The Joystar Brockway BMX and a Weekend in the Garage

The Joystar Brockway BMX showed up in a long box on a Friday afternoon last fall, and I will be honest with you: I did not look forward to the assembly. I have put together enough kids bikes to know that the box is the easy part. The front wheel, the handlebars, the seat, the pedals, the brake adjustment, that is where a Saturday morning goes to die. My name is Dean Halvorsen, I am 42, and I do the wrenching in our house while my wife Jen watches from the porch. Our son Cody is 10, about 4 foot 7 and 75 pounds, and he had outgrown the cheap 20-inch bike from the big-box store that was heavy and had a weak brake. So when the Joystar Brockway BMX arrived, I cleared the workbench and got to it.

The assembly went better than I expected. The front wheel went on straight, the handlebars lined up, and the seat post slid in without a fight. The brake adjustment took the most time, which is normal, because a brake that is too loose is dangerous and a brake that is too tight drags. I set the bike up for Cody's height, checked the tire pressure, and told him the rule that never changes around here: helmet on, closed-toe shoes, and an adult outside. He nodded, which is what he does when he wants me to stop talking and let him ride.

The first ride was on the flat grass back yard, because that is the softest place to learn. Cody is not a beginner, he has been riding since he was little, but every new bike takes a few minutes to feel out. He did a lap, then another, then he figured out he could stand up on the pedals and coast over the little bumps near the tree line. That is the moment I buy bikes for. The look on his face when a bike finally rolls the way it should, that is the whole reason I keep assembling these things in the garage.

Over the next few weeks, the Joystar Brockway BMX got ridden on the gravel driveway, the flat back yard, the dirt trail along the property line, and the big poured-concrete pad in front of the garage. It handled all of it. The bike is not light, but Cody learned quickly to roll it rather than carry it, and he could stand it back up himself when it fell over. The brakes, once adjusted, stopped him predictably on the driveway and the trail. I checked the tire pressure before the season and after any crash, which is my habit with everything he rides.

The look on his face when a bike finally rolls the way it should, that is the whole reason I keep assembling these things in the garage.

Now, the honest part. The Joystar Brockway BMX is not a race bike, and it is not trying to be one. The components are entry-level, which is exactly what a 10-year-old needs. He is not going to win a national race on it, and he does not need to. What he needs is a bike that starts easily, stops when he squeezes the brake, and does not fall apart when he drops it on the gravel for the tenth time. So far, that is what this bike has done.

The fit matters more than the brand. Cody is 4 foot 7 and 75 pounds, and the 20-inch wheel size fits him well. The seat goes low enough for him to put a foot down, and high enough that he is not cramped when he stands up to pedal. If your kid is on the small end of the size range, I would measure their inseam and check the listing before you order. A bike that is too big is no fun, and a bike that is too small gets outgrown in a season.

I also want to be straight about the battery, because I have seen people ask about it. This is not an electric bike. There is no battery, no motor, no charging. It is a pedal bike, and that is a feature, not a mistake. Cody already has an electric dirt bike and an electric scooter for the smooth stuff, and the Joystar Brockway BMX is the one he rides when he wants to work for it. The gravel driveway and the dirt trail are where a pedal bike earns its keep.

What I'd Tell You If We Were Sitting at My Kitchen Table

If you were sitting at my kitchen table with a cup of coffee, here is what I would say. The Joystar Brockway BMX is a good, honest kids bike for the money. It assembled cleanly, it fits a 10-year-old who is about 4 foot 7, and it has held up to a season of gravel, grass, trail and concrete. The brakes needed adjustment out of the box, which is true of almost every bike in this price range, and I would plan on checking them again after the first few rides. That is not a flaw, that is just how bikes work.

I would also tell you to buy a helmet that fits, not one that is cute. Cody wears a multi-sport helmet with an adjustable dial fit on every ride, and it stays put. And I would tell you to follow the age and weight rating the manufacturer prints for the bike, and to keep the riding off public roads. Around here, the rule is simple: helmet on, closed-toe shoes, an adult outside, and no roads. That rule has kept Cody safe through a lot of miles on a lot of wheels.