BMX bike
Encyclopedia
A BMX bike or BMX is the name of a popular bicycle
used for both casual use and sport, and designed mainly for dirt and motocross
cycling. "BMX" is the usual abbreviation for bicycle motocross
.
, 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 lightweight 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 spoke
s, 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.
, drawing inspiration from the motocross
superstars of the time. The size and availability of the Schwinn
Sting-Ray made it 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 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.
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, promoted motorcycle races with the AMA (American Motocross Association), and through their "National Motorcycle League," or NML. Their two sons, Greg and Bryan, raced motorcycles, but also enjoyed riding and racing BMX with their friends. It was their sons’ interest, and the absence of an Eastern presence by the National Bicycle Association
(NBA, at the time the only sanctioning body of BMX Racing), 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 their first world championships were held in 1982. Since January 1993 BMX has been integrated into the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI).
BMX Freestyle (which, today, encompasses the Dirt, Vert, Park, Street and Flatland disciplines) was created by racers who enjoyed pushing the stylistic limits of what they could do on their bikes. Haro Bikes
founder Bob Haro
is popularly known as "The Father of Freestyle."
BMX Freestyle 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 riding locations. At the games, Latvian Māris Štrombergs and Anne-Caroline Chausson of France were crowned the first Olympic champions in Mens and Women's BMX Racing, respectively.
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. Conversely, Mountain Bike racers sometimes cross over to BMX Racing, such as 2008 Olympic Bronze Medalist conor of the USA.
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
used for both casual use and sport, and designed mainly for dirt and motocross
Motocross
Motocross is a form of motorcycle sport or all-terrain vehicle racing held on enclosed off road circuits. It evolved from trials, and was called scrambles, and later motocross, combining the French moto with cross-country...
cycling. "BMX" is the usual abbreviation for bicycle motocross
Bicycle motocross
Bicycle motocross or BMX refers to the sport in which the main goal is extreme racing on bicycles in motocross style on tracks with inline start and expressive obstacles, and it is also the term that refers to the bicycle itself that is designed for dirt and motocross cycling.- History :BMX started...
.
Construction
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, flatland and BMX freestyle disciplines of BMX. BMX frames are made of various types of steelSteel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
, 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 lightweight 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 spoke
Spoke
A spoke is one of some number of rods radiating from the center of a wheel , connecting the hub with the round traction surface....
s, 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.
History
BMX started in the early 1970s when children began racing their bicycles on dirt tracks in southern CaliforniaSouthern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
, drawing inspiration from the motocross
Motocross
Motocross is a form of motorcycle sport or all-terrain vehicle racing held on enclosed off road circuits. It evolved from trials, and was called scrambles, and later motocross, combining the French moto with cross-country...
superstars of the time. The size and availability of the Schwinn
Schwinn Bicycle Company
The Schwinn Bicycle Company was founded by German-born mechanical engineer Ignaz Schwinn in Chicago in 1895. It became the dominant manufacturer of American bicycles through most of the 20th century and today it is a sub-brand of Pacific Cycle, owned by the multi-national conglomerate, Dorel...
Sting-Ray made it 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
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. 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 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.
George E. Esser founded the National Bicycle League
National Bicycle League
The National Bicycle League is a United States based Bicycle Motocross sports sanctioning body originally based in Deerfield Beach, Florida but after several moves it was based in Hilliard, Ohio...
as a non-profit bicycle motocross sanctioning organization in 1974. before they set up the NBL, George and his wife, Mary, promoted motorcycle races with the AMA (American Motocross Association), and through their "National Motorcycle League," or NML. Their two sons, Greg and Bryan, raced motorcycles, but also enjoyed riding and racing BMX with their friends. It was their sons’ interest, and the absence of an Eastern presence by the National Bicycle Association
National Bicycle Association
The National Bicycle Association , later known as the National Bicycle Motocross Association was an United States based Bicycle Motocross sports sanctioning body originally based in Soledad, California that was created by Ernie Alexander in 1973 and ceased operations as an independent body in 1981...
(NBA, at the time the only sanctioning body of BMX Racing), that prompted George to start the NBL in Florida.
By 1977, the American Bicycle Association
American Bicycle Association
The American Bicycle Association is a United States-based Bicycle Motocross sports governing body in Gilbert, Arizona created by Merl Mennenga and Gene Roden in 1977. It is the largest sanctioning body in the United States concerning BMX. It has tracks in Canada and Mexico as well as in the USA...
(ABA) was organized as a national sanctioning body for the growing sport. In April 1981, the International BMX Federation was founded, and their first world championships were held in 1982. Since January 1993 BMX has been integrated into the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI).
BMX Freestyle (which, today, encompasses the Dirt, Vert, Park, Street and Flatland disciplines) was created by racers who enjoyed pushing the stylistic limits of what they could do on their bikes. Haro Bikes
Haro Bikes
-Haro Designs:The company was founded in 1978 by Bob Haro. Haro started out producing numberplates for BMX bikes in his bedroom. Demand for these stylish plates quickly outgrew his one man capacity. Haro Designs, the first name of the company, was formed in 1980 with headquarters in Torrance,...
founder Bob Haro
Bob Haro
Bob Haro is a former freestyle BMX rider turned artist and business executive. He is the founder of Haro Bikes and was one of the most important early innovators of BMX freestyle....
is popularly known as "The Father of Freestyle."
BMX Freestyle is now one of the staple events at the annual Summer X Games
X Games
The X Games is a commercial annual sports event, controlled and arranged by US sports broadcaster ESPN, which focuses on action sports. The inaugural X Games was held in the summer of 1995 in Rhode Island....
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 riding locations. At the games, Latvian Māris Štrombergs and Anne-Caroline Chausson of France were crowned the first Olympic champions in Mens and Women's BMX Racing, respectively.
Many great BMX riders go on to other cycling sports like downhill such as Australian Olympian Jared Graves
Jared Graves
Jared Graves is an Australian cyclist who has represented Australia in BMX, 4x and DH mountain biking.In 2006, he finished second in the mountain bike 4x world cup series...
, former "golden child" Eric Carter, and youth BMX racer Aaron Gwin. Conversely, Mountain Bike racers sometimes cross over to BMX Racing, such as 2008 Olympic Bronze Medalist conor of the USA.
Models
BMX bicycles are available in these models types- Race
- Freestyle (park, street, vert) Mostly park and street
- Dirt jump
- Flatland bmx Flatland