Flips, tricks and high speed make BMX one of the most exciting sports to watch. BMX is an abbreviation that means bike motocross or bicycle motocross. It is a cycle sport that is performed on BMX bikes, either competitively or freestyle. It can also be an on or off-road recreation. BMX began with young cyclists who appropriated motocross tracks for fun, stunts, and racing. Eventually, this evolved into specialized BMX competitions.
BMX races are usually sprint-style bike races done on paved tracks or dirt roads. The bikes are very fast and small and can be ridden while standing up. The track they use can be from 300-400 meters long and this includes a startup hill with a gate, straight paths, and at least three turns. There are usually various jumps and a finishing line. Up to eight riders can compete at a time in each qualifying race known as a moto.
A race usually has at least three motos. If there are more than eight riders in a category race, then the finalists should compete in the finals or semi-finals in order to determine the finishing order. The race points are then determined from the finishing positions of the riders which are calculated over a number of motos they competed in.
How Do BMX Races Work?
Riders are usually organized into male and female classes, and then further subdivided by their age group and skill levels. All the riders should start as novices and work themselves up to the more advanced levels. In the local races, it is common for the categories to get merged due to low participation. BMX riding is popular with children who are between 5-17 years old, but many adults usually participate in the competitions.
BMX develops and rewards their quickness, strength, and bike handling techniques. Everyone who signs up must participate and no one is usually left sitting on the bench. It began in the 70s and has become an excellent Olympic Summer sport. It has gone through plenty of ups and downs over the years since its inception, but it basically has five main disciplines which are split into two main sections – the racing section and the freestyle section.
Racing
The racing section is pretty self-explanatory. It means the participants must race and win in order to receive the price. In this BMX discipline, they use the street and ramp bikes. The bikes used are built like tanks and they do not break easily. You also cannot do anything on them either. Nowadays, it is fashionable to have a light bike, but it all comes down to its strength and weight.
Basically, you want a bike that is light enough for you to do all the stuff during the race, but not too light that it can easily break when you are trying to grind on a ledge. Street bikes come with pegs and a gyro, and most people have one set of pegs on their favorite side. Most street riders, however, choose to ride with four pegs and opt for no breaks. BMX allows everyone the freedom they want to self-express themselves and ride in different ways.
Flatland
This involves doing tricks on the bike while it is on flat land. It is much easier than street racing, as the flatness of the land means you do not have much work to do. People who do flat land racing spend plenty of hours in car parks and tennis court practicing while riding alone listening to music.
Flatland bikes are usually very short and light in weight, which makes them very easy to spin. They also have four big fat pegs that are used to stand on. Most flatlanders use gyro and front-back brakes which are more convenient and safe for them.
Dirt Jumping
This is usually split into two; Trail riding and Dirt jumping. Trails are used to describe the collection of dirt roads where the riders must jump. Trail riders generally prefer spending time in the woods, which builds their expertise more. This is basically what you see on the X-games where there are more than two huge jumps that riders must try and do.
Ramp riding
This involves doing tricks while riding on specially-designed ramp parks. The parks are usually made of concrete, or wood, or aluminum. Aluminum is a horrible, scary and dangerous option for ramp riding and is not recommended at all. When you first start ramp riding, do not just go into the park and start. Take time to learn how to do, so you can be safe.
What Is BMX Cycling Conclusion
The world of BMX riding is exciting for those who understand it, but watching the bikes go up in the air is also so much fun for the non-riders. The best example of BMX riding was showcased in the first Charlies Angeles movie and it was extremely interesting and cool.
