BMX
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Wikipedia-Article "BMX"
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BMX (an abbreviation for bicycle motocross) is a form of cycling on specially designed bicycles which usually have 20-inch wheels (smaller than the 26-inch wheels found on mountain bikes and the 700C or 27-inch wheels found on more conventional road racing 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.
BMX originated in California, United States in the 1970s, when teenagers imitated their motocross heroes (most notably Steve McQueen) on their bicycles. The 1971 motorcycle racing documentary "On Any Sunday" is generally credited with inspiring the movement. In the opening scene, kids are shown riding their Schwinns off-road. It wasn't until the middle of that decade that the sport achieved critical mass, and manufacturers began creating bicycles designed expressly for the sport.
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Bicycle design
In the beginning of the BMX movement, kids would strip down their Schwinn Sting Ray bicycles and add knobby tires and perhaps motorcycle handlebars, and in time modify the frames for performance, strength or personal preference. Early BMX bicycle manufacturers, such as R&R Racing Products, Mongoose, Webco and RedLine, eventually created bicycles 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 crankarms. The initial construction emphasis was on durability, but weight became a consideration as racing gained popularity. R&R Racing Products, noted for introducing the first 3 pound frame, forged the path for light weight, yet strong BMX bikes designed specifically for racing. Other manufacturers soon followed using lighter materials like aluminum and chromium molybdenum (chromoly) for frames; steel rims, mag wheels and coaster brakes were replaced by aluminum rims with freewheels and caliper brakes. Once BMX racing became a professional activity, racing bikes became as specialized 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 they have extra places to put your feet while performing tricks. Another important feature of freestyle BMX bikes is the ability to spin the front wheel 360 degrees without handbrake cable entanglement. This is enabled using a device known as the Gyro (ACS also made the Rotor, but it never caught on). The design of the Gyro was based on the 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. Notable companies include R&R, Mongoose, GT, Webco, Red Line, FMF, Schwinn, Torker, Cook Brothers, Skyway, Kuwahara, Hutch, SE Racing, and JMC Bicycles.
Many manufacturers also produce 24" wheel versions of their BMX bikes such as Haro's SX24.
Styles
Racing
BMX racing is where BMX started. The courses emulate motocross tracks, but are generally smoother, and are about 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 a rider will race several times with their group to determine the day's finishing order and awards.
In the United States, BMX racing is organized 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, most having been active participants in their youth, are returning to the sport.
Freestyle
Freestyle BMX is a discipline that developed after BMX racing and continues today in places all over the world. The rider chooses man-made obstacles like building transitions, benches, picnic tables, handrails, curbs, self-built ramp courses or dirt jumps used for contests or sending the rider 10' in the air. Some public and private recreational areas are also used. Competition takes place in simulated street, park environments or dirt jumps/trails (long sets of dirtjumps interconnected together, usually smooth/well groomed), both large and small. Several sub-cultures have been created as a result of BMX freestyle riders' distinct style and world perspective. Some of the legends since Freestyle BMX was pioneered by Bob Haro in the late 1970's and early 1980's, include: Dave Mirra, Ryan Nyquist, Ruben Alcantara, Matt Hoffman, Jay Miron and Taj Mehelich.
Freestyle BMX took off in Australia in 1989 under the influence of Jonathon Byrne from north nowra new south wales. In 2005, he revolutionised the sport by encorporating the use of mountian bikes, and to this day makes movies on the topic.
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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 featuring BMX include BMX Bandits, and Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
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. BMX racing will be part of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.
Women in BMX
It is estimated that 1% of BMX riders are female. This number continues to grow with advocacy from female riders and support for female competitive events from contest organizers. See (http://www.wofbmx.com) for the only female rider support group in BMX, Women of FreeStyle BMX.
BMX Industry
The BMX Industry is a niche group of both mass market and "core" companies that supply nearly every country around the world with BMX bicycles, parts, accessories, and lifestyle products. The industry is generally broken into factory owned companies and rider owned companies, where most hardgoods products are manufactured in Taiwan and China. Textiles and other lifestyle products are generally manufactured in China and the United States. Many bicycle shops stock BMX products, and mailorder catalogs that focus on BMX bikes, clothing, parts, etc. are also popular across the world.
See also
External links
- BMXCLUB - 818 Riders BMX CluB!
- BMXBoard -!
- PedalBMX PedalWiki - A freestyle BMX Wiki!
- www.ababmx.com - The American Bicycle Association
- www.nbl.com - The National Bicycle League
- BMX-Forum.com - Large Online BMX-Community.
- Rider-Hookup Map - find other riders from your region
- BMX Talk.com - The largest Online BMX Community in the UK.
- www.ridebmx.com - RideBMX
- BMX-Zone.com - BMX-Articles, Photos, Tricks
- www.bmxmania.com - BMXMania
- FatBmx - bmx site.
- University of BMX - Site with history about BMX
- BMX and More - One of the biggest Dutch/European racing sites
- International racing rules (PDF file from UCI website)
- Vintage BMX - featuring history for old school BMX fans. It includes message boards for collectors and enthusiasts.
- bmxweb.com/home.cfm - bmxweb.com (formerly know as Den's)
- 4130riders(bmx forums) BMX forum