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Sunday Radocaster 18 Inch BMX Frame and Fork Test

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BMX Groms Sunday Radocaster 18 inch BMX Frame and Fork Test and Review

The 18″ Sunday Radocaster is a unique frame and fork set offered by Sunday for the serious up-and-coming shredder. If you are into BMX and an average size 9 – 12 year old, this review is a “must read”.

This is the first year the Radocaster has been offered, so we were very interested to see what it would ride like. It features Sunday’s well thought out proportional frame geometry and slew of other features, such as:

  • Full chromoly throughout.
  • 8mm hollow dropouts.
  • Removable braking hardware.

Sunday build features like:

  • A miter cut top tube.
  • Reinforcing gusset at the down tube/head tube junction.

The fork:

  • One-piece, integrated-ready steerer tube.
  • Full-chromoly construction throughout.
  • Responsive 25mm fork rake.

At BMX Groms we were stoked to test an 18 inch frame where the company had seriously taken the time to consider every aspect of the frame including the geometry. Young riders are progressing quickly and companies are going to have to put the same amount the thought and design time into smaller frames, as they do into the common “20 inch” frames.

Sunday Radocaster 18 inch BMX frame and fork set as tested by BMX Groms.

Sunday Radocaster 18 inch BMX frame and fork set as tested by BMX Groms.

Bike Build and Finish

We had no problems building the frame and fork set up, all of our standard 18″ parts fit well. The frame uses a mid-bottom bracket and integrated headset. The finish looks good and the paint lasted well for our entire test which lasted for over a month. The frame comes in blue and the forks in black, unfortunately there are not other colour choices, but this is a higher end product for serious riders so we wouldn’t expect it to come in something like four colour choices.

BMX Groms Test

We choose two rad 11 year old BMX riders put the bike through some serious punishment.

Dorian Giordano, (Instagram: @dorian_bmx), was the smaller of the two riders. He regularly rides a 16″ BMX, so it was going to be interesting to see how he adapted to the larger 18″ Radocaster build. Unfortunately Dorian ended up with an injury just before our bike test, but he was still able to have a good session on the bike at Joyride 150 and give us some feedback. Dorian said the bike felt really good and that it was good for mannies, boxes and bike control and getting some nice height.

Nahum Billington, (Instagram: @chimpbmx), our other test rider usually rides an average geometry 18″ inch BMX. We were very interested to see how he adapted to Sunday’s proportional geometry. The Radocaster was a shorter frame overall, with a shorter rear triangle and a slightly longer top tube length. He adapted to the bike really quickly and on the first day was getting higher hops, better manuals, spins and learnt half cabs. In no time he was blasting 4 foot quarter pipe airs. When it came to hitting really large box jumps it took more of an adjustment, the shorter frame feeling more twitchy. However, at Joyride 150 Nahum found it easier to clear the box jumps on the Radocaster compared to his regular ride.

Nahum cranks an X-Up over a 7ft quarter on board the Sunday Radocaster 18" BMX Frame.

Nahum cranks an X-Up over a 7ft quarter on board the Sunday Radocaster 18″ BMX Frame.

Here is what Nahum had to say about the Radocaster:

The Sunday Radocaster is a really awesome 18” bike. The Radocaster frame gives the rider a bit more support because it is full chromoly. The shorter rear triangle on the bike lets you pop up unto your manuals easier. You can also  hop higher on the bike. The Sunday was also really good on the box jumps. The frame gives a lot more bike control because it is more twichy. I find on the bike you can spin a lot faster, than the 18” inch frames with long rear triangles. The forks are nice because they are full chromoly tappered forks, which lets you rely on them more. The color blue on the Sunday Radocaster is a good color for the bike. I also like the design of the graphics on it. Overall the Sunday is an awesome bike for riders that want a good bike with the right geometry.

Sunday Radocaster BMX Review Comment

Should you buy the Radocaster?

If you are a rad 18″ BMX rider who really wants to progress you should definitely be taking a serious look at the Radocaster. We feel that for the majority of riders the geometry will help them to progress. We actually watched our test rider Nahum, progress significantly during the month of riding the bike. If you are an insane trails rider who hits pro size transitions you may feel more comfortable on a longer frame, depending on your size.

Priced at under $300 in the USA.

BMX Groms Sunday Primer 16″ and 18″ BMX Bike Reviews

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Sunday Primer 16 and 18 inch BMX Bike Review

Nathan Halahan cranks a turndown on the 16" Sunday Primer BMX

Nathan Halahan cranks a turndown on the 16″ Sunday Primer BMX

While scanning through the long list of Google search terms which brought people to bmxgroms.com the other day, this one caught my eye: “how old do u half to be to be able to ride bmx bike”? The answer is, if you are old enough to type a search phrase into Google, you’re definitely old enough to ride BMX, you just need the right size bike.  Sunday is a company that is taking creating bikes for smaller riders seriously, because they understand how important it is. So many kids fail at BMX, when their parents buy them a full size 20” bike that they can grow into. From frame geometry to components, they’ve thought of everything and Sunday has kept the cost down.

Mike Halahan is one of the most hardcore BMX Dad’s out there. The two Halahan boys, Lukas and Nathan show what 8 and 10 year olds can do on a BMX, when the bike is a size they can handle. The following independent review of the Sunday Primer 16” and 18” BMX bikes couldn’t have been done by anyone better. Thanks Mike Halahan!

Sunday Primer 16 & 18

Lukas Halahan tweaks a t-bog on the Sunday Primer 18" BMX in the Woods jump line at the wheelmill.

Lukas Halahan tweaks a t-bog on the Sunday Primer 18″ BMX in the Woods jump line at the wheelmill.

Review by Mike, Lukas and Nathan Halahan. Pictures by George Jenkins.

In 2014 a number of BMX brands dropped one or both of their 16 and 18 inch offerings. Yet, there seems to be an influx of youth entering the BMX freestyle market. This perplexed me. Jim Cielencki of Sunday Bikes is doing the opposite. This delights me.

I was fortunate to meet up with Jim C. at The Wheel Mill in Pittsburgh this past winter. We discussed youth, BMX, and Sunday Bikes. Specifically the Primer 16 and 18 inch complete models. Jim graciously hooked up my sons Nathan and Lukas with 16 and 18 inch Primers to test then give away to some lucky kiddos at their inaugural Next Generation Youth Jam.

The bikes showed up well packaged, blemish free and built up easily. The boys were stoked on the colors, Safety Green for the 16 and Ocean Blue for the 18. I also liked the look of the bikes. I noticed right away the concept proportional geometry that Jim and I discussed the month prior. The rider areas looked roomy, the rear ends nice and short, and the bar height and width just right.

The Primers are spec’d well with Sunday OEM kit. I would like to see a top load stem on the 18 but other than that I wouldn’t change a thing if we were to run them as completes. The bikes weighed in at 19.4 and 24.2 lbs on our shop scale. For sub $400 completes you won’t find much better than that. Most dads (and mums too) would likely swap some parts out for their higher end favorites and I see no problem with getting the weights down closer to the 17 and 19 lb weights of the boys current set ups. I would also like to see full chromoly frame and forks but understand the cost effectiveness with the mostly Hi-tensile steel used.

Sunday Primer 16" BMX Bike

Sunday Primer 16″ BMX Bike

The Sunday Primer 18" BMX Bike

The Sunday Primer 18″ BMX Bike

Next stop was The Wheel Mill to cut the boys loose. Both Nathan and Lukas appeared comfortable straight away. Lukas quickly pulled me to the mini ramp room excited to show me the ease at which he could manual across the deck and around the tree trunk feature. Nathan had me follow him to the park room to show me a crisp 540 transfer. With the rear ends on the Primer 16 and 18 being 1.5 inches shorter than their current bikes this did not surprise me. But, with these short rear ends, I really wanted to see how the boys jumped the big line in the woods jump room. It wasn’t long before my curiosity was satisfied. Although the boys were not boosting and tricking the jumps quite as they normally do, the bikes appeared to handle very well. Nathan did say he felt a little sketchy on the big hip, wall ride, and step down but had no qualms with the smaller trick box. Lukas said he didn’t feel quite as stable at first but felt comfortable by the sessions end. I would like to see (with the short rear ends) the boys roast these bikes at their local trail spot where a different set of skills and more stable platform is required. There is good reason why the adult version trail specific frames tend to have slightly longer chain stays than their street and park counterparts.

Nathan and Lukas Halahan getting tech on the Sunday Primer Bikes. The frame geometry makes a huge difference here, which younger BMX riders will really love.

Nathan and Lukas Halahan getting tech on the Sunday Primer Bikes. The frame geometry makes a huge difference here, which younger BMX riders will really love.

Overall the Primer 16 and 18 get thumbs up and smiles from Nathan, Lukas, and I. And, Jim C. gets high fives from all of us. Jim is stoked on getting right for the youth of BMX. His approach to proportionally designed geometry at Sunday Bikes is setting a new standard.

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