BMX is cresting a wave again, some may argue that it never goes away, but with being an event in the Tokyo Olympics, it is beginning to boom again.
Many companies want to jump on this wave and take your money, but which companies are offering you the 11 best BMX bikes available in 2023?
If you don’t want to read the full article, we’ll break down how we have picked the models here for you. After the article, we have a few hints and tips to keep you safe out there when you’re learning how to ride.
Editor’s Note: The article was updated in December 2022. As some of the bikes are out of stock, Luis added a few of his recommendations: Mafiabikes Madmain 20” Chrome Harry Main BMX Bike, We the people Reason 20” and We the people Crysis 20”. We’ll keep updating this article so make sure to bookmark this page.
Top 11 Best BMX Bikes – Summary
| Bike | Best For | Key Features | View Price|Buy |
Stolen Heist | The best all-round mix of affordability and parts |
| buy |
Kink Gap | The best BMX for street |
| buy |
Eastern Traildigger | The best BMX for dirt jumps |
| buy |
Mongoose Legion L10 | The most affordable BMX for smaller/younger riders |
| buy |
Mongoose Title  | The best race BMX |
| buy |
We the people Reason 20”  | Bike that is the dream of any street rider |
| buy |
We the people Crysis 20”  | A bike with beautiful aesthetics |
| buy |
Wethepeople Battleship | The best BMX, with no price constraints |
| buy |
Fit Tom Dugan | The best BMX for the skatepark |
| buy |
Mafiabikes Madmain 20” Chrome Harry Main BMX Bike | A durable bike available at affordable prices |
| view |
Cult Gateway | The best BMX for smaller riders |
| view |
Stolen Heist
Key Features
- Sealed bearings
- Tall bars
- Massive tire clearance
The Stolen Heist is a bike I see a lot of, and it is a bike that we use for hire bikes at a pump track that the club I’m a member of runs.
We have settled on them as we have found them to be a bike that lasts, they see regular crashes and the bikes, and usually, the people, get back up and keep going. We picked them as they were reasonably priced and strong.
Part of the reason we picked them was that they come with all sealed bearings. It might seem like a small thing to think about, but sealed bearings last longer, and need a lot less maintenance, which is great if you want to spend more time riding and less time in the workshop.
Just jump on your bike and get out and ride.
They also come with pretty tall bars, 9.25” high. These bars are a great choice for those of us that might be a bit taller. The extra height helps to put less strain on your back. You can easily hold your bars and spend the whole day out and not get any niggles.
Kink Gap
Key Features
- Freecoaster
- 4130 frame
- 80’s styling
It might be 2022, but Kink is racing ahead of us here, and this is the 2023 Kink Gap. The Kink harks back to the glory days of the 1980s, possibly inspired by the BMX bikes seen in Stranger Things.
The Gap has been a good mid-price bike in the Kink lineup for the last few years, and every year it gets incrementally better.
The main selling point on the Kink Gap is that it comes with a freecoaster. A freecoaster is a rear hub that has a clutch in it. The clutch means that if you do fakie tricks (rolling backward), your pedals won’t need you to backpedal like on a normal hub.
The ability to do this does have a small negative, in that when you pedal forward, and there will be a small gap before your drivetrain engages.
As with the Fit, the Kink comes with 4130 steel frame and forks. Having these parts made out of 4130 is great peace of mind if you want to keep your kids, or yourself, safe when they’re getting out and shredding.
Eastern Traildigger
Key Features
source: walmart.com 4130 frame
- 2.4 tires
- Sealed bearings
Eastern used to be a big brand in BMX, and then they went away for a few years, but with a new product like their Traildigger frame, it won’t be long until they are back on top of the world.
The Eastern Traildigger is a well-priced bike that features a lot of 4130 steel in its construction, always a nice piece of reassurance about the quality nature of a bike.
As well as having a 4130 frame, fork, and bars, it also comes with fully sealed bearings. You’ll get years of service out of this bike. With a 20.75” top tube, the frame will suit older teens and people right into adulthood.
It makes a nice length for hitting the skateparks or for going down the local dirt jumps, which is why it is called the Traildigger.
The Traildigger also comes with huge 2.4” tires to keep you bang on trend. These tires offer a lot of grip and make a great squeal when you ride them in the skatepark. The huge logo on them though is a love/hate thing, and if you love them, then you’ll have a great set of tires.
Mongoose Legion L10
Key Features
- Designed for the smaller rider
- Gyro
- 48mm stem
Mongoose must be the most famous BMX brand in the world. Most people will have had or wanted a Mongoose BMX at some point in their childhood, well, since the 1980s at least.
The Mongoose Legion L10 is designed to be a highly affordable bike for parents to get their children as a first BMX bike. It is designed to fit people between 4’4” and 5’.
To go with this sizing point, the bike comes with a 48mm stem, rather than the more common 53mm stem. The shorter stem puts the bars in a much more comfortable place for your young shredder to reach.
With a Gyro fitted to the bike, you’ll find your child ready to barspin before you’re ready to watch them try it.
As the Mongoose is more affordable, you’ll find the bike is constructed from hi-ten steel. Hi-ten steel can be just as strong as 4130, but it’ll be heavier and slightly less refined.
It will feel a bit more dead than the zing you get with 4130, your child though will more than likely not notice this, and it probably makes more sense to stick to a budget when buying for a child.
Mongoose Title
Key Features
- 6061 aluminum frame
- Sealed bearings
- 4130 bars and forks
The second Mongoose in our lineup is different from all the other bikes in our lineup. It is a race BMX, rather than a freestyle BMX bike. Race BMX is an Olympic sport, and you’ll find BMX tracks in most towns across the world.
You can learn how to ride fast and then take those skills onwards to becoming a national champion, or you can take those skills and take them to freestyle.
Race bikes focus on being lightweight, that is why you’ll find a 6061 aluminum frame rather than a 4130 frame. 6061 aluminum is stiff and responsive, so whenever you press down on your pedals, your bike will accelerate forward with bo flex taking away from your power.
As you can then imagine on a fully fledged race bike, the Mongoose Title has sealed bearing. Every bearing is sealed including the BB86 bottom bracket bearing. BB86 is a road bike press-fit system created by Shimano to aid performance.
To keep you safe, the bars and forks on the Mongoose Title are made from 4130 steel. When you’re riding flat out over large jumps, you want to know your parts will last and keep you safe. That reassurance is worth more than the price tag on the Mongoose Title.
We the people Reason 20”
Key Features
- Chromoly 4130 Frame and Fork
- Gyro
- Great and modern aesthetics
- No brakes
The German brand WeThePeople is widely known for its high-quality bikes for BMX practice. This is why a couple of bikes of this brand could not be missing in our selection for 2022. The first of them is the WeThePeople Reason 2021, a 20″ bike that is the dream of any street rider.
Both the frame and the fork are designed in Chromoly 4130 which makes this bike very resistant and light, weighing around 12.5 kg. The tires are 2.40″ and 2.30″ wide for the front and rear tires, respectively, and the pedals are designed by the German brand in nylon and fiberglass.
For 2020 the geometry has been redesigned, now with a 12.75″ super-short chainstay and a steeper 22mm fork, the Reason feels and rides like the same bikes that some of the best WeThePeople Pro riders ride right now.
Equipped with the Salt Pro Freecoaster and Super Slick Burn tires, this amazing street machine even comes with a 4-piece full Chromoly handlebar and 4 Salt Pro nylon hub guards front and rear, making it a fantastic urban machine.
And we can not forget the aesthetics of the bike, another part that WeThePeople has taken great care of, and we can find this bike in two different colors, the Matte Pastel Yellow (the design of the picture) and the Matte Black in aventuron.com. Simply a very beautiful and modern design.
For less than $600 you can buy a wonderful BMX bike, from one of the best brands, and feel like a professional rider. If you want to discover more, you will find information in the link below.
We the people Crysis 20”
Key Features
- Two different length options for the frame
- Eclat Talon alloy u-brake rear
- Lightweight, around 11,50 kg.
The second BMX bike that we are going to analyze from the German brand We The People is the Crysis 20″ and it is one of the big bets of this brand for its 2020 BMX collection.
This bike has nothing to envy that the professionals at WeThePeople ride, and it will take your BMX experience to a higher level. It is a great bike if you are already experienced in this freestyle modality.
It is a bike with beautiful aesthetics, which can be found in the aventuron.com catalog for 2020 season in two different colors, Matte Black (see the picture) and Translucent Olive.
If we analyze the features, we find a BMX bike designed with a 4130 full chrome frame and fork where the frame can be chosen in two different sizes, 20.5″ or 21″, and a 127mm head tube, allowing higher handling of the bike.
The tires that equip their 20″ wheels are 2.35″ WeThePeople Overbite that makes the bike move stable and agile on any terrain. These tires are equipped on both wheels, front and rear. The rims that are equipped are Eclat Trippin, and the pedals are made of nylon and fiberglass. Great components for a great bike.
Finally, we find that the gear is from the Salt brand, which guarantees that the drivetrain, bottom bracket, chain, etc. are high-quality components. Both Salt and Eclat are brands that belong to the company that manufactures WeThePeople bikes, so their components will adapt to each other perfectly to these bikes.
If you are interested in what else this wonderful bike offers, you can find more info in the link below.
Wethepeople Battleship
Key Features
- Pro-level bike
- RHD/LHD freecoaster
- Hydroformed frame with a lifetime warranty
The Wethepeople Battleship is easily the most expensive bike in this bike review. The reason for it being so expensive is that it is stacked with many of the best parts available in BMX. It is a custom bike but in an off the shelf guise.
The Battleship frame, as you’d imagine, it is 4130 steel, like the other high-quality frames in this review. The difference is that the frame is hydroformed.
Hydroforming is a new technique for BMX frames, and it is used extensively in road bikes and mountain bikes. It makes the frame very strong, and because of this, you get a lifetime warranty on it.
As well as the look, the Battleship has a lot of features that street riders will be looking for in a frame. It has a pretty steep head tube angle.
A steeper head angle makes tricks off the front wheel, such as nose manuals, a little bit easier. It also comes with very short chainstays. Shorter chainstays make it easier for you to spin the bike.
As well as the pro-level frame, all of the parts on the Battleship are after-market rather than OEM parts. The rear wheel is a Wethepeople Helix freecoaster, and with a little bit of time, you can convert it from right-hand drive to left-hand drive to suit how you ride.
Fit Tom Dugan
Key Features
- Chrome colorway
- 4130 frame
- Left-hand drive
Tom Dugan boosts, you’ll generally see him getting air that can bring nose bleeds to the rest of us mortals. We’re not suggesting that by buying a Fit Tom Dugan signature BMX that you’ll find it easy to hit the heights that he does, we’re just suggesting this as a great starting point.
If your new to BMX, one of the first things you might spot is that the bike’s chain is on the wrong side. The Fit Tom Dugan comes in left-hand drive.
By moving the drivetrain over to the left-hand side of the bike you are much less likely to damage any part of it if you grind on the right-hand side of your bike.
You can’t pick what side you naturally want to grind on, and it is just the same as how you can’t pick which hand to write using.
The other key feature is that the frame is made from 4130 Chromoly steel. 4130 is the spiritual metal of BMX; it is fairly light but can take a beating, which is exactly what you want in a bike that is designed to get thrown about at skateparks, or trails.
To add to this strength, the Dugan model also comes with fully sealed bearings and double walled wheel rims. Double walled wheel rims mean you’ll go through fewer spokes as you try to keep your wheels straight, mislanding spins are hard on wheels.
If you’re buying for your child, a Fit bike is one of BMX’s core brands, and you’ll instantly buy them some kind of cred down the local park.
Mafiabikes Madmain 20 Chrome Harry Main BMX Bike
Key Features
source: mafiabike.com Hi-tensile internally threaded forks with CNC alloy compression cap
- 2.4” Lagos Crawler tires
- Handlebars 29″ x 9″
- Gyro compatible
The Madmain 20” mixes the philosophy of Mafiabikes with the core vision of BMX Freestyle from sports superstar Harry Main. A BMX bike that is the dream of any street rider. This means that newcomers to the scene can purchase premium components assembled on durable bikes available at affordable prices.
We can find this bike in the frame size 20.4″ and 21″, while the diameter of the wheels will be 20″ with a width of 2.4″ for the tires.
Madmain bikes are made of Hi-Ten steel, a type of super durable steel that gives the bike longevity. The sealed bottom bracket allows for smooth pedaling. The BMX from the Madmain comes with a rear brake to make braking easier for beginners.
You can take a look at the link below to see the infinity of features that this great BMX bicycle offers you, it was one of the most popular on the market back in 2020.
Cult Gateway JR (UNAVAILABLE; old model)
Key Features
- Perfect for younger bmx riders
- 2.4 tires
- Welded brake mounts
The Cult Gateway Jr is the perfect beginner’s bike for the smaller or young riders. It comes with a 20” long top tube length, and this should suit people between 4’ and 5’ 3” in height.
You’ll soon have your young shredder up to speed on a bike designed by one of the best BMX brands.
The bike comes with many of the features you’ll want to see on many of the more expensive BMX bikes. You get wider 2.4” tires, and these make it a lot easier to stick landings that are slightly off.
You’ll also find a sealed Mid bottom bracket, many of the cheaper bikes come with American bottom brackets that can now be fun finding spares when you need them.
One of the features you get on cheaper bike but not on more expensive bikes is welded brake mounts. These brake mounts will make the brake more responsive and provide better stopping power, than the removable mounts you get on more expensive bikes.
You’ll also find that kids take their brakes off pretty fast with removable mounts, so with the welded ones you’ll get a little more peace of mind.
Do I need a helmet?
Yes, you do. The jury might be out on commuting without a helmet, but BMX riding is inherently dangerous. You’ll be better served by wearing a helmet, than by having huge medical bills because you didn’t want to mess up your hair.
If you don’t want to wear a helmet for you, wear one for your family who’ll have to pick up the pieces if you don’t. That may sound like emotional blackmail but put yourself in their place.
The Best BMX helmet
Protec Classic Certified
The Protec Classic, is exactly that, a classic. It has been around for years and has been trusted by countless pros to keep their heads in good order. It’ll cost you around $50, and that must be worth it as an investment for your health and life.
We can all have a crash, and it’ll usually happen when we’re trying something new or something we have become complacent about doing. If you’re trying something new, you’ll be aware you may slam, and you’ll take precautions.
It is the tricks that we become complacent about that usually lead to the worst injuries, so make sure you don’t become the example that your friends talk about why you should wear a helmet.
The Protec Classic has 11 vents to help keep you cool and has a moisture wicking system to help remove sweat as you ride. The important thing to note is that you buy the Classic Certified, the certified helmet makes sure that you’re protected to all the relevant safety standards.
The Classic also comes in an uncertified model, and it’s cheaper, but you don’t really want to cut any corners when it comes to your brain.
Also, where else are you going to put all your stickers?
BMX maintenance
BMX bikes are pretty simple, especially if you remove the brakes like everyone else, which may be illegal where you live.
You do though have the issue that when you’re out riding and jumping off things, that parts of the bike may move or may need to tighten parts again.
You then want a simple set of tools to carry with you when you’re out and about.
Eclat E-Tool
The Eclat E-tool is a simple pipe style tool that can easily be stored in your backpack. When you need tools, you just unscrew the cylinder, and you’ll find everything you’ll need inside the pipe.
You have a 15mm pedal wrench, a 17mm socket, a spoke key, an 8/10mm wrench, a set of 3,4, 5, 6, 8mm hex keys, and a 13/19mm u-brake wrench.
With the E-tool in your bag, you’ll not be able to make any bike related excuses about why you can’t send that handrail. Which, may be a good or bad idea depending on how you feel that day.
How to BMX
We all learn differently, and technically, there is no right or wrong way to learn BMX tricks, that is why it is called freestyle after all. But, there are many ways to make learning tricks and stun easier.
One of the simplest ways is to go tour local skatepark and watch people ride; some people will even help you learn if you ask for help.
You might feel intimated by doing that, though, and that is where Youtube comes in. I wish Youtube existed when I was younger, and I might have had a few fewer crashes as I tried to piece tricks together.
The issue with Youtube is that all the video makers have their own suggestions on “easiest” tricks. What, I’d suggest is go through some of the videos and pick out what you want to learn and go from there.
I’ve spent way more time in the bike trade than anyone should reasonably want to. In that time I’ve wanted to make cycling jargon and marketing easier to cut through to help people get the bike of their dreams.
When I’m not writing about bikes, I can be seen out bikepacking on single speed bikes or teaching kids how to ride.
