I began bmxing about 1.5 years ago with great success early on with bunny hop height etc. I started with the black and brown bike “eastern shovelhead” but as I researched bike more I thought I would try a more street frame found the kink tactic on Facebook and put a free coaster on it pegs and gyro. I feal like my bunny hop is getting worse. The eastern weighs 4 lbs lighter than the green kink. Geometry? Weight? Or am I just an old dumbass?
by melonlife12
11 Comments
No it really doesn’t lol
Probably all a mix of frame geometry and weight being in different places (adding a gyro). All minimal differences but it might affect you early on. I’ve definitely hopped on friends’ bikes over the years and it’s wild how different a bike can make riding.
New bike looks sick though, love the gyro.
Not at all, not even remotely
Na, all form. Weight differences these days, on proper bmxs, is marginal. I have ridden some of the vert pros bikes at the skatepark I go to and some of them do have scary light bikes I was afraid to even bunny hop them. But no.
Yes and no. Once you’ve got the technique down properly and learnt on a more average weight bike, it’s easier and then to an extent possible to hop higher but there is a limit.
Riders were hitting similar heights 20+ years ago to what’s achievable today, with heavier bikes.
In your instance is likely geometry and setup that’s creating you issues.
No not at all. Your geometry matters much more than weight
It doesn’t matter much. It’s mostly a combination of technique and geometry.
unless you’re like 8 years old, in which case you shouldn’t be on reddit, no. it’s all about technique. for my it was the right combo of handlebar sweep and just hopping up
I could hop higher on a 40# bike in 2001 higher than I’ve been able to the last 20 years
Yeah, technique all the way. I found that a BMX that’s not super light actually helps my bunnyhops. When it’s super light it feels so out of control.
Technique and adapting is the biggest factor. Technique is huge, and then adapting to what kind of bike setup you are riding is big too. Some bike setups are going to be easier and setting the bike up to your liking is huge too. This comes from trial and error. Weight is a factor, especially when you are young and as you get older.
Weight is def a factor, there’s a reason why bikes don’t weigh the same as they did. Fatigue is inevitable. It took riders like Ruben, who progressed bmx not only riding-wise but also to ditch the overbuilt, heavy setups to help change the industries’ standards. Geometry and lighter parts undoubtedly helped push the progression of riding. It opened the doors to what we see today.
A guy like Garrett Reynolds’s has been pretty open about riding a smaller setup bike to help with fatigue. As you progress with the session, you get tired and the bike starts to feel heavier. Or the bike can feel heavier at the end of the week of riding. The bike will feel lighter being smaller and easier to maneuver, but can be harder to adapt to at the beginning. He won’t sacrifice a strong, heavier part for a potentially weaker lighter part. So he found a way for himself to keep the bike feeling light.