How to Ride Street BMX

Learning how to ride street BMX requires physical endurance, practice, and some risk. Street BMX tricks include skills such as bunny hopping, grinding ledges and handrails, finding natural and man-made ramps in order to do jumps, wall rides, and stalls. In general, street riding requires the ability to see the possibility in a cityscape as a cement and metal-formed bike park. With a well made BMX bike, a helmet, pads, and some diligence you can be well on your way to riding street BMX.

Things You'll Need

• BMX bike
• Helmet
• Knee, elbow, and shin pads

Instructions

1. Choose a bike frame made specifically for street BMX. You'll need a strong frame made out of 4130 chrome. Aluminum frames are more suited to racing BMX. Make sure your bike has pegs for grinding as well.

2. Pull up on the handlebars while adjusting your weight slightly back. Once your front wheel is in the air, pull your knees to your chest in order to raise the bike entirely off of the ground. This standard trick is called the bunny hop. Almost all street riding tricks hinge on your ability to do a bunny hop.

3. Ride parallel to a ledge that is slightly higher than the middle of your wheels. Bunny hop high enough to land your front tire and rear peg on the ledge. Slide along the ledge until you lose speed and then hop off. This is called grinding. Attempt this with your front peg on the ledge as well, but be prepared for a sudden stop if the ledge is not waxed.

4. Jump off of stairs. Ride from the top of a small stair case (one or two stairs at first) and bunny hop off immediately before the edge. Land with your back tire first, as this will provide a stable landing.

Tips & Warnings

• Start small and slowly advance. When it comes grinding ledges and hand rails, always start with heights you are comfortable and confident with. Grinding can be very dangerous and attempting tricks beyond your abilities can result in serious injury.

• Street BMX is inherently dangerous and should not be attempted without a helmet , pads and proper supervision.

References

• Youtube: RideBMX: Basics of Street Riding

Resources

• 20 Inch Post: Everything About BMX