question for/about kids????

[beatcad]

wow, this is gonna sound like a rant/gripe, but i'm seriously curious about the kids(10 to 15 years old).
i've been aware of kids ridin' bikes forever, but 2 things have caught my attention in the last couple weeks.
#1 the other weekend some dum-dum stopped by my garage and wanted some air in his tire. i didnt know the jack-leg, but i put som air in his tire because i'm a nice guy(a sucker). my neighbor little kid asked him about his brakes(he-the dum dum-had none). he said he didnt need them.
now i know there are loooogn discusions about ridin' BMX bikes without brakes on other message boards. i have no problems w/ that if yer an adult and have been ridin' forever and realize what could happen.
is this kid ridin' w/out brakes because it's "cool" or because he's an .....?
#2 besides that dum-dum i've seen maybe 10 to12 other kids w/ BMX bikes in the last 2 weeks that are trashily spray painted.
do they want to "customize" their bike, but really have no talent?
i seriously dought they want to "rat rod" their bike.

i guess what i'm gettin' at is are these dummies just tryin' to disguise a stolen bike.

are kids lookin' at BMX magazines and choosing not to run brakes?
are kids just tryin' to customize their bikes w/ no idea how to?

i guess i would be niave to think that kids dont steal bikes these days.

thank you guys(and gals) for puttin' up w/ my dumb thoughts.

 

[Gold Street Customs]

I have some of the same kids coming around my nieghborhood , and usually they just don't have a clue on what they are doing, Why ? well most of the time moms don't work out in the garage,and Dad is ? so they don't have any mentoring, or know how to fix the brakes. But they want to do something, so here's your spraybombed bmx

 

[StephenH]

"No brakes" is pretty common on fixed-gear bikes.

Wasn't aware of that being the case with BMX. But you'll notice the post on the Skull Skates cruiser elsewhere says it comes as a fixed gear version, do BMX bikes do that?

When I was a kid, we repainted bikes for the same reason we moved the furniture around the room every once in a while- to be different. A blue bike you painted yourself is better than a black bike painted by Schwinn.

 

[bmxerpete]

Being brakeless is pretty much the current rage in bmx again as it was back in the early to mid 90's. The pros are all riding brakeless, so natch the kids have to copy them. The thinking is you have to commit to pulling whatever you're going to try and you can't wuss out and hit the brakes. They also say it's less weight and less stuff to mess with on your bike. I've heard more than 1 pro bmxer say "Skateboards don't need them, so neither do we." That and the fact that most kids today have no clue how to work on their bikes- it's easier to take them off than to dial them in. My eldest runs brakeless at the skatepark, but I won't let him take the brakes off of his street bike. I've tried it before, didn't like it...I guess I'm old but I like my brakes.

The spray paint thing is also pretty much kids following what the pros do. 5 years ago you weren't cool if you didn't have a black bike, now crazy neon colors are back in style, and a 98 cent can of spray paint from Wallymart is a lot cheaper than a new frame.

 

[bicycleguy]

I know atleast 10 people that ride brakeless all the time and they all say they do it because "it's lighter, less complicated and there arn't cables to get caught up on when your doing barspins and stuff"

 

[deorman]

If you let your kids on the street without brakes, you can probably be charged with negligence, and their bikes impounded.

 

[SCHWINNRAY69]

I'm am 12 and all I ride are muscle bikes, middleweights and ballooners. :wink: And they all have brakes :mrgreen:

 

[Rustinkerer]

Well, bad bike repaints have been going on for a LONG time! Except they used house paint and canned enamel back in the day! :lol: But yes, the 80s and up kids seem to go for that 'camo' look. That is, if gold, neon orange, and blue blended in with anything!!! -Adam

 

[spistols]

...what BMXer Pete said. True, it is not wise to run brakeless for everyday riding and street cruising. But, when was the last time any of us took a musclebike, balloontire, or middleweight into the bowls? Anyone?...anyone?...

With what these kids do in the skatebowls on bikes is an art form. It takes extreme talent and physical capability. Far beyond what a lot of us 40+ year olds can do. As for the weight issue, I can tell the difference of 2# in a bike in the bowls. I tried my bike vs. my kid's and noticed a significant difference on what I can do on mine vs. the 2# lighter bike.

Now, can these kids restore a Phantom or a Krate, not yet. But give it time, and when they have their own children, you can bet they will be pulling out their old spraybombed brakeless trick bike and restoring it back to the day it was brand new with shiny paint, brakes, and who knows, maybe even the reflectors!

 

[MERK]

Most jurisdictions have laws requiring a bicycle ridden on the road to have at least one brake. If they want to run brakeless at the park, that`s cool, they can risk their own health/safety all they want...

 

[masterpoop63]

i live in vallejo and we have real ghettos here and im the guy who buys those kids bikes from em "cause the tires are flat"for $5 and then i pump em up and sell em for $25-$30 i see bikes that have the foil and no brakes mutli-colored chinese crap all the time

 

[Gold Street Customs]

i live in vallejo and we have real ghettos here and im the guy who buys those kids bikes from em "cause the tires are flat"for $5 and then i pump em up and sell em for $25-$30 i see bikes that have the foil and no brakes mutli-colored chinese crap all the time

You should be at Infineon today.

 

[KOTA]

It's pretty well known in my neighborhood that if you need your bike fixed, go see the big bald guy. It's my pleasure to fix or replace whatever needs fixin, brakes, stems, pedals, tires, chains. I pick up tag sale bikes for about a dollar a piece. So if I have the parts and some kid needs them, it's theirs. I find that most parents don't know (or care) about the condition of their kid's bikes. The only thing I require is " You better have a helmet on"..........And yes I've seen some pretty shabby paint jobs. But when you tell some kid how COOL his bike looks and he holds his head high and has a big smile, you may have given them the confidence they need to better "next" time.

 

[Gold Street Customs]

It's pretty well known in my neighborhood that if you need your bike fixed, go see the big bald guy. It's my pleasure to fix or replace whatever needs fixin, brakes, stems, pedals, tires, chains. I pick up tag sale bikes for about a dollar a piece. So if I have the parts and some kid needs them, it's theirs. I find that most parents don't know (or care) about the condition of their kid's bikes. The only thing I require is " You better have a helmet on"..........And yes I've seen some pretty shabby paint jobs. But when you tell some kid how COOL his bike looks and he holds his head high and has a big smile, you may have given them the confidence they need to better "next" time.

Thats what I'm taliking about.... 8)

 

[stretch]

my friend always ran his junky haro or anything else brakeless, to lazy to adjust them and said it made him cool. :roll: i hate cables and all that junk too(cleanliness), so i go with coaster brakes!