Light Weight BMX Bikes: Everything You Need To Know

BMX bikes are commonly used for short-distance cycling, but they are mainly meant for racing and performing stunts. To race and perform tricks quickly with ease, it has to be convenient and flexible to your advantage.

Thus, most of the BMX bikes are lightweight designed than other types of bikes. However, their weight is not the same because of the brand and its components, making them different and unique when it comes to racing, carrying out tricks, and experience. And for that reason, how much should the lightest BMX bike weigh?

How much should the Lightest BMX bike weigh?

Most of the BMX bikes averagely weigh between 20-28 pounds. Averagely, on the high end, 28 pounds is the heaviest and 20 pounds being the lightest, which is commonly used by pro BMX bike riders. But, for kids, you may find the most lightweight, weighing averagely between 9 to 12 pounds.

However, it depends on the size and the components of the BMX bike, which mainly contributes to its weight.

Thus, when selecting the best and ideal BMX bike, you should consider factors like who will use it and their weight, the components, and types of material used for construction. Below is the standard weight of BMX bikes regarding their sizes.

Size Weight in Pounds

  • Micro Mini ` 9 to 12
  • Mini 13 to 15
  • Junior 16 to 20
  • Expert 20 to 24
  • Pro 21 to 25
  • Pro Extra Large 22 to 26
  • Pro XXL 24 to 27
  • Pro XXX/Cruiser 25 to 28

What is the Significance of Weight to BMX Bike?

The weight of a BMX bike has a more significant impact when it comes to maneuverability while racing.

The lighter the bike, the easier you can to perform tricks with high-performance skills because it allows you to control the bike with high precision easily.

Thus, most professional BMX bike riders prefer lightweight bikes to heavier ones. The advantage of heavier bikes is that it offers more excellent stability and can bear weight.

Contrarily, lightweight bikes are a bit flimsy when it comes to stability, and they cannot hold much weight.

Therefore, the significance of size regarding weight is a vital feature that should prioritize for an ideal BMX bike. For instance, Mini and Micro mini BMX bikes can hold up to 110 pounds suitable for kids, while Pro XXL and Cruisers can withstand more than 160 pounds.

Riding a bike that cannot withstand your weight will make the bike not race at high speed, and any of the bike’s components can easily break due to pressure. Hence, making it not safer for racing and carrying out the tricks.

Use the chart above to find the ideal lightweight bike that can withstand your weight for you to ride at high speed and perform stunts with precision and without worries.

Does the Weight affect the Cost of the BMX Bike?

Yes. The cost of the BMX bike varies across all the brands due to the quality of construction and the brand’s popularity in the market.

Despite that, a lightweight BMX bike will cost you more than the heavy one due to demand and the type of material used for construction about size.

Thus, you will have to dig deeper into your pockets by purchasing the lightest BMX bike for the significance of its intended purpose.

How To Make BMX Bike Lighter?

Riding a BMX bike is much fun, but unfortunately, your bike is heavy, and you do not have enough money to buy a new one; what would you do?

There is no need to purchase the new one because BMX bikes can be customized to your preference by replacing their components with new ones that are ideal for your condition.

However, replacing the components will cost you but much lesser than purchasing a new BMX bike. Follow the steps below to guide you on how to replace the components of your BMX bike.

1. Get rid of excess components.

The BMX bike has a lot of components, but they add a lot of weight to your bike, making it to be heavier and inconvenient to its purpose.

Things like chain guard, excess pegs, reflectors, and many more are undeniably crucial to your bike, but they add a lot of weight. Therefore, you should remove them to make your bike lighter.

However, before removing them, you should be very careful not to interfere with other parts designed for safety precautions. If the excess components you intend to remove are vital to your needs, you should replace them with lighter ones.

2. Replace the handlebar stem bolts and the wheel axles

If the handlebar of your bikes has heavy and solid stem bolts you should replace them with the ones that are hollow.

The best and lightweight stem bolt to use for this purpose are the ones that are hollow designed and are made from aluminum material that are solid enough.

3. About Pegs

Many BMX bikes have pegs that are made from stainless steel which is due to their durability and resistance. However, they are heavy which adds up to the massive weight that makes it difficult for you to maneuver with ease and comfort.

To improve on maneuverability, you may use shorter pegs, replace with the plastic types or use aluminum pegs that are lighter than the ones made from stainless steel.

4. Change the Frame

Frame is the largest and heaviest component of any type of a bike and it is what makes the bike to be complete. Changing the frame of BMX bike will make significantly make your bike lighter.

However, replacing it with the lighter material will add to an expense since material like titanium which is mostly used for making the lightest BMX bikes are expensive due to the material’s quality.

If titanium frame price is on high end, I would recommend you use Chrome-alloyed steel frame that are inexpensive, but lighter, solid and durable.

Don’t opt for frames that are made from steel because they are heavy and expensive than chromoly designed frames.

5. Get rid of stainless steel pedal

If the pedal of your BMX bike features stainless steel pedals its high time to get rid of it. Stainless steel pedal adds a lot of weight which makes it harder for you to ride when the topography gradient gradually changes.

The ideal type of a pedal to use is either the ones that are made from plastic or aluminum material but ensure the pedals are hollow designed. The significance of using hollow pedals is that it reduces the weight of the crank arms.

Advantages of lightweight BMX bike heavyweight BMX bike

Since heavier BMX bikes are more stable than lightweight ones, there is still a lot you can gain from riding the light ones over the heavy BMX bike. They include:

  1. They are fast and easy to control to your advantage than the heavy BMX bike. Hence, they are widely used and preferred by professional riders and racers. However, it would help if you were very careful because they are flimsy and unsuitable for sensitive or bumpy roads.
  2. You can jump higher and spin faster, making you feel free to even under stiff competition/racing.
  3. They are easy and effortless to ride/race with than heavy ones, which requires more strength and energy to ride.

Advantages of Heavy BMX bikes Over the Lightest ones

  1. They are inexpensive and long-lasting
  2. They are more stable than the lightest BMX bikes but not efficient for racing and performing stunts.
  3. They are suitable for both smooth, bumpy, and highly sensitive roads.

Your choice depends on the purpose, the cost, and the quality of its construction over the other. A lightweight BMX bike is the best for racing and jumping higher without much effort than the heavy BMX bike for pro riders.

If you want to ride on a susceptible road with much stability, then a heavy BMX bike is the best for that purpose.

What are the Best and Lightest BMX Bikes available in the market?

There are many Lightest BMX bikes available in the market; however, determining which one is the best and worth spending is difficult. The list below will help you find the best ones:

  1. Mongoose Legion 20
  2. Elite Freestyle Bike
  3. Redline Proline Bike
  4. Kink liberty
  5. Schwinn sting pro
  6. United Martinez BMX Bike
  7. We The People Envy
  8. Sunday Soundwave Special
  9. Tall Order 187 V3

What is the crucial feature to look for when Buying Lightest BMX Bike?

Apart from confirming the size, weight, and construction material, it is also essential to consider the customization of the BMX bike. Since the lightest BMX bike is designed from lighter material, they are prone to cramp frequently due to weight pressure exerted and sudden change of angles.

Therefore, the best most lightweight bike should allow you to customize its components for diversity. Nevertheless, it will enable you to customize your BMX bike to your needs by replacing unwanted features that make it feel heavier while racing and easier replacements of some spare parts.

This is because some BMX bikes are only compatible with their accessories making it difficult and expensive to customize them.

In Conclusion

Generally, the lightest BMX bikes are the best for racing and testing your stunt skills, but is your bike flexible and comfortable enough while racing?

If not, you may consider making it lighter by replacing its components or purchasing a new one with lesser components and ensuring it is constructed from aluminum, Chrome-alloyed steel, or titanium metal.

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