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First things first, you should always carry around a backpack with you when you go for a ride, at a park or street. Put it down near where you are riding, and dont lose it.

The worst thing that can happen to you is that you are miles away from home, with no way to get back, and you get a puncture. This is bad, you can’t even roll down hills on the way back. Because of this, there are several things that should always be carried in your backpack with you. First of all, a puncture repair kit. These are cheap, and work wonders. Second of all, a spare inner tube. If you are in a rush, then instead of trying to find the hole, or if it is a rip, you can just stick a new inner tube in and repair the old one when you get home. But to do this, you need several tools. These are, a tyre lever, an adjustable (or the correct size) spanner/wrench, a puncture repair kit, a spare inner tube and most importantly, a pump. The best kind of pump to carry around with you is a small hand pump, that will do to get enough air in the tyre to get home.

Another thing that should be in your backpack, is a set of allen keys. These come in sets that are on one tool, like a Swiss army knife, so they are very easy to carry around.

All of these things are enough to get you back up and running, and get you home. But when at home, what should you have there?

Personally, I have a big foot pump, with a pressure gauge on it. A stock of about 10 inner tubes, spare tyres, and most parts on a bike, but not all of these are neccessary. What I would say the “essentials” are is; A decent pump, with pressure gauge, a lot of inner tubes/repair kits, spare tyres, grease, lubricant, rags, allen keys, spanners and spare parts of things that are likely to break, eg a bottom bracket or spokes.

If you have all of these at home, you will always be covered of every eventuality. Also, one thing which is not an essential, but may be a good idea to have handy, is a guide book to repair your bike. These can be picked up relativley cheap, but will be a huge help when it comes to looking for how to tighten your bottom bracket or you headset, and give great tips in general.

Thanks for reading this BMX article, in the next one there should be a guide to replacing and repairing inner tubes, so that you will always know what to do when the time eventually comes that they need repairing.

Want to get your airs looking stylish and amazing people? Add some spins to them. Don’t know how? Carry on reading.

Spinning is one of the scariest, yet most rewarding and good looking forms of tricks there is. They are very hard to learn, because if you don’t go for it first time, you are very likely to fall. Unlike with any other trick, you may not always be facing forwards or backwards, trying spins can be uncontrollable when you start and are very difficult to control.

There are 3 parts to doing an air rotation, the spin initiation, the air control and the landing. Each of these parts needs its own explanation, although most of the spin is covered in parts 1 and 2. The thing that you need to remember when spinning is that even if you do fall, you can get up and try again. The hardest part to this trick, as with nearly every other trick, is to have the confidence to try it in the first place. Just remember, after your first time trying it, you can always try it again a lot easier.

The spin I am going to be looking at is the 360. For the set up for this trick, the best place to try it is on a fun box, with a transitioned ramp going on to flat. Make sure that there are no rails or anything in the way, so it is just the ramp and the flat on top. This way you don’t need to go too fast to get the air time, and it is not a fast landing, because it is flat at the same level of the lip.

So, to the 360; you will want to approach the ramp at just about jogging speed, head for the middle of the ramp, so long as it is wide. You will need to know which direction you are going to be spinning in. If you ride right foot forwards, then you will generally spin to your left, and if you ride left foot forwards, then you will spin to the right. The initiation of the spin is the hardest part. You need to carve in the direction you will spin on the ramp, not too much, about 45 degrees. When you take off the lip, look over your left shoulder and spin your shoulders. As long as your head and shoulders are spinning, the rest of your body will follow.
When you have taken off the lip, you should be around 90 degrees spun, keep looking over your shoulder until you can see the spot where you want to land. Making sure all the way through your bike is level and underneath you. Once you have your landing spotted, you are pretty much guaranteed to land there, and ride away clean, but obviously not the first time, to get it perfect takes practice.

Thanks for reading this BMX article, and please check back for the next one!

Skate parks are made for people who take part in extreme sports such as BMX, Skating and inline skating and need somewhere to practice and to show off their skills. Skate parks are a fantastic place where everyone there wants the same thing as you, and most of them are very friendly. You will occasionally get the odd person who doesn’t care about other people, but just ignore them; they aren’t going to make any friends. Whereas if you are friendly, let people have a turn on the obstacles, and say sorry if you get in someone’s way or crash, you will have no problems.

Skate parks are the best way to increase your skill, fast. Everything there is set up perfectly for you; there will be everything you could ever need, in the big parks anyway. You will come across “Skate Parks” that are just a quarter or half pipe by a football pitch, these are alright, but are often full of kids who think kicking a football up them is fun. Sometimes you can just start riding and they will leave, but other times it is not worth it.

The big skate parks are where the fun is at, where people are very good and you could just sit there all day watching them in awe. The only thing you think is “I wish I could do that!” the only way you will ever be able to do it is practice. Go up and talk to them, just compliment them, and then ask if they would show you how to do what they did, or if you know how to if they have any tips as to how to do it, or even if they could tell you where you are going wrong, it won’t hurt them and they are sure to want to help.

At big skate parks, there will be beginner, intermediate, and advanced sections. But I advise you to stick to what you know, until you know it well and feel you need to move on to the next section. If you can’t even 180 a half pipe, you will just be getting in peoples way on a vert ramp. Stay on the mini ramp until you can fully 180 it, then move onto the next size up and learn to 180 that, when you can 180 about 3-4 feet out every time, then move onto the vert ramp, you will actually find it easier than the normal half pipe, as it has a bigger transition and it goes vertically up, so naturally, you will as well.

Skate parks have everything you will ever need, so it is worth making the journey regularly to a decent one and paying money to ride it, this will stop there being kids in the way and will let you ride.

Thanks for reading this BMX article, please check back for the next!

Becoming a better BMX rider is something you will want to do if you have the drive to do it, some people buy a BMX, ride it for a few weeks and then when they find out they can’t do anything on it, give up. This is a very bad approach to take, not just on a BMX but in life generally. You should never give up because you cannot do something, “If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again.”

With riding a BMX, and tricking it, practice is key. When learning tricks, you will never do them perfectly first time, you may do it, but it won’t be done well or look good. Keep practicing it until you can do it perfectly every time. Only then can you say you can do the trick.

One enormous factor in improving quickly is riding with others. For example, this weekend I went to a busy skate park twice, and learned more than I ever did riding ramps on my own. Other people who are better than you push you into doing more tricks, and even show you how to do them. Unless you are trying something stupid, you won’t even break a bone if you fall, so there is nothing to worry about, is there?

Having confidence is the only way to try new tricks. You have to build up the courage to even try to do them before you do it, and this is the hardest bit about it. For example, the first time you ever drop in, you will be very scared, and while at the top of the ramp, will be thinking about all of the possibilities of things that can happen to you, everyone does it. The key is to bypass these fears and go for it anyway, as long as you know how to do it, and have the skills to do it, chances are you will do it first time. And if you fall on your first time dropping in, you have built up the courage to try it once; from now on it is so much easier.

Before you even go to the skate park to try a new trick, just think about what you are going to do; do you know how to do it? How do you take off, land, spin? These are all things you need to know before attempting something, for example, trying your first high air out of a ramp, setting up is easy, ride fast at it, but what do you do when you are in the air? This is what you need to find out.

Thanks for reading this BMX article and I hope it helps.

The Bunny hop is one of the hardest to master, yet most used trick in the whole of BMX. It is the art of “jumping” from flat ground, in order to clear obstacles or to ride without stopping to get up a curb. There are two different kinds of bunny hops, and depending on where you go, you will see each type used. Each different bunny hop has its advantages and disadvantages, for example, the style of bunny hop where you take both of the wheels off the ground at the same time is good for spinning 180’s on ramps and jumping off curbs, whereas the style of bunny hop where you lift the front wheel first, then the back wheel gets a lot more high, and so can be used for getting over obstacles.

So, to the point, here is a guide of how to bunny hop.

This first guide will be about where both wheels leave the ground at the same time.

Right, the first thing you want to be doing is to be travelling at about jogging speed, not too fast and not too slow, with a lot of room around you. You will want to be ready to jump. Bend down towards the bike, ready to spring up, and them with your toes pointing towards the ground, jump up, pulling the front up with your arms and the back end up by pressing backwards against the pedals and jumping.
This will bring the bike up underneath you. Bear in mind it will take you many tries to get this the first time, as you will need to gain strength in the muscles you use to bunny hop. Also, the most height you will get from a bunny hop like this is about 6”, this is mainly used for getting air time off ramps, not for clearing obstacles.

The other type of bunny hop is when you lift the front end up first, into a manual, then spring off the back wheel as high as you can lifting the bike up with you.

First of all, you will need to know how to manual, you don’t need to be able to manual for a long time, just enough to lift your front wheel up. The higher you can bring up your front wheel, the higher you will go when bunny hopping. To get the manual at the beginning of the bunny hop, lean back and pull up, whilst pressing down on the pedals. Once up, point your toes towards the floor again and whilst pressing back on the pedals, jump and try and bring your feet as far towards your bottom as you can. This is the best way to generate height.

This type of bunny hop is the hardest to master, and even harder to get high and good, but is the best type you can learn.

Thanks for reading and please visit back for the next BMX article!

Freestyle BMX is the art of expressing yourself through what you do. The name pretty much gives away what it is, it is whatever you want it to be. However, the more commonly known “freestyle” is doing tricks and creating lines to ride. This is the kind of freestyle I will be talking about.

But before I start, remember that safety comes first. You should think about yourself before you attempt anything, and you should be sure you have follow my previous article about checking over the bike before you go out and ride.

The first step in getting into freestyle, from whatever discipline you have done before is getting to know the tricks and techniques you need. The most basic, but something you need to know to get anywhere, is the bunny hop.

There are two types of bunny hop, both used for different things. The “street” type of bunny hop, is when the front wheel comes up, and then you jump into the air bringing your back wheel with you. And the other type of bunny hop is where both wheels leave the ground at the same time. This is more commonly used on ramps because you get less height and are more controlled. If you don’t know how to bunny hop, a lesson will be coming up in my next BMX article, along with a few other tricks.

The bunny hop is the base for any trick done in the air, whether it be a 180 air on a quarter pipe, or a flair on a grind on a rail, you need to have the bunny hop dialed before you even attempt anything.

Getting into freestyle is not that hard, but you have to have two things, to get into it very fast. One is skill, you need to know how to do the tricks and if you fall, what went wrong. The other is guts. This is the most important one. The first time you attempt something like a drop in, you will be as scared as anything, and post probably chicken out. The best way to get over this is to not think about what you are doing. I know it is easier said than done, but it is true, standing at the top of a ramp looking down it will only deter you from dropping in.

One more thing that will help you in freestyle, is the BMX you have. Learning tricks is a lot easier on a light bike, with a small chain ring, rather than a heavy bike, with bad geometry and a chain ring as big as your head.

Just remember, the main thing you need in order to be a good freestyle rider is confidence, if you think you can do something, you most likely will, getting over the fear of the first attempt is the hardest thing you will ever do.

Thanks for reading this BMX article, in the next one there will be a guide to a few simple tricks.

One of the major and most common things that affects bikes is rust. Rust is when the metal corrodes, most likely because of moisture, either caused by rain or dampness. So where the BMX is stored plays a vital role in keeping it healthy and working. Keeping it in a dry place is a must. Even though this is not always possible, in some places, because of wooden sheds and other things, a BMX is small remember, and so can easily be stored inside the house somewhere out of the way.

You should always check your bike before going out riding on it. (If you have any) are your brakes tight? Is the bottom bracket tight? Are the wheels moving freely? Are the tires pumped up properly? Are there any cracks in the frame? Once the entire bike is checked, and working, you can then go riding. One thing you don’t want to be doing is riding on a loose part, as that is a major cause of the part degrading faster and needing replacing.

Make sure that you regularly oil and grease your bike, if possible, after every time you ride it. Have oil and grease make for bikes, although more expensive, it does its job, and does it well. It is very worthwhile to spend the extra £10, as it will save you much more than that in the long run. Oil the chain, the freewheel, the sprocket and all of the nuts on the bike. Grease the bearings inside the bottom bracket and the headset, although this doesn’t need doing every time you ride it, at least once a month will keep it in good shape.

Your tires should be pumped up to about 50 psi, this is a good pressure to use as it stopped the rim hitting the floor on hard landings, which could seriously damage your rim, and it will run over most things on the floor un stopped. If you don’t know what psi your tires are at, you need a good pump. About £15 will get you a big pump, with a pressure dial and several attachments.

And another thing that often gets looked over is how to wash your bike. Don’t at all costs use a jet wash. Jet washes are bike killers; they get water inside sealed bearings and give them a lower life. If you have to use a hosepipe, stay away from the hubs, and the bottom bracket. Ideally, you should use warm, soapy water with a sponge to get everything off it, proceeding to oil and grease it after. Dirt is not something you want clogging up the small hard to reach areas of the bike.

To end this article, I am just going to say again, it is worth spending good money on the things you need to keep your bike in good shape; it works out cheaper in the long run.

Thanks for reading and please check out the next one!

Buying a BMX is obviously the easiest way to get a BMX, and it will most likely to be cheaper as well. Buying the BMX new and buying the same parts new will always leave the full bike cheaper.

But are you really that bothered about the money? Would you rather have a bike because it was cheaper, even though you may not like it, or a bike you know you will definitely like, that is exactly how you want it?
One thing you should always do before you attempt to build a BMX is to make sure you have everything planned out. You should have all of the money for all of the parts at the before you buy them. A working project may end up in a loss of motivation, and so half a BMX sitting in your house for months before you decide what you want to do with it. Make a check list of every part you need, and then next to it, the part you are planning on buying, along with the price. This way, you will be organized, and not left without parts when you come to build it all up.

Building a BMX is not something you will want to do if you have never done anything technical with a bike before. One thing that I would highly recommend doing, if you want to build a bike, and not be that bothered about riding it a lot, or maybe even sell it, is to buy a full bike, for say £200, something that you will like, and then when you get bored of something, or something gets scratched or slightly dented, take it off and replace it with a new part. This will give you the skills to build the BMX, and most importantly, the parts. If you buy a frame only, then use this as the base to a new bike. When the part is replaced, put the old part on this frame, thus building a BMX and having one to ride at the same time, you will never be bike less, and will even have a spare one at the end of it. You could even sell the spare one, maybe even making a small profit if you got the replacements for cheap.

Buying a BMX is not something you want to do too often, so make sure you do it properly. Ride the bike before you buy it, ask about it, find reviews of it, photo’s of it in use, all of this will help you make your decision. Make sure, you are not pressured into buying it, because all of your friends have a better bike than yours, it should be something you buy because you like it.

Thanks for reading this BMX article and please check back for the next one!

If you don’t ride a BMX, you may well be thinking to yourself, “Why would anyone want to ride a BMX? It is really small, has no gears and no suspension”. Everything that has just been said is absolutely true, but it depends on what you like as to whether this applies to you. The lack of suspension will make your riding a lot smoother, it will make sure you don’t make mistakes that would be soaked up by the suspension of a mountain bike. The fact that a BMX only has 1 gear, will appeal to some people as less maintenance, less to go wrong, and makes the legs stronger. But for others, could mean walking up hills and being tired all of the time. These are things that do happen to BMX riders.

One major advantage of a BMX is the size of it. With the small frame and small wheels, they are very easy to maneuver in the air as well as on the ground. And with a small bike, comes a small weight. With the combination of all of these BMX’s are the ultimate freestyle machines for a lot of riders worldwide. For example, after riding a 26” dirt jump bike for a while and getting used to it, changing to a BMX is like going from a Land Rover to a Ferrari. The ease to do everything and move it is phenomenal.

But back to the point, the reason someone would chose a BMX over any other bike, is not for every day practical use, but for use in skate parks, or for doing tricks. In fact, using a BMX for anything other than tricks as rather pointless, unless you are absolutely strapped for cash and can only afford one bike. Why have no suspension, and no gears for commuting?

But for those who want to have fun when they get home, try dropping in a ramp on a road bike, or doing 540’s out of a ramp. It is not a good thing to try, and will most probably break the bike as that is not what it is meant for. But it is what a BMX is meant for, and vice versa, riding a BMX on the roads for 5 miles every day is not going to be as easy as a bike designed for that purpose.

So, in conclusion, the reason people ride a BMX is that they like them, they like the way they feel in the air, the versatility of them, and the simplicity. BMX’s are the best bikes to learn tricks on, as they have virtually nothing that can break, and they are cheap and parts are in the millions for replacements. You could even build your own BMX how you like it, which will be the subject of the next BMX article.

Thanks for reading!