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<br /> SPECTATORS GUIDE TO BMX BIKES
<br /> One of the unique things about the manufacturers of BMX bikes is that practically all of them began the same way hyped BMX faniik
<br /> father wanted the best for his kid and unsatisfied with what was available,decided to make his own design of BMX frame. Yes...MongoW
<br /> Redline,Haro,GT(to name a few),all multi-million-dollar BMX manufacturers,were originally'garage companies.' These days it seems
<br /> as if there's a new BMX bike company every month.
<br /> CONSTRUCTION: larger 20X2.0 or 20X2.125 tire on their front wheel only,for traction in turns.
<br /> With each year,the technology in BMX bike building keeps expanding,yet one As you can tell by all of the bikes around the race track,there's a wide range
<br /> thing that's remained the same since the beginning of BMX is the strong-yet-light of frames sizes to fit these types of wheels. BMX race frames come in:
<br /> 4130 Chrome-moly tubing used in construction.'Chro-mo'is the BMX standard,
<br /> but not the only material used in frame building. Minikin (super small-6 years&under)
<br /> BMX has met up with the strong,super-light(and VERY expensive)material Mini (small-5 years to 8 years)
<br /> called titanium. In the past,titanium frame and forks were only seen on the'mini" Junior (smaMfinedum-7 years to 10 years)
<br /> bikes. No one ever thought a titanium bike could withstand the abuse of a rider
<br /> Expert (medium 9 years to 14 years) 1
<br /> weighing over a 100 pounds,but times have changed.Titanium companies such Pro . (medium/large-12 years and up)
<br /> as KB and Terrier have introduced some extremely light and very strong titanium XL or XXL (super long-older,larger kids)
<br /> pro-sized bikes.
<br /> Throughout last year presently,aluminum seems to be making a big come- WHAT'S A CRUISER?
<br /> back.Some of the best bikes from the'70's'were made of aluminum,such as the And now,to answer that inevitable spectator question,'What the heck is this
<br /> legendary FMF,G-Boy,and PK Ripper. There have been many companies that cruiser thing I keep hearing been announce?I"
<br /> have introduced a very impressive fine of aluminum frames. Simply put,cruisers have 24 inch wheels,as opposed to the standard 20 inch
<br /> wheel on the standard BMX bike we just talked about.The term'cruiser is short
<br /> t v . for'beach cruiser-those balloon-tire,26 inch wheeled,white-walled Schwinn
<br /> THE BMX BIKE LADDER: r paper route bakes some of you might've grown upon.Back in the late 70's,a few
<br /> When a kid begins racing,he is BMX racers in Southern California got on a kick to take their surf board racks off
<br /> encouraged to race what he has. It % . 0 the back of their beach cruisers and race'em on a BMX track.
<br /> doesn't matter if the bike is an infa- Racing a big,bulky beach cruiser was awkward and raised
<br /> mous K-Mart Special or a GT Mach One - . much controversy at the time.Would they be allowed on a track?
<br /> -just try BMX racing.The more you get Into - 't P7 This was just about the same time a group of crazies in Norther
<br /> it,"the more your bike will improve. California were using their'ballooners"to r
<br /> You'll notice this mostly / ��'� down fire roads in the mountains.
<br /> in the younger age /r ��'�' � known to these people,they were
<br /> classes. Most 7 year `, � creating the multi mit6on dollar in
<br /> old 'Novices" (Begin- t f in-
<br /> dustry of mountain bikes.•
<br /> ner) are riding big, '. .; I A _ i�,,,_ , +.r." Thus,cruiserscaughtonand
<br /> heavy canker bikes. s': s
<br /> 101.....
<br /> ►� --'�— it wasn't long before every ma-
<br /> This is good,though, — ,' . ` • .,. ",_ jor manufacturer was making a
<br /> as they are competitive of ---- .r `\ ��
<br /> cruiser frame for 26 inch wheels.
<br /> on 28-30 pound bikes ' \ • ; \`\.' , , � r In 1979,the ABA added a'cruiser"
<br /> that probably cost $50 at _ - .- �� class lo their list,with the intent
<br /> the local garage sale. As they that it'd keep many older riders from
<br /> get better and move up into the next classification,you'll see the 7 year old retiring when they reached 20-something.
<br /> 'Intermediates"riding mini chrome-poly machines.These22-25 pound bikes can In 1980,Jeff Kosmola won the first ABA No.1 Cruiser title,racing on his signature '
<br /> be bought brand-new,starting at$180 on up.Then,of course,there's the serious, model Mongoose-a 26 inch wheeled'Kos Kruiser."
<br /> hardcore, totally-dedicated 7 year old'Expert'who is mounted on Dad's life Premiering the last race of that same year came something that would change
<br /> savings-a 12 pound wonderbike,all titanium and aluminum,and insured for cruisers as they were known. A top-
<br /> $1,500 and up. ranked BMXer from Southern California,riding for RRS(Riverside/Redland's
<br /> Schwinn)by the name of Joe Claveau,showed upon the first cruiser with 24 inch
<br /> SIZING: wheels.
<br /> Probably one of the more confusing It wasn't long before 26 inciters were tossed aside and the real BMX cruiser
<br /> ly ng parts of BMX racing to a first-time as we know it today was here to stay.
<br /> spectator are the different sizes of bikes. In particular,'WHATSACRUISER?I" With the popularity of cruisers at an as-time peak,the request from the younger
<br /> Before we get into the definition of a cruiser,let's start with the basic'BMX kids,as well as the'BMX dads,"to race the bigger bikes became apparent. The
<br /> bike".About the only thing in common with all of these types of bikes(besides the ABA now has age classes as low as 9 years&under and goes all the way to 45
<br /> fact that it has handlebars,pedals,and a seat),is they all have 20 inch wheels.The years&over.
<br /> width of the tires may change,but all of the wheels have a 20 inch diameter.This ido doubt,cruiser racing has brought many'old timers"back to the sport they
<br /> is the single definition of a BMX bake. loved as youngsters and often gives the"know-
<br /> The littler guys on their light-weight mini-munchkin-mobiles often use 20 inch it-all Dad"a first-hand try at what it's really like to be out there on the tram
<br /> "sew-up"tires,which is an all-in-one tire/intertube and is glued onto the wheel. Once a dad tries racing cruiser,you'll no longer hear him lecture his son on ho
<br /> The next steps up are the 20X1/8 and 20X3/8 tires,which are thinner and smaller to pedal faster!
<br /> in diameter,used between the 8 to 12 year olds.Next comes the'BMX standard"
<br /> -your common,garden-variety 20X1.75 tire. Occasionally some riders prefer a
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