hey everyone and welcome back to another tuesday tip where in this video we're gonna be talking
about what size bmx frame or bike you need based on your height with that i do have another video
talking about all aspects of bmx frame geometry it's just in that one i don't cover what size
frame generally fits a certain height range in a rider so that's what we're going to be focusing on
today with a focus on top tube length so when we get done with this one head on over to that other
frame geometry video to learn what all the other numbers mean and the impact that they can have on
the feel of your bike also with that said this is not the end all be all of this subject this
is meant to be a starting point for those of you who are just getting into or coming back to bmx or
someone who wants to get a new bike or frame but doesn't yet know what size they like or know what
size they should get in relation to their height versus top tube length so we're gonna be starting
at a rider height of four foot six inches in a top two length of 18 inches and moving up from there
but later in the video i will be covering rider heights shorter than that and bike size smaller
than that so stay tuned or skip ahead if that's what you're looking for so we're gonna be starting
at a rider height of four foot six inches to four foot ten inches and the range here is 18 inches
to 20 inches flat on top tube length and i got to give a shout out to kink for making these graphics
years ago and then i saw them up on bmx union recently and gave me the idea to talk about
this so if you're new to bmx and you're in that height range that is the frame and bike size
that you should be looking for to fit you in a general sense from there we're going to four
foot ten inches to five foot three inches and the size there is 19.5 inch top tube length to 20.25
inch top tube length so before we're talking about an 18 inch bike and a 20 inch bike here we're
talking about 20 inch bicycles because a 19.5 inch top tube length can fit 20 inch wheels moving on
from there five foot three inches to five foot six inches that's where you get into 20 inches
flat for top tube length to 20.5 inches for top tube length and if you're looking for a brand new
bmx bike usually you can find the geometry of the frame at least the top tube length on the website
for the company who makes that bike so be sure to check that out and do your research whenever
you're looking into buying a new bmx bike because having the correct top tube size for you can make
a big difference when you're learning how to ride especially in comparison to having something that
is way too short and way too small or having something that is way too long and way too big
having the right size bike definitely makes things easier at first then from five foot six to five
foot nine the recommended top tube size is 20.5 to 20.75 moving up from there five foot nine to six
foot we're looking at 20.6 to 21 inches in top tube length then at six foot plus we're looking
at 20.75 and up so at that five eleven to six foot and above range i would generally recommend
something like a 21 inch top tube length and if you ride that and feel you need something that
is longer i would even recommend going above that especially when you get to like six foot two three
four five and six that as well as a few riders who like that length or why bmx frames exist that are
bigger than 21 inches and if you're getting closer to seven foot tall maybe it's worth considering a
22 inch bike or a 24 inch bike which have bigger tires and generally fit taller people even better
so with that let's move on to the smaller side of things to start with the little guys we've
got a height range of two foot two inches to three foot flat then a top tube length or bike
size recommendation of twelve to twelve and a half inches and then we got a three foot three to three
foot seven inch height range and a 14 to 14.5 inch recommendation then we move into kind of
the more familiar territory for bmx because this is where more companies start making complete
bikes or complete bmx specific bikes we've got the range of 2 foot 11 inches to 3 foot 10 inches kind
of a bigger range in a whole foot really and the top tube length here is 16 inches flat to 16 and
a half inches so on that note that's everything we have to cover as far as the recommendations go
but something i wanted to make sure that i covered here and hopefully most of you are still tuned in
for this is that the more and more you ride bmx the more you're going to learn the more tricks
you're going to learn the more you're going to develop your style and figure out what you
actually like to ride as far as dirt street park maybe you like all of it maybe you like a certain
segment of it that's all okay because it's all freestyle but the more you ride and the more you
learn the more you're gonna learn about yourself and that's where you learn what top tube size you
like as well as the other different aspects of bmx frame geometry that you like on your bike
because they all have an impact but when you're first learning how to ride they have less of an
impact because you're just learning the basics you're learning how to control the bike so the
most important factor there is having a bike that fits you in size and hopefully this video
helps with that but also there's other things that you can get for your bike or change on your bike
that can have an impact on the way the bike feels as far as sizing goes so your stem reach how
far your stem goes from the fork to where your bars clamp can also have an impact on how long
your bike feels so you can effectively simulate a longer top tube with a longer reach stem but that
is going to have other implications and effects on the way your bike feels because a longer stem
also has impacts on the steering of your bike and i do have a video about bmx stem geometry
you can check it out in this corner of the screen and learn all about these different aspects then
there's also fork offset a steeper fork offset is going to put your tires closer together
giving you a shorter wheelbase which is also something that a shorter top tube length will do
in the opposite of that a mellower fork offset is going to make your wheelbase further apart
simulating a longer top tube this also has impacts on steering and i do have a fork geometry video
that talks all about that which you can find in the corner right here so there's different
things that you can do without having to buy a whole new frame to affect the sizing of your bike
but they do have different impacts on the other aspects of how your bike feels and this stuff can
get very complicated so now that you know all of this you can go over to the frame geometry video
and learn what all of those measurements mean and you can learn more and more as you're developing
your style in writing bmx and figuring out what you like and what's right for you so with that
being said i hope you guys learned something here i hope it helps you let me know in the comments if
it does help you and hopefully if you're new here or you haven't yet you'll hit the subscribe button
while you're down there we'll see you tomorrow for another video thank you for watching and goodbye