Interesting facts about BMXing

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Bicycle Motorcross, more commonly known as BMXing uses bikes to perform extreme form of sports. There are special tracks designed for racing with these bikes and perform special stunts mid-air or overcome difficult obstacles that form a part of the racing track. Although the bikes used for BMXing is particularly designed for the purpose of racing and performing stunts, it can also be used simply for recreational purposes.
BMX bikes come in three different designs, namely the freestyle bike, jumpers and racing bikes. The freestyle is best suited for performing stunts and is built with a heavy duty frame and axle pegs. Racing bikes as the name suggests are used for racing and the tires are what makes them different and help in covering greater distances on track faster. Jumpers have features common to racers and freestyle bikes and can be used both for trail riding as well as personal use.

The first BMX race to take place was in California way back in 1971 and Schwinn is credited for creating the BMX bike for the first time.

The first BMX bike was named a Sting Ray.

BMX became an official form of sport in 2008 as part of the Summer Olympic Games hosted in Beijing. Maris Strombergs from Latvia won the gold medal for men’s BMXing and Anne Caroline Chausson from France for the Women’s BMXing.

BMX racing takes place at high speed and lasts for not more than 25 to 40 seconds with a maximum of 8 riders competing with each other at a time.

The typical BMX racing track measures 900 to 1100 feet in length and riders can ride as fast as 15 to 35 mph.

The BMX bikes are built in such a way that the handle bars can help keep riders upright regardless of the stunts performed. They are smaller in size than regular bikes but have a very strongly built frame.

As mentioned before, the three kinds of BMX bikes are used to perform on different kinds of tracks. The jumpers for example are used to riding on bump surfaces with dirt filled obstacles while freestyle bikes with special handlebars can enable riders to perform mid-air stunts like spinning through 180 or 360 degrees etc.

The establishment of the American Bicycle Association helped in the widespread development and popularity of the BMX as a sport. BMX is now popular in countries from all around the world.

The International BMX Federation was founded in April of 1981. The following year witnessed the first world championship games of BMXing.
In the 1990s, ESPN created ‘˜X-Games’ which helped popularise BMX even further and started gaining attention in the form of mainstream sports.

Since January 1993, ICU (International Cycling Union) officially incorporated BMX as its entity.

Wearing protective biking gear such as helmets, long-sleeved jersey pants, gloves, elbow and knee pads are a must while BMXing because of the high level of risk involved in the sport. Riders are prone to nasty falls and abrasions. Chest protectors and shin guards are also worn by riders in some cases of high level competition like the Olympics.

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