BMX - Biking by
John Gibb
BMX bikes are a special kind of low bike, with smaller wheels than
normal, that can be used for racing. They
are designed to be very light weight but
also very robust, as well as streamlined for
speed. They are also known for being easier
to perform tricks with than normal bikes.
BMX stands for bicycle motocross, which
refers to the origin of the sport: children
saw motocross races on the TV in the '70s
and wanted to emulate them. Since they had
no motorbikes of their own, they used their
bicycles to race around similar dirt tracks
to the ones they had seen. Today the sport
is notable for being one of the few sports
that is taken part in almost exclusively by
the under-10s. Although there are a few
older professional BMXers, most good ones
move on to other cycling or motorcycling
sports. Among children today, BMXes
remain one of the most popular kinds of
bikes around, even if they do not compete in
competitions, and BMX magazines are some of
the biggest-selling hobbyist magazines. This
was a surprise to many, as the sport was
considered pretty much dead in the '80s and
early '90s, only to undergo a dramatic
revival in the mid-'90s that is still going
on now. BMX is now one of the range of
extreme sports like skateboarding and
snowboarding, and similar tricks can be
performed with the bikes to the ones the
boarders do. The sport of Freestyle BMX was
invented to allow BMXers to concentrate on
doing tricks in skate-parks instead of
racing, and has since arguably outgrown the
popularity of BMX racing altogether - this
is the style that the most famous BMX
bikers, Mat Hoffman and Dave Mirra, compete
in.
About the Author John Gibb is the owner of
bmx guides, For more information on
bmx's please check out
http://www.bmx-guides2k.info |
