Mmm, No BMXers Make The Best Racers.

So Randy Pobst's column on autocrossers always make better road racers triggered another thought.

When I go to track days and vintage races I usually bring one of my BMX bikes along and without fail at least one fellow driver will tell me how they had one of those back in the day. I also noticed that most of them are really solid drivers.

I've always made mention that if you've raced on two wheels you typically make a better car racer. Note this is a prejudiced view as I racer motorcycles before cars. I think it comes down to being used to something moving around wildly on the tires. 

In the case of BMXers there's the added bonus to learning to master timing maneuvers just perfectly; if you don't the ground will come up and hit you. 

So, other than David, how many of you out there started with BMX? 

My ABA # was 6 in my region back in the very early 1980s. I drive like a MFer.

BMX and mountain bikes here.

Mountain bikes.

Spending your youth on two wheels definitely makes you a better motorcycle rider.

I had a final drive failure last year which led to a locked up rear wheel at 120kph.

Kept that thing upright until I got it stopped on the shoulder. My buddy still can't believe I didn't put the bike down.

Not much BMX, but I raced Hare Scrambles as a teen.

Not sure anyone ever accused me of being a good BMXer. Or, come to think of it, a good driver, either....

I did race BMX although like David, I don't know if I've ever been accused of being good at it or at driving...

I raced downhill mountain bikes and I feel that did help me with autocross.  DH racing is also a time trail with the difference being you get a lot of practice runs but only one timed run.  Memorizing a 60 second autocross course is pretty simple after half a lifetime of memorizing 5 min DH courses.  A lot of the principles are the same - looking ahead, weighting, braking correctly, looking ahead.  I never really got nervous driving autocross the same way as when I raced DH.   Usually because if I push past my limits on a DH course, the chances of a hospital trip are high. 

I raced bmx in the early 90s. I was 3rd in the state (of FL) for 13 year old expert class iirc.   Fun times!  

In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :

That is true that a lot of the basics cross over. Plus, I’ll add, also dealing with equipment, setup, etc. 

BMX, like autocross, has also been community. 

My brother and I built a 1/4 pipe in our parents' driveway. They were....thrilled. Me on my chro-moly Mongoose (ACS Z-rims!) and him on his Schwinn, fun times. I still have scars on my knees from the pegs on the Shimano DX pedals.       

In reply to earlybroncoguy1 :

Hey, I still have a set of Z-rims (aqua!) somewhere plus genuine Shimano DX pedals on one bike. 

David S. Wallens said:

Not sure anyone ever accused me of being a good BMXer. Or, come to think of it, a good driver, either....

David we need to work on your stories........

Today we remember the career of David S Wallens one of the 80s most promising  BMX racers. His was a tale of what might have been and a warning to young riders on the dangers of trying to make it in two careers at once.

While tearing up local BMX tracks David also aspired to music stardom.  In 1985 he was the front man for punk fusion band Torah Torah Torah, a band best known for blending traditional Hebrew folk songs with Punk riffs.

Sadly a freak accident ended both promising careers. Deep in a hypnotic trance during one of his guitar riffs he failed to notice the leaky water heater in his parents garage. The subsequent electrical shock zapped the talent right out of him. 

After that David never rode or played the same again.

Now David doesn't this sound way better than what you wrote???

Two wheels, you say?

In reply to Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) :

Are those called "sulkies?". There's a Serafin Sulky right down the road from me. I've always wanted to check out what they do there..

In reply to Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) :

Looks safe to me........what could possibly wrong? Other than everything  

In reply to Tom1200 :

My wife has horses. And one of those carts.

Having a horse is like having a bicycle that has a mind of it's own and makes bad decisions. 

Another former bicycle racer here. I can confirm that a mediocre bicycle racer can work hard to become a mediocre car driver. 😜

In all seriousness, I think the best lessons thought on the bike are 1) situational awareness/timing, and 2) momentum preservation. Both of those cross over well to driving fast on four wheels. The mechanics of it all are very different, but there is still some good value there in my opinion.

I still haven't figured out how to bunnyhop a car, though.

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

I still haven't figured out how to bunnyhop a car, though.

hydraulics.....

I raced BMX in Delaware (Lums Pond) and NJ (Egg Harbor, Flemington, Mullica Hill among others) from 10ish to 17.  Never got good at jumping though. FSAE in college to SpecMiata after.  

For what its worth, the opposite can be pretty true, at least when the bicycle is pointed in the downward direction.  I've ridden mountain bikes with some auto racing guys and they all seem to descend surprisingly well for how inexperienced they are on two wheels.  I think a lot of it is related to the timing and vision skills that cross over in both settings.  

WonkoTheSane said:

In reply to Floating Doc (Forum Supporter) :

Are those called "sulkies?". There's a Serafin Sulky right down the road from me. I've always wanted to check out what they do there..

First picture is a sulky, used for racing. The other two pictures are training carts.

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

I still haven't figured out how to bunnyhop a car, though.

I just jumped railroad tracks with mine. No one ever told me it might not be a good idea...

I rode (and fell off of...) mountain bikes from 2006 to 2014ish, inc a fair amount of downhill, though I never was particularly fast at it. Started riding motorcycles in 2018 and apart from a few months off of one due to an accident in 2021, and winter being a thing that exists in VA, haven't stopped. I've gotten anecdotes from others of my being a pretty solid driver.

Of course, sims also help with that

Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) said:

Pete. (l33t FS) said:

I still haven't figured out how to bunnyhop a car, though.

I just jumped railroad tracks with mine. No one ever told me it might not be a good idea...

That's why I loved my Subaru (an '88).  The damping was perfect for landing off after going over railroad tracks.  Just one compression and rebound, and it was also pretty plush.

I used to use it to go to trails.  I rode a rigid bike (not a hardtail, the forks made the front end too high) and liked to think about full suspension geometries and a Better Mousetrap.  So far in the late 90s there were a lot of full suspension designs but they all sucked if you used it for more than coasting downhill.  And after years of lusting after, and finally buying, a 22lb bike, I couldn't imagine spending several thousand dollars to regress to a bike that weighed as much as a department store bike.  (Would have loved to try a Klein, though!)

Had a weird thought as I lazily started to drive my tired self home after a couple hours on the trails.  Hey, my CAR has full suspension!