BMX Bike – Dressed for Success

Article by Spidergoose









When I was a kid I always wanted a BMX. I asked for one of these two wheeled wonders for every Christmas and every birthday. Unfortunately my family wasn’t particularly well off and I had to settle for a pre owned, black, re painted 5 gear racing bicycle.

Please dont think I was ungrateful because that old black bike practically became my best friend and I loved it but I still looked on in awe at all the other BMX bikes. I did however at that point believe that if I had a BMX that I would be able to fly over the house and garden with it! I had E.T. to thank for that fallacy! Much jumping over houses on BMX bikes in videogames wasnt really the same thing.

BMX was pretty much brand new in those days and the streets were full of kids buzzing up and down and making makeshift ramps to fly (fall off the end) off! Christmas mornings reflected just how popular BMX was becoming. In fact it had become an overnight roaring success.

Despite thousands of valiant attempts, no one ever did manage to fly their BMX over the house, although crazy Billy from the next street has the scars to prove he gave it a really good try. We all concluded that E.T must have had some kind of magical powers!

More than 30 years later and although BMX bikes still cannot fly they are still very cool and are more popular than ever. For the first time in its history in 2008 they became a successful part of the Olympic Games in Beijing.

Racing was the only BMX discipline at the Olympics this time around but Freestyle is also hugely popular and surely it’s only a matter of time before this too takes its place on the biggest world stage.

People at the top of the BMX sport are extremely dedicated to perfecting their skills and what you see may look easy, but just try it yourself to find out otherwise. Flatland BMX, another discipline is particularly fascinating to watch!

Having such a mix of styles within the sport, perhaps it is not surprising to discover that there many, many different models of BMX bike. Each discipline is so different that it generally requires a bike specifically built for that purpose, with different weights and general designs to suit not only the discipline but also the individual riders.

Along with the endorsements and sponsorships comes a public profile and fame and some of the top BMX riders can earn a good living just from their sport alone. When it first began, BMX could only have dreamed of such success!

With so much variety and choice out there, it shouldnt be a problem getting hold of the BMX bike you want, either for yourself or for a relative to unwrap on Christmas morning to once more go hurtling up the street, thrilled to bits with their new BMX.



About the Author

I have expressed my affection for the BMX bike but lots more info can be found at Ramp it up, a bmx accessories store.