deal. Happy shopping. Lisa

 

[RandomV]

Originally posted by Mtbkngrl
*snip* We kick Dans Comp in the nutz, *snip*

See, now that's just awesome. I've had really piss-poor luck with Dan's screwing up my orders and basically being the worst people in the world to deal with.

*kicks Dan's Comp in the nutz too, for good measure*

 

[dromond]

(reviving an old thread but) Is the hub spacing on the front of a 24" BMX different than a MTB? I was wondering how hard it is to swap out the rigid for a short travel MTB fork.

 

[Tame Ape]

Originally posted by dromond
(reviving an old thread but) Is the hub spacing on the front of a 24" BMX different than a MTB? I was wondering how hard it is to swap out the rigid for a short travel MTB fork.

The rear spacing on a BMX hub is 120mm I think. A MTB is generally 135mm (though is seems to be growing these days). Road bikes are like 130mm or something.

COuld be wrong, but BMX bikes and Trackbikes are SS specific...

 

[Mudpuppy]

The front hub spacing is the same. You just need to make sure that the axle size is the same. You need the small axles it fit in mtb dropouts.

 

[dromond]

Originally posted by Mudpuppy
The front hub spacing is the same. You just need to make sure that the axle size is the same. You need the small axles it fit in mtb dropouts.

No kidding. Cheap BMX cruiser + susp fork reuced to about 2 inches. Might be fun.

 

[Mudpuppy]

Believe me I know. It is very fun.

Actually I have mine set up that way again. I have a cheap fork with 3" and cheap wheel that I baught for like $20. The fork would be better with less travel but I don't really want to bother.

 

[dromond]

I'm guessing that you got a cruiser with thick axles but got a new wheel to accomodate the fork? How much did the bike get slackened out?

 

[Mudpuppy]

It got slacked out a bit. I don't think its that much more slack than most of those hardtails like a .243 or on-one or something. I might have a picture laying around somewhere that shows. I'll try to find it when I get home today.

 

[base rider]

this may be a stupid remark, but why not have a 2" for and a 20" front wheel and the geometry will be exacly the same. or on 2nd thoughts use a 3" fork to account for sag

 

[Mudpuppy]

Well I don't have a good picture of the setup that I actually ran for quite a while. But here's a picture of the Shiver SC and 3" tire that I ran for about 15 minutes up and down the dorm hallway.

The 3" fork and bmx wheel/tire was much less slack.