Sometimes I wonder how BMX racing lost its mojo.
Don’t get me wrong, I still think BMX racing is cool (I’m a racer myself)…but back in the 80s, it seemed to have that little something extra. Which is a little funny when you think about how tracks, bikes and everything else has improved.
Maybe it’s the style of the racing itself.
Or maybe it’s clipless pedals.
According to 4-time ABA #1 Pro, “Pistol Pete” Loncarevich, both seem to be culprits.
ESPN caught up with him recently and he was very candid on this thoughts about the current state of affairs in the race scene.
Some interesting quotes:
...less confrontational because of clipless pedals… [racing]seldom gets aggressive
…more candy-ass BMX racing now because no one wants to confront each other on the track
Check it out here (sorry it won’t embed…but it’s definitely worth checking out).
Maybe Pistol Pete is on to something.
Or maybe we just need more WWE-style trash talking between motos.
I envision it going something like this:
Bonus info: It’s Pistol Pete’s birthday today. Respect for the legend.
cruiser revolution 
The tracks are way better than the 80s, but the riders are afraid to tangle with there competition, mainly because they’re clipped in, but also because of the track designs, you need to carry your momentum through the turns, to get over the jumps cleanly.http://www.fastbmx.com/fastbmxblog.php
i’ve had clipped riders call my buddy and i (both on phlats) “maniacs” and “dangerous” because we’re willing to use any part of the corner to make passes while the clippers stick to their ho-hum blue groove. even tho i never touch ’em or even get in their box, i tell them please go ahead and protest with the T.O.!!
the new school dads are the worst, they’ve only been racing a short time, so they don’t know tactics, they’ve only ridden in clips, so they don’t really have bike handling skills… and i guess it galls them that some greybeard 15 years their senior doesn’t want to play “follow the leader.”
those of us from BITD know how to race tight and clean… and we don’t give up til we cross the stripe.
Before I started racing in the ’80s, the only competitive BMX I had ever seen was in the movie Rad. My first time around the track, I wondered why dudes weren’t pulling Bart Connor-style kick-outs to take down the competition!
[…] if we can get just guys like Pete Loncarevich, Eric Rupe and Turnell Henry in the gate with them for an epic cruiser […]