BMX
BMX started in the early 1970s when children began racing their bicycles on dirt tracks in southern California, drawing inspiration from the motocross superstars of the time. The size and availability of the Schwinn Sting-Ray and other wheelie bikes made them the natural bike of choice, since they were easily customized for better handling and performance. BMX racing was a phenomenon by the mid-1970s. Children were racing standard road bikes off-road, around purpose-built tracks in California. The 1972 motorcycle racing documentary On Any Sunday is generally credited with inspiring the movement nationally in the US; its opening scene shows kids riding their Sting-Rays off-road. By the middle of that decade the sport achieved critical mass, and manufacturers began creating bicycles designed especially for the sport.
George E. Esser founded the National Bicycle League as a non-profit bicycle motocross sanctioning organization in 1974. before they set up the NBL, George and his wife, Mary, sanctioned motorcycle races with the AMA (American Motocross Association). Their two sons, Greg and Brian, raced motorcycles, but also enjoyed riding and racing BMX with their friends. It was their sons’ interest, and there being no BMX organizations in the East, that prompted George to start the NBL in Florida.
By 1977, the American Bicycle Association (ABA) was organized as a national sanctioning body for the growing sport. In April 1981, the International BMX Federation was founded, and the first world championships were held in 1982. Since January 1993 BMX has been integrated into the Union Cycliste Internationale.
Though originally denoting a bicycle intended for BMX Racing, the term “BMX bike” is now used to encompass race bikes, as well as those used for the dirt, vert, park, street and flatland disciplines of BMX.
BMX frames are made of various types of steel, and (largely in the racing category) aluminum. Cheaper, low end bikes are usually made of steel. Mid range bikes are mostly chromoly or high tensile steel, although the latter is noticeably heavier with respect to strength. High-performance BMX bikes use 4130 chromoly, or generation 3 chromoly.
The introduction and widespread popularity of the cassette hub has ushered in the use of smaller gearing on BMX bikes. Instead of the old 44/16 gearing found on almost all older BMX bikes, new bikes use gearing such as 36/13, 33/12, 30/11, 28/10, 25/9, and even 23/8, all of which have similar gear ratios of almost 2.8:1. Advantages of smaller gearing hubs include lighter weight, and more clearance when grinding. The freewheel hub is all but extinct due to several factors. The smallest freewheels that can be made is with 13 teeth, which is larger than most riders prefer. Also, they are less consistent than cassette hubs, and skip or jam up far more frequently.
On most freestyle,street jumping & street BMX bikes, the wheels have 36 spokes, with more aggressive riders using 48 spoke wheels, due to the extra strength afforded them. Race bike wheels are also usually 36 spokes, but wheels for the smallest racers (sometimes as young as three years old) can be built with 18 or 28 spokes.
BMX Racing bike wheels vary in size, from 16″ to 26″ (with 20″ being the most popular).
Dirt jumping and freestyle bike wheel sizes include 16″ and 18″ for younger, smaller riders, 20″ for most other riders, and a few companies including Haro and Sunday offer 24″ freestyle bikes for taller or older riders who feel cramped on a standard 20″ BMX bike.
The sport of Bicycle Motocross – Freestyle BMX is now one of the staple events at the annual Summer X Games Extreme Sports competition and the ETNIES backyard jam, held largely on both coasts of the United States. The popularity of the sport has increased due to its relative ease and availability of places to ride and do tricks.
In 2003, the International Olympic Committee made BMX a full medal Olympic sport for 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China, and M?ris Štrombergs (male, for Latvia) and Anne-Caroline Chausson (female, for France) were crowned the first Olympic champions.
Many great BMX riders go on to other cycling sports like downhill such as Australian Olympian Jared Graves, former “golden child” Eric Carter, and youth BMX racer Aaron Gwin.
See also
BMX racing is a type of off-road bicycle racing. The format of BMX was derived from motocross racing. BMX bicycle races are sprint races on purpose-built off-road single-lap race tracks. The track usually small a starting gate for up to eight racers, a groomed, serpentine, dirt race course made of various jumps and rollers and a finish line. The course is usually flat, about 15-foot (4.6 m) wide and has large banked corners that help the riders maintain speed. The sport of BMX racing is facilitated by a number of regional and international sanctioning bodies. They provide rules for governing the conduct of the flying, specify age group and skill-level classifications among the racers, and maintain some kind of points-accumulation system over the racing season. The sport is very family oriented and largely participant-driven, with riders ranging in age from 10 to 60, and over. Professional ranks exist for both men and women, where the age ranges from 19 to 40 years old.
A BMX “Class” bike is a strong, quick-handling, lightweight derivative of the standard 20-inch (510 mm)-wheel, single-speed youth bicycle. Variations include a larger 24-inch (610 mm)-wheel “cruiser” class. Cruisers were originally made for adults who couldn’t fit the 20-inch (510 mm)-wheel bikes, but now is raced by all age groups.
While BMX racing is an individual sport, teams are often formed from racers in different classifications for camaraderie and often for business exposure of a sponsoring organization or company. BMX racing rewards strength, quickness, and bike handling. Many successful BMX racers have gone on to leverage their skills in other forms of bicycle and motorcycle competitions.
There are all types of BMX jumps, ranging from small rollers to massive step-up doubles. There are pro staights which are for junior and elite men. They are all doubles which range from about 6 m to 12 m, while “Class” straights have more flow and have many more range of jumps.
BMX racing became a medal sport at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing under the UCI sanctioning body. Sanctioning bodies in the United States are the American Bicycle Association (ABA) and the National Bicycle League (NBL). The ABA is certified under the UCI (International Cycling Union), which is recognized by the Olympic Committee.
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