BMX

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BMX (an abbreviation for bicycle motocross) is a form of cycling on specially designed bicycles which generally have 20-inch wheels (less than the 26-inch wheels found on mountain bikes and the 700C or 27-inch wheels found on more conventional road racing bicycles).

BMX originated in California, United States in the 1970s, where teenagers imitated their motocross heroes (most notably Steve McQueen) on their pedal bicycles. The sport includes races on sandy and hilly tracks - BMX racing - as well as the performances of tricks on flat ground, wooden ramps or obstacles found on the streets - BMX freestyle.

World Championships for BMX racing, sanctioned by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) have been held since 1982. The first freestyle World Championship was in 1987.

Contents

Bicycle design

In the begining of BMX, kids would just strip down their Schwinns and add knobby tires, until early manufacturers, such as Mongoose, Webco and RedLine, created new designs expressly for the sport. Mongoose can be credited with building the quintessential, early BMX bike, featuring a straight-tubed, gusseted frame, reinforced handlebars, Motomag wheels, and long cranks. The emphasis was on durability, but as racing gained popularity, weight became an issue. Materials like aluminum and chrome molybdenum (chromemoly) became common for frames; steel rims, mag wheels and coaster brakes went by the wayside to be replaced by aluminum rims with freewheels and calliper brakes. Once racing became a professional activity, racing bikes became as rarified as in all other forms of cycling competition.

The next wave of innovation came with the advent of freestyle BMX. Freestyle bikes look much like BMX bikes but with extra places to put your feet while performing tricks. Another important feature is the ability to spin the front wheel 360 degrees without handbrake cable entanglement. This was enabled using a device known as the Gyro (ACS also made the Rotor, but never caught on). The design of these devices allowing handbraking while keeping the cables straight is based off the design of a rotor of a helicopter, which requires blade adjustments while maintaining a steady speed of rotation.

The explosion of BMX created many startup companies, and lured many known manufacturers into the market. Noteable companies include ([1] Mongoose ), (GT, Webco, (Red Line), FMF, Schwinn, R&R, Torker, Cook Brothers, Skyway, Kuwahara, Hutch, SE Racing, and JMC Bicycles.

Styles

Racing

BMX racing is where BMX started and continues to this day on specially constructed courses emulating motocross tracks, but generally smoother, of roughly 900 to 1,100 feet in length. Riders are grouped with others of the same relative age and experience level and in a typical day will race several times with their group to determine the day's finishing order and awards.

BMX racing will be part of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.

In the United States, BMX racing is organised by the National Bicycle League (NBL) and the American Bicycle Association (ABA). Notable American BMX racers include Stu Thomsen, Travis Chipres and Greg Hill. Newer racers include Bubba Harris, Robbie Miranda, Kevin Tomko and Brandon Meadows.

A growing number of older racers and collectors, active participants in their youth, are returning to the sport.

Freestyle

Early practitioners of freestyle BMX include Bob Haro (who started riding skateparks in 1978), OG Dogtown skaters and BMXers John Palfreyman and Thom Lund (riding pools on BMX bikes in 1975) [2], and Eddie Fiola (today one of most talented bike stunt coordinators in the film industry). Freestylin' was big in the mid-80's. Bikers like Ron Wilkerson, Craig Campbell, Dino DeLuca, Brian Blyther and Dennis McCoy were on all the BMX magazines at the time. Top magazines included Freestylin', BMX Plus and BMX Action.

Freestyle BMX has been growing in popularity since it became part of the ESPN X-Games in 1998.

There are several different styles of Freestyle BMX:

Street Riding is performed on unimproved obstacles found on typical streets. Handrails, ledges, slanted walls, and other common features are used to perform tricks.

Dirt Jumping is similar to BMX racing in that the rider jumps mounds of dirt. It differs in that the jumps are usually much larger and designed to lift the rider high into the air. Additionally, the goal is not to complete the course with the fastest time, but rather to perform tricks with style.

Flatland BMX is performed on smooth, flat pavement. The riders form figures with the bike by standing and holding the bike in different positions. In these positions they jump or roll. In addition they change the postions every few seconds or quicker. BMX bicycles have handlebar configurations which allow them to spin completely around, allowing either the bars to spin independently of the tail (a barspin), or the tail to spin around independently of the bars (a tailwhip). There are an estimated 50.000 different manuvers to do. These can be combined in an innumerable amount of combinations which define Bmx-Flatland at last.

Vert riding is done on a halfpipe and allows riders to go higher than any other obstacles. Consequently this is the most dangerous form of BMX and is considered somewhat elite. Mat Hoffman, also known as the godfather of BMX, has taken vert to the next level with "airs" (vertical jumps) as high as 26 feet above the top of a vert ramp.

Park Riding is performed in a skate park, and BMX bikes are increasingly being allowed to ride terrain that used to be exclusive to skateboarders. This is the most versatile type of riding and the types of ramps available are unlimited, incorporating elements of all of the various types of riding.

Notable freestylists include Dave Mirra, Ryan Nyquist, Mat Hoffman, Chase Gouin, Kevin Jones, Eddie Fiola, Chris Doyle, Troy McMurray, Mike "Rooftop" Escamilla, Colin McKay, Ronnie Chalk, Edwin De La Rosa, Van Homan, Ruben Alcantara, Taj Mihelich, Jay Miron, Gary Young, Corey Martinez, Matt Beringer, Mike Aitken, Morgan Wade, Corey Bohan, Cory Nastazio, Mike Saavedra, Jim Cielencki,Tony Naked Campos, Joe Tiseo and Colin Winkelmann (R.I.P).

In the media

The early days of BMX - both racing and freestyle - was chronicled in the low-budget movie Rad (Yahoo! Movies entry). The movie featured many talented and famous BMX riders of the 1980s as stunt riders including Travis Chipres, Mike Dominguez, Hollywood Mike Miranda, Martin Aparillo, and Fred Blood.

Other films to feature BMX include BMX Bandits, and Spielberg's E.T..

See also

External links

Retrieved from "http://en.freepedia.org/BMX.html"


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