BMX Bikes - The #1 Obstacle Bike!

BMX bikes are specialty bikes used in the sport of BMX racing.

BMX is an acronym for bicycle motocross. Tricky off-road races on one-lap tracks characterize this sport.

BMX racetracks are dirt tracks that include various jumps.

BMX bikes are specially designed to handle rugged terrain with speed.

While different from the mountain bike or the racing bike, BMX bicycles have the smallest wheel size.

Average BMX bikes have 20-inch wheels, but can be as small as 18 inches and usually no bigger than 24 inches. Not only can the BMX bike handle rugged terrain with speed, it handles wooden ramps, flat ground and obstacles equally as well.

BMX bikes are also popular in freestyle riding. BMX freestyle is a type of riding that involves performing tricks on the BMX bike. In BMX freestyle, there are different types of freestyle riding. Freestyle tricks can be performed on street, park, vert (ramp), trail and flatland arenas.

Street freestyle riders usually ride on public street or private property. BMX freestyle street riders usually perform complex tricks with improvised obstacles. Almost anything can be used as an obstacle in BMX freestyle, from benches, to rails and stairways. BMX bikes designed for street riding are the strongest types of BMX bikes. Street BMX bikes have multiple stunt (axel) pegs for grinding.

BMX riding in parks usually refers to skate parks. Skate parks come equipped with obstacles in which the BMX rider can perform tricks on. Skate parks are usually made of wood or concrete. The style of riding and types of tricks performed in skate parks usually differ depending on the type of park. Wood skate parks are usually better for technical tricks, while concrete skate parks are more suited for fast flowing riding style.

Common obstacles you can find in a BMX skate park include quarter pipes, spines and mini ramps.

A quarter pipe is a type of obstacle that is literally, shaped like a quarter of a pipe. The quarter pipe acts as a ramp, and the rider will generally perform tricks on a platform above the ramp.

A spine is two quarter pipes that are back to back. A mini ramp is an obstacle that has two quarter pipes facing each other with a short flat area between the two ramps.

A mini ramp is usually less than 6 feet high.

Vert riding, is amongst the most extreme form of BMX riding styles. Vert riding is characterized by tricks performed on a vert ramp. A vert ramp is a 10-15 foot high ramp consisting of two quarter pipes set facing each other.

Typically, riders go up each side of the ramp, performing tricks in the air before landing on each side. Sometimes riders will perform ‘lip’ tricks on the platform above the ramp before dropping back into the ramp.

BMX trail riding involves the rider performing a line of jumps made of dirt or heavily compacted mud.
Flatland BMX riding refers to a type of BMX riding that is performed on flat land surfaces. The most common surfaces for flatland BMX are basketball courts or parking lots.

Flatland tricks are usually performed by rider spinning and balancing the BMX bike and themselves in different positions. In addition, the rider will often use gnurled aluminum pegs (to stand on) to manipulate the bike into even more positions.

Whichever type of BMX bike you decide to get depends on what type of riding you plan to do. BMX bikes are tough bikes that are specifically made for BMX riding sports. Whether that is BMX racing or freestyle is up to you.


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