Update: A Post-Mortem on the Two-Speed BMX Bike That Didn't Win the Olympics

Aug 3, 2021
by Alicia Leggett  
photo
Oh, what could have been. That historic two-speed BMX bike was caught up in a series of unfortunate events. We hope Connor Fields is recovering well from his crash.

The Dutch had a weird time at the Olympics MTB and BMX events, and we’re still left mulling over what happened. The riders who were expected to do well did poorly and Niek Kimmann, who was racing with a broken kneecap from a collision with a race official who walked in front of him, won gold. Not to mention, two of the three Dutch BMX women who raced collided with each other in the first semi-final run meaning Laura Smulders, who put down the fastest female quarter-final lap time and was a favorite to win, did not finish.

Today though, we're going to be talking about Twan van Gendt. The tale of Twan is not all that different from the story of technically proficient Mathieu van der Poel who left his yellow jersey spot at the Tour de France to “win gold at the Olympics” only to crash out on the Sakura drop. van Gendt, the reigning BMX Supercross World Champion, came into the race with high expectations and what seemed like all the advantages in the world, but the events that followed reminded us that Olympic victory still comes down to whether a rider can keep it together when it counts.

Twan van Gendt in his final days of prep at his home course.

van Gendt's extra gear on the first-ever two-speed Olympic BMX bike made headlines, and a podium spot seemed like a given since he trained on an Olympic replica track that Red Bull helped build near his home in the Netherlands. Still, his races didn’t play out the way he had hoped.

Rather than a single quarterfinal and single semifinal race for each heat, the Tokyo Olympic BMX quarterfinals and semifinals each consisted of three runs per heat before a single final run for the top eight riders that made it there. In theory, the three-run system allowed riders some forgiveness from, say, a single bad run or a crash out of their control. Unfortunately for van Gendt, a rider who had three bad runs in a row was out of luck.

Things started out well. In the quarterfinals, van Gendt won the first race, then took second in both the others to the eventual winner, Kimmann. It looked as if his extra gear might have given him some extra speed, though he wasn't dominating the holeshots as some expected.

In the semi-finals, van Gendt had three out of three bad runs. In the first race, he and compatriot Joris Harmsen bumped each other. In the next run, van Gendt simply didn’t have the pace. Third, he was taken down in the crash of US favorite Connor Fields. He finished 8th out of 8 in the first two, only finishing 7th in his third semifinal run because Fields was stretchered off the course.

On Instagram, he attributed it to bad luck:

bigquotesYou've got to be a little crazy to go all-in for 1 race in a sport where it's impossible to even hold all the cards. We have done absolutely everything in our power over the past years to come here best prepared. A little tough luck in the semi's and my journey ended there. But what a journey it has been.Twan van Gendt

This would have been a much different article had van Gendt won the final. There would have been an outcry from the traditionalists who think a geared BMX bike is a contradiction, and the conversation would have been about whether he won because of an unfair advantage. Several BMXers would rush to follow suit and put shifters on their bikes. Eventually the technology would be less cost-prohibitive than it is today and we would all get over it, just like mountain bikers have gotten over dropper posts and mullet bikes and 29ers all the other cool cutting-edge sacrilege out there.

Since the races played out as they did, it’s more complicated. van Gendt did have three great race runs, but they weren't the race runs that mattered. His slowest quarter-final time was 40.555, which would have put him into third place in the final. His semi-final races were just troubled. Maybe he didn’t sleep well the night between the quarter- and semi-final. Maybe the other racers were just more prepared. Maybe he just had really bad luck. Accidents do happen. The tough part of this whole thing is that we really can’t know whether his extra gear helped him at all, since all these riders are great at baseline and they’re all pushing for whatever marginal gains they can get. All we can do is speculate.

photo
The drivetrain in question.

Still, I wouldn't be surprised if van Gendt's Olympic bike changes BMX. Not everyone will have forgotten that he had three great runs. Now that someone has used a multi-gear setup at a high-profile, modern race, derailleurs on BMX bikes have another opportunity to catch on. We're at what could be a tipping point. Or, this could remain another interesting blip in bike racing history, like Barry Nobles' and Brian Lopes' multi-speed BMX bikes of years past.

I, for one, am curious to see what happens.

Author Info:
alicialeggett avatar

Member since Jun 19, 2015
740 articles

136 Comments
  • 177 36
 Nothing at all against gears on a BMX bike, but elated to see that ungodly geared abomination lose and hopefully all mention of ever marring the pure sport of BMX again with the scourge of gears erased for all of eternity.
  • 33 1
 "ungodly geared abomination" lol
  • 11 2
 Funny, so props from me.

I watched those races, and it is clear that gearing would help. For most of each race, they are spinning like mad whenever they try to pedal. This bike would have been better with more widely-spaced gearing. That means a bigger chainring, but so what?
  • 94 28
 Awww someone is afraid of change. Go yell at some clouds.
  • 9 6
 @SJP: the size of the chainring doesn't impact the spacing of the gears, the difference between cassette cogs does.
  • 17 0
 Username does not checkout
  • 20 1
 Benjen Stark said: "My brother once told me that nothing someone says before the word "but" really counts."
  • 4 0
 @Glenngineer: Well, it does change the ratios, which will impact the felt differences and gear inches overall. Not to "Well actually" but...yknow.....
  • 6 0
 @kmg0: well akshually... Yeah, your chainring is setting the scale, but the ratio between gears is defined by the relative sizes of the cogs... percentage difference vs. unit gear inch difference.
  • 4 0
 @Scootah-D: apart from the first half of his post contradicting the second half. I suspect it was deliberate.
  • 5 1
 Is it a rule that Olympics = Mandatory Spandex in every sport?
  • 8 4
 "I'm not a racist, but... "
  • 3 1
 @Glenngineer: Yes, but they can't make the small cog any smaller (without some pretty significant re-engineering of the hub), so the big cog has to get bigger. Since the lowest gear has to be the right gear for the start, the chainring has to get bigger also. And, it has to get substantially bigger, because it has to grow by the same percentage as the cog, and it is already pretty big. But, they aren't going over any logs at low speed.
  • 2 1
 @SJP: This doesn't make sense. They are probably spinning because they like spinning. If they want higher gear they can put a bigger chainring. There is definitely room for that on their bike as they don't do any kind of tricks in BMX racing so clearance to the ground can be minimal. They ride low gear because they rarely pedal for more than 2 seconds in a row so they don't get tired of spinning.

I am not sure multiple gears help that much, the ramp at the gate is made to make up for the lack of a shorter gear and use gravity to accelerate quicker at the beginning of the race and it has been tried for years without sticking.
  • 8 0
 @opignonlibre: They choose the gear they have for the first 4 pedal strokes of the race, because they are by far the most important. They live with a too-short gear for the rest of the race.
  • 6 0
 @NorCalNomad: It's not change actually. Suntour had a similar product called "The Holeshot" in the early 1980s. It was banned by the ABA and never caught on.
  • 6 6
 Can you imagine believing what the IOC allows in BMX races could somehow redefine BMX as a whole. Real BMXers wouldn't care one way or another because the Olympics are a sideshow.
  • 3 2
 you probably complain about dirtjumpers ("cheater bikes") in the cruiser class as well?
  • 7 2
 26” for life…stop at the top and drop your post with a tool… learn how to shift both derailleurs at the same time and dam it put your water in a pack…
  • 4 0
 @Glenngineer: That's not quite right. A larger will increase the difference between two sprockets. the difference between a 50/10 and a 50/11 ratio is bigger than the difference between a 30/10 and a 30/11, although not by much.
  • 3 0
 @50percentsure

If BMX is pure, how come modern bikes aren't the same material/style/design as BMX bikes from 30 years ago?

What makes one aspect of design evolution more pure than another 'impure' one?
  • 66 1
 Trends are certainly shifting
  • 28 18
 Just like gears! Gears shift too!
  • 5 27
flag jeremy3220 FL (Aug 3, 2021 at 12:10) (Below Threshold)
 And being recycled like your comment
  • 40 1
 @jeremy3220: don't derail the pun chain
  • 18 1
 @jeremy3220: No back pedalling please, you're derailing the chain of puns.
  • 3 1
 Pure Gold!
  • 2 1
 I'm already tired of the coverage...
  • 7 0
 Can't hanger 'bout when you're chasing gold
  • 3 0
 @jeremy3220: zee man, gear yourself out of here!
  • 42 1
 "Oh, what could have been. That historic two-speed BMX bike was caught up in a series of unfortunate events."
...
"In the next run, van Gendt simply didn’t have the pace. "

Oh, what could have been, if the bike hadn't been caught up in the unfortunate event of being ridden too slowly.
  • 69 0
 Bike got robbed
  • 18 2
 Thanks Pinkbike, alongside rallycar driving, motorcross and whatnot, finally some attention being given to BMX racing. Still more to the gear/components than to the actual racing itself, but at least we're getting there Smile . I get that this is a mountainbike website primarily but considering all other sports being given attention to I'd say there deserves to be more BMX racing in the mix. But again, I'm seeing progress so that's cool!
  • 16 2
 If they can cover Tour de France and XC they definitely should be covering bmx racing.
  • 9 0
 @thenotoriousmic: I wouldn't go as far as to say there is a "should" because it is their website. But the elements I like most about mountainbike racing (pumping the bike, moving it underneath you, cornering, jumping) I see most relation to BMX racing and pumptrack racing. But from PB articles, I sense a huge interest/obsession in seatpost angles and (wide range) gearing so maybe they prefer the (seated) pedaling bit. And if that's the focus then yes I do get their interest in road cycling and XC. But from my perspective, BMX racing is a closer match to what I like about MTB so I would appreciate more attention to it. But there is no "should". There is an internet outside Pinkbike.
  • 10 0
 Yeah, more pavement cycling please! For the humor-impaired, that was a joke. I'd rather read about BMX than e-enduro races.
  • 4 0
 They should stick to covering pink bicycles, it's what they are good at.
  • 13 0
 @alicialeggett it would be interesting to get Jared Graves' or Jill Kintner's two cents on the subject, both raced BMX SX at the Olympics and both have been around in a variety of mtb disciplines for the quantum leaps in technology we've seen in the last decade.
  • 13 0
 ACC also did well in both MTB as well as Olympic BMX racing.
  • 9 0
 Putting in a plug for bmx racing. It’s a super fun sport. Those super wide turns and the lack of rules regarding holding your line equate to a very exciting, high intensity experience. I think most tracks in the US will let you race the first night for free and you can race your dj bike as a cruiser.
  • 10 0
 "Eventually the technology would be less cost-prohibitive than it is today and we would all get over it"

What is so cost prohibitive about a modified $60 derailleur?
  • 4 0
 Fitting it to a frame that has no way of mounting a rear mech... that'll cost to design and build that and given how low the demand will be initially, it'll be expensive.
  • 12 2
 @ShoodNoBetter: I got too words for ya "Hot Glue Gun!" yer welcome!
  • 2 0
 @ShoodNoBetter:

It’s easy. I’ve got a singlespeed only frame running a mech with an off the shelf hanger. Converting a race bike would be even easier as you don’t need to worry about practicality of wheel removal etc...
  • 8 0
 Sturmey Archer do a bostin gear hub that would be sick on a Bmx bike. Raleigh Grifters stormed the streets with 3 gears back in the 80s and their riders had the pick of the top muff at the time. Let’s see some Bmx muff action again.
  • 11 5
 Wonder how the power transfer was worked out? We used to do weekly bicycle messenger drag races here, and switching from a geared bike to a single speed the difference in power transfer was dramatic and unmistakable. Like a guaranteed loss when switching to a geared bike.
  • 6 7
 Yup. As a full time singlespeeder I was wondering htf that was an advantage. Especially such a close ratio. The power is so direct with no cross chaining, jockey wheels or chain slap. I get a hollow feeling in my gut when I ride friends geared bikes uphill, like where's my power going?
  • 23 2
 Interesting take. I have trouble seeing how this makes sense though. It's a 2-speed so difference in chain line would be negligible (no cross chaining). Total drag on a clean geared chain is like 6 watts, so I can't imagine the jockey wheels would make a big difference.

Where do you think this insidious power loss is coming from? Genuinely curious.
  • 9 2
 @Drew-O: no numbers from me, but I definitely agree with the sentiment. When I ride SS, the sensation that I can (and sometimes have to( completely stomp it, and that I'm very directly connected to the ground, is one of the big draws.

I think whatever in subtle inefficiency is introduced in a geared system, even in the same gear, the dynamics of a longer, suspended chain, probably less rigid chain/cogs, possibly worse chain line, etc, add up to a miniscule amount of mechanical disadvantage but are magnified in our perception... We start to loose the mind game, and in a sprint like BMX, that mind game might be worth more than a few watts.
  • 5 0
 @Drew-O: on paper there isn't much power loss. While riding it is a pretty significant change in feeling, although feeling doesn't always equate to performance or power numbers.
  • 3 0
 @Glenngineer: I'm not a regular SS rider but I know the feeling you're talking about. IMO it's due to (a) lack of rear suspension, and (b) higher gearing / lower cadence than you'd normally use climbing on a geared bike. That adds up to being able to feel loads of feedback from the rear wheel back to the pedals (the "connected to the ground" feeling) as opposed to just spinning over things at a high cadence. Plus the SS bike is so dang quiet, every time your rear wheel rolls over anything you can basically hear it and feel it in your feet as it's happening.

I'm with Drew-O in that I'm not really sold on that being a massive efficiency advantage but lots of SS riders certainly perceive it to be. I would imagine Gendt would have trained on the 2 speed bike enough to not lose the mind game but who knows?
  • 1 0
 @mobiller - just to clarify, lots of messengers ride fixed gears - were you? I agree with the others, you can feel a difference (even if it's psychosomatic) with a SS (freewheel.) There is DEFINITELY a difference with a fixed gear, which i suspect is because the chain "pushes" back towards the rear cog more on the return
  • 4 2
 @gtill9000: I rode a geared bike to the races, but unless I was riding against a slug or it was a costumed run I'd borrow my buddies fixie for racing. Full fixed gear is the most solid, but both fixies and freewheel SS have the same strong thick chains and straight shot chain lines.

Difference in speed was huge and easily measurable. Fixie was a full bike length+ faster than gears everytime.
  • 7 4
 Nonsense. Fixies are slower than SS. This is a known and proveable fact. People who ride fixie when race rules don't stipulate that they must, are doing it because they think it's cool, and are making themselves slower by doing so.

As long as the jockey wheels aren't clogged up with gunk (and the bike is otherwise well maintained), then there is no real world power loss inherant in a geared setup with a good chainline, compared to SS. At least not over the course of a sprint race.

People always come up with excuses for why their more traditional, more "pure" setup offers advantages. In the case of Fixie/SS/Gears, these reasons are normally pure fantasy.

There is an argument for mandating SS only in BMX in order to simplify the sport. However anyone who says geared is slower because of the gears is just plain wrong.
  • 4 2
 @mobiller: Faster compared to what and to who? At the messenger drag races I was at a long time ago the fastest guys rode gears. Their top speed was way beyond what a fixed gear could do (and still be able to get off the line...). Maybe at lower power levels you'd be better off riding fixed? :-P

To look at this semi-scientifically: About 1,5% of your power is lost to derailleur pulleys, which is not a lot to begin with. It's a lot more if you are comparing a bike with fixed gears that is in pristine condition to a bike with draggy pulley bushings and a dirty, old chain. It's less if you are a pro that invested in oversized pulleys and ceramic bearings. Seems the top speed benefit could easily outweigh any power wastage.
  • 5 3
 Exactly, the miniscule drag of derailleur pulleys (a watt or two) really can be essentially ignored when pro racers are regularly putting out 1500-2000 watts. The amount of power lost by the pulleys isn't really effected by how much power the rider is putting in, so thinking of it as a % loss doesn't really make sense. Its simpler to just assume that in most situations your pulleys steal about 2 watts.
Compared to the enourmous advantages offered by gears, there really is no competition. Gears are faster than SS overall despite a tiny drop in total power that reaches the rear tyre.

As for SS vs Fixie. There are no disadvantages to SS at all. SS loses nothing to Fixie, while allowing you to briefly slow your cadence where necessary which can gain you a surprising amount of time in a race. SS is faster than Fixie outright, with no caveats.
  • 3 0
 @Drew-O: I'm not sure it's apples to apples with just the jockey wheels being the difference though? The chains on single speed BMX bikes are absolutely massive and super short. Geared bikes have relatively thinner, longer chains, with those watts running a circuitous route before being delivered to the wheel.
  • 3 0
 @jeroenk: Ah, good point to clarify. We were bicycle drag racing, not 1/4 mile racing. Short high torque launches and all out sprint acceleration to a not very distant finish line.

If that finish line were moved out further top gearing would have mattered, but not for what we were doing.

Organizers were picky about measuring the distance, but I don't know what it was. 100 yards maybe?

Anyhow, just acceleration basically.

So fun and addicting. I recommend putting one on in your town. Bring beers costumes and a terrible 1st place trophy.
  • 2 0
 @mobiller: Sure, if it's just acceleration, gears make no sense at all.

(Now I'm just thinking: "How does this guy know where I live?!?" It's in the PB bio apparently and in my case outdated by more than 10 years, hahaha. Gotta change that...)
  • 2 1
 Ah yeah, in that situation it's true. If your ss is set up with a good gear to pull away in, and the race ends before that gear tops out, then yeah multiple gears offer no advantage. Thats a pretty rare race though.
  • 6 1
 What's behind the interest from PB editorial on this particular article? Is it just a case of reporting on someone trying something innovative?
I ask because there's a ton of BMX news from the Olympics that kinda puts 'dude tries out derailleur in BMX race' in the shadows. This isn't new and given the result it didn't prove an exciting technical breakthrough in BMX racing.

IMO first woman to land 360 flip is interesting news.
  • 1 1
 Who TF downvoted your comment? Jebus...
  • 5 0
 I imagine that simplicity will still win out in the end, I can’t see the potential for technical problems being outweighed by the so far hypothetical marginal gains
  • 2 0
 This has been a common argument in other cycling disciplines too. Against gearing, suspension, droppers... They race a little, they train a lot. If a setup turns out to be unreliable, it will most likely manifest in a training situation and they won't use it in racing.
  • 3 1
 If the 8 meter SX hill remains in Olympic BMX racing we'll see a shift towards geared set-ups by Paris 2024. Much the same as the transition from 2x and 3x setups to 1x in XC racing, it just makes sense. The fundamental aspects of the technology are there; clutch derailleurs, tighter manufacturing tolerances that allow for 11 and 12 speed setups in mtb, and further advances in shifting like hyperglide+.

It's easy to forget that although BMX racing has been around for 50+ years the SX flavor has only really been around since the lead-in to the 2008 Beijing games, we're just now seeing the bikes start to adapt with disc brakes, longer frames, lower bb, and now geared set-ups.
  • 1 0
 Would it make sense for a hub gear? My thinking is that if you're changing when pedalling then you're not pedalling hard enough. changing on the jumps however would be possible with a hub gear
  • 2 0
 @johnny2shoes: Hub gears are heavy and can't handle the power that these beast putting into the drivetrain.
  • 4 0
 isnt having a replica track build to train on a bit much? or is this normal? just asking, because having the bull pay for it seems like a bit unfair advantage…
  • 8 0
 Maybe he also needed replica racers
  • 5 0
 Didn't RedBull do this for Shaun White as well? They built him a "private" pipe outside Silverton for the Whistler Olympics.
  • 2 0
 @bbmbc: Yea they did. Look up Redbull Project X on youtube. There are a bunch of videos about it.
  • 2 0
 In a way, there is always some inequality in terms of training facilities athletes have access to. Especially a BMX SX track. As a minority of bicycle riders is able to safely make it across such a track, it is relatively expensive. That is, it is an expensive track for very few people. If I recall correctly, for the 2008 Olympics, the Dutch Olympic training center built a replica of the first straight to practice on. Then for the 2012 Olympics, they built a full replica of the London track. Not every country has that. Not sure what changes they made to the Papendal track after that, but at least they've had a full SX track at the Olympic training facilities ever since (and a pumptrack that isn't public). So yeah, it is a great but expensive facility to have access to. Twan van Gendt left the national team before he became world champion (there is a nice Red Bull documentary on that year) so he may just have needed this track to prepare properly. Not saying the rest of the Dutch team was training at Papendal though. Niek Kimmann needed a change and trained in Switzerland.
  • 1 0
 Just checked.

This is the track: www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOBqa9IQXx4
This is the nice documentary I mentioned: www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFXdnIYi7ig
  • 1 0
 Sorry, third comment in line but for those who didn't understand the Dutch talk in first link (above), what was built was a replica of the start hill, first straight and first corner. Built next to track of the BMX club where he started as a four year old, ten minutes from his home. So I can imagine he may have been the only one using it during the preparations, but maybe now that the race has been run good riders from that club may get to use it too. Calling it a replica of the Olympic track (as mentioned in the article) is a bit of a stretch though.
  • 1 0
 several countries do that but yeah it is expensive and not all of them have a federation whealthy enough to do that.
  • 2 0
 We're talking differences in hundredths and thousands of seconds here. If the unfolding of events is of any indication (the favorites all losing and the guy with a broken knee winning gold) everybody by now should see that it didn't matter who this bike was under, rather, it was a matter of who was having a better day.
  • 3 0
 Keep bmx bikes simple and cheap! It's the single least mechanically complex competition level bike where all kids have a chance at becoming someone even if they don't have means
  • 5 0
 Would have won if it was a saint deraileur...
  • 2 1
 First line should be Dutch multi-speed bmx end metal hopes of the metal favorite. That dude checked up right in front of him and he got a fist full of tire. That's what lead to the crash. Maybe it was a slight delay in the gear shift....
  • 7 0
 Metallica is probably my metal favorite.
  • 9 5
 It would have won if it was a Mullet!!!!!
  • 2 2
 Was watching the Olympic BMX and was curious what the track surface is made of? I raced a few times back in the 90's and the tracks were dirt, and all the bikes had tioga comp III's on them. But the track didn't look like dirt and the tires didn't seem to have much tread on them.
  • 3 3
 Yeah it’s a real shame that the modern tracks are tarmac, which leads to follow the leader type racing.
Dirt berms allow for more skill and overtaking opportunities in my opinion
  • 1 2
 Agreed, my first thought, is that BMX? With dirt, ruts and getting a line and so forth are part of it.
  • 2 1
 @scottgwert: are the tracks really just paved now? I couldn’t tell if that’s what it was.
  • 1 0
 SX tracks like the Olympic tracks are all paved as far as I've seen. The speeds they're going at, (on 20" wheels, no suspension), I think it makes sense. Regular BMX tracks are mostly dirt though berms are often paved too. Not necessarily tarmac, could also be bricks or tiles.
  • 3 0
 Some tracks are all dirt and some are a mix of dirt and pavement with paved corners The dirt varies a lot depending on where the track is located, just like mtb.
  • 2 1
 What about rider safety? Does anyone know if dirt is safer when you crash? I've hit the deck on asphalt and dirt, and I prefer dirt.
  • 1 0
 @pdxallarounder: exactly, this one looks to be crushed limestone for the straights which is more common in areas with a lot of rain because it dries faster
  • 1 0
 @vinay: "The speeds they're going at, (on 20" wheels, no suspension), I think it makes sense." Well if you are running out of skills just slow down, that is part of what competition and piloting is.
  • 1 0
 UCI has a rule of no more than 30% can be paved. Generally the starting hill and the berms are asphalted and everything else is dirt. It is very manicured dirt with a coating of sealant to help control water, but still dirt.
  • 1 0
 @thejames: Yea I thought I saw some dust fly up on one crash. It was a very very small amount of dust, but if it was all paved there wouldn't be any.
  • 1 0
 @sino428: It was all paved. Dust does exist in the wild, it sticks to things then falls off somewhere else or better yet there's this thing called wind that get this - blows dust thru the air and it lands somewhere else like a large surface covered in asphalt. /s
  • 1 0
 @MikeGruhler: that or you are completely wrong and it’s a coated soil like the guy who commented above said. I couldn’t find anything specific about Tokyo but some articles about the Rio venue popped up and that’s how it was there.
  • 1 0
 @thejames:

The product is called soil tack. When applied over a dirt and clay mixture it dries like a varnish on top. Mostly done to stop erosion due to rain it also creates a very smooth surface which helps to increase speeds. When I crashed at the 2015 Worlds in Zolder the surface was so hard it tore up my aluminum bar end. Great stuff when things are going well, less so when it goes to shit.
  • 3 2
 No they’ll prob go for the more sophisticated/
Trendy approach and make it
E - B M X!!
Full suspension of coarse
Super mega boost spacing and mix wheel setup
Optional
Did I miss anything?
  • 1 0
 Of course you did
  • 3 0
 Water bottle holders
  • 3 0
 Can't wait to see the horrible dents that his legpower put on a shimano freehub body...
  • 1 0
 You could use something like a WI 2 speed freewheel to avoid that
  • 1 1
 BMX is allergic to evolution, completely the opposite of MTB. To be honest though, rejection to change and near-universal compatibility is kind of beautiful. We've become so tech obsessed over the newest gear, geometry tweaks, and fad standards. Semenuk had a really good chat about this on the Unclicked BMX podcast earlier this year.
  • 3 0
 They'll be gearing up for Paris already
  • 1 0
 Ah, looks like the geared BMX bike has made it's roughly once in a decade reappearance.

www.leelikesbikes.com/bmx-shifter-bike.html
  • 2 0
 Looks like leelikesbikes is making it’s once in a decade reappearance too!
  • 2 0
 My mate Stevie H has a three speed turbo stroker. He’s going nowhere fast.
  • 1 0
 Never heard of that hub, who makes it and does it use a grip shift or trigger ?
  • 1 0
 A one tooth difference seems hardly worth it, but what would I know, I don't ride BMX, I ride MTB with a 10 - 50 tooth 12 speed cassette.
  • 1 0
 Surprised they used a derailleur. 2 speed, i'd have gone for a hub gear. Less chance for a dropped chain, less hanging parts, less chain bouncing around.
  • 1 1
 I didn't watch the race nor do I follow BMX but IMHO (b/c you asked) in regards to single SPD or multiple SPD in BMX: if it's not a night and day difference in advantage than I'm not sure it's worth effort.
  • 4 2
 Why only two gears? Shimano and SRAM are both offering 12 now.

BMXers with their archaic ways.
  • 2 0
 I think an old school 2 speed kickback hub would be trick
  • 3 0
 Well-written article!
  • 1 0
 I mean it is a X between Bicycle Moto or bicycle w/motor so maybe they’ve had it wrong all along
Said no one ever
  • 1 0
 So the story you are running with is that it provided no clear advantage but it will probably catch on.
  • 2 0
 That crash was gnarly. I cringed for the dude.
  • 1 0
 I, for one, am racing BMX on Friday on my mountain bike and will not shift once...
  • 2 0
 Adding gears to bmx… what’s next…. Curly bars? Lol
  • 1 0
 Interesting to see if something like the Classified hub could come into play for BMX.
  • 3 2
 Until we see E-BMX bikes with gearboxes I refuse to take the sport seriously.
  • 1 0
 That wasn't a post mortem on the bike. That was a post mortem of the race. Not one paragraph about the bike!
  • 2 0
 Does anyone remember the SunTour Holeshot? Been there, done that.
  • 2 0
 Gears on a BMX bike is straight up cheating. What a world we live in now.
  • 2 1
 It’s not, because the rules allow it :-)
  • 1 0
 Bmx and gears, they come and go
  • 1 0
 Maybe they would go faster if the bikes were bigger
  • 1 0
 Cruiser class is consistently slower. That's 24" wheels.
  • 1 0
 Not double clutchin' like you should
  • 1 0
 Let me know when I can get an ebmx. Thanks.
  • 1 1
 Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
  • 2 3
 Replica track and gears - he did everything possible to get an unfair advantage. Not a good role model.
  • 2 0
 You don’t think Olympic athletes train on replica apparatuses? Tracks, courses, climbing walls, swimming pools, diving boards….
  • 2 3
 Was this translated from Dutch?
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