Picture the scene – your new custom jump bike has just been delivered, and you are full of excitement. You can’t wait to wield the handlebars and take her out for a quick spin. You push off and start pedalling furiously down the street, only to find your shoulders are hunched up and your feet hitting the front wheel with every turn – you stop, angered by your realisation – the frame size is too small, the handlebars too close, the suspension is as hard as marshmallow. You have just wasted £300!
Such a mistake can easily be avoided by knowing what to look for before making a purchasing decision. Jump bikes are relatively new to bike shops, and because of this it is hard to find good advice over what features to look for. Here’s what to bear in mind:
Correct size: If you are approaching 6 foot, it is important to consider the length of the top tube on the bike before buying. Too short and you may find that the frame is too small for you, and your feet may hit the front wheel while doing slow turns. The lower the seat is the better, since you will have more room between you and the frame. Try to test one out before buying.
Suspension: Strength and firmness are the key factors to consider when it comes to suspension systems. Jump bikes need to have reinforced shocks to absorb the high impact landings – they are similar to the ones used on mountain bikes but they have slightly thicker posts. It is preferable to have firm shocks with not a lot of movement as this affords the rider more control during tricks. If you are going to be dirt jumping over high air gaps you might want slightly spongier shocks with more travel, but they should still be pretty solid.
Gears: Gearing on dirt jumping bikes is not essential but if you are going to be using it for other purposes then it can be useful to have. A lot of models are single speed which is a lot more robust and makes it a lot less likely that the chain will fall off during landing. Single speed bikes tend to require less maintenance too since there is no derailleur to take care of.
You can now buy a good selection of ‘off the peg’ bikes at local bicycle shops, which wasn’t the case a few years ago. This means that you can try before buying, although the shop owner may be hesitant about letting you out of the shop to do tricks! You can also get some good bargain second hand jump bikes by looking at Ebay and Gumtree, the latter being preferable as you can again try them out.
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