What Does BMX Stand For – From History To Present Day

BMX is one of the most popular forms of extreme sports and it seems to be gaining popularity with each passing year – so much, so that it became a full medal Olympic sport in 2003 and featured in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. So what does bmx stand for? BMX stands for Bicycle Motocross – a cycling sport that focuses on extreme racing – done in a Motorcross style on tracks that have inline starts and obstacles.

How did BMX racing come into being?

It all began in the 1970s when kids in southern California began to draw inspiration from motocross superstars and began to race their bicycles on dirt tracks. Children were racing standard road bikes. Yet, this achieved phenomenal popularity. Soon after this, George E. Esser founded the National Bicycle League as a non-profit bicycle motocross sanctioning organization. The popularity of the sport kept spreading and it went on to be added in the Union Cycliste Internationale, Summer X Games Extreme Sports competition and the ETNIES backyard jam.

What makes the sport extremely alluring is the fact that it is exciting and invigorating. In addition to this, the fact that there are many places available to ride and to do tricks, makes the sport even more popular.

BMX racing and bikes

There are two types of BMX racing. Freestyle racing is the most popular form of racing, since it is more interesting and involves many stunts on makeshift obstacles. The other form of racing is slightly less dangerous. However, it can become risky when the racing takes place across hills and similar rough and dangerous terrains.

Freestyle BMX racing consists of five different disciplines
1. Street

2. Park

3. Vert

4. Trails

5. Flatland

Freestyle BMX sport requires exceptional skill and dedication. Apart from this, you will also need a top notch BMX racing bike that will aid you to make the right moves.

BMX bikes

BMX bikes are designed for riding in street, parks and dirt, depending on the make and the model of the bike.

The cheap and low-end bikes are made of steel or aluminum. Bikes of a slightly higher range are mostly constructed from hi tensile steel, which are about the same in weight and strength. However, the best bikes are made from 4130 chromoly, or generation 3 chromoly.

The freestyle BMX bikes are sturdier and have 36 spokes. However, some strong riders manage to use a 48 spoke front wheel. This makes the bike stronger – the same rule applies to both rear as well as to the front wheels. A race BMX bike wheel can vary in size, from 20" to 24".

Finally, if you are planning to take part in the BMX sport, it is important that you choose the right bike. Take your time and choose something that suits your strength and skill.