BMX bikes

The word “bicycle”, a literal translation from French, means “quick feet”.

Bicycle – A vehicle powered by human muscle power through the foot pedal or (rarely) by hand levers. Most bicycles have two wheels, but there are also three-and four-, and even bicycles. Now, all over the world using more than one billion bicycles, so a bicycle – the most common means of transport. He became one thanks to low cost, light weight, small size, lack of fuel requirements and relative safety. In 2005, following a public opinion poll in Britain, a bicycle was considered the greatest technological invention since 1800. For bicycle votes polled more than any other invention, taken together.

Types of bicycles:

City bikes are designed for driving in the city, they develop a low speed, but very comfortable. They have a comfortable saddle, good cushioning, speed switches, even if the bike is worth. The only drawback of urban bike is its heavy weight, the main advantage – the safety and easy maintenance.

Road bikes are suitable for driving on asphalt. They may develop high speed, thanks to a narrow tires, thin and light design.

On the mountain bike you can ride on uneven roads, on hills. They often have a lot of speed, wide tires, powerful, heavy wheels, suspension fork steering. Some models have rear suspension.

Hybrid bikes have part of the characteristics of mountain bikes and some of the characteristics of the highway. The diameter of the wheels hybrid bike 28 inches as a road bike, but equipment such as mountain biking.

Travel bicycles are close brothers highway. But they have a stronger body, more reliable design, they can carry heavy loads.

BMX bikes are very popular in recent years, bicycles for competition. Bikes BMX – Bike MotoCross.

Trial bikes differ in construction from the ordinary. Typically, the trial bike is no saddle, shock absorbers, wide tires with a pronounced increase in spiking relief for clutch pedal equipped with spines. Typically, these bikes have hydraulic brakes.

Tandems are bicycles for two people, while riding a bicycle sitting in front of another.

Hybrid bikes – intermediate between mountain and road. In hybrid bike wheel diameter is 28 inches, like a highway, but the equipment (transmission, brakes, etc.) is installed is the same as a mountain.

Folding bicycles – bicycles that fold. When folded, it can be transported in a passenger car, enters the elevator and it can often be carried in trains and trains. Most folding bikes fold only twice.

Racing bicycles – a version of road bikes, designed for cycling. They are equipped with narrow tires, lots of speed, steering wheel bent downward (ie handlebars are omitted – it creates a great strain on the back of the cyclist, but also reduces the air resistance).

Track bikes used in races for the cycle track. Their task – to develop the maximum speed on level track. From racing, they distinguished by the absence of many “extra” parts such as brakes and gear shifting, and most importantly the lack of free movement of the rear wheel that is fixed gear.

Water bicycles are used for walking. But there is a race on water bikes.

Clown bikes can travel both forward and backward by a fixed transmission is the same as in track cycling.

Three-wheeled bicycles (tricycle) are used, usually young children. There are also adult model for people with impaired balance and other problems. In addition, three-wheeled recumbent bikes often do, pedal cars, trucks bicycles and cycle-rickshaws.

Monocycle – a vehicle in which the driver is inside the huge wheel.

By: Vadim Stotskiy

With the increasing popularity bicycling is gaining worldwide both as a sport and as a recreational activity custom cruiser bikes are in high demand with every casual as well as serious rider. Of course, they are much costlier than the mass produced one yet they have several advantages over the regular ones. These bikes are designed to fit the particular individual’s style of riding and afford comfort to the rider. They are also sturdier and give the rider optimal space for performance. Another added advantage they have over mass produced bikes is that they are suited even for the not so well-built.

The individual style of riding and body types are important information to the custom bike manufacturer so they can come of with one that is just perfect for you. But before you get a bike made determine the nature of your usage as this will be a big influencing factor on the design of the bike. A bike intended for recreation purposes would be different from one intended for racing and training even if it is for the same individual. The length and frequency of the rides and the terrain you intend to take should be taken into consideration before you get one built. These pieces of information will help the manufacturer create the perfect bike for you.

Custom cruiser bikes are capable of making visual statement if the rider so intends. Bikes that are specifically built for racing and mountain performances can be created with colors and parts of your choice. If you want to make a visual statement with your bike, bikes like the chopper and low riders will do the trick. Custom cruiser bikes generally comes in non-traditional frames that are compacted, elongated and well decorated with a wide range of accessories selected according to the rider’s individual taste.

The best investment you can make in your custom cruiser bike is a seat that gives you optimum comfort. Moreover they also improve the bikes lines’. There is nothing like a custom made seat. There are a number of manufacturers in the market bringing out the best possible seats that offers the maximum comfort. But if you want a real custom made seat visit a local upholstery and ask for a manufacturer who can make you one.

With the ever increasing popularity of bicycling it is not hard to get a manufacturer of custom bikes. All it takes for you is to inquire from your local upholstery for one and you can have a bike to die for.

By: James Harold

You haven’t picked up your bicycle yet? Well, if I were you I would hurry to get your Trek, Schwinn, Mongoose, or BMX bike because people all across the nation are turning to these brands for their cycling needs because of their durability and brand recognition.

Once thought to be just the domain of children and extreme sports athletes bicycling is an activity that is really picking up steam in the United States and catching on with the older as well as the young. The causes of the wave of bicyclists stem from factors such as rising gas prices, exercise purposes and overall health concerns. Specifically, bike riding offers the following benefits:

- dramatically improves cardiovascular activity and endurance
- strengthen and tones muscle and offers a full body workout at one time that places very little stress on the joints
- an economic alternative to gas powered vehicles and a low maintenance means of transportation

The benefits in riding a bicycle are almost infinite , and one of the benefits that was not mentioned above was the stress relief factor.

Although bicycle riding is very rewarding it may not be practical under certain circumstances, i.e., when travelling to work is impractical due to the distance or terrain or when there are other factors such as inclement weather.

Families are also taking advantage of the new bicycling craze and turning trips on bikes into family bonding time. Because these opportunities are a little difficult to find for most families as well as squeezing in some time for exercise, this allows for families to kill 2 birds with one stone combining exercise with quality family time. With obesity amongst children being at its highest levels in decades , this is definitely a plus.

Those that are choosing the biking lifestyle are buying, used bicycles as well as cheap bicycles and new bicycles. The most sales are for Trek bikes, Mongoose Bikes, BMX bikes and Schwinn bikes, however, the emergence and the popularity of the X Games has really boosted the demand for BMX bicycles which are better constructed for tricks and extreme BMX competition, whcih also applies to the Mongoose style of bicycle. Trek and Schwinn are known for their durability and name brand worthiness as brands that you can trust.

Last but not least, let us all keep in mind that safety when travelling by bike is of paramount importance . So please, make sure that everyone is wearing the proper protective gear such as helmets and pads and if you are riding at night make sure that you are wearing either light colored clothing or reflective clothing and have your bicycle outfitted with the appropriate reflectors and lights to make sure that you are seen while riding.

So go travel by bike! It is rewarding in more ways than one and an experience that you will never tire of.

By: Thomas Byars

The exercise bike companies have launched new bicycles into the market in various kinds of attractive models with different price tags on them, keeping in mind the budget and requirements of their customers. Presently, there are three kinds of fitness cycles available in the market, namely upright, semi-recumbent and recumbent exercise bike. Therefore, you can choose one of these, which fulfills your requirement the most. These bikes are significantly vital for the people of all ages, especially the ones who are suffering from cardiovascular diseases. It is also helpful for the obese people as it helps in burning calories at a faster pace and tone up the body muscles, resulting in a good physique. The recumbent exercise bike is getting as popular as treadmill as it helps in getting rid of extra calories and achieving toned physique.

Spending a few hours on recumbent exercise bikes a day helps in reducing blood pressure. This bicycle is designed in such a manner that a person is seated very close to the floor. The feet of the person are very close to the chest. It is also equipped with a control panel, which displays the rate of heart beat, pulse rate, the amount of calories burnt and total distance covered. The best part of this fitness bicycle is that a person can exercise on this bike at any time of the day.

Another important feature of recumbent exercise bikes is that the height of seat can be adjusted according to one’s height as well as the resistance levels. Various types of programs have been designed, ranging from the beginner level to the advanced level. We would advise you to seek the advice from your family doctor or your personal trainer before you begin to work out on a recumbent exercise bike. This will help you to avoid any kind of risk leading to medical complication. It is also a better idea to collect the reviews from the people who have already used it or still using it before you make up your mind to buy this bike.

Through this article, we strongly recommend you to do a thorough research on recumbent bikes before buying so that you can make the optimum use of your money.

By: Daniel Capusan

The bicycle is one of the best tools to use to burn calories and lose weight. A 145lb woman riding 1 hour at about 12 MPH will burn about 500 Calories, up the speed to 16 MPH and the calorie burn increases to about 835 Calories per hour.

You can increase calorie burn by doing sprints now and then during the ride.

Since it takes 3500 Calories to burn a pound of fat, then about 4 hours of cycling at 16 MPH will burn roughly enough calories to burn 1 pound of fat.

Cycling is very low impact, so it does not take the toll on the joints like running does.

Cycling can be done indoors on a stationery bike when the weather is bad, with little or no change in your calorie burn.

Personally I find indoor cycling on a stationery bike boring, but some find it quite fulfilling and there are now simulation machines that make it seem as if you are going on a course rather than just riding the bike. Some of these work with a trainer and increase resistance when going up hills and offer a variety of course to keep the boredom down.

You can use the bicycle to do some errands and at the same time burn some calories that you would never have had the chance to do otherwise. The use of a small bicycle trailer increases the number of calories burned as well as offer more opportunities for errands since you can carry much more and that allows you to expand the errand you can do.

What I mean by that is that with my trailer I can carry up to 100 lbs. of groceries or tools or whatever. I have carried week’s groceries back from the supermarket. Pulling a 100lb load up even a small hill will put a lot of extra resistance on the pedals and improve your leg strength.

Most people think of the bicycle as a totally cardio workout, but that is not always true. Taking you bike up hills, especially with the extra load of a trailer will definitely increase leg strength and it will also be a great way to strengthen your core.

If you ride BMX or Mountain Bike then you will also build some upper body strength and your will burn a lot more calories than if you just ride casually.

Depending on the type of cycling you plan to do there may be some preparation needed and will depend on what type of bike you want to buy.

You should check with the local shop, they are usually very helpful. Yes they want to sell you a bike, but most shops realize that they want to make you happy even more and if they sell you something that does not fit, you won’t come back. Since they need your repeat business in order to stay in business they will almost always do their best to make the bike you buy be the bike you will ride.

Here are some general rules, but not always a perfect fit since every individual is different.

Buy a road bike if you are wanting to lose weight, get fit, would like to ride with groups and enjoy the speed and agility of road biking in general. If you do that also check with the shop about how to get into the local bike club or group and have fun getting fir. I am a member of the Pecan City Pedalers in Albany Georgia and also have contacts in clubs all over the US. I very much enjoy road biking.

Buy a comfort bike or hybrid if you are just interested in fitness and don’t mind riding alone, don’t really care about speed but just want to burn calories and get fir. These will usually have narrower tires so they will go a little faster. They are a sort of cross between a Mountain Bike and a Road Bike.

Buy a Mountain Bike if you live in an area where there are a lot of back roads that are not paved, road bikes and hybrids don’t do the loose gravel and grass thing as well as mountain bikes do.

Cruisers are OK, though not my own choice. That was the main type of bike that existed when I was a kid. These are sort of single speed bikes like we had back in the 50′s and 60′s Would be Ok for tooling around town, but they can be really rough on hills.

BMX Cruisers or 20″ for racing. Racing BMX can be done at any age and after the first few times around the track you will either love it or hate it. Most children love it, adults not so much. Personally I enjoy it and love riding and even racing with my grandchildren. It gives a great workout and after 3 Motos (1 race) I feel like I have gotten a good workout.

If you try BMX, rent a bike or borrow one, most tracks have them at the track and will rent or loan one for a practice race. Once you have tried it you will have to decide for yourself if it is for you. BMX Racing is not for everyone, but everyone is welcome to try it. I think it is a lot of fun, but maybe when I get old (I am only 57) I will think differently.

By: Jerry Goodwin

Favorite workouts of Olympic Medalists Mike Day and Jill Kintner:

With their personal coach Greg Romero

When I was coaching and preparing Mike and Jill side by side for 12 months leading up to the games we had simply had fun everyday. Either way, my goal with their training was to keep it interesting and having them feel good about it. This month I’m going to touch on a few protocols that both Jill and Mike liked that had them leading up to eventual medal winning performances at the Olympic games!

I will touch on one off the bike and one on the bike training protocol for each athlete!

Jill Kintner off the bike exercises: Dynamic warm up.

If any of you have had the opportunity to watch Jill at a race then you might have seen her in the parking lot doing lots of funny callisthenic looking exercises near the pits or the rental car. What she is doing is what we like to call a dynamic warm up. First off, you’re going to need some regular athletic shoes. The first thing we like to do is open the hips so we start with a knee to chest walk. You take a step forward and with both hands grab below the knee and bring it to your chest and then immediately repeat on the next step.

This opens up hip extensors and lower back. The forward lunge is the next exercise yet targeting the antagonist hip muscles. This time it’s the hip flexors. Simply take a nice step (approximately 5 shoe lengths in front of you) and while keeping your upper torso vertically straight, bend at the back knee and follow with the front, and do this movement slowly. This is a nice dynamic stretch of the hip flexor in which will allow you to pedal efficiently! Jill says “If I can only do 2 warm up exercises then I would focus on the hip muscles so I can pedal without inhibition”.

Mike Day off the bike exercises: Plyometrics

Let’s face it, BMX is power and if you can pick one exercise that can hit all the components of power then it would be doing plyometrics. Plyometrics are basically jumping on your feet using your body weight only. The best exercises for kids are simply doing jump rope or skips and hops. This is perfectly fine and safe and they do this kind of stuff all day during recess at school. As long as they’re not jumping off 4-foot high boxes or ladders then their joints and tendons will be fine. They can first start off with jump rope skipping for 10-20 quick jumps. Mike’s favorite is the jump rope because it warms him up, hitting ankle joints, knee joints and warming up his wrists, elbows and shoulders. Then once he is ready he likes to move on to Jump Squats.

Simply place both feet shoulder width apart, keeping the upper torso vertically straight, push your hips back followed by a bend at the knees, lowering yourself to about 45 degrees and simply counter with an explosive jump as high as you can. The key is to take off through the ball of your feet and land on the ball of your feet with a nice slight bend in the knees and hips. You can do this one at a time or rapidly. Mike likes to do them one at a time, reset and focus for height. Mike says, “I’ll do the jump rope 3 sets for 20 skips and then jump squats 3 sets of 5 jumps, and then I am ready to train in the gym or ride the bike”.

Jill Kintner on the bike: Stand Start easy gear sprints.

In the past 5 years while racing Mountain Bikes, Jill never worked on explosive sprint power from a dead start. In BMX she came to find that it was necessary to give herself a chance down the first straight so she can have a chance at a medal. Her favorite sprint session was doing stand start easy gear sprints. I designed this exercise with an emphasis to program pure sprint acceleration out of the gate. We used flat pedals so that it was 100% focus on down stroke and we used an easy gear so that she was forced to accelerate it fast. “I love these so much I had a dedicated flat pedaled easy gear bike set up at the Olympics that I would use as a warm up between rounds of qualifying” Jill says.

What you do is gear down 1 or 2 teeth easier than race gear and change your pedals to flats. On a flat open parking lot with no cars around, take 2 cones, one for a start point and one for the needing point. You can mark of the distance by placing one down and then pedaling from the start cone to the ending cone. Jill liked to do these with approximately 7 full cranks. How to do the sprint: Standing up in the gate start position with cranks level, approach the start cone slowly and then explode keeping the front wheel down and straight.

Make sure to minimize the bend at the hips and try to stay tall, focusing on the extension of each pedal stroke through the feet. “It’s not a hard workout, it’s about a quality one, and I love this because when I get on the track I feel explosive out of the gate”, Jill says. Do 1 set of 8-10 efforts and rest 3-4 minutes between to recover the ATP energy system. This sprint workout is about neurological programming, not a muscle breakdown. In fact we hardly ever do any training that has an emphasis on muscle breakdown because BMX is about quality power.

Mike Day on the bike: Full Laps.

If you don’t have the gas to make a full lap without getting tired, then you’re not specifically fit for BMX. “There seems to be an impression that you need major endurance work on a road bike to be fit for BMX, and I haven’t touched a road bike all year, I do full laps,” Mike says. I say why not? It’s very specific, you get the dynamic power component of the jumping and the lactic build up towards the end. This is the perfect training protocol for those who find themselves struggling to get to the finish.

The key with this workout is to keep the intensity just below “all out”. What makes this workout work is that it’s training your ability to repeat motos at your fullest physical capacity. “Greg always talks about how repeatability is the limiting factor to a good day of racing” Mike laughs, “At first I hated these but then I started to see my racing getting better towards the finals and at the Olympic games, I never felt better” the silver medalist says. The key is intensity, the rest in between the efforts and how many. Mike likes to go out and do 5 full laps at 90% intensity with 10 minutes rest in between. For kids under 16, I would recommend a shorter rest interval of 6-8 minutes as they don’t produce lactate acid like the older crowd.

By: Greg Romero