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BMX (Bicycle Motocross) is a form of cycling on specially designed bicycles which usually have 20 inch wheels. The sport includes racing on earthen tracks, known as BMX racing, as well as the performance of tricks on the bikes, called Freestyle BMX. Freestyle BMX has grown to include five distinct disciplines. These are Street, Park, Vert, Dirt, and Flatland. These usually involve technical movements of the bike in different ways over varied terrain.
A BMX bike intended for racing can be easily distinguished from a freestyle BMX bike.
- Freestyle Vert: shorter seat- and chain- stays, and typically a single brake for the rear wheel. Brakes commonly have a detangler mechanism to enable bar spins, but some riders opt for a single cable setup for ease of repair;
- Freestyle Flatland: shorter seat- and chain- stays, dual brakes with detangler mechanisms to enable bar spins. Low gear ratio. The bike is usually fitted with pegs and platforms for standing.;
- Race: Brakes rear, and frames with specific lengths for the riders size, they have thinner wheels for smaller riders for less drag, or thick tyres for larger riders which give more stability.
Recently, BMX racing's international governing body, Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), began sponsoring the UCI BMX World Championships.
In 2008, Olympics for the first time in Beijing.1 (For the schedule, see Cycling at the 2008 Summer Olympics: BMX)
History
BMX originated in United States in the early 1970's, by children imitating their motocross heroes on their bicycles. 2 Children were racing standard road bikes off-road, around purpose-built tracks in California.3 The 1971 motorcycle racing documentary On Any Sunday is generally credited with inspiring the movement nationally in the US; its opening scene shows kids riding their Schwinn Stingrays off-road. By the middle of that decade the sport achieved critical mass, and manufacturers began creating bicycles designed especially for the sport.
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.4
BMX is now one of the staple events at the annual Summer X Games Extreme Sports competition held largely on both coasts of the United States. Recently, there has been an explosion in the popularity of the sport due to its relative ease and availability of places to ride and do tricks. It also became an official Olympic event at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China Arcade Cycles All Day Baby!
Street BMX is now incredibly popular and is very self explanatory. Get your bike, ride into the streets and see what you can find and how you and your bike can interact with these natural obstacles. e.g. bunny-hopping down or up some stairs, grinding (or riding along) a ledge or rail (often narrow). Explanation of some grinds:
Double Peg: The most basic grind to do on a rail(can still be done on a ledge). The rider must bunny-hop on and land both pegs on the rail or ledge (wheels must be off the ground for all grinds) http://k41.pbase.com/u46/925bm/large/33906146.DoublePeg.jpg
Feeble grind: The most basic grind to do on a ledge. The rider must bunny-hop and land the rear peg and the front wheel on the ledge. This is easy to do on a ledge because ledges are generally much lower than rails and much wider. http://www.devonhutchins.com/images/update_2007_11_21/aaron_ross_halloween_feeble.jpg
Smith grind: The step up from a feeble. The rider must bunny-hop and land the front peg and rear wheel on the ledge or rail. This is a very good looking grind. http://www.freewebs.com/wlbmx/Pictures/Smith%20Grind%20by%20alex.jpg
Luc-e grind: An advanced grind. The rider must bunny-hop, turn the handlebars 45 degress, and land the back peg and the pedal on the ledge and lean back, keeping the front wheel off the ground but not grinding the front peg on the top of the ledge either. http://bmx.transworld.net/files/2008/07/21/628301488_1211481703.jpg
Rollercoaster grind: Another advanced grind. The rider must find two rails or ledges close enough together so he can bunny-hop and be grinding along on at least two pegs (one peg on each ledge or rail.
Icepick grind: A rear peg grind were the rider is grinding a long on the back peg only with the front wheel above the rail or ledge you are grinding on
crooked grind: where alternate pegs are on either side of the rail must run four pegs for this grind
predator grind: where the athlete does a double peg grind on a rail then hops over to his alternate pegs
tooth pick grind: the athlet slides on the front peg only with the rear wheel in mid air
toothy hangover : its essenstially a toothpick grind where you hang your rear end of your bike over the oppersite side of the rail or ledge you are grinding
riders: mossy rides a bmx and recently appeared on joe cox's video tommorrow we work which was a smash hit in sheffield.
speaking of joe cox he recently wound up rider tom (aitken)blyth by inventing a email adress and posing as baz keep keepspinningthembaz@hotmail.co.uk and offering him a place on the roundabout team ( what a prankster)
See also
References
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: BMX |
- ^ "BMX will be added to the 2008 Olympics (UCI press release)" (2003-07-01). Retrieved on 2008-10-08.
- ^ "History of BMX". Retrieved on 2007-10-14.
- ^ "University of BMX : BMX in Holland". Retrieved on 2007-10-14.
- ^ "A Short History of BMX". Retrieved on 2007-10-14.
- Bakshi, Amar. "How the World Sees America: BMX in UK v. U.S.". Washington Post/Newsweek, http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/postglobal/america/2007/06/bmx_rails_always_smoother.html.
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 5 December 2008, at 01:04.
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