Anyone Ever done BMX race?

[N2MYE30]

Back when I was a younger lad, I raced BMX for a few seasons...WITH A HUFFY! Well, the only thing that was Huffy was the frame. Everything else was moderately high end. Getting the bike as lite as possible and riding all the time, I felt was key.

[kman_e30]

ive been wanting to go to the track too, we should get some e30 guys together and hit up a local track, lake perris bmx track is pretty dope

heres my s&m(just realized theres a ratchet in my spokes lmao)

[Thizzelle]

you need bigger rims for racing.
But I have a DYNO VFR from the 90's was my first bike, still in pristine condition hanging in garage

[quikveedb2]

I'm with those where that say you should do a few races before you start putting money into the bike. If you really do get hooked, save for an actual race rig, that frameset scares me...

[QUKBMER]

I use to race bmx back in 1985/1986/1987 as a amateur (golden years of bmx racing). I raced at the montclair track of the 10 fwy and central ave and at the base of azusa cyn (hwy 39). Hit me up if you want any pointers bro. I still have a 97 mongoose expert bmx 21 inch frame bike (my other bike got stolen in 1989).

[M-technik-3]

Haven't rode nor raced one since 86? maybe 87. Rode a SE PK Ripper back then. There must have been 10 tracks in 30 mile radius of where I lived.

Fun then. I'll stick to my hard tail mtn bikes.

Edit I almost made a jump to cruiser class as it was more comfortable on the body but it had not gotten popular then.

[QUKBMER]

Haven't rode nor raced one since 86? maybe 87. Rode a SE PK Ripper back then. There must have been 10 tracks in 30 mile radius of where I lived.

Fun then. I'll stick to my hard tail mtn bikes.

Edit I almost made a jump to cruiser class as it was more comfortable on the body but it had not gotten popular then.

Same here.I raced a SKIPPER PRO 1 and RACE INC and REDLINE and GT. Cruiser class was just starting to get popular when i stopped. My buds where racing PK RIPPER,JMC,HARO,HUTCH bikes.

[M-technik-3]

Old School- I have lived that and funny I still feel like I'm in the 80's.

Best decade ever. I rode my road bike cross country too watch the cycling at 84 Olympics. I was an avid Cat 2-4 road rider for years only stopped because of back issues. Working my way back on to bike for a few centuries a year.

I would honestly ride what ever local shop would give/sponsor me with. I rode some horrible bikes. With Skate parks and big air taking over it's seems that true light weight BMX bikes have disappeared nearly for good. But they are out there on c-list.

[AwakenNoMore]

I miss BMX, haven't done it in 10 years now. Last bike was a pieced together Wethepeople Thrillseeker frame with S&M Pitchforks and a slew of Odyssey brand parts.

[xxx-Lost-Soul-xxx]

I miss BMX, haven't done it in 10 years now. Last bike was a pieced together Wethepeople Thrillseeker frame with S&M Pitchforks and a slew of Odyssey brand parts.

What color was yours? Ive had two Raw Thrillseekers.

[QUKBMER]

Old School- I have lived that and funny I still feel like I'm in the 80's.

Best decade ever. I rode my road bike cross country too watch the cycling at 84 Olympics. I was an avid Cat 2-4 road rider for years only stopped because of back issues. Working my way back on to bike for a few centuries a year.

I would honestly ride what ever local shop would give/sponsor me with. I rode some horrible bikes. With Skate parks and big air taking over it's seems that true light weight BMX bikes have disappeared nearly for good. But they are out there on c-list.

Oh so true,the 80's were totally bitchin bro.

[AwakenNoMore]

What color was yours? Ive had two Raw Thrillseekers.

I believe the original color was purple but I changed it a few times, I bought it stripped raw. Did clear, flat black, and flat grey over before it was stolen. Miss it to this day.

[SmokeE30]

I raced BMX for a few years but stopped because it takes up like every weekend and being in school at the time it became more work than fun. I started racing on an old GT interceptor I bought at my neighbors yard sale it Had not been raced in years but I loved that bike for being a 89 it was pretty dam light and I love the vintage look too. Once I outgrew the top tube though I went to a redline proline comp. it was aluminum frame and light as hell, It was pretty expensive but it was ready to ride with everything I wanted the only thing I upgraded was pedals and sprockets.

It's a really easy sport to get into great people and not a whole lot of expenses to deal with. Initially getting a bike setup and safety gear will cost you but it's low maintenance after that. My advice would be to pick up a used race bike, you want light weight period. Most street bikes will be a bitch to ride for long it may work to get around the track but doing multiple runs per day it will grow old fast. Also you don't need to stick to a 20in bike either if I were to run again I would use a 24in bike for comfort I'm 6'2 so it may not be as big of a concern for you but I like some room.

As others have stated you will want a wide set of bars you really need to muscle the bike around sometimes and narrow bars like used for tricks just don't get it done. Also you want some grippy pedals I rocked some knarley ass bear claw pedals and rarely slipped off but if you do you better have a set of race pants on or that claw will stick right into your shin.

In time you will upgrade gear as your skills progress but just concentrate on riding first, a bike is not like a car you gotta do the work yourself so bigger budget does not mean faster. Also what are you looking to run in ABA or NBL? I mostly ran NBL as there was only one ABA track near me but 6 NBL tracks throughout Jersy

[xAZxE30x]

It's been like 7 years but I still look for my stolen S&M call girl frame build that was stolen at school :(

I used to race for fun every Wednesday all throughout elementary school. Loved it!

[TimbyMaTombo]

I raced when I was about ten and really wished I had continued it to this day; I'm not too sure why I stopped... I would recommend lowering your seat as low as possible to give your body more room to absorb impact and use momentum.

One of the biggest things I had to learn is that to be fast, you don't have to jump far or high. Being a ten year old boy, I loved getting huge air and all that, but it isn't the fastest way around the track. Take it slow and make sure you know the track well before you go for an all out speed run; my track had practice Wednesday nights where you just show up and ride the track as many times as you want, so you should see if your track has a practice night before you go to a race night. It's a lot easier to learn a track when you don't have six other people trying to race around you and you can just take the speed you are comfortable with.

Back when I raced, they had uniform, counted starts, so with the new random starts, learning to balance on the bike on the gate seems much more important and takes a fair bit of practice to get down.

As for gear, my track only required long pants, a long sleeve shirt, closed shoes, and a full face helmet, so I would start with that and when you decide you like it, then you can get the fancy padded race pants and jersey.

I have thought about going back to it, but haven't had the time or motivation yet...

Most importantly, have fun!!