Recommend me an OTP BMX bike for 12y old boy

yeah that subrosa isnt that special but then again it is a rider owned. Look for something full 4130 tubing and as many sealed bearings as you can get. it's worth looking up a bmx specific shop as they can generally be relied on (only generally). even though this website http://www.winstanleysbmx.com/ has a shit reputation there are some good deals to be had on there...scout on the bike sale section on there then look for reviews online

oh and check out this 13 year old...

30 Minutes With Sean Richany on Vimeo

You could also try the BMX talk forum, it's more or less the end of the national season in the uk, so there will be plenty of people selling off bikes.Both race and street/dirt bikes.....

yeah that subrosa isnt that special but then again it is a rider owned. Look for something full 4130 tubing and as many sealed bearings as you can get.

But thats the main thing. If you are a beginning kid you do not actually need all the strength of 4130 (cheap 4130 varies immenseley in quality anyway) and aside from sealed bearing in the bottom bracket, you arent gonna notice much benefit with them in wheels & headset.

Those things drive the price up hugely, making all of scotts statements true.

But the fact is, a hi-ten frame can be more than adequate. Its also better to let the kid 'get into' riding on a cheaper more basic bike so they can choose/build their own better bike when/if they get properly hooked.

Same goes for any hobby, guitar etc.

We sell Haro, GT, Mongoose and Diamond back BMX's in the bike shop I work at. Out of them all Id place GT at the bottom.

Oh, and regarding the video of that Kid. Kill It! Its clearly not Human!

gonna have to double up on that - GT back in the day - fucking amazing... now they just pump the same old shit, much of muchness in that budget.

It comes down to support really, support a company like United or WTP, Fit etc cause you wanna support bmxers, or go with a multi-national.

first bikes are first bikes, the kid has just got to like the bike, the way it looks, the rest falls into place

NEVER met a person who had a good dealing with winstanleys - they have good deals that don't exist..

I don't mean to come off as a dick, buuut.... i'd avoid any of the above mentioned brands. they are big companies run by suits which makes them far from "cutting edge", the bikes they make are poor imitations of the ones legit brands started making 2 or 3 years ago.

Rider owned companies care about the bikes, the big companies only care about "shifting units". Therefore you end up getting a better product for your money with a brand that is actually part of the scene it produces products for. I know it sounds like i'm paraphrasing from "the school boy book of being hardcore" but I am trying to make a point, really...

That Subrosa is a piece of junk too though, that company is only selling skulls and bones...

Wethepeople, United, Federal, Fit are all brands worth trusting when buying completes...

Hiya guys,
Thank you all very much for prompt and useful replies. It's gonna be a 20inch bmx defo as the boy is quite tall and will grow quick quickly. He will mostly use it to have fun on the steets with his pals. The budget is around 200 so i do't think that he could have some proper maker's bmx but more likely one of the mainstream brands. Is haro any good?

If the kid is pretty tall it removes most of the difficulty. He should be comfortable with nearly all the OTP £200 bikes and you dont need to worry about all the lightweight/small frame stuff ive been going on about!

Haro are pretty good but the £200 bikes are quite unexciting, plus if he gets into it he'll grow to become embarassed of the old school name. Go for something like United, wethepeople or Fit.

is this one any good:

http://www.discountcyclesdirect.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=7432

or at the same store:

http://www.discountcyclesdirect.co.uk/product_info.php?products_id=7527

it's just over 200 so it should be ok price wise

Im kind of shooting myself in the face, but the Mongoose is actually miles better than the WTP.

It has FULL 4130 frame & forks. And all the parts look really decent. IT also has a 48spoke rear wheel which many of the bike companies are skimping on these days.

WOW...could this be? A major corp bmx company making an entry level bike that is lighter and better specced than the equivalent from the small rider owned companies that you've been saying are better?

How could a small rider owned company even begin to compete at that price range with the majors who have huge budgets and so have access to better components and production techniques for less money, and who specialises in making entry level bmx's. Where as the only reason the rider owned companies have bikes that cheap in their range is because they're trying to look like they offer a full range...so they have to settle for poorer quality components in order to reach the required price bracket...the frames they offer at that price range aren't even worth upgrading either.

Like i said all along...for bmx's at this price range....the majors offer better bikes..they may not seem as cool to the 'proper' bmxers, but they ARE better bikes for the same money. End of.

Buy an Intense.

NEVER met a person who had a good dealing with winstanleys - they have good deals that don't exist..

Hello. I will be your first then :-)

Bought a bike a few weeks ago, RRP £500, at sell at many other shops for around £450 and I paid £380 from Winstanleys and it was delivered next day.

I don't mean to come off as a dick, buuut.... i'd avoid any of the above mentioned brands. they are big companies run by suits which makes them far from "cutting edge", the bikes they make are poor imitations of the ones legit brands started making 2 or 3 years ago.

Rider owned companies care about the bikes, the big companies only care about "shifting units". Therefore you end up getting a better product for your money with a brand that is actually part of the scene it produces products for. I know it sounds like i'm paraphrasing from "the school boy book of being hardcore" but I am trying to make a point, really...

That Subrosa is a piece of junk too though, that company is only selling skulls and bones...

Wethepeople, United, Federal, Fit are all brands worth trusting when buying completes...

Bu without those big nasty money grabbing corporations then BMX may not have existed......

now that is an interesting proposition ^
when does and 'idea' for adventure sports become commodified?
reading about all these scenes (bmx, skateboard, mtb) being given the $$injection that takes them to a different level is well worth an evening or two.

I don't know much about BMX (although I am learning!), but I like the We The People bikes, although anything that S&M put out seems lighter and better.

Oh, and get him some Bicycle Union gear, it's fantastic. And Vegan.

I ended up buying a heavy mega overbuilt circa 98 'proper' bmx as I thought it was a good idea

i had a proper frame up until recently when i sold my bmx. i second the massively overbuilt bike not doing much for ones enjoyment when learning statement. I loved that bike and rode it for years round town just never really learnt any big tricks cos i got knackered just riding the thing around.

I like the look of those gts, if i got back into bmx i'd happily spend a couple of hundred on one. Cost less than my last bike and prob lighter and better spec as well, things have moved on since i last looked at a bmx mag...

that said the 'houdini' logos were pretty bitchin

mine was army green tho, with green dmr flats and shuriken chainring. win.
sold to badger, hope its being cherished

win.

Bu without those big nasty money grabbing corporations then BMX may not have existed......

I wouldnt go as far as saying they are nasty, they are just bloated and out of touch.
Obviously they are some of the "founding companies" of bmx but they have moved far away from what they once were?

Scotts point about the large companies having access to better manufacturer's is half right, from what I have been told there are 3 manufacturers of OTP bmx's in thailand so everyone from United, Terrible One and Wethepeople to GT and Mongoose gets there bikes made in pretty much the same place.

However, the larger companies obv have more financial clout to buy in large quantities leading to lower cost per unit... ....although, if said units are being specced by suits and board meetings with out of date or just bad components and features they become irrelevant.

Then of course there is the fact a 12 year old kid will be pretty pleased with any bmx and a grown man should really have something better to do than waffle on about big bmx companies/small bmx companies, like getting to work, which I am now late for...

Bu without those big nasty money grabbing corporations then BMX may not have existed......

those big nasty corps bought out many of these brands years ago, they don't set trends in design or offer the industry growth potential.

these big companies HAVE ALL just cut their bmx teams.

THE BEST rider in the world, JAMIE BESTWICK, a UK rider was cut by GT...... smart move GT and thanks for the memories.... mongoose just got rid of their pro team....

these small bmx companies actually can compete and do very well, in fact, the only reason corporates have uped their game last couple of years is cause comapnies like wtp just thought fuck this, we are gonna come out with a complete bike range that cater to a young bmxers needs. They have been very successful.

If your kid gets into it, starts buying the mags, starts riding well he's gonna want to ditch that GT.

Also 48 hole rear wheels have not been a selling point in bmx for a while

win.

company no longer exits, tubing OD is way smaller these days - and this frame came out 2 yrs ago...

I don't know much about BMX (although I am learning!), but I like the We The People bikes, although anything that S&M put out seems lighter and better.

Oh, and get him some Bicycle Union gear, it's fantastic. And Vegan.

What - John Dye eats his own clothes and gloves!!!!

WOW...could this be? A major corp bmx company making an entry level bike that is lighter and better specced than the equivalent from the small rider owned companies that you've been saying are better?

How could a small rider owned company even begin to compete at that price range with the majors who have huge budgets and so have access to better components and production techniques for less money, and who specialises in making entry level bmx's. Where as the only reason the rider owned companies have bikes that cheap in their range is because they're trying to look like they offer a full range...so they have to settle for poorer quality components in order to reach the required price bracket...the frames they offer at that price range aren't even worth upgrading either.

Like i said all along...for bmx's at this price range....the majors offer better bikes..they may not seem as cool to the 'proper' bmxers, but they ARE better bikes for the same money. End of.

@Scott - you make the bmx industry sound like a floundering bunch of heshians who haven't been able to get their act together? While this was true for some time the last 5 yrs or so has seen a marked improvement in the business minds of many industry (bmx owned) leaders/owners. In fact, these companies mentioned above stopped moaning and went to work putting decent complete's together and as a result made the big guys move, this is healthy and show's that bmx rider owned brands are economic entities to be taken as an economic threat.

"trying to look like they offer a full range" - WTF, you mean the corporates here right? always trying to look like they are doing something new....

"poorer quality components in order to reach the required price bracket?" corporates again right? BMX has a pretty core market, it's not MTB, not skate or wake, it's not companies saying yeah we are bmx and are hard core and "proper" here is our shit product - you'll eat this shit up. Not how it works, not that much hype... yet

Anyways, the industry gets all their shit form the same sources in taiwan, difference is they (rider owned) go over and check on production and take care specing their bikes, it's their bread and butter, it has been in their interests to do this shit.

big corps don't do that - it's cookie cutter shit to them

The consumers/kids are much more educated these days and know their shit, the guys they ride with a little older know their shit, once some 15yr old tells a 13yr his GT is shit - new bike dad!! thats the way it works, always has in that sense, i seen that transition from last year down the trails to this, young guys learn so quick these days.

ok the fella concerned wants a bike for his kid to muck around on - why ask though unless u wanted to get clued in? £200 is £200 - don't expect the bike to last at that price bracket

frames not worth upgrading? man, three times now, again this is the exact opposite - corporate frames are the frames that need upgrading...

lastly, it does matter what bike you buy and who you support - Jamie Bestwick was axed from the GT team and they dropped all their riders, he is such an amazing rider and English, Mongoose did exactly the same thing - cept they replaced em with no name street guys, cause that's what is a big trend now - but 5 yrs too late - pathetic really.

SO - not end of, not at all....

The kid gave his final verdict. He wants the mongoose :-) Thank you all for great help and suggestions. Cheers

Sign him up for the next Brick 2 Brix innit.