Cruising Around on a BMX Bike for Taller “Older Guys” - Advice

[sand_man]

Hoping that Byron provides his input Anyway, I’m 6’-3” about 200lbs (occasionally drops to 190-195 when I behave). I’m looking at getting 26” BMX bike for light street cruising; covering short distances or running simple errands around my neighborhood. I’m thinking about either a 26” SE Quadangle or 26” SE OM Flyer. Back in the ‘80s, I used to scoot around on an SE PK Ripper and owned a few others; Redline, MCS, GT, etc.

Ideally, I’d love an old skool BMX “Cali style” beach cruiser, similar to the stuff Laguna or Powerlite made, but they are hard to find and prices on vintage stuff are insane. So I think new/re-issue will be fine for my purposes.

I know about the 29” stuff; SE Big Ripper and I think there once was a Quadangle available in 29”. Honestly they look a little cartoonish. So my long-winded question is, can I set up a 26” BMX bike with taller bars and maybe a taller/laid-back seat post to be somewhat comfortable for street? I’m looking for something a little different than the typical full sized mtb, hybrid, city bike…I have a few of those already, that I keep at our beach place.

26” Quadangle has a top tube length of 22” and a stand over height of 27.1”


26” OM Flyer has a top tube length of 22.2” and a stand over height of 28.1”


Thoughts? Advice? Am I delusional?

[scottmandue]

I'm curious about this too... thinking of getting a 26" Mongoose fat tire bike... best deal is to buy it online but never bought a bike without sitting on it first.

[scottmandue]

[BlueSkyJaunte]

I think you need a banana seat chopper.

[GG Allin]

I've been thinking about one of those SE Quads lately too.

I don't get the fat tire thing. What's the advantage there?

[GG Allin]

My Old School SE Quadangle from years ago there on the work bench. Should have kept it, should have kept that RSA too.

[A930Rocket]

My new fat tire bike.

[DanielDudley]

What you want is called a comfort bike.

[sand_man]

Yeah, I don't get the fat tire thing. SE makes one called the Fat Ripper.

[sand_man]

Originally Posted by DanielDudley

What you want is called a comfort bike.

Too conventional for me.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

The pk ripper in 20 with landing gear is a thing of beauty.
The quadangle in 26 with landing gear makes sense too.
Basically- anything with landing gear is rocking.
I would go long seatpost laid back and tilt the pictured bars forward.

I still have my 20 inch torker and put an extreme laid back seatpost on it- and it works for shorter jaunts. It's all about the attitude.
In respect to an old dead friend who sold high end italian road bikes (fagin etc...) in the 1980's--
"A bmx bike is good for jumping over the bushes in your front yard and riding down the sidewalk...."


Make the best of the sidewalk!

[sand_man]

Yeah, I never should have sold that PK!!! A thing of beauty indeed!

[LEAKYSEALS951]

I think a 26 quadangle pictured above with a longer seatpost/laid back "might" get you into a workeable geometry for short cruises/ etc... I would go in that direction. And it is good.

edit- WHOAH!!! a 26???? I was thinking 24. With a 26 I bet you could get a long straight seatpost and slam the bars forward for a more workable position! - It might look better too!!!!- edit 2 = I am basing this on the already relaxed angle of the seat tube- which should hopefully put things where they need to be!

[LEAKYSEALS951]

O.K- A bit of photoshop and wala!

I slammed (edit-moved) the bars forward and raised the seat, and slammed (edit-slammed) it back on the rails and tilted it forward.

(p.s- I'm now thinking a 26- bars forward, and a slight laid back seatpost might make this work)

The interesting thing about bmx bikes is they had something like 24.5 seatpost diameters- which is very thin by modern standards.... (fwiw)


fwiw pt duex- as a 10 year old- I never understood this frame vs. the ripper.
as a 46 yo- in this size it makes sense!

[sand_man]

^^^^You're the best!!! Thank you so much for going to the trouble! I like it!

[LEAKYSEALS951]

I would order the above bike, and if the above seatpost does not exist ( or a slightly laid back equivelant) have a machine shop engineer one. Who care if it 4130? Ha!!! Make it work!

Also- if those are really 26 wheels, you may be looking not so much at a longer seatpost as a short bar height... The tt lenght is a very reasonable length for this size...Just thinking

One bourbon.. one scotch.. and one beer.....

[sand_man]

Funny you said that about the Quad vs. the Ripper! I am also 46 and as a kid, thought the exact same thing!!!! I didn't understand the Quad's complexity, but that Ripper was something I lusted after, until finally I saved enough to buy it! It was sex on wheels for me then!

[jyl]

No front brake. Keep it under 15 mph and no downhills.

[Jim Bremner]

I have a dealer that sells more of those than any non mail order shop. I do like the 29" versions I'm 6'.00025 If you guys want a price on one and you are willing to buy one sight unseen I can help. If you buy a PK Ripper I can try to get Perry Kraemer to sign it for you too. The Quad Angle was far ahead of it's time and I'm pretty damn sure that if you did a stress test on it vs a standard frame that it's head tube would resist bending rearward better than most bikes. I like this small brand out of Santa Barbara. I rode one of his bikes the other day and want one! Santa Barbara Cruisers, Custom Handcrafted Bicycle Frames & Components

[sand_man]

Originally Posted by Jim Bremner

I like this small brand out of Santa Barbara. I rode one of his bikes the other day and want one! Santa Barbara Cruisers, Custom Handcrafted Bicycle Frames & Components

Many thanks for the input, Jim. I also heard that in 2017, SE will be offering a reissue of the STR-1 prototype that Stu Thompson used to race. That one had the double down tubes that actually wrapped around underneath the BB and then continued into the loop-tail chain-stays. I think it is being offered as a 29".

And that cruiser from Santa Barbara is exactly the style I was referring to!