[splatt]

Hey folks,

Im about to purchase my first BMX (mainly for transport) but wouldn't mind doing some street and park action on it. I've been looking at the DK general lee 24, and was wanting to know if you guys think it would be a good choice? If not what other cruisers could you recommend?

P.S. ABD vs DK, which ones better?

spanx

 

[chuffer]

lots of people either chattering about or rocking that bike:

http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/search.php?searchid=1299620

its a $250 bike. It is actually a decent deal, BUT there are reasons why it is so cheap: pedals, cranks, seatpost, fork, bars, bearings, tires, wheels....

 

[splatt]

Thanx for the feedback. It would be great if more people could give me their 2 cents worth, but one reply is better than none.

 

[splatt]

Is there anything good about this bike?! (except for the price) Can anyone recommend a bike more suited to me? (and don't say my mother!)

 

[adurham]

the shadow conspiracy invisible man looks really nice, it would cost more but in the long run would be worth it

 

[splatt]

Thanks adurham, But I'm already pushin the price at the moment, as I live in australia (don't know how much the bike is where you are), and also need mony for a Helmet, Pegs, a lock and food...if there's money left over.

 

[opjones]

Just buy it, upgrade later. If you're not looking to spend anymore money, you won't find anything better.

 

[splatt]

Thank you everyone for the pearls of wisdom. I am off to buy my new baby tomorrow. I have never been so ready and excited to cause serious harm to mysef (i.e. my body+concrete/dirt=Pain!)
But I guess if you wake up in the morning and your not in pain then your dead!

 

[Leethal]

Can you get the Haro nyquist 24" frame? It is spec'd quite a bit better.

 

[Chip Henderson]

Here is another option, the '07 GT Ruckus 24. By the time you spent $200 or so to upgraded the GL a bit, you could buy this and have nothing to upgrade.

Chip

 

[cmc]

I think the DK General Lee is an excellent cruiser for the money. I just got one used on Craigslist for only $150 complete. They retail new at $269 or so. The frame is all 4130 chromoly, and it comes with 3 piece cranks. It is definitely set up for park and street, unlike most 24" bmx's which are built for racing. On my DK, I switched out the bars for taller ones, and switched the stem for a longer one--so now it feels roomier for a tall rider like myself.

The Haro Backtrail cruiser is also very good. They used to be very heavy, but they may have lightened them up in the past couple of years. I'm not sure. The Haro Nyquist 24 is even better. It is a lighter version of the Backtrail with higher end parts. They are hard to come by though, because the model was discontinued.

I rode the Shadow Conspiracy cruiser (see ebay) and I was surprised that I didn't like it that much. Design and parts-wise it would seem to be great, but I felt like the back end was long and the front end short, making manuals not fun.

Hey folks,

Im about to purchase my first BMX (mainly for transport) but wouldn't mind doing some street and park action on it. I've been looking at the DK general lee 24, and was wanting to know if you guys think it would be a good choice? If not what other cruisers could you recommend?

P.S. ABD vs DK, which ones better?

spanx

 

[hansfranz]

I've been debating between a GL24 and the '07 Diamondback Lucky 24. But now that I've seen the new GT Ruckus 24 I may just have to slap down the plastic and get one.

 

[splatt]

So, went to buy my cruiser today, but thought I'dd sit on a 20'' just to see the difference. Problem is it seems that seeing i'm 5 foot 4, it may be impossible to learn tricks on a 24". So now, I'm back at the drawing board trying to figure out if a 20" is too hard to commute on or not!!!! Damn decissions over 4 inches!!... I'll keep ya guys posted.

 

[cmc]

of course you can commute on a 20" bmx. all that pedaling will get you more in shape for the skatepark and you can do manuals and curb jumps the whole way.

 

[cmc]

...and a good strong gear ratio on a 20" would help a lot for commuting. i had a Mutiny Undertaker www.mutinybikes.com set i[ with 39/13 gearing. it hauled ass.

a more typical ratio would be 36/13 or 33/12. if you get a bike with a traditional freewheel hub (not cassette) then the smallest freewheel you can use in the back is a 16. (there are 15's but they really suck). then you'll need to run a large sprocket in front, like a 45 or 46 if you want to go fast.

 

[splatt]

Good points, cmc. (though I'm a little lost in the technical side of things) I'm thinking of the DK cincannati now. The guy's at the shop recommended an Eastern traildigger, but it seems like it's more of a dirt jump bike and the crank looks too small. (To me anyways)

 

[don]

At 5' 4" I'd probably look into a 20". Lots more out there to select from. Like it was said before a strong gear will help. Get a QR seatclamp and don't angle your seat too much and it could work fine.

 

[cmc]

i just looked at the specs on the cincinatti. http://www.dkbicycles.com/bikes/bikes.html

it says the front sprocket is 39 and the rear freewheel is 14. the way you figure out the gear ratio is 39 divided by 14, multiplied times wheel size. 39/14 = 2.78 2.78 X 20 = 55.6 . That is pretty normal.

55 is the traditional stock gear ratio in bmx. (It was based on the old 44 tooth sprocket /16t freewheel standard, which gives you exactly 55). If you want your DK Cincinatti to ride faster you will need either a larger front sprocket or a smaller rear freewheel or cog (if it's a cassette hub, they don't have "freewheels").

Just because a bmx has a small front sprocket does not mean it will not go fast. You need to know what the rear cog is. A lot of people are going to to 9 and 10 on Profile cassette hubs. That's why they can run such small front sprockets for lightness etc.

 

[cmc]

. . . . one more thing, if you buy a complete bmx,

MAKE SURE they have the brakes properly tuned up.

The major mistake most bike shops (or manufacturers who mail them semi-complete bikes) make is not lubing the insides of the brake cables enough. And with bmx cable routing sometimes being weird, this means FILLING THE HOUSING WITH LUBE. To where it's dripping out the other side. Tri-Flow or other similar products work well. To do it properly, you generally have to take the cable off the bike, pull the inner wire out, fill the housing with lube, maybe add some white lithium grease to the wire itself, and put it back together. It is well worth the trouble. Your braking power will be improved immensely. For SST Oryg cables, you obviously can't take the inner wire out, but you can drip tri-flow inside till it comes out the other side.

Almost every time I walk into a mountain bike shop and pull the brake lever(s) on a bmx bike, pull is rough, slow and weak, instead of a smooth strong pull. Some mtb guys in those shops will shrug and tell you something lame like 990 u-brakes just don't work well or that gyro's prevent brakes from working well. This is a cop out. They just don't know how to dial them in. And I think it is bull**** if you buy a new bike and it is not dialed in.

The #1 thing is super-lubed cables with as few tight bends or kinks as possible. Other things like the brand of u-brake, the type of pads or rims, etc. matter a little, but not nearly as much as the cable.

 

[jpconard]

a more typical ratio would be 36/13 or 33/12. if you get a bike with a traditional freewheel hub (not cassette) then the smallest freewheel you can use in the back is a 16. (there are 15's but they really suck). then you'll need to run a large sprocket in front, like a 45 or 46 if you want to go fast.

You can go to 13 on Odyssey freewheel.

 

[cmc]

yes, that's right, odyssey does have a 13t freewheel. it will only go on some hubs though, right ? not older "regular" sized hubs...