friday freebie ending august 22…
August 8th, 2008 | by Phil | Published in Freebies | 24 Comments
i thought i would make this one a 2 week ordeal in order to span the event in question, the olympics!
here is a listing of the times to check it out.
and this is the topic of discussion:
since this is the first year of bmx in the olympics and since it will essentially expose millions of people to bmx racing what are the pros and cons of the event as you see it? and do you think it will affect your daily interaction with joe public?
and to go along with that do you think any other form of bmx will make it into the olympics?
yes it’s a broad and sweeping question but i’m curious nonetheless.
and this is what’s up for grabs:
these were powdercoat samples of the first batch of pedals. with cork caps (or silver caps)
August 9th, 2008at 8:31 am(#)
I feel this will give a pleasant, but partial introduction to the world of BMX. Which, could be a bad or good situation depending on how you look at it. BMX racing represents what i like to call the jocks of BMX. Training year round, enduring races usually a couple of times a week. Keeping up the points race for year end titles and numbered rankings. All similar things to most sports, you could almost have fantasy BMX racing.lol. But anyway, the participants of this sport seem to usually be well mannered and good role models b/c of the hard work they put in. So to the public the initial reaction will be positive, but short lasting one. People will watch and say, “thats neat, when do the floor exercises start?”. Dont get me wrong i respect these athletes, but you dont find urself sayin i wanna watch bmx racing today. The olympics is only going to show 25% of what bmx is. Freestyle in this day and age is usually what brings on newcomers not introduced to the sport by there parents(racing). The competitors riding alone on the course hucking themselves every crazy direction possible is what gets the joe public excited and saying id like to see that again. Freestyle may not be as clean cut as the Racers, but for the most part just as respectful,i mean people tend to like us more than the skaters cutting the kinks of there privately funded hand rails.ha. I guess what i mean to say is, BMX racing will give a good first impression but not a lasting one. We wont get that repeat business if you know what im saying. Finally i dont this will have one inch of effect on my daily interaction with joe public. Main reason being they wont even remember seeing the bmx races ( and maybe cause none of the events start til midnight on television for us.lol). I just dont think it has the wow factor to spark much more of an interest in our community than weve already gotten from things like the Xgames, Dew Tour, etc…So to wrap it up, it will be a positive introduction, but not a memorable one (or marketable one for the sponsors, which means no money which turns into no jobs
…). But for hopes sake lets hope it doesnt end up being a win/lose/lose situation….
August 11th, 2008at 12:01 pm(#)
I don’t think this really affect dealing with joe public for me. I’m at the point where the only guys that come up to me are the people that “used to have a Redline”. Awhile ago I thought that flatland should really be in the olympics but they’ve been moving away from anything that’s subjective. The pros are the sport gets more exposure and creditability. Cons I guess are that ever one might think you’re a racer. But then joe public doesn’t really understand what we do anyways. Over all I don’t see much change but I’m glad it’s there since people have been trying for so long to get it in.
August 11th, 2008at 9:04 pm(#)
I dont think it will affect us nearly as much as you’d think. The public will see racers not as punks on bikes grinding up their (insert public property folks bitch about here). I think to the normal person racing is a respectable and athletic pasttime. It isnt a bunch of punk ass kids in too tight jeans rampin’ over silly inclines. There’s a good possibility you might hear more things like “Why ain’t you damn kids racin’ them bikes instead of tearin up my ledge!!” but other than that I think the power of ignorance will reign supreme over the people. BMX Race will gain a legitimacy that its never had I am sure. People saying things about how it has to be a legit sport cause its in the Olympics. Personally the vibe I’ve always gotten from racing and from racers is its a sport. its a fun sport, but a sport nonetheless. Kind of like vert in the X games, cool to watch becaue its part of your lifestyle but someone is taking it waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay to seriously.
August 12th, 2008at 2:20 pm(#)
The only way that this will affect me in regards to my interactions with Joe Public, is that now, when people find out that I ride BMX, they’ll say “Oh! Like that Kyle Bennet?!” instead of the current standard, “Oh! Like that Dave Mirra?!”
Six of one, half dozen of the other.
August 13th, 2008at 4:26 am(#)
I doubt it will have any affect on my interaction with Mr. Joe Public being that I tend to only ride a 3 A.M. I’m fine with racing being in the Olympics. People will surely take it way too serious, but racing has always been that way I think. That’s why I don’t race. I do however get down on my knees every night. Hold my hands together, up to my face. Close my eyes and pray to the Gods of chromoly that Jay Miron the Canadian bitch never gets freestyle into the Olympics. Imagining a world with young kids being pressured by their over-bearing parents to learn switch smiths to 180 barspins for their routines in “street” is disgusting. Not to mention the weight requirements for an Olympic bike would be all the more ridiculous than they are now.
August 13th, 2008at 6:54 am(#)
For most people the Olympics are all about the Track & Field events – specifically the high profile ones like the 100m. All the rest are pretty muched viewed as niche events (archery, judo, etc) and don’t really get much viewing beyond the people who are actively interested in it. As such, BMX racing will be nothing more than a curio at this Olympics, it’ll be another event that gets a 1 minute slot on the highligts that drifts past the general public. If they do even manage to see any of the BMX racing, then that side of the sport is so far removed from the ‘freestyle’ side that they won’t reconcile the two as being related.
August 13th, 2008at 6:32 pm(#)
people will view bmx as a friendly sport like road biking or something but in the all truth there is an ugly side to bmx if you ask me. kids aren’t the way they used to be 5 years ago, now two groups of riders will just pass each other and not even give a head nod. i think corporations will dump money into bmx and it could become a lot bigger but that still leaves all the street riders and flatlanders etc.. but the racers will get all the spotlight. i could see flat land in the Olympics because it might as well be gymnastics. too bad bubba isn’t gonna be racing in the Olympics..
August 15th, 2008at 1:43 pm(#)
we’re at the half way point and i’ve thoroughly enjoyed the comments thus far! it’s interesting to think of the divisiveness that this event could bring? or at least open our eyes to the fact of it’s current existence, much as t latouf is saying. which leads to the idea of freestyle being in the olympics, which i’m guessing someone is working pretty hard on getting done, despite nathan’s efforts… but i’ve always believed that the biggest problem with bmx or freestlye or whatever it’s called (all things not racing i suppose) is that the public has such a hard time grasping the concept. in racing of all forms there is a fairly clear winner, but how do you properly convey the idea that this guy is winning because of some subjective idea that he “looked” better? could be impossible? not that this idea has any bearing on the state of todays contests… the cycle seems to go in the direction of- this guy won, he did more, judges like more thus more is better- surely will bottom out at some point. what i’m waiting for is for vert to enter the olympics with the stipulation that your run has to be planned ahead of time, that way it can be judged accordingly. similar to gymanastics. but even the gymnasts are struggling with technical vs. natural, i poached this from internet news:
By Sonia Oxley
BEIJING, Aug 9 (Reuters) – Gymnasts are focusing too much on packing their routines with complex moves at the expense of artistic flair, the president of the International Gymastics Federation (FIG) said on Saturday.
On a day where the perils of daredevil tricks were plain to see after Russian Konstantin Pluzhnikov hurtled off the rings and landed on his head at the Olympics, FIG chief Bruno Grandi said it was important that the sport did not lose its beauty.
“Attention to difficulty has increased too much. I’d like for gymnastics to remain artistic,” he told a news conference. “It’s not only one biomechanical movement.”
maybe the gymnasts and the governing body of freestyle should get together? and discuss ways of enhancing their respective sports.
i’m ranting but to be honest i’m excited to see bmx in the olympics even if some of my excitement was squashed slightly when i realized that ping-pong has been in the oympics since 1988… nonetheless
August 15th, 2008at 2:38 pm(#)
I think another sport to look at when considering BMX-other-then-racing making it in is figure skating. if you look at all the compulsory bits and pieces and how they’ve moved ice dancing towards more and more technical aspects it doesn’t look good for us.
August 15th, 2008at 3:18 pm(#)
i think having bmx RACING in the olympics is a good idea. its going to bring that part of bmx to a very large scale of people. the olympics have more viewers than american idol so people are bound to be see it. i guess what im getting at is put micheal phelps on a bmx bike and tell him go fast.
August 15th, 2008at 4:43 pm(#)
This has been my favorite Friday Freebies so far, Phil. Cute with the “f” sounds, huh? I love me some alliteration…
Anyway, I think the pros of BMX in the Olympics are very simple in my mind – it exposes more people to 20″ bikes, and ANY exposure is good for the industry/sport/culture of BMX, regardless of the type of riding. For the future riders, it might come about from their 40-something year-old dads pulling out their old bikes for them to ride, because they are reminded of the simple fun of a BMX bike.
Another pro is that it could lead to more tracks being built, or better-yet, more multi-function areas with tracks and parks. Just a random thought.
Cons? On a very simple level, I don’t see many. However, looking to the future…racing is so easy to judge. Speed=wins. Trying to force-fit any of the other “disciplines” of BMX into strict judging with Olympic criteria could be very difficult and unappealing. However, nobody really can answer what the future holds for freestyle competition, anyways. I really dig the video I’ve seen of the Red Bull Empire of Dirt – a combination of style, speed and obstacles that crosses street and dirt.
As for Joe Public – I dunno. I’m always gonna be the 35-year-old with grey hair riding a little bike – been that way since I was 19.
Ride has some pretty interesting quotes from some riders and industry-types here: http://bmx.transworld.net/2008/08/14/how-will-bmx-in-the-olympics-affect-us/ Make sure you check the comments as well.
August 17th, 2008at 5:03 pm(#)
I think with the introduction with BMX to the olympic world things will hopefully start to pick up. There are already a heck of a lot of outlets out there in terms of coverage. Dew Tour, Gravity Games, and the dwindling X-Games. Lately theres the “Metro Jam” going on in Kingston Ontario. I’m always happy to see the expression on kids faces when they see someone take their hands off the handlebars while in the air. To think that the sport is going in the direction where it’ll interest not only kids wanting to take their bikes off jumps, but the older teen crowd to get out there and get active is just the thing that kids need to get out there and get active, whether it be racing a BMX bike or just getting on their mountain bike and racing friends across fields. Best case scenario is that things skyrocket. Tracks and Skateparks pop up all over the place, kids find new ways to get active and live longer healthier lives. New companies form and businesses start up from the ground. Worst case? I’d probably just see things blowing over as just another sport that accompanies the unfortunate other sports like Archery and Target speed shooting.
August 18th, 2008at 10:43 am(#)
I’m very excited that BMX racing is in the Olympics this year. This is something that we dreamed about as kids – a dream stoked by Bob Osborn when he published BMX Action magazine, as he tried to get BMX in the Olympics. Joe Q. Public still won’t get it – when I have mentioned to people that BMX Racing is in the Olympics this year, they invariably respond with something like “Oh, like the X-Games? That’s awesome. Will Mirra be in it?” That is what BMX is, for so many people. Thus the question is, will Joe Q. Public be stoked by watching BMX racing? I am iffy about this question, and eager to learn the answer. Past attempts at making BMX a watchable-on-TV sport have failed (see Dew Tour Downhill…X-Games Downhill…even the old ESPN Pro Series from 1983 lasted only one year.) Maybe this race will deliver as a TV spectacle, since it does not have to prove itself week-in and week-out or year-in and year-out. If, once every 4 years, the general public can get as excited about BMX Racing as they do about rowing, fencing or team handball, then I guess BMX will find itself a place in the Olympics.
August 18th, 2008at 1:01 pm(#)
Well you see, my name is Joe Public. You can call me JP, but not JPR, that dude is crazy wild hair beast, and I think he should get his old ass out here and come back for the title. So you all want the facts about what I think? I think these little kids bikes are really neat. Here in China we ride bikes. We ride bike fast. We ride bike so fast we dont care about you bmx guys think about all this. We just want to win win win. But my kids, they like watch you bmx bike guys. They really like watch you go fast. What time are the table tennis finals?
Here are more articals and insite to my thoughts…
http://www.joepublics.com
August 21st, 2008at 8:12 am(#)
Pros and cons of BMX in the Olympics now:
While street and park riding exposure has increased tenfold over the past decade, racing has been in steady decline. It may not be as far out of the media loop as flatland or vert, but it’s exposure within the BMX community is limited, and attendance at local tracks is waning. Most industry types are hoping that racings inclusion to the Olympics will bring resurgence in popularity. Personally, I don’t know if that will happen, but it certainly wouldn’t be detrimental to BMX as a whole. Sure, there are jocks at the track, but there are jock types in every aspect of BMX. Racing itself is pretty damn fun, and generations of riders have learned proper bike control by banging elbows through the berms. Maybe if a few kids decided to put on leathers before taking their brakes off, trail riding wouldn’t be as dead as it is now.
For the popularity of racing to rise, the industry can’t rely on television ratings alone. More shops need to take BMX seriously, and not keep their inventory limited to a dusty shelf in the corner. This has been a problem forever, though, so who knows if it’ll actually change. Almost as important is the notion that the tracks themselves need to improve. Yes, tracks need to be somewhat limited in size so that the beginners can make their laps, but pro sections (and pro-only tracks) need to be beefed up. At the turn of the decade, there was a push to popularize “downhill BMX”, which was entertaining to watch and challenging to ride. This was short lived; maybe Olympic exposure will bring its return.
Public exposure:
The public reaction I’ve seen so far in regards to racing has been limited. I work in an office with a bunch of older women, and a few have mentioned that they’ve seen clips here and there of racing on TV. Most have seemed pretty excited about it, and that it also seems kind of dangerous. Hopefully, it gets proper exposure within the next day or two and more people talk about it.
To me, the best thing about BMX being in the Olympics is the fact that it gives the sport a form of legitimacy in the public eye. Yes, BMX makes it on TV through the Dew Tour and the X-Games, but those events have always had a sort of juvenile, circus-like atmosphere to them. How fucking embarrassing was the Darkmane campaign? The people who RUN THE CONTEST are producing those ads. They don’t respect BMX; they just want advertising dollars from Taco Bell and Nike. The Olympics are shown worldwide; the athletes are regarded as the leaders in their fields, and the sports themselves are actually respected. Maybe if freestyle was included, shit like that would go away.
From an industry standpoint, BMX has always been compared to skateboarding. Now that the door has been cracked open for more possible BMX-related events, we should start comparing it to snowboarding. Sure, there was some fallout within their industry, but has the inclusion of freestyle type events damaged the public’s view of snowboarding? I doubt it. Yeah, there would have to be some type of judging scale devised, but is that really going to affect how the average kid rides? Would listening to a middle-aged coworker talking about who won Vert gold make a barbecue at the trails any less fun?
August 22nd, 2008at 3:11 pm(#)
bmx in the olympics, there are many ways to look at this. one is more publicity is good and will get more kids into riding bikes. that will help out more companies remain in business and more riders to make a living at riding there bikes instead of working crap jobs that they care nothing about. then on the other hand, have you ever been to a racetrack and seen how crazy parents are. It is already a negative experience for the children to be told “you must win.” after all “if you anint first you’re last” as i’ve heard before in american pop culture. so does that mean more kids will have fun riding bikes or just want to be the next jake phelps.
Then on the other hand a lot of what i consider to be the most amazing bike riders started out racing. so maybe will we get to see a whole lot more of BF’s, chase hawk, doyle, the list could go on and on. hell even aaron ross started out as a racer. so more could be better.
As for judging, that one will never be resolved. i have heard some of the top dirt jumpers want planned runs, like in gymnastics, that way if someone messes up but can still front flip that last set, when it should have been a front flip bike flip, it won’t count. judging will always be in the eye of the beholder and I would always rather see doyle do a 360 turndown then the current foam extavaganza. but that is just me. i won’t be a judge so it doesn’t matter for me. with the popularity of snowboarding pipe in the olympics it is all just a matter of time before all the sports with an X labeled to them will be in. It will just matter how much you care what the judges say is the best versus your own opinion.
August 25th, 2008at 10:35 am(#)
Without getting too deep… I think that it will definitly have some positive and negative impacts on bmx. Ive never met this Mr. Public you speak of, so I don’t think it will really affect my daily interaction with him. I don’t think other forms of bmx will make it into the olympics because it doesn’t make as much sense and doing handstands and backflips on a balance beam or jumping into a pit of sand… oh yeah: google paul hunt (do it, you won’t regret it!)
August 25th, 2008at 10:38 am(#)
***edit for above post***
“…doesnt make as much sense AS doing backflips…”
gotta be legit n’ shit!
August 25th, 2008at 12:56 pm(#)
I posted this last week, but for some reason, it never made it on the site. In retrospect, BMX didn’t get a whole lot of TV time, so the Olympic effect was likely minimal.
Pros and cons of BMX in the Olympics now:
While street and park riding exposure has increased tenfold over the past decade, racing has been in steady decline. It may not be as far out of the media loop as flatland or vert, but it’s exposure within the BMX community is limited, and attendance at local tracks is waning. Most industry types are hoping that racings inclusion to the Olympics will bring resurgence in popularity. Personally, I don’t know if that will happen, but it certainly wouldn’t be detrimental to BMX as a whole. Sure, there are jocks at the track, but there are jock types in every aspect of BMX. Racing itself is pretty damn fun, and generations of riders have learned proper bike control by banging elbows through the berms. Maybe if a few kids decided to put on leathers before taking their brakes off, trail riding wouldn’t be as dead as it is now.
For the popularity of racing to rise, the industry can’t rely on television ratings alone. More shops need to take BMX seriously, and not keep their inventory limited to a dusty shelf in the corner. This has been a problem forever, though, so who knows if it’ll actually change. Almost as important is the notion that the tracks themselves need to improve. Yes, tracks need to be somewhat limited in size so that the beginners can make their laps, but pro sections (and pro-only tracks) need to be beefed up. At the turn of the decade, there was a push to popularize “downhill BMX”, which was entertaining to watch and challenging to ride. This was short lived; maybe Olympic exposure will bring its return.
Public exposure:
The public reaction I’ve seen so far in regards to racing has been limited. I work in an office with a bunch of older women, and a few have mentioned that they’ve seen clips here and there of racing on TV. Most have seemed pretty excited about it, and that it also seems kind of dangerous. Hopefully, it gets proper exposure within the next day or two and more people talk about it.
To me, the best thing about BMX being in the Olympics is the fact that it gives the sport a form of legitimacy in the public eye. Yes, BMX makes it on TV through the Dew Tour and the X-Games, but those events have always had a sort of juvenile, circus-like atmosphere to them. How fucking embarrassing was the Darkmane campaign? The people who RUN THE CONTEST are producing those ads. They don’t respect BMX; they just want advertising dollars from Taco Bell and Nike. The Olympics are shown worldwide; the athletes are regarded as the leaders in their fields, and the sports themselves are actually respected. Maybe if freestyle was included, shit like that would go away.
From an industry standpoint, BMX has always been compared to skateboarding. Now that the door has been cracked open for more possible BMX-related events, we should start comparing it to snowboarding. Sure, there was some fallout within their industry, but has the inclusion of freestyle type events damaged the public’s view of snowboarding? I doubt it. Yeah, there would have to be some type of judging scale devised, but is that really going to affect how the average kid rides? Would listening to a middle-aged coworker talking about who won Vert gold make a barbecue at the trails any less fun?
August 26th, 2008at 9:32 pm(#)
winner?
August 27th, 2008at 4:59 pm(#)
howdy all,
in my infinite inability to get a proper schedule together, the winner will be awarded tomorrow! usually there is some computer access at the dew tour, of course when i need it there is none. i was at dew tour last week and have been getting caught up here in the shop. some good comments on this one, it’s going to be tough. thanks for all who contributed.
as far as availability, soon they will be out with a few other little doo-dads. the devil is in the details, though the next batch of pedals will have more pins and soon titanium spindles will be available to soop them up!
–phil
August 28th, 2008at 9:23 pm(#)
so, i made it back with a winner!
the point of separation within bike riding was an interesting one that was brought up. that racing and dew tour are really 2 different worlds that share the same tool, and the effects of one on the other is something only time will tell i suppose. but to me it was a toss up between#6 and #15
seeing as how miserable the actual coverage was. though there were a few good things online.
i think this was the paragraph that tipped the scales:
“To me, the best thing about BMX being in the Olympics is the fact that it gives the sport a form of legitimacy in the public eye. Yes, BMX makes it on TV through the Dew Tour and the X-Games, but those events have always had a sort of juvenile, circus-like atmosphere to them. How fucking embarrassing was the Darkmane campaign? The people who RUN THE CONTEST are producing those ads. They don’t respect BMX; they just want advertising dollars from Taco Bell and Nike. The Olympics are shown worldwide; the athletes are regarded as the leaders in their fields, and the sports themselves are actually respected. Maybe if freestyle was included, shit like that would go away.”
i fully agree, let’s hope this is the beginning of good things!
winner #15
thanks again for everyone who contributed. i’ll be back next week with another ill timed freebie.!!!
August 29th, 2008at 2:04 pm(#)
Better late than never?
BMX in the Olympics makes a difference for two groups: The racers themselves, who get to travel more and maybe make some more money, and the sponsors, who get more global exposure. Other than that? Eh. BMX racing was what, two events in a two-week long extravaganza? Given how long each race took, and how many total events there were, BMX probably represented 1/20,000th of the total Olympic experience. Of the hundreds of millions of people who tuned in, I doubt 1/1,000th of them saw the BMX racing. Less than that paid attention to it.
Just because a sport’s in the Olympics doesn’t automatically legitimize it. Trampoline is an Olympic event, and it’s still silly. Sports like badminton and table tennis remain barbeque and dorm sports in the US despite their prominence in China. And then there’s curling, which is about as relevant to the US audience as log rolling and netball. Hell, a majority of the US television-watching audience still doesn’t care about the Tour de France—one of the most grueling and gripping athletic events in the history of the universe—and this after it was dominated for nearly a decade by a single American rider.
To most people who watched the Olympics, even some of those who enjoyed the BMX racing, we’re forever going to be looked upon as adults riding little kid’s bikes. So be it.
(There was one change though—just the other day there was a story in the New York Times about a racer being banned for two years after a positive steroids test. Welcome to the big time!)
March 30th, 2009at 7:38 am(#)
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