[morethanjake543]

Hey. I usually ride my mountain bike for everything. Up until now, I ran a Kona Coiler and abused it horribly. It was awesome. Needless to say, that ended and a transistion dirtbag began. It's too heavy for anything skatepark or dirt jump related, so I was wondering, should I invest in a cruiser or normal BMX?

I've got a crappy old 97 mongoose pro comp with no brakes and S&M bars. Recently, I've been hitting up the skate park. It's been really awesome. I'm looking to eventually put more money into the skatepark side of riding and get a dedicated ride. I'm looking at either a Dk General Lee 24" or a 20" K2 bike. I can get K2 Strip for about half the price of a General Lee, but I'm not sure if I should go down to twenty instead of riding twenty four.

Any suggestions? I've got those two bikes in mind, but I'd like opinions.

 

[spacemanspiff06]

a 20' will feel a lot diffrent from your dirt bag, and it will take, at best 10 minites to go from one to the other, however if your serious about the park stuff, you will progress faster and farther on a 20 then you will on a 24 or 26, if you can adjust. i can't, bmx bikes feel like key chain orniments to me and always will. that said, i still ride the park better then 80% of the bmxers that go there, on my 26" fully. the only thing that there is a big diffrence on is rotations are harder, airing out of a quater is awkward, and no barspins. on a 26" ht you get just as much pop off lips and can pump backsidesjust as well as a 20".
if you just want a park ripper and can adjust, go for a 20", but if you want to dirt jump, ride urban ( yes you can ride urban with a 20, but walls, drops, stair gaps, ect isn't as easy.) or even have a back up bike for your dirt bag go for a 24" with a squishy fork ( 100 mm or less) and dual mtb brakes. stick with a ss though. good luck, tell us how it goes

 

[morethanjake543]

I've ridden my beat up 20 at a skate park four or five times and it's been really awesome. It's cheap as hell and definently wont be an XC bike (I'm crazy and have a dual ring setup on my dirtbag. I am doing XC with that whenever it comes up) so I guess a 20 is a good idea. I like the idea of a 24",, but then again, the 20's are just beefier in general.

Any more opinions? Heck. . . any impressions on the quality K2 bmxs give?

 

[Changleen]

I don't rate K2 as a BMX company. They are not a 'BMX" company, they're a ski company cashing in on BMX.

I have a 20, 24 and 26. I love em all, but am loving 24" the most at the moment.

 

[Misfitslacker]

little bikes are better

 

[ShdowConspiracy]

k2 bmx bikes arent worth the money. my opinion is that their horrible. crappy parts and its just all no good. dont waste your money on it get something else like a fit from dans comp or something along those lines

 

[scurban]

As I've said, 24" with suspension up front is the future of dirt/street/park

 

[formermtboarder]

tonic fabrications fall guy, the ultimate inbetween bmx/mtb-nuff said
www.tonicfab.com

 

[scurban]

so ridgeds will die out you think? nooooooooooooooooo

maybe, maybe not, but I really do think a 24" that handles just as well as a 20", and has a 70-72 degree head angle is where its at. You get something simple, like a bmx, chuckable like a bmx yet with slightly bigger wheels that roll through trails better, and with a stiff short travel suspension fork that will take the abuse out of trails, and mis judged landings. I see more and more park/street/trail riders from the mtb world going this way, and I see more and more bmx guys going this way too.

Its still a small segment of our sport, but its growing. If you follow the UK seen and companies like 24 seven, revell, DMR, on-one, and identiti, you'll find that 24" wheel bikes are pretty much the norm for dirt/street/park. I think its bound to catch on here in the near future..... in fact with companies like Tonic, and Union it already is.

 

[morethanjake543]

Holy crap, that fall guy is sexy.

Dead sexy.

But more than I'm willing to spend. The General Lee 24 Can be found complete for 249 bucks. The K2s (with my shop discount) cost pretty close to half that. I've been wary about the K2s seeing as I've heard absolutely nothing about them, so I guess they're almost out of the picture.

I can afford something this cheap. I've worked my parents in to believing that each bike has it's seperate use. A while ago, I couldn't. When I get this thing, I'll be throwing out my old 20 and riding whatever I've got. Just out of curiosity, since I probally won't be investing in a nother park bike for a while after this, has anyone ever tried throwing a Squishy on a General Lee 24? I know a few people on these forums ride them, and it seems as though if I go with that, that I might want to ride a dropped fork or something to get back to my "mtb roots' or something wacky like that.

I'm also really thinking about holding back until the year is over, and getting one of those new Specialized P bikes. If they're priced the same, they might end up being pretty bamf. Too bad they don't sell them as SS stock. Then again, Putting pegs on those things probally proves to be very silly. I'd miss my pegs if I ever got one of those.

The DK Xenia looks pretty rad as well.

I really like the discussion in this thread. Thanks for pitching in!

In my opinion, even though I'm not in the park/urban scene, I feel as though 24s with squishies are going to become a big trend. Not pop music big, but it'll be a decent sized movement none the less. However, I also feel that most of the progession will still be done on 20s, as the purists will stick to what they ride the best. There probally wont be a devision, but I feel as though it wont be a "crap, that kid is riding a 24 at the park" thing anymore. It'll be more of a, "Ohh, that kid has a nice bike." sorta' thing.

 

[Changleen]

maybe, maybe not, but I really do think a 24" that handles just as well as a 20", and has a 70-72 degree head angle is where its at. You get something simple, like a bmx, chuckable like a bmx yet with slightly bigger wheels that roll through trails better, and with a stiff short travel suspension fork that will take the abuse out of trails, and mis judged landings. I see more and more park/street/trail riders from the mtb world going this way, and I see more and more bmx guys going this way too.

Its still a small segment of our sport, but its growing. If you follow the UK seen and companies like 24 seven, revell, DMR, on-one, and identiti, you'll find that 24" wheel bikes are pretty much the norm for dirt/street/park. I think its bound to catch on here in the near future..... in fact with companies like Tonic, and Union it already is.

Fu*k Yeah! What you said! :love:

 

[DCRAC3R]

Buy an 26" STP2 they are so light and great at skateparks

 

[scurban]

Fu*k Yeah! What you said! :love:

I'm glad to see at least one person on the monkey agrees with me. It's not a very popular theory around here, but most of the guys I know riding at the parks don't go on bike fourm's. In fact I'm not even sure if they know how to use the internet. They absolutly kill it when it comes to riding though. I think all the "unknown shredder's" are riding 24" bikes these days. its only a matter of time before they get reconized.

Oh and here is one of my personal favorite new 24" bikes on the market the Nemisis Project street fighter: check it out

http://www.unrealcycles.com/gallery_view.php?view=137&Nemesis+Project+Streetfighter+Dirt+Jumping,+Dual/BSX,+Pimping,+Skatepark,+Transportation,+Urban+Assault,+Work

 

[namaSSte]

I'm glad to see at least one person on the monkey agrees with me. It's not a very popular theory around here, but most of the guys I know riding at the parks don't go on bike fourm's. In fact I'm not even sure if they know how to use the internet. They absolutly kill it when it comes to riding though. I think all the "unknown shredder's" are riding 24" bikes these days. its only a matter of time before they get reconized.

Oh and here is one of my personal favorite new 24" bikes on the market the Nemisis Project street fighter: check it out

http://www.unrealcycles.com/gallery_view.php?view=137&Nemesis+Project+Streetfighter+Dirt+Jumping,+Dual/BSX,+Pimping,+Skatepark,+Transportation,+Urban+Assault,+Work

Ill chime in as well. The 24 is where its at. I rode all last year on a SC Chameleon with 24's and loved it. A month (or so) ago I got one of the first production bikes (I think the first if the owners dont count) from Union Street Bikes (www.unionstreetbikes.com) Its similar to the Tonic (also a sweeeeeeet azzzz bike!). Anyway, the more bmx geometry only made a good thing better!

Rock some 2-4's and I think you'll be stoked. The General Lee can even be setup with a really short travel suspension fork (Ive seen it work) if you want that option. Thing is, switching from 26 to 24 and back is fairly easy. Adjusting to the feel of a 20 is considerably tougher. That said, the progress you make at the park on the 24's will transfer more easily to your trail riding and vice versa. I do know some unreal bmx'ers who have crossed into mtb and can go back and forth seemlessly but I do think it takes a lot more to do so.

 

[morethanjake543]

That Molly bike is looking pretty badass. How much does yours weigh? I don't think I'd be able to afford that, or even willing to make that large of an investment into something that I know I wont be spending much time with (The occasional gig four or five times a month). Heck, that DK Xenia would be perfect if it were 150 less. Cheap is good.

Any idea on a short travel fork that would work with the General Lee? I'm not sure, but I found a place that mentions it running a 1 1/8th headtube, so it doesn't sound too bad.

To be honest, 24s are sound really nice right now. I almost got a sweet used rig a while ago, but the home owners were against it back then. Well, thanks for the help, at least.

 

[morethanjake543]

I don't know. I've ridden a few park things on my old fully 26' and that definently helped me improve. Infact, I learned to to abubaca and fufanu on my kona Coiler quicker than I did on my BMX. Then again, I was also insanely comfortable with riding on my MTB.

Whatever feels better, though. My back gets sore from riding my BMX too much, so the 24' is getting more and more appealing.

 

[namaSSte]

That Molly bike is looking pretty badass. How much does yours weigh?

Any idea on a short travel fork that would work with the General Lee? I'm not sure, but I found a place that mentions it running a 1 1/8th headtube, so it doesn't sound too bad.

To be honest, 24s are sound really nice right now. I almost got a sweet used rig a while ago, but the home owners were against it back then. Well, thanks for the help, at least.

The frame is a true 6lbs and I think mine is around 31lbs total. At one point I wasn't sure about a a dedicated park/street/dj bike but the idea grew on me and now Im soooooo glasd I did it. They killed it with this frame.

If you go with the General Lee, you could go cheap with a DJ3 fork (very heavy though). Greenfish has Stance Statics on sale for 249 with a free CC S2 headset. Probably not a bad deal for the budget. You can even get it at 80mm with a qr if you have a non ta wheel ready to go. If you really get into doing a build, lemme know, I might have a 24" wheelset I could sell you on the cheap.