Fly Supernova 18" BMX Bike Review (BEST 18" BMX Bike)

So today we're going to be taking a look at the Fly Supernova 18 inch BMX bike and stay till the end because at the end I'm going to share my honest thoughts with you and sometimes this gets me in trouble

Like I'll be completely real with you, I'll tell you whether or not this is a good bike. So let's get right into it

The Fly Supernova is a mid-level BMX bike that weighs 21.1 pounds. It costs $479

In this video we're going to decide if the Fly Supernova is a good bike for you or if you should buy something else

But before we get into all the fine details of the Supernova and the geometry and the quality and the size and everything like that, I want to help you find the right bike and this may not be the right bike

If you're looking for a bike and you want me to find three bikes that are perfect for you, all you have to do is click the link up on the screen, fill out the form, tell me your weight, your budget, your skill level, how tall you are, and then I'm going to look and I'll find three bikes that are absolutely perfect for you

Check your email and in about a day those bikes will be there and then you just have to buy your next bike

It makes the process so much easier and I wish that this was around when I was buying my first BMX bike

So let's talk about some of the frequently asked questions that people have about the Fly Supernova

How much does it weigh? The Fly Supernova weighs 21.1 pounds. This is a very light bike and you won't find any 20-inch bikes this light

The thing is this is an 18-inch BMX bike and it's designed for smaller riders

For smaller riders, having a lighter bike is going to make the bike easier to maneuver and easier to do tricks on

You'll find most 18-inch bikes are around this 20-pound range, but it makes a big difference because if you look at 20-inch wheeled BMX bikes versus 18-inch bikes

you're going to notice that 20-inch bikes are typically around the 25, 26-pound range

So having a 4-pound lighter bike with a smaller wheelbase makes it essential for smaller riders to get on and start learning tricks

Can you upgrade the Fly Supernova? Yes, this bike is fully upgradeable and fully customizable

I feel like it's important to mention that 18-inch parts are a little bit harder to find

For example, this bike has smaller handlebars because it's an 18-inch bike for smaller riders

And so getting those handlebars replaced, it might be a little bit harder to do

Same with shorter cranks and 18-inch forks, things like that. So it is fully upgradeable if you find the appropriate parts, but the parts that will upgrade this bike or that are good replacements are a little bit harder to find

This isn't as universally upgradeable as a 20-inch bike would be, but in terms of quality, everything is good enough to be upgraded if that makes any sense

Can you grind with the Fly Supernova? No, this bike doesn't come with any pegs or any hub guards

You can purchase pegs and hub guards and put them on the bike. It won't be that hard to do, and then you can grind

But right out of the box, this bike is not grindable. You do not get to grind this bike unless you buy pegs and hub guards separately

Does it come with brakes? Yes, the Fly Supernova comes with a stock brake system, although you can choose whether or not you want this bike to come brakeless

Fly is the only company that does this. You can pick different parts of this bike

You can choose the color, brakeless, non-brakeless, and the price is going to change based on those options

If you choose to get this bike without brakes, it will not come with any mounting hardware

It's going to be a clean brakeless look, and so if you decide to get brakes later on, you're going to have to purchase that hardware separately

What kind of hub does it have? The Supernova comes with a sealed cassette hub

Now let's talk about the sizing. This is a unique one, and I typically don't talk about bikes that are over or under a 20-inch top tube or a 21-inch top tube

The Fly Supernova comes with a 17.5-inch top tube. This makes the bike extra, extra small

Extra, extra small. It's got 18-inch wheels with a 17.5-inch top tube

This is going to be best for riders who are under 5 foot

For those smaller riders who are riding a small bike right now, but they're progressing to the level that they need some higher quality, this is the option for you

If you're 5 foot 6 and you want a high-quality light bike, this might seem like a good option, but you will look like a clown riding on a little bike if you get this bike

So just don't do it. This is only for the smaller riders or for the parents who are looking for a really good bike for their son or daughter

With the style of the geometry of this bike, you've got your head tube, your chainstay, your standover height

Those are going to affect the style of the bike and how it handles. The Supernova is slightly responsive

It's close to neutral, but on the slightly responsive side. It's got some geometries that make this bike a little bit easier to control and a little bit easier to handle

It does not do as good at high speeds because of the responsiveness, but for a smaller rider who's trying to execute tricks, I think this is a really important thing to have a slightly responsive bike

Let's talk about the quality. The Supernova is very unique because of the quality

It's got a full chromoly set of handlebars, a full chromoly 18 inch or 17.5 inch frame, full chromoly forks

It's got chromoly eight spline cranks, and it has semi double wall rims

This is something that Fly puts on there to make it sound better than it is

These are essentially single wall rims with an extra thick sidewall. The extra thick sidewall will do a little bit in preventing dents and preventing bends

But overall, the main construction of the rim is single wall. And so for someone who's really serious and going to be a little bit heavier, this is a bad thing

But for someone who's small riding an 18 inch bike, honestly, it doesn't matter

I wouldn't say it matters that much. You've got the full chromoly components and the semi double wall rims are going to be fine for lightweight riders

But I want to break down why high tensile steel is not as good as chromoly, just in case you're wondering

Because most 18 inch bikes out there are high tensile steel or they're aluminum

They're lower quality. This is probably the best quality 18 inch bike on the market

And so you might be wondering, well, why would I spend $500 on an 18 inch bike when I can buy the same one for $300

Quality. Quality is the answer here. High tensile steel is much more affordable, but it's also less durable

And because of the way like you have to use thicker tubing to get close to the same strength as chromoly, that's going to make it much heavier

High tensile steel also bends on impact. Chromoly is way more expensive, but it's also four times stronger

It's a lighter you get lighter parts out of chromoly because you don't need to use as thick of tubing to get decent strength

And then it's going to crack at the welds instead of bending on impact

So you understand the quality of the bike. You understand why high tensile steel is not as good as chromoly

This bike scores a 6.19 out of 10 in terms of quality

And like the other 18 inch bikes on the market right now will not score above a 5

They probably won't even score above a 3. This is a really high quality bike, but you have to be serious about BMX or your kid has to be serious about BMX for you to drop this kind of money on a bike this high quality

Okay, so let's go over some pros and cons of the Fly Supernova

Some pros include that this is probably the best value and best quality 18 inch BMX bike that you can buy

It's also really good for small riders. Finding high quality bikes for smaller riders is just a really hard thing to do, but this is probably the best one

Now it's very lightweight, which is going to make it easier to control and easier to maneuver

But on the flip side, this is a very expensive bike for a small bike

Honestly, most smaller riders who need an 18 inch bike aren't at the level of riding that would be required to need something like this

Most riders who are just starting out on an 18 inch bike will be totally fine with a $300 bike

You don't need this level of quality unless you really want it or you plan to progress to that level eventually

The semi double wall rims are another con of this bike. I just don't think that it's like it's a little bit misleading, which kind of pisses me off, but it's also just the weakest part of the bike for sure

Okay, so let's talk about the style of the bike. Because of all the different parts that are on it, the different geometries of the parks, how does this bike handle in different types of riding

In street, this bike scores a 2.81 out of 10. In park, it scores a 6.79 and in dirt, it's going to score a 4 out of 10

Overall, the Fly Supernova is going to be best for riding skate parks

And that's because of that slightly responsive geometry that we talked about earlier

It does have some other things like, you know, the tires are good for park riding and street riding over dirt riding

And it just has some different aspects that make it better for park riding

This bike is best for riding skate parks. Warranty. Does the Fly Supernova come with a warranty

Yes. All of Fly's bikes and all of Fly's products have a two year warranty against manufacture defects

That means if you have an issue with the bike and it's determined that, hey, this was a whoopsie by the manufacturer

then you're going to get that part or that bike fixed up, taken care of, replaced

You're going to be good. And this is important because it sucks to buy something and have it break and then just be stuck

You know, like, oh shit, my bike just broke and now what do I do? I got to buy a new one

If you buy a bike from a company that has a warranty, you're going to be able to call them up, say, hey, this happened

They're going to look at it and be like, yeah, that shouldn't have happened. Here's a new bike. Like, doesn't that sound way better than the alternative

OK, my honest thoughts about the Fly Supernova. I think the Fly Supernova is a solid bike

I think it's the best quality and best value bike that you can get for a rider who needs an 18 inch

You know, if your kiddo is looking at getting into BMX or you want a really high quality bike for your kid, this bike is awesome

Because of the lightweight and the slightly responsiveness in the geometry, it's going to be a good bike for learning tricks on and learning and getting better at BMX

But I just want to be frank with you. Like, if your kid is just kind of like, yeah, into BMX, but kind of not really

And you're like, God, I don't know if I should spend $500 on a bike

Don't. Because smaller kids riding a bike, they're not going to thrash the bike like you'd think

They've got to be at a certain level of riding, like actually riding skate parks, actually doing airs, actually trying tricks

before they start to beat up the cheaper 18 inch bikes. And most kids aren't at that level

And so if your kid is at that level, this is a solid bike. If you think your kid's going to get to that level, this is a solid bike

If you want your kid to get to that level, this is a solid bike. But if your kid just wants to cruise around the neighborhood and show up to the skate park sometimes

and like they're not too concerned about it, this bike is overkill. And you don't need to spend this much money on a bike

You can find some way on sale at Dan's Comp that are going to be a lot cheaper than this

But don't forget to fill out that recommendation. Tell me a little bit about yourself and I'll help you find the right bike

OK, after this review, you need to watch the top 11 BMX bikes for this year

I talk about 11 of the best BMX bikes this year. Or you can check out this video or playlist to see similar quality bikes to the Fly Supernova

Thank you so much for watching. We'll see you in the next video