Alex Ram

It started in the early 1970s, Bicycle motocross or popularly known as BMX bikes have been used in races and in performing stunts all over the world. Various organizations have been created to support this growing sport over the years. It started in 1974, where the very first National Bicycle League was formed by George E. Esser, in Florida. Next in 1977, the American Bicycle Association was created and then in 1981 where the International BMX Federation was formed. It was in 1982 where the very first world championship was held. And just last year 2008, BMX as a sport was included in the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing having two categories: Male, where the gold medal was won by Maris Strombergs from Latvia and one for Female which Anne-Caroline Chausson from France claimed the very first gold medal . As a sport, BMX bikes can be costly since the riders devote a lot of effort in making their units better as compared to normal bicycles. Prices would range from $150 to as expensive as more than $3,000 per unit. Several companies such as Schwimm, GT, Haro and YAMAHA have also been manufacturing BMX bikes to offer a variety of designs to BMX bike riders. BMX bikes may look similar to normal bikes but if you look closely they do differ. Their built are smaller however they have bigger wheels. These bigger wheels make it good for the riders to race in dirt tracts where there are a lot of bumps and tough roads. Other riders request for specially designed BMX bikes to sustain and maintain their need for their bikes, be it on the road or riding the bike for showing off some stunts. When showing of stunts, BMX bike riders usually follow what the skateboarders do except they are using these much bigger units compared to the skateboards. BMX bikes are much harder to control since they are heavier as to the skateboards. Practice is a huge part so that there are stunts are delivered perfectly. Others are even getting paid to this. Some compete where they earn recognition in different sectors. For the more professional, they get to hop from cities to cities, to other countries to display their talents. Haro created the first BMX bikes specially designed for stunts or popularly known as freestyle riding. These made the riders the capacity to maneuver them so as to perform different and numerous stunts ranging from the simplest to the more complex. Freestyle riders more often than not learned their tricks from watching skateboarders. Some of their tricks can also be performed on the air and on ground. There is a thrill in this type of sport which can give both the riders and the audience the excitement and need for speed and power however one has always to bear in mind to be careful since BMX bike riding is a dangerous sport.