| You are probably wondering if we are about
100% pure BMX racing why would we want to review a street
bike? It's quite simple really. BMX racing is not all about
the lightest equipment with the latest technology and the
nice matching price tags. We can never forget the grass
roots of the sport. Everyone has to start somewhere and
there seems to be a huge number of older guys getting back
into the sport with their kids.
When kids first start riding BMX they might ride on the
bike paths, the skate park, the dirt jumps and the race
track. You generally see the younger ones followed by an
adult, usually the father on a mountain bike, and since
mountain bikes aren't really ideal for all types of riding
it can lead to disaster. I have seen it myself. They are
usually the ones going over the bars and ending up with
all the injuries.
That's not the only scenario, how about little Johnny who
wants a BMX bike? He asks his parents, who usually would
reply "you are too big for one of those". Well
folks the cruiser is a nice big bike, with less moving parts
than an MTB, so with bikes like this parents will have no
more excuses.
Now that we have cleared that up the Perv Lewd 24 isn't
as light as a race bike, but for a street bike that can
be ridden at the BMX track it's not too bad. My instant
reaction was nice finish, I love the all black look, but
those handle bars. The bars are quite tall and narrow for
what would normally be used on a race bike.
The bmxultra.com proving ground was too wet for a session
on the Perv so it was off to the race track for a gates
session to see how it would handle.
Initially the bars felt so narrow that I was beginning
to think that I would need to change them to get a good
feel for the bike. I was really struggling to get good power
down coming out of the gate. Instead of changing the bars
I positioned my hands so that the end of my grip was in
the middle of my palm. Probably not ideal, especially for
a long term solution, but it certainly felt better, and
I was able to get a decent snap out of the gate. I have
to add that the bike felt as solid as a rock right through
the gate from balancing to accelerating down the hill.
With the gate sorted out it was on to jumping and manualling.
To my surprise it performed well both manualling over big
long jumps and through tight rhythm sections. The front
end feels nice and light. Jumping wasn't too bad either.
That was when I noticed that the gearing felt a little easy
but not too far off a race gearing, that was fine it meant
you could get up to speed pretty quick. The only problem
I had with jumping it was when it came to adjusting the
bike in the air it seemed like a little more work than what
I had grown accustomed to. I guess it was either the weight
of the bike or the handlebars being narrow. It certainly
felt stable enough and was up for the task.
The 21.5 top tube is probably better suited to riders over
the 163cm (5'4") mark, at 188cm (6'2") I didn't
have any problems, I was comfortable and didn't hit my knees
on anything. In fact overall it was a very nice ride.
If you are in the market for a recreational cruiser or
something that will cope with all BMX disciplines take a
look at the Perv Lewd 24, and maybe throw some wider handle
bars on it.
Features:
- Sealed bearing cassette hubs
- Sun Ringle Rhino Lite XL rims
- Cromo 3 piece cranks (175mm)
- Cromo forks
- Cromo handlebars
- Mid sized sealed bearing bottom bracket
- Kenda K-Rad tires
Rating 15.5/20:
Value for money: |
4/5 |
Weight: |
2.5/5 |
Functionality: |
4/5 |
Looks/Finish: |
5/5 |
|
