Somewhere in California during the early 70's, a bunch of kids on modified 20" Schwinn Stingray bicycles went out to a vacant lot and created a brand new sport of their very own.

However, the earliest history of BMX begins with a single bicycle: the Schwinn Stingray. Invented in 1963, the Stingray is often thanked for beginning BMX. Kids were able to use the Stingray to emulate their favorite motocross riders of the time.

Those kids were probably not even the first. The same scene of youthful energy and American resourcefulness was quite probably going on in Nebraska and/or New Jersey. But it was the California gathering of nameless pioneers who were recorded on film by Bruce Brown's cameras.

BMX riding blew up in the 1970s, with kids across the country riding their bicycles on dirt trails and around tracks. BMX races began giving people the opportunity to test their skills against other riders. As BMX-specific bikes began to emerge in the mid-seventies, BMX riding became more technical and advanced.

The American Bicycle Association (ABA) was created to oversee BMX riding and magazines dedicated to the sport (such as Bicycle Motocross Action Magazine (BMXA) and Bicycle Motocross News) were started. This helped spread BMX even wider. It started to become popular in countries around the world.

In the early 1990s, extreme sports began to make their way into the national spotlight. They became mainstream as they gained attention, especially when ESPN created the “X-Games.” In 2008 BMX was officially made a part of the Olympics.

Today BMX riding is a challenging sport that involves double and triple jumps, rollers and tabletops. It’s a faster sport which relies less on the rough and tough obstacles that it used to. BMX bicycles are 20 inches, made of lightweight material and are far more advanced than ever.

There are two organizations overseeing BMX racing in the US: the ABA and the National Bicycle League (NBL). In general the ABA governs the west coast and the NBL covers the east. The American Freestyle Association (AFA) oversees BMX freestyle riding. BMX continues its rise in popularity in the US and around the world.

BMX Styles

  Raceing

 BMX racing is where BMX started and continues to this day on specially constructed courses emulating motocross tracks, but generally smoother, of roughly 900 to 1,100 feet in length. Riders are grouped with others of the same relative age and experience level and in a typical day will race several times with their group to determine the day's finishing order and awards.

   Freestyle

Street Riding is performed on unimproved obstacles found on typical streets. Handrails, ledges, slanted walls, and other common features are used to perform tricks.

Dirt Jumping is similar to BMX racing in that the rider jumps mounds of dirt. It differs in that the jumps are usually much larger and designed to lift the rider high into the air. Additionally, the goal is not to complete the course with the fastest time, but rather to perform tricks with style.

Flatland BMX is performed on smooth, flat pavement and riders test their hand-eye and foot coordination. The riders travel at low speed and stand on various parts of the bike, while spinning it around in various ways beneath them. Many BMX bicycles have handlebar configurations which allow them to spin completely around, allowing either the bars to spin independently of the tail (a barspin), or the tail to spin around independently of the bars (a tailwhip).

Vert riding is done on a halfpipe and allows riders to go higher than any other obstacles. Consequently this is the most dangerous form of BMX and is considered somewhat elite. Mat Hoffman, also known as the godfather of BMX, has taken vert to the next level with "airs" (vertical jumps) as high as 26 feet above the top of a vert ramp.

Park Riding is performed in a skate park, and BMX bikes are increasingly being allowed to ride terrain that used to be exclusive to skateboarders. This is the most versatile type of riding and the types of ramps available are unlimited, incorporating elements of all of the various types of riding.

So, if you liked the article about the BMX World, then go and enjoy playing BMX Games, or go back to playing Skateboarding, Snowboarding or Other boarding games!!!!