BMX Bike Wheels Guide

The standard and efficiency of your BMX bike can be seen on the wheels you are using. BMX wheels are usually made to be only effective on one or more platform. So, choosing a right wheel requires that you give importance on where you should use it.

Bike wheels usually contain 6 parts: tire, inner tube, rim, spoke, hub and axle. The tires that are fasten on the rim of the wheel and hold the inner tube inside of it. For the rim, you can use the chrome type because it provides better braking surface for your brake pads. Rims are usually held in place by a spoke. The wires found on the wheel are called the spokes, while the hub is the part of a wheel that is found at the center. It can come with sealed or unsealed bearing. The center of the hub is known as axle.

BMX bike wheels come in many types. Bikes usually come in different sized axles on front and back wheel. The common size of axles is 3/8 inch or 14mm. Also, bikes have different spoke counts. But remember that the strength of the wheel does not depend on the number of the spokes. Some box-store bikes with lots of spokes are even useless.

Tires have different specifications. Some tires like knobbier tires work on dirt ground while other tires with smoother patterns work on asphalt or wood. But some tires can also work on both dirt and pavement. At the time of your purchase, some shops usually agreed on swapping your tires for free. After your purchase, your wheels can be upgraded and this will usually cost more than $40 per wheel.

Putting wheels on your BMX bike seems easy. But it can be tricky to keep your wheels properly maintained. If there is a clicking noise on your bike, then you have loose spokes. To adjust the tightness of the spoke, turn the spoke to the left using a wrench. But if the wheels of your BMX bike don’t spin very well, then the bearings of the wheels are too tight. Tightening your bearings might take a while and even can be frustrating. Hence, you might want to use the sealed bearings. Sealed bearings are stronger, more reliable and easier to work on. Compared to other bearings, sealed bearings last long.

You can find the best selling wheels on chainreactioncycles.com. These are Blank Supra Dome 9T Cassette Rear Wheel with 14mm heat treated axle and 36h rim, Stolen Roulette 9T Cassette Rear Wheel with 1 piece chromoly driver and 4 pawls with sealed bearings, Stolen Roulette 10mm Front Wheel with 36h rim and weighs 0.92kg, Kore Speed Hoop BMX Wheelset with 14mm axles with track nuts, Halo Tornado MX Front Wheel with Halo 32mm Tornado rims with eyelets, Blank Supra-G Flip Flop 14mm Rear Wheel with 14mm Axle and 48h for maximum strength, Blank Supra Dome 10mm Front Wheel with 10mm axle and 36h, and KHE Astral Front Wheel with 14mm axle and 36h.

These bike wheels are manufactured with different features. They come on different size of axle, spoke count, weight, color, bearing etc. Among these bikes, Kore Speed Hoop BMX Wheelset is considered to be the most expensive with a price of 199.99. And the Black Supra-G Flip Flop 14mm Rear Wheel is the cheapest with a price of 63.99.

July 20 2009 | bikes | No Comments »

Child’s Bike Seat – Having Them On Your Bike May Not Be Enough!

Parents, who are anxious and curious to know about getting their kids on their cycling trips are already geared up on the prospect of taking their kids on childs bike seat mounted on their bicycles. Well, one thing is for sure – These seats do allow the tot to enjoy the ride, while not having to worry about him getting injured. If you thought the deal was sealed and it is time for you to speed away on the roads, think again. There are some things you may want to know of even now.

It is important for you to cover all aspects of safety of your child while you ride the bike. In that regards, merely having a childs bike seat may just not be enough for you to guarantee the safety of your kid.

Here are few safety tips while you ride with your kid on the childs bike seat

Even before you start riding, make sure that the kid has all the safety gear worn. Of course, the tot would be too small to understand the safety gear and its importance, so you might have to take the effort to put them on your kid. Note – Kids get slightly hassled with all the new things on them, but we believe being a parent you can sort this problem out.

One of the most important safety gears is the helmet. The kid should in all cases wear a helmet, even if he is not riding the bike.

Don’t drive too fast with your kid in the childs bike seat – Well, over-speeding almost never helps, and with your kid on the childs bike seat, it could almost certainly invite trouble. Remember one thing before pedaling too fast – Your kid may not be in a position to maintain his balance in case you braked too fast. In such a scenario, he might fall of the bike seat causing severe harm to himself.

Follow safety rules at all times – Well, if nothing helps, following safety rules could almost certainly come to your rescue. You never know how the approaching vehicle is with the safety norms, but it will certainly help you if you do your bit well.

Never travel on overcrowded roads – The thumb rule on driving with your kid on the childs bike seat is – Don’t take to overcrowded roads either. Staying in your locality, we are sure you would know of the traffic conditions on the roads. If it needs you to travel through crowded roads to reach the market, you are advised to keep your kid home.

There is no reason why parents should feel these safety rules are complex, because they really aren’t. All of them are simple enough for you to understand and implement. Remember – Your thought of having fun while riding and including your kid in the fun is well appreciated, but you obviously don’t want the fun to end up in an accident. Make sure you follow these safety rules for a safe riding experience.

June 13 2009 | bikes | No Comments »