BMX stands for Bicycle Motocross, a type of cycling in which riders use specially designed bicycles and race against each other. The BMX bikes are much smaller than regular bicycles, their wheel diameters ranging from 1.5 to 2 feet. The standard BMX bike has wheels that are about 20 inches in diameter. The small size of the wheel makes the bikes more manoeuvrable and more easily controlled by the rider. BMX races are held on earth roads and tracks and the bikes are used to perform tricks known as Freestyle BMX stunts.
Freestyle BMX is the performance of tricks on BMXs and involves five different kinds of precise movements with the bike on different types of surfaces. The Park, the Street, the Flatland, the Dirt and the Vert are the types of Freestyle BMX disciplines. This is a relatively new type of sport with the 2008 Olympics in Beijing hosting the sport’s first competition.
In the late 1970s, teenagers in California began imitating motocross specialists, but were doing so using their standard bikes on regular roads. Gradually, tracks were built for this specific purpose and the sport became phenomenally popular. Special BMX bikes were designed and sold in huge quantities. A motorcycle documentary was made in the early seventies called On Any Sunday. It became very popular because it showed children astride their Stingrays off-road. It is thought by some that the BMX craze was born due this documentary alone.
By the mid 1970s, the American Bicycle Association (ABA) was formed as a national body governing this sport. Around a year later, the sport was introduced in Europe, with youngsters in many countries taking it up enthusiastically. Shortly thereafter, the International BMX Federation was launched which organized the first World BMX Championships.
BMX bikes and games were also responsible for launching the career of Hollywood superstar Nicole Kidman who appeared in the 1983 movie, BMX Bandits. In the Hollywood film E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial BMX bikes were used to great effect in some off-road chase sequences. These action sequences featured the child stars of the movie. BMX bikes have risen in popularity across the world with children and teenagers alike participating in BMX races regularly. In the US, the Summer X Games Extreme Sports are held annually, with the BMX performances as the most popular event.
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