The history of BMX

[RATTY]

Borrowed from a US website


The History of Bicycle Motocross




A short history of BMX racing and freestyle. From motocross-inspired dirt racing to big tricks on the vert. How BMX evolved and found its place among extreme sports.

In 1971 the motocross documentary, On Any Sunday opened. The opening scenes captured kids on their bicycles, riding hand-made dirt tracks and imitating motocross riders. These kids weren't just "pretending". They had pie-plate numbers attached to their bikes and handled their Schwinn Sting-Rays as if they were Steve McQueen himself. Suddenly, there was recognition for a new sport that was spreading across the US.

First, there was the Sting-Ray...Although bicycles had been around for a century already, they were predominantly used as a means of transportation. With little exception the bicycles being manufactured were of identical designs and intended purpose. In 1963, Schwinn released the Sting-Ray to tap into the growing interest in customized motorbikes and muscle cars. Adults thought the bikes were ugly but the kids loved them and Schwinn sold over 40,000 Sting-Rays in 1963 alone. Within five years, 70% of all bikes sold in the U.S. were Sting-Rays or copies of them.

It is commonly accepted that BMX (bicycle motocross) began with kids in California. For kids who had the desire to participate in motocross but not the means, BMX offered similar action at low cost. Riders dressed in full motocross gear and hit the dirt courses they had groomed themselves. In 1971, Scot Breithaupt, credited as the founder of BMX, organized the first BMX race. The first pro race debuted four years later and manufacturers were producing bikes with 20" wheels specifically for this growing sport.

BMX grows and evolves... BMX shot into popular culture in 1982 with the release of E.T.: the Extra-Terrestrial which showed young characters riding BMX bikes. As the popularity of BMX grew, riders were consistently testing the limits of their bikes. BMX wasn't just about racing anymore. Riders began to merge skateboard park riding with more elaborate tricks and soon freestyle was as popular as racing. The BMX movement continued to grow throughout the 80's, experiencing the same peaks and dips in popularity that occurred in the 70's.

And when the rest of the world goes extreme... In the 1990's the world went extreme. Suddenly every where you looked people were testing the limits of adventure, society, physics and themselves. Extreme sports became recognized as legitimate pursuits and ESPN recognized the potential.

In 1995, ESPN hosted the first Extreme Games (became the X Games in 1996) in Rhode Island. The X Games provided an Olympic-like forum for a new generation of athletes and greater exposure for BMX. Opportunities opened up for BMX riders that they couldn't have previously imagined. Being a BMX rider became a legitimate career for many opening the door for lucrative endorsement and television deals.

Today, BMX racing and freestyle remains a popular pursuit. In addition to the thrill, the opportunity, and possibility-- kids (and us lot) still just love to ride.






© Jodi Gallegos

[billstup]

THE HISTORY OF DIRT BIKE RIDING
PART TWO 1979-1987, you want to pay me how much for riding that kids bike?

Words by Tim March
Photos by

When BMX hit the streets of Britain the skateboarding ‘craze’ (as it was called by the press at the time) was in steep decline, with all but the most dedicated core riders who were few and far between but whose love of skateboarding kept the flame eternally burning. With skateboarding getting this high profile burial by the press, as is normal when they’ve dragged the life out of something to sell a load more tabloid shite to the masses who spend 90% of their lives asleep at the wheel of the thing called their LIFE, it’s demise left a huge vacuum which had to be filled. A ten hour aeroplane journey away on Freddie Lakers 747, and sucked off the same coastline that bought us the images and sounds of Skateboarding, the Beach Boys, Jefferson Airplane, The Doors, Black Flag, Suicidal Tendencies, Dogtown Skaters, Timothy Leary, The Church of Satans  Anton LaVey, Hollywood and great porn films came BMX, American made BMX. Bright shiny chrome BMX. Mind blowing craze forming BMX. Stu Thomsen, Jeff Ruminer, the Patterson Bros, Ronnie and Richie Anderson, Pistol Pete Loncaravich, Bart Mac Daniels, Denny Davidow, Byron Friday, Mike Miranda, Darrell Young, Frank Post, Eric Rupe, Tommy Brackens, Perry Kramer, Greg Hill, Toby Henderson, Bob Woods, Mickey Lundy, Kevin McNeal…blah de blah de blah, you know the list could go on and on. Even in the most sedate of minds the BMX fever took hold and in the flick of a switch the lights came on and a million snotty nosed kids from council estates, suburban middleclass nuclear families and even the refined minds of some aristocratic offspring were swept away on a tidal wave of ‘f–k me this is the best fun ever’. BMX hit these shores and has never left. Fuelled by the greatest BMX mag at the time (BMX Action) the sport looked amazing on its gorgeous glossy pages, which put the ever dreary and patronizing BMX Plus to shame. The Yanks made some great bikes too…Mongoose, Kuwahara, Redline, GT, GHP, Patterson, Haro, Bassett, CW, Diamond Back, SE Racing, MCS, RRS, Robinson, Torker, JMC…something it took the UK manufacturers a good few years to emulate. There were other brands like Revcore, VDC, Huffy, Shadow and a few others but they were a way off being cool to the older riders.

This was a while before the Taiwanese invasion. Most Taiwanese stuff at this point in time if it was available was very poorly crafted, although later on there were a huge amount of equally poor Taiwanese bikes around. The traditional English manufacturers ignored the invasion in typical British style with their heads in the ground pretending it wasn’t happening. When they did respond it was Raleigh who came out with a bike that put as many people off BMX than started it. It was also of similar quality to bikes I’d seen from Taiwan at the time. It was cheap though and there lay its appeal and demise. The fathers of sons already bitten by BMX fever in their infinite wisdom would remember the headlines about the death of skateboarding and start counting up all the money he has spent on skateboarding gear for his son (or daughter) which now sat idly in the shed. In most cases it was shit stuff and made skating a chore at its best and just a plain pain at the worst. No wonder they lost interest after the grip tape fell off, wheels seized up and deck de- laminates. What looked like Jay Adams skateboard now looks nothing like the picture. Hence the fathers infinite lack of wisdom once again as he thinks’ FAD spend as little as possible’. In the awesome and educational VANS Dog Town and the Z-Boys movie Stacy Peralta says that some (the majority) but not all (the minority) of the people in the USA when skateboarding first boomed and bust just saw skating like the Hula Hoop. A fad. Raleigh had a reputation as a dependable family bicycle brand back then so the Raleigh Burners success lay with the illusion that a bike made by a dependable family bike company must equal a dependable BMX bike even though it was half the price of a well made Mongoose or Redline. It was only when money had exchanged hands and the nipper was just happy to have a BMX, any BMX, that the truth would come out. Compared to anything coming out of the states it sucked, and like all the shit trackers before it would last five minutes if ridden hard. The grips felt like cast iron under your hands, the bottom bracket height was close to 13 inches, if not higher, and the wheelbase so short that you’d be likely to get a speed wobble riding to shops up hill! Everything about the bike sucked, steel rims, shit tyres, handlebars made of mild steel and a stem that couldn’t clamp two slices of bread together. So the majority as usual ended up in the shed next to the shit skateboard and shit pads. The Puch Murray was another of that ilk too.
Hot products were few and far between but there were some that have stood the test of time. Araya rims, redline and profile cranks, dx pedals, shimano DXcassette hubs and tioga comp3 tyres. clothing was always a big deal if you raced and JT made the best stuff by a mile. Greg Hill and Mike Mirandas pink kit comes to mind. Bell made the Jt helmets which were a far cry from the Piss pot Pro-tec lids the Ace team of Ruffell, Middleton, Cav Strutt and Nicky Matthews used to wear in 1979. Shoes were easy, everyone wore vans. Stu Thomsen wore some white converse though, chuck taylor low tops at earls court in the early eighties which prompted me to track down some in the uk and with the help of Alice Temple (the best female BMX rider of all time) I found some shoes at meanies on the Kings road in London. Instant cool with red laces.
Number plates were also a good way to show your style and Bob Haro was the kiddie, although the UK did have their own plate makers with MRD and Mirage I have to admit Bobs plates were cool.

Although the majority of the Uks youth were riding around on pieces of shit (burners and murrays) those bikes were not enough to halt the momentum of BMX though, nothing could stop it. The fever drove it on. Wheelies jumps bunnyhops and skids ruled. TV programmes cropped up all over the place and in no time we had Bob Haro touring the UK, the Kellogg’s BMX Championships and some great freestyle events put on and hosted by the Golden Boy of the UK BMX scene, Andy Ruffell. England exploded into a effervescent fizz of anodised custom colours and wild and weird clothing styles that you wouldn’t be seen dead in today.

FADS (manipulation, distortion and exploitation of information for commercial gain by any means necessary but usually by TV or tabloid newspaper) are primarily responsible for the influx of shit awful product that you would be too embarrassed to sell at a car boot sale 20 years ago let alone today. I remember when a racer friend of mine, also a great skater (Steve Gratton) had just gotten sponsored by this company who made this bike with a bottom bracket height of about 14 inches and an 18 inch top tube. He used to get all his expenses paid and a small salary but he had to ride this piece of shit every weekend, the products and choices that are available now are amazing compared to when we first rode our BMX bikes. In the UK it was the press once again that led the hype and pretty soon it seemed like every kid in the land had a BMX bike. They were for sale everywhere, garages, motorist discount centres, motorcycle shops and in some of the jump on the bandwagon bike shops. The better bikes sold through the shops who had their finger on the pulse and had good staff. Importers popped up from nowhere and products started flooding in. We looked in the US mags to see what was hot and mixed it with some UK style which was a combination of many things but primarily music tastes and skate/MX influences. One piece overalls (very English), were worn by some riders who were in weirdly named teams like Rons Rockets and the Adur Aces. Teams named like speedway teams. I’m sure the kids loved it but I was 18 at the time and I have to be honest, BMX UK style sucked. That’s where the US mags helped out. Both Alan Woods, who was seventeen at the time (he of the legendary Alans bike/skate/music shop in Wigan) and myself had been very into the motocross and skateboard scene so we bought some flavour to the table with that. Later on you had the US mags Freestylin', GO and Homeboy, which catered for a more mature BMX public who had grown away from the BMX race scene and wanted to make something of their own. A movement that was precipitated by the UK’s Nick Phillip (owner of the rebel Anarchic Adjustment clothing label) who set fire to his freestyle licence in rebellion against rules and regulation for freestyle events.

There was already a trails scene right at the beginning (everybody still went tracking but now on BMX’s) and there was already a park and ramp scene as anyone who had skated before or still skated would ride to the park now on their bike. A race association had been formed and races (national and regional) went on nearly every weekend of the year. There would be between 600-800 riders at a regional race in Bournemouth in the early eighties and we raced all over the country, visiting skateparks on the way to tracks that were so poorly made it would frighten you to death (except for those of you who have had to race dual for the past few years, your courses were worse in terms of what you’re expected to ride compared to your skill level).

There were several key players who influenced the way BMX looked and, like the Dog Town skaters Tony Alva and Stacy Peralta who travelled to the UK in the late 70s’, a steady steam of US BMX riders visited these shores to show us what could be done on these funny little kids bikes. Racers came first (but then came Bob Haro and turned on the freestyle button and every kid in the land wanted to do roll backs, framestands and do airs on the most insanely narrow quarterpipes). For the racers we were treated by the worlds best. Stompin' Stu Thomsen was the first to hit town on a Redline Proline with black Araya 7b rims on Suntour Superbe track hubs, 180 mm Flite cranks, wide KKT steel pedals,  wide bars and shit hot race gear. Greg Esser, Harry Leary, Kerensky Bullard, Roland Veicht came too, as well as the Hutch team who single-handedly destroyed St Georges skatepark in Bristol with the help of some huge one foot tables by Tim Judge. Then we can never forget Andy Patterson, who in my mind was one of the most influential riders of all time (he invented platform pedals, layback seat posts and was single-handedly responsible for inventing a thing called the Vizer-Rizer to make your peak/visor stick up in the air out the way. This style has influenced every off road helmet manufacturer to this day but they still don’t know whose idea it was). He came over with two of the most stylish riders ever to hit these shores Bob Medrano, who could do flatties like no-one else at the time, and Mike Salido, who was as smooth as f–k. That famous Skyway tour was followed by the CW tour, which contained the one and only Pete Loncaravich and so it followed on.

Pro contracts were few and far between but some riders earned a half decent wage for having fun and a few others a little more than their dole money. By the mid 80’s Freestyle was gathering a huge amount of momentum with the kids who were less inclined to go to the trails or track and backyard ramps cropped up overnight as did the first wave of UK freestylers. Some, like Craig Campbell, reversed the traditional polarities of US riders beating us by moving to the states and taking street riding to another level, as well as other lesser known US riders like Pete Augustin and Rich Bartlett who rode hard, fast and high. Jess Dyrenforth, Dave Curry and Craig Campbell took themselves off to the USA.

BMX was to all intents and purposes here to stay and stay it did although just like skateboarding BMX did hit a wall in the late eighties but there were, as always, those riders who would not let it die and from those ashes came some very prominent and influential people who are still involved in the sport today. Dylan Clayton, Jamie Staff, Neal Wood, Dale Holmes, Anthony Revell, the whole Backyard gang of Stu Dawkins, Ian Morris, Zak Shaw, Simon Tabron, Will Smyth (Dig magazine editor), the Murray brothers, Martin and Stephen, and my own employers here at 4130 publications Mark and Chris Noble. The one horrifying thing that come at the tail end of the BMX deconstruction was the introduction of the newest form of cycling, again imported from the US, that was mountainbiking. A bike that had 18 gears (yes the ones that wrapped around your back wheel when you rode it hard and still do although less frequently) that you were apparently able to ride off road as it had knobbly tyres but had 26 inch alloy rims (yes the ones that always bent) and three piece alloy cranks (that snapped axles and arms when you jumped your new bike). Muddy Fox were responsible for leading the way initially with some very ropey bikes. It was a sport and bike that appealed to those riders who thought themselves too old for BMX or that weren’t good enough to win any BMX events, so a mild exodus started where a bunch of mid packers in the BMX world started to make a name for themselves in the fresh new world of MTB where virtually no skills were necessary to go fast because all bad riding habits were compensated for by having 26 inch wheels. It didn’t matter if you couldn’t jump because there were no jumps big enough to get any descent air on. The worlds average BMX riders looked amazingly good on MTBs and some even got sponsored. The smart kids still stayed in BMX though and no amount of coaxing with money or fame could convince them to get on a souped up road bike with knobblies, flat handlebars and toe clips. That was a sport for gay men not cool kids. BMX riders were not convinced. The fact that adults were flocking to mountainbikes was enough of a reason to be wary of it.

The UK bike distributors could understand MTB more than BMX and as with all trends the riders who had felt they had outgrown BMX (whatever that means is a mystery to me, but they were perceived as traitors to the BMX cause) gravitated to this new form of cycling leaving behind an untapped pool of potential so huge it would be over a decade before the cycling world would wake up to the fact that BMX influenced all forms of off road cycling and produced riders of such quality that they were not only champions in their own discipline but won gold medals at traditional cycling disciplines (Jamie Staff) easily. So to all of you bums out there who give it the BMX or MTB deal I suggest you just accept the fact that BMX came before MTB’ing and that’s a fact you’ll never change. However there were some great things to come from those dreadful first days of the MTB invasion and it those things I shall be discussing in part three of the history of Dirt Bike Riding. Jason McRoy, Dave Hemmings, John Tomac, Tinker Jaurez, but not Ned Overend, no not Thomas Frishnecht not them no! No! We want the hammers not the nails!




This was sent to me by Tim March, and it is on the condition that nobody copies or tries to use or reproduce it with his express permission  

[billstup]

Hello once again, I have to say that I’m in a fighting mood as I write this. I’m not sorry about it either. After watching and listening to the commentator at the World Championships on the BBC a few weeks ago I was mortified to find out that Mountain biking was invented by some bloke in the USA who put motorcycle tyres on his normal bike. Well there’s a surprise! People were riding bikes up hills and down mountains long before someone thought to name it something other than bike riding.
 So here we are roughly 20 years on from the “amazing discovery  that adult bicycles could be ridden off road”, doh!!!, and now we have more names, Downhill, Freeride, Cross country, Trails, Extreme Freeride, I could go on but won’t. What bought us this far? Where have we come from? Well my little chums here’s a little story about how the most boring, tedious form of off road riding (cross country) attracted the riders who now make up one of the most elite group of cyclists the world has ever known. This is about the Downhill phenomenon that all of our loyal readers of Dirt hold closest to their hearts (next to Jenna Jameson that is, or Peter North if your that way inclined ladies, or for those left fielding ladies out there Jenna Jameson ).
Here in England Mountain biking attracted a huge cross section of the public’s attention, rekindling a keen interest in non cyclists as well as the converted. Cycling for adults became acceptable by the ever judgemental youth and became fun again. For a good few years there were a shitload of races all over the country, filled to capacity. Just like the BMX phenomenon that exploded in 1980-81 by 1986-7 Mountain biking was in the same position, its future all its own.
Now for the more experienced BMX riders who competed during the mid to late eighties racetracks had not gotten more technical as riders skills had rapidly progressed through riding not only at the track or round the streets but on the trails and at skateparks. The tracks we were expected to ride were dull with few exceptions. Certainly not built to provide any joy to anyone who wanted their skills to be challenged.  For those riders whose parents couldn’t or wouldn’t take their kids anywhere a whole new subculture emerged. Inspired by the Freestyle phenomenon riders started to build stuff to ride themselves, jumps, ramps, whatever was available and so naturally the urban environment spawned street riding. Very quickly racing was becoming a parody of schoolboy motocross with regular outbreaks from rabid parents who freak out for the same reasons, their son or daughter was cut up by another rider or the track is too dangerous. Learn to ride your bike properly kid. After all it is a NATIONAL Championship why should the tracks be easy to ride around. Having stated the obvious no one listened to the riders then and a look at the majority of 4x and English National Champ courses and you’ll still see that the riders are still getting shafted more often than not right up to the present day. In BMX the lowest common denominator (democracy voted by the parents) was winning, there was little fun to be had anymore where the adults were in charge.
For the racers though some still held their BMX Pro dream so they continued bravely and with love to participate in a withering carcass of a sport in need of a lesson of moving with the times. When Dale Holmes started racing he was not the winning machine he grew to be at the peak of his powers at the Brighton Worlds in 96. In fact Dale was underpowered as a junior rider and it took some time for him to physically grow into the racer he knew he could be. He has always been known as someone who just would not stop. Jamie Staff was another whose dream would continue in BMX unabated. Dylan Clayton rolling over anything in his way.  Neal Wood made his way through keeping the dream alive through some hard old times but the boys done good.  All except Dylan ended up stateside of the racers and a boatload of Freestylers went over at roughly the same time. A sad loss to the UKBMX scene but unable to earn a decent living in the UK the temptation of the Pro-lifestyle these kids laid it down in the USA. They got there at the same time Frances Christophe Leveque arrived and it was Christophe who took the skill level in BMX racing to the next level. A rider who not only had an incredibly efficient pedalling style but who had technical skills that defied description. He could do stuff that would shame most modern day riders even now. Bump jumping huge gaps, manuals at race speed over ridiculous rhythm sections. He has totally ruled the USA pro BMX scene until recently when plagued by back problems it somewhat stalled the freight train. He’s getting back on it though and is racing again right now. Whether he can stick it to Kyle Bennett will be the test or will he like the others just look a little outclassed by the skinny little ripper.  
But what about the mountain bikes?
Well after the first few years of the tidal wave of cross country races, lycra, carbo loading, heart rate monitors, creatine and all manner of other shit boring things like water bottles and a sickeningly familiar feeling as though your whole body is on fire for about 60 mins a natural division in the ranks occurred, not everyone wanted to ride uphill, not even on the flat, no. a group of riders had something else on their minds. All they wanted to do was to race downhill. And so they did leave mother mountain biking and as a small crawling excited infant decided to go it alone.
The first official Downhill race happened nr Bosley North Yorkshire in 1988 and was run by Rob Kinsey and the Cheshire and Peak Club. Named aptly the ‘Cheshire Classic’ it was won by suspension “Guru” Tim Flooks on a Reynolds tubed custom built Team Bromwich, not a suspension fork in sight and dressed in full Pink Lycra no less. He beat ex-roadie Paul Hinton, Pace MD Adrian Carter and Peaty’s mechanic and bike shop owner Andy Kyffin. Riders went off in pairs too and used slipstreaming techniques to slingshot each other. Stranger still Rob put on the first National dual slalom event which pleases me as now I know who to blame for that bloody awful spectacle. I’ll see you later about that one Rob. How on earth this looked to BMX riders overall I do not know but to me Mountain biking still looked like having fun with the kids from the grammar schools or people you make a point of avoiding in a pub in case you get into a conversation about gear ratios. But the tide was turning; the single chainring and close ratio cassette were coming.
Where the sport went from here is the stuff of folklore told worldwide, by email, photo-video, drunken in bars, to our kids, our lovers, whoever will listen. Like a strange stream of consciousness downhill mountain biking became something more than just you and your bike it became a community all of its own. Not cyclocross with fatter tyres and flatbars but a real culture which was large enough to have a dedicated industry all of its own. Bloody hell!
All sports have heroes and Britain’s first real Downhill hero was the late Jason McRoy. Everybody knew Jason. Jason had good looks and he could ride good, unlike a lot of the other names that the Mountain bike industry was wasting it’s money on in the late eighties early nineties and who I won’t embarrass here as the fact that I can barely remember them already being pleasure enough for me. Jason stood out. He was a serious contender worldwide and was drafted from Hardisty’s Cycles shop ride to full factory Specialized. Not too shabby. Unfortunately as he was just reaching his zenith (for he certainly had more for us in store) Jason lost his life in a motorcycle accident. The world of Downhill Mountain biking lost its first true British star. The loss remains deeply ingrained in the community for Jason was loved by all, any mention of his name amongst the downhill fraternity and many a glass will be raised in celebration of his life. Respect. At the same time two other dualing banjoists Steve peat and rob Warner were banging and bumping their way to the forefront of the growing UK race scene. A scene was being set.
The sport had always attracted a cross section of riders/characters and there was one who was more influential worldwide than any other. His name was John Tomac (no not Greg Herbold). He like Jason also came from a BMX background and was truly a renaissance man for the 90’s. This kid ruled, he went flat out from the get go. He had the skills, he had the balls and he had a will have iron. His bike looked good too (except when he put drops on it). He even raced it like that, what a bloody lunatic. Imagine Nico, Peaty and Rennie with drops on. I’d pay a lot of money to watch that one. John made us believe we could do what the hell we wanted. Winning titles in cross country and downhill, being on a road team too, Johnny T really was the all American kid who kept his feet on the ground whilst flying higher than the rest. Just seeing a picture of Tomac was enough to send MBUK readers into involuntary masturbation. I know he wore lycra, had a heart rate monitor and carbo loaded but you have to understand that life is full of contradictions, isn’t it.  Riding off road custom bikes suddenly became very cool. The casual MTB look was still very fleece and jeans though, too many nice kind people in mountain biking. Sensible types abound in mountain biking and in the early nineties they outnumbered the downhill demented by about 95% at most gatherings. That figure in the 21st century has swayed to a greater degree as MTV Sky Sports, Eurosport and Extreme TV fight to get the mix right as they try to market Skateboarding, BMX, MTB, Surfing, Moto-X, Trials and Snowboarding as the wheeled package to the masses and the media. The true Dirt look though has evolved to a thing that cannot be bought at any price, it can only be earned.
It still took a while for equipment to develop as well as the look. People we’re riding bikes that we’re just cross country bikes with suspension forks. Bikes that fell to bits bikes that were woefully inadequate for what the rider demanded of them. But that didn’t matter. Riders were now hurling themselves down hillsides with serious intent. Downhill had arrived. Suspension was on every one’s mind. Shocks, linkages, spring rate. Some of the downhill courses were frighteningly hard on bikes and technology moved fast. There was money in being in the upper echelons of development. The best riders wanted the products that worked the best so they would have an advantage over their competitors. The technical race never ends. It keeps the industry alive. Products come and go like the faces of champions. Some remembered, many forgotten but those that shone the brightest burned into the collective psyche of our culture. Threads, history to speak of. A collection of experiences which go to make up a living tradition we call Dirt bike riding. We have x/c, cycle speedway, cyclo-x, BMX racing, BMX trails, Downhill, 4X, Dual Slalom, Freeriding, MTB trails, trials. If I’ve missed somebody off sorry. I mean what more could you ask for. The cross technology already apparent. All dirt disciplines have benefited in one way or another from another cycling disciplines technology. A fact that can’t be denied by any side. Hidden headsets on BMX bikes borrowed from road bikes, euro b/b on BMX from MTB/Road, cassette hubs from road to BMX, Road and MTB bikes with sloping top tubes from BMX. Clipless pedals on off road bikes from road. Now we have a bike to ride downhill with Disc Brakes, 8-9 inches of multi adjustable triple clamped fork action matched to a shock absorber which has been specifically designed and valved to work with the unique design of your multi pivoted machine. You can tune them to perfection if you know what you’re doing. How lovely. Floating  and non floating Disc brakes. Twistgrip shifting, thumb and finger triggers. It’s difficult to say whether the clipless pedal has been revolutionary, there’s just something of the cheater about them. I personally think that if courses are made with the idea of clips in mind that the flat pedal will continue to be the mark of the rebel and a reminder that somewhere along the time line of Dirtbike riding a mistake was made. If courses are made which don’t challenge the skills of each rider not taking them to their limits and beyond then we will get nowhere and riders will continue to clip in and wear lycra at events where they just can’t say no to the calling of the demon. You may feel differently but personally I don’t want to see a rodeo rider stuck to the saddle with his feet clipped to the stirrups, I don’t want to see the Bull in the ring with two spikes in its shoulders trying to fight for its life already maimed. I want the real deal, Bull versus man. I like it Raw! Oh baby I like it raw ( lyrics by Old Dirty Bastard album, wu-tang clan/return of the 36 chambers the dirty version) .We need brave creative people prepared to shape our development through better courses, events we want to ride at because they fooking ROCK. Courses should be so technically demanding that you do have to get your feet down often and it’s not a benefit to have your feet attached to your pedals by anything other than gravity. Clips shouldn’t need to be banned, tracks should favour the skills it takes to ride on a flat pedal. The greatest riders in clips have also been the greatest riders unclipped. So let skill be the master of speed, not strength, too primitive, Apemen should not win, look at some of the top BMX pros, bodies like mini monkey bodybuilders, stories of steroid use are all over the websites of the US pros. Coded puns, in jokes but the facts are that some riders use anabolic steroids to enhance their performance on a bicycle. Let’s make the courses so gnarly that the Kyle Bennetts keep on winning. Performance enhancing drugs like steroids and clips should not be banned but the sports developed so they cannot find a home within it in which their use has any benefit.  
From the melting pot of BMX came a new breed of mountain bike star. They came from the USA. Brian Lopes, Eric Carter and  Mike King burst on to the Dual and fledgling 4x scene with some gusto. Both King and Carter had very exemplary amateur careers in BMX with the exception being Lopes, although fast he had yet to show his true potential Mike King was also an amazing AA pro BMX rider. By moving into Mountain biking Carter revived a flagging Pro Career and all three set fire to the gaff. They haven’t stopped yet either and they’re all over 30. Lopes and King were also responsible for bringing SPDs to BMX and I don’t think that they should get off too lightly for that one. Very American West coast, too much sun, sends some of them a bit mad it does. You just have to take what you need, not what you want. 4X is here to stay, let’s just hope the tracks become more challenging and more consistent in the future.
Magazines formed some future stars too and the first and still the biggest circulation UK Mountain bike Magazine MBUK helped bring Will Longden , Rob Warner and Peaty to be a part of our lives. Instant stardom for the Glamma kids. Will having his best ever worlds this year was to me a reward well deserved. Warner on the other hand has probably had his best days which to his credit were quite magnificent. The first Brit to win a world cup event in Kaprun in 97. Annoyingly though for him and us not enough of them.
Now for a return to more familiar territory for the faithful and the Birth of Dirt Magazine.
The first magazine for you and I, the riders and racers who like it a bit of the rough, but with a kinky edge. So whilst Nico was sitting in front of the fire sipping hot chocolate with skimmed fat free milk and his pyjamas and slippers on listening to Celine Dion on his B+O Hi-Fi  there was some other herberts about and they played to a rolling stones soundtrack.  So who was rocking and rolling then?

[billstup]

There are some riders that when you see them ride  and watch them play and you know you’re getting value for money. Steve Peat and Shawn Palmer have done more to perpetuate the art of work hard play hard that when the chips are down and they are challenged the most it brings out the best in them.. They want it all, to win, to party, to play, to pay. That’s not to say that at the races they’re anything but totally pinpoint focused, they are. Warriors. The closest things we have ever had in cycling’s history to superstars. Contrast that with downhill mountain bikings most titled 10 times world champion Nico Voulloiz who has retired as unconquered King-ish. Well Peaty did  bite his bony little French ass hardest but not enough to take away the past but he definitely planted a seed of doubt in his future. Corrado Herrin and Francois Gachet laid claim to a few titles themselves pre the worldwide domination of the little frog but no-one has gotten near the sheer brilliance of NICO. If it weren’t for him we would have no benchmark of the true artist at work. Masterful, calculated and more like an assassin. No flash, no pizzazz, just down to the business of going the fastest he possibly can. Awesome. Who will beat this record? Peaty, Rennie, Hill, Pascal? If they intend to they have some way to go. With Rennie and Peaty at one a piece since he retired I think looking at current form Steve has got the edge in terms of ability and he is most definitely pissed off about 03 so he wants to start 04 with a bang and rid himself of any bad memories whereas Nathan won’t want to give that title up but knows that in 04 if Peaty stays fit then we’ll have a race on our hands. Rennie though has youth on his side, the fox and the young wolf, the Aussies have come to get pay Dirt. I feel that Nicos record may stay unbroken until another natural genius comes along only faster smoother fitter cooler. Some say Sam Hill but we will have to wait and see. One thing that’s true is that they haven’t gotten that fast and that good by just riding across a flat field with a few jumps on it. Those kids have been out there doing it.
The one thing that has been curious is the amount of female riders who have been attracted to Dirt Bikes. Some bloody good ones too. I mean if Anne Caro turned up at your local race on a Sunday morning you might just be up for a whooping of a humiliating degree. The skill level in the Female classes has closed the gap on the guys by quite a margin. ( put time comparisons in here if that last statement is true). Tracy and ffion are quite capable of matching some of the slower guys times (those with punctures and no front wheels) at the nationals. I should give up boys if you get beaten by a bird, it’s just humiliating. The whole reason to ride is so that your bird can’t keep up with you on a bike not bloody well beat you. That’s why there all the other way inclined. It’s not because they want to it’s because no bloke wants to go out with a bird whose better than him on a bike. Pub fact.
Now we have magazines, dedicated TV programmes, videos, DVDs and all manner of other Media being jammed down your gob where can we get back to where it all began. To remember to never forget. Here we are now in November 03 and as Alex Rankin (one half of the now defunked Sprung Duo, the other being Milan Spasic) puts the finishing touches to DIRTS first DVD/Video Cassette I sit with him we decide on track listing for the music. As I watch each section of it I just cannot believe how far Dirt Riding has come. Riders are doing incredible things on bicycles. Then look at the bicycles, machines built so well that failure now on any component that is being used very rare indeed, there are infinite possibilities for refinement and improvement in all areas yet there will never be perfection for that only comes when man becomes one with machine, the holy grail. You, me, all the others,  we have made this and aren’t we still the tracker kids in the woods doing skids and wheelies and having races instead of doing homework, then we are the BMX kids  racing, jumping, hopping, flipping, spinning and still doing skids wheelies and tricks instead of doing homework. Then the Mountain bike kids at the trails, riding x/c, speeding, doing slalom, riding down suicidal decents, taking huge leaps into space ( and still we have students and other types not doing their homework and adults leaving the washing up and forgetting to meet the other half down the pub.). Wherever you’re from, riding a bike on the dirt demands commitment. Our punishment for not completing homework correctly always the physical pain from the lessons of the soil, the root, the off camber, the rock, the fooking huge drop off, the tree trunk, the stump, the massive doubles, pain, pain. The  Mental pain of pushing limits. The bike skill involved that no-one will ever understand.  But the joy, oh the joy when it all goes right, when it flows when she sings when you forget everything as it goes just plain funky, funky as fook. Pain Pleasure riding as life art form. At one and on one. Our history, ridden by us, written by us, told by us and recorded by us for us and seen by us. Everyone else who tries to categorize what this movement is can fook off.  We are so young that Nico has retired and most of us who still ride did so when he started and some way before. Our legends are still writing their stories. The history of dirt bike riding is a work of art in progress, where the only limits to where we can take it are of our own making. Smash em down.  Keep it real out there.

Same goes for these last two pieces, no copying or useing without the express permission of Tim March  

[Trev]

Okay, I got bored reading through that. I did try but there seemed so much meaningless stuff in there.
I'm prepared for the can of worms that i might open.
Whilst BMX originated in the US, there seems to be a section on UK BMX.
Early 80's in the UK, without a doubt, Andy Ruffell was the biggest name in the sport. I defy anyone to claim any different.
The report then mentions freestyle. It mentions Craig Campbell. There is no mention of Neil Ruffell, Pepi Winder or Carlo Griggs.  Those three along with Craig were the biggest names in UK Freestyle in the 80's.  The closest to any of them would probably be Dave Young, also not mentioned.
Alice Temple was mentioned as the best female BMX rider of all time. I don't know too much about racing and I know she done well, but I think Sarah Jane Nicholls has got to hold that title. Apologies if there has been a more dominant female racer since then, but racing has never been my thing so never really kept up with it. As far as I'm concerned, I've never seen anyone dominate races (male or female) as much as SJN.

My point is, that it is so easy to write about the history of BMX.  But I was there and I know who the big names were, as do most of the members on here.  History of BMX without mentioning Neil, Pepi, Carlo, Sarah Jane Nicholls and even people like Dave Young & Geth Shooter is just a poor show and people choosing to ignore them just because they weren't "good mates" with the writer is a joke. I'm sure there are plenty of other big names i've missed too, but you can't ignore the contribution of those that I have mentioned.  If you want to write about the history of BMX, then do it properly.

[RATTY]

I was a bit shocked to see the length of tims  (story) I posted the first one up with the hope we could start the UK version, Bill has posted that, now we should work on our own version, including the correct people

[Flaz]

wasnt there a thread from holland that blew the american bmx boast right out of the water by about ten years?   

[RATTY]

I remember that picture, wheres the keeper of the ark when ya need him

[MartyC]

I think there is a lot more to the UK side of the history of BMX than Tim's piece (rant?).  I remember  going to Chatham for a very, very wet winter race that took place on the go-kart circuit using awful wooden ramps, followed by an equally wet and very muddy race on the dirt track a few weeks later.  I remember walking round the field that became Hayes BMX Track with Ron and Geoff Bonwick and a copy of the proposed track layour working out where the jumps should be and so on.  That's history.

We should get Uncle Buck (Scott Dick) to give a run down of UK BMX History as he has seen it rise and fall so many times  .

[Broggie]

I've always thought that riding bikes, be it bmx, mountain bikes, racers or whatever, is about fun...it doesnt matter what you ride as long as you enjoy it...and in that we are kindred souls despite our differences.



Ray.

[kamodo]

I remember seing Alice Yemple race at Chatham, and she was very good (I windor how quick she would have got if she had continued racing) I remember seeing Sarah Jane Nichols  racing at the 86" worlds......... she was brutally fast !


Please send your story to a MTB magazine Tim.............would they print it ?

[dialledbikes]

Some interesting stuff from MRD 

Dirt magazine was like a breath of fresh air when it first came out cos MBUK and Mountain Biker International were dire to a kid raised on BMX Action and Invert.

I remember saying to a mate at the time that I though Dirt was one big conspiracy theory by the Noble brothers to get everyone riding their mountan bikes like BMX bikes, then one day they would just turn around and say "you're all riding your bikes like BMX bikes, so why don't you just get BMX bikes".

To an extent I was right cos Dirt played a major part in creating the UK mountain bike dirt, dual slalom and 4X scenes.  Just a shame they dropped BMX racing leaving it without a home in the UK cycling press.

What I'd like to see in future are events which take the best of BMX and the best of 4X to showcase the two sports.  To me, 4X is BMX, but on different/bigger bikes.

[teamsano]

Okay, I got bored reading through that.

me too.

[Spence]

Bicycle Motocross racing in Holland 1956, check the link.

www.fatbmx.com/modules/news/article.php'storyid=2235

[Spence]

ooops Just seen the link, in the post "BMX was not concieved in America"

[theRuler]

bmx's are not little kids' bikes ffs

well mine aren't