This site is mainly for those of you who are new to this sport. What you find here is general information about BMX, the different categories, the bikes, some tips etc. If you still have any questions you can either visit our discussion board or you can just send us a mail at Contact

BMX is the acronym for Bicycle Motocross. It's a kind of fun- and extremesport that came from California in the early seventies. In those days the children wanted to imitate the Motocross riders with their 20 inch bikes and built their own trails and ramps and after some time the first contests were held. The sport became popular more and more, the NBL (National Bicycle League) was founded. Nowadays BMX gains importance in Europe too and contests are held nearly in all European countries. The biggest events are the x-games and the gravity games, where also other fun and extreme sports are performed; both events are held in USA. In all competitions the goal is to impress the judges by showing difficult stunts with style. An exception are BMX-Races where the riders are racing on a course and certainly the fastest rider wins.

BMX can be devided in the following sections: Dirt Jump, Street, Ramp/Vert/Halfpipe, Flatland and Race. There are contests for all sections and of course special bikes and different areas to ride. Here are the different sections with descriptions:

Dirt Jump:

At dirt jumping the riders are riding on lanes consisting of doubles and tables and they try to make stunts while they are off the ground. Doubles and tables are made of soil and are shaped like ramps but they are often bigger than street ramps. A double consists of a two soil ramps, the first is is for jumping off it and on the second you land. Between the two is a gap. The lengths of the gaps can be up to 30 feet. Tables are similar to doubles but the gap is filled with soil, that's why they especially are suitable for dirt jump beginners.
Klick here to get to the dirt jump tricks

Street, Park:

Street and Park riding is quite versatile. In parks you can do tricks over/on funboxes, rails, banks, quarters, spines, walls and some other obstacles. The obstacles are mostly made of plastic. Street riding, is just riding, for example in the city and jumping off stairs, grinding on rails or walls, doing manuals etc.
Here it goes to the street tricks

Ramp, Vert, Halfpipe:

Here the riders do their tricks in halfpipes made of lumber or plastic. Halfpipe or ramp are the generell names but there are Miniramps, Vertramps and Quarterpipes. Miniramps are less high than 6 feet and they haven't got a vertical part. Vertramps are much higher, about 12 feet, and they have, as the name already says, a vertical part below the coping. Quarterpipes are half halfpipes, so they only have on coping. The goal in all ramps is to get above the coping, do tricks and to land again in the ramp. In miniramps tricks like tailtap, nostap and grinds are usual. Usually the riders make 180° rotations during the jump to land "right" again.
Klick here to get to the Ramp tricks

Flatland:

Flatland was almost the first thing done with the 20" bikes. The good thing about flatland is that you can do it nearly everywhere because all you need is your BMX and a flat ground (for example a parking place). All flatland tricks are done one the ground and a lot of them only on one wheel. Therefore you need a very good sense of balance and you have to practice a lot. Its also not as spectacular as, for instance, dirt jump or race. However it's not very dangerous and you don't need to wear protective gear.
Klick here to get to the Flatland tricks

Race:

At race contests several riders (usually 8) start simultaneous (like MotoX) and ride on a Race Tracks with doubles, Tables and some smaller gaps (up to 13m gaps at downhill BMX races). The fastest rider wins, so there is no need to show stunts

Basically all BMX bikes have 20 inch Wheels, no gearshift (only one gear, so they aren\'t suitable for long trips) and smaller forks than MTBs. There are of course different bikes - each one is suitable for a certain section.
Dirt bikes usually don\'t have a front brake, only a back brake. They are quite solid, they normally have 2 piece handlebars and dirt mantles with a deep profile for a good footing. Street and ramp bikes usually have pegs to grind, 4 piece handlebars and smoot surface at the tyres to have a better footing. Flatland BMX are usually straight spoked, have a smaller pinion and likewise axel pegs. Race Bikes are quite lightweight and have both front brake and back brake. Freestyle bikes are allround bikes. They are in principle Street bikes with front brake and are suitably for those who do not yet exactly know what they want to do with their BMX (dirt/street/flatland). But don't take this definitions to exactly due to you can do alsmost everything with a common BMX (of course it shouln'nt be too cheap)

For a total beginner we recommend to buy a Freestyle Bike, because you can almost ride everything with it. Good companies are Haro, Wethepeople, Schwinn, Gary Fischer, Felt, Dragonfly and GT.
When buying a new BMX it's important to have thick axes (>=14mm) and rims with 48 spokes. The bike should also have 3 piece cranks, especially if you want to jump with your bike. The weight shouldn't be much over 16 kilos because it's easier to handle a lightweight bike. If you ride Flatland it's also important to have a Rotor (for Tailwhips or Barspins etc.)
We hope this text has helped you!