[VDfree]

Can someone please explain why all the hostility in the BMX scene? I have been riding bikes for 25 years, started on 20" and moved to 26" a few years later. I ride alot of urban, CC and DH and love those scenes. The people are really laid back and kinda have a surfer mentality. They are always looking to promote riding and spots to ride. I built a 20" bike about a year ago because I love all kinds of riding. To make a long story short, when I started meeting more guys on 20" bikes, the more I wanted to ride alone. I mean, it seems like the majority of the BMX guys have a chip on their shoulder and have no interest in promoting their sport. They try to portray some kind of bad boy image and scare alot of people from wanting to ride 20" bikes. Not to mention, getting us kicked out of our favorite riding spots because they are rude and inconsiderate to the people and property around them. It seems to me they would want people to let them ride their favorite rails, ledges, ditches and gaps.

Look, I'm not saying that all BMX riders are this way. I certainly am not. Although, some of you "hardcore" BMX guys may not consider me a "REAL" BMX rider because I also ride mountain bikes. I don't get it. Will someone please enlighten me?

I know this is kinda long winded, but I am a Noob to this forum and have been wondering what gives, since I got my 20" bike. That's another thing, I can already imagine some of the scinisism because I am a "Noob". Does that also reflect badly? I just want to ride my bikes and not get hassled, and hopfully hang with some fellas who just want to ride and not prove how "HARD" they are.

 

[theFOOT]

uhh, i know a lot of bmx guys that are awesome people also. i know a couple who are mean people, but that isnt because they bmx, its just them, im not a bmxer, and i have had no problems with them.

 

[VDfree]

like i said, not all are like that! But anyone who has been around both scenes knows what i am talking about. I do ride with a few awesome guys, but for each one of them, there are ten more that fit the stereotype.

 

[arboc!]

its different, because they are gnarlier than us... they dont rock brakes, and they dont wear helmets... they are just cooler than us

 

[VDfree]

never said they couldn't ride- but i do get your sarcasm

 

[Changleen]

I know what you mean. I ride BMX too, or more accuratly, I ride MTB as well as BMX - I started riding BMX.

Asshole BMXers - I'll take a leaf from Trey Parker's book - I think it's because they're poor.

 

[theFOOT]

or they are bitter because they cant skate, so they ride bikes

 

[kidwoo]

I think it's because they're poor.

Absolutely right. They can't afford novelties like suspension or t-shirts with sleeves so they resent us for our freedom.

They wear knit hats instead of helmets because they have to stay warm when they sleep on the street after a good hand rail session.

I do know exactly what you're talking about.......... and I liken it to the 14 year olds that wear their hats at some sundial following angle, listen to what MTV tells them to and then make fun of me cuz I ain't got the steez yo. Except that with the 20" thing, those kids are sometimes in their 30s.

 

[legend_killer]

tv is what killed bmx when i road bmx it was very laid then when the x-game and other bs started thing went to hell so all the kid that saw this stuff on tv they figured ya have to be a badass hardcore rider and that what all the new school rides are like, but if you look at riders like Fuzzy and some of the older riders their still laid back, the 26'' secne is still laid back because it hasen't gone main stream the tv dosen't tell what our style is or give us shows on mtv so we can act like asses, its now got to a point when i ride urban on my 26'' i dont get kicked out but if i show up on my 20'' i just get kicked out before i even do anything.

JT

 

[pnj]

it's pretty simple.

for the most part, bmx riders are YOUNGER. they do not realize what they have and they live for RIGHT NOW, not tommorow.

pnj- bmx stunt rider since 1981.....

 

[scurban]

I liked riding bikes better when everyone riding was a hippy. (both mtb, and bmx) Even with MTB riders you are now having to be hard core to fit in. This is why I switched from surfing to mtb's. I got sick of the core attitude. I recently read a quote from Nigel Quarless that pretty much sums up what I'm trying to say:

“The level of riding is getting very high. Progression is moving faster and faster every year. It’s cool to see things going so far so fast.

But, with that growth more money, fame, glory or whatever is now available to people and companies through their involvement in street mountain biking and some people will get too competitive, narrow minded and discriminative because they’re interested in it for the wrong reasons. It’s starting to be less about the riding experience and more about the scene… we’ve got to have definitions and categories now. To compete in something or to make it an industry and promote yourself or your product you need a defined category. Now these definitions are getting clamped down on what a “real” mountain bike is and it’s really taking away from what the scene was about before, which was the riding and being a relaxed, cool, friendly bunch of people. It’s also that open atmosphere that attracted a lot of talented riders who are relaxed, cool people to the scene and now that it’s being ruined you are going to see people who have a lot to contribute either leave it or not get interested in it because it’s just like all the other uptight bull**** scenes out there. That kind of stuff always comes into play when things get big and it sucks to see it start happening with something I’m into.

This is really taking away from my respect for a small but vocal and publicized minority. I don’t know what is driving the agendas of some of the pros and media out there to get super anal about what they choose to call a “real” mountain bike, they’re certainly not as anal about what they allow a mountain bike to be ridden on… so why apply it to the bike setup? Why isn’t the versatility of the way you can set up a mountain bike as legitimate as the versatility of how you can ride it? Why do you need a “real” mountain bike to ride street or in a skatepark? Where’s the mountain? Some of these guys have probably never even ridden up and down a mountain but they’ll talk about what a “real” mountain bike is until they’re blue in the face. It makes no sense at to me at all.”


Feel free to discuss and comment:

 

[pnj]

holy crap, I'm not reading all that..


there are 'core attitudes in everything. it's up to YOU to ignore or conform to these attitudes.

I choose to do my own thing, regardless of others opinions or views.

 

[legend_killer]

amen brother

 

[Five]

Hmm, that wasn't the case for me. I'm a mtber that rides bmx. When I started bmxing I got nothing but great help and response from the bmxers.

 

[legend_killer]

yeah bmx racing is diffrent there all friendly when it comes to racin'

 

[Lux Interior]

It's because no one builds vert ramps any more. I used to live on the deck of our 1/2 pipe with my 20", of course I was a "freestyler". Dropping in to a 12' ramp makes people mellow. or it could have been the day-glo colors

 

[Changleen]

What is a bike anyway? Why do we 'ride'? None of us just turn the pedals to get from A to B - I mean we do, but we all appreciate and persue that it's so much more than that. We jump and hop and 360 and go real fast down hills and try to push our experience of what riding can be, like how rally driving is different to simply commuting. BMX and MTB are exactly the same response to different situations in terrain and inclinations in skill. It's gay we get all hung up on the differences. If we really feel that insecure that we need to criticise others to define ourselves then why not differentiate ourselves from the lame 'normals' who have no idea or inclination other than to stop and dismount at a curb and lift their bike up those 3 inches?

 

[ioscope]

Yall want some cheesee???

 

[Changleen]

Wow I don't half write some **** when I'm drunk...

 

[VDfree]

maybe I have just run into the wrong people in my area...still, I'll ride alone until I can figure out why the bmxers around here are a bunch of punks! The thing I really love about BMX is the way I am able to express myself when I am riding and I'm not going stop because of someone elses attitude. Maybe they are like that because of the prejudices and sterotypes associated with small bikes. I just think that bmxers would have more spots to ride and get hassled less if they dropped the attitude and played the game that must be played when you want something.

game example: you wanna hook up with some chick, you take a shower after you ride so you don't smell like rotten crotch. you wanna wanna ride the rail in front of the library, stop running over the kids coming up the steps!

 

[stinky6]

It seems to me you have to earn your respect with BMXer's. Some I've met are really nice and you don't have to try and prove anything. Others want to see that you have skills and aren't a jerk before they'll be decent to you. A lot of BMXers don't like mountain bikers because we don't help build and nobby tires + disk Breaks + Lack of skill = beat up jumps that require maintence.
Thats just my personal expierence, hope that made sense.

 

[serbdog]

I think 8-12 guys riding in a city with full armour and bikes that look like they are from mad max cause more spots to blow up. Sure the riders are younger and of course they will be douche bags - it is life. Not everyone will like you and if everyone welcomed you with open arms it would be too much like a mormon/religous cult... no thanks. Does every girl talk to you when you talk to them, even if they are the "model" type?

For the trails, yeah - I never see mtn bikers digging but I will show up to dig with my bmx and then they shade out and leave without saying a word, leaving stuff torn up due to it being wet and skidding. Knobby tires allow you to ride when it is pretty wet, but 20" tires it is a bit different.

Oh well.

 

[budgetrider]

I think 8-12 guys riding in a city with full armour and bikes that look like they are from mad max cause more spots to blow up.

Damn, that's funny! Can I use it in my avatar?

 

[dromond]

it's pretty simple.

for the most part, bmx riders are YOUNGER. they do not realize what they have and they live for RIGHT NOW, not tommorow.

pnj- bmx stunt rider since 1981.....

I think this is often the case. And many of them just never grow up. The older folks on 20" bikes that I've ridden with have tended to be more relaxed and positive than the young kids who are just trying to one-up you all the time.

But of course, there are exceptions to every rule.

 

[blt2ride]

I ridden a lot of DJ spots, and most of the BMX riders are usually way cool, however, some of them are just d!cks. I think some of it may be that they don't like mountain bikers. Kind of like a surfer and a boggie boarder or a skateboarder and a rollerblader. No big deal, I still have a BMX bike, that's how I learned to ride, and I enjoy riding everything but XC and road...

 

[sayndesyn]

There is dicks in every sport. If you can't find any good 20" riders that are chill, why not hang out with some 26" urban bikers. I ride 26" with some laid back 20" riders all the time and it doesn't affect the riding other than they can't do rough roots leading up to a jump or something like that.

 

[legend_killer]

mtbikers not digging? i'll call bs on that look at country park, and CHHS trails in NC those DJs were built and maintaned by mtbikers

 

[serbdog]

I should have said near me, so no BS.