This is pre-faced that these are general guidelines and will not apply to all riders in every situation.

Hodag BMX has great supplier partners Bike and Boards and Mel's Trading Post. We strongly encourage you utilize these excellent, local shops when making your purchases.

General bike information if you plan on racing.

Any bike will do. So before you go investing $100's of dollars in a race bike, start off on what you have or something low cost. If you decide you like it and want to stay racing, then start looking or building that perfect race bike. 

Handlebars cannot exceed 30" in width. Handlebar grips are required & must be sufficient to fully cover & enclose all metal & openings on the handlebar ends.

You cannot have the following items on your bike.

Reflectors -Freestyle Pegs - Kickstands - Chain Guards - Front Brakes

Rider requirements.

All riders must wear the following:

Helmet (preferably full-faced) with a working strap, no snaps.
Pants.
Long sleeve shirt.

Enclosed shoes

Frame Sizing Chart

Frame Size

Micro - Mini

Mini

Junior

Expert

Expert XL

Pro

Pro XL

Pro XXL

Top Tube Length

15"-16"

16"-17.5"

17.5"-18.5"

18.5"-20"

19"-20"

20"-20.5"

20.5"-21"

21"-22"

Riders Height

4'0" & under

4'0"-4'6"

4'4"-4'10"

4'8"-5'4"

5'2"-5'8"

5'6" - 5'10"

5'10"-6'

6' & over

Riders Weight

40-65 lbs

50-85 lbs

60-100 lbs

70-110 lbs

75-125 lbs

100 lbs & over

140 lbs & over

160 lbs & over

Wheel Sizing Chart

Riders Age

Under 5

5 to 10

9 to 12

12 to 14

14 to 19

19 & up

Riders Weight

55lbs & below

55-80lbs

80-115lbs

115-145lbs

145-190lbs

190lbs & up

Wheel Size

18 x 1"

20 x 1-1/8"
24 x 1-1/8"

20 x 1-3/8"
24 x 1-3/8"

20 x 1.50
24 x 1.50

20 x 1.75"
24 x 1.75"

20 x 2.00"
24 x 2.00"

It is recommended riders who weigh 145lbs or more should run at least a 20 x 1.75 tire on the front wheel.

Crank Sizing Chart

Inseam

up to 15"

15" to 16"

16" to 17"

17" to 18"

18"- 20"

20" - 24"

24" - 28"

28" - 30"

30" - 32"

32" - 34"

34" +

Crank Length

135 mm

140 mm

145 mm

150 mm

155 mm

160 mm

165 mm

170 mm

175 mm

180 mm

185 mm

Since you can't always have a gear chart by your side. It's important to know how to calculate your gear ratio yourself. All you do is take the number of teeth on your chainring and divide it by the number of teeth on your freewheel, that gives you your gear ratio. For example, if your front sprocket is a 45 tooth, and your rear sprocket is a 16 tooth, then your gear ratio would be 2.8125 (45 divided by 16 = 2.8125). You then take that number (in this case 2.8125) and multiply it by 20 (the diameter of a BMX wheel). 2.8125 x 20 = 56.25 (the gear size). You can apply this simple formula to cruisers (BMX bikes with 24" wheels) by multiplying the gear ratio by 24 instead of 20.

If your gear size is large 58 or greater, you will go faster, but take off slower. It will take longer to reach top speed. Snapping out of the gate, going uphill, powering out of turns, etc. will be harder with a high gear. On the other hand, a low gear size of 55 or less will result in a better start, but lower overall speed.

How do I know what size gears I should ride?

Use the chart below to help you decide what size gears you should be riding.

The Top row of numbers is the number of teeth on your chain ring.  The Rear "XX" column is the number of teeth on your rear sprocket.  Where the two numbers intersect is your gear ratio for the gears selected. 

What do these numbers mean?  Well for every complete revolution of your cranks you go that many inches.  For instance if you have a Rear Sprocket of 16 and a Front Sprocket of 43 and the size of your wheels is 20" X 1.75" then you would get 52.4, meaning you traveled 52.4 inches every time your cranks go all the way around.