BMX - Grinding??

O.K. I'm not trying to start crap here so don't take it that way.Whats the big deal with grinding?I ride a lot of street on a 26" bike and I ride with some BMX guys.This is my question,why grind on things and mess them up when you know it's gonna bring heat on your riding?Would'nt things like that be better kept in the skate park?This is not an attack on anyone or any kind of riding I am just wondering. :D

Why ride a bike in the woods? It will get you bike all dirty and you dont know the terrain? If your terrain is completely familiar and the same every time you go there how can it be any fun? Street is a different kind of riding. Street bikes are built to take the abuse. It offers a different environment to ride in. Part of the fun of street is that you can basically ride anywhere and you can scout out good places to ride. Not everyone has a skatepark neer them, and not everyone, including myself likes to ride park. Park can be fun, but I'de much rather grind down a double kinked ledge then a little set 1 foot high box with metal coping on it any day. Pegs are like 30 dollars, you can even get a pair for like 10 and they last quite long. I dont get what you meen by bring heat on you riding.. and if you didnt mean to offend anyone with this topic, you shouldnt have worded it "what's the big deal with..."

I ride street all the time I know what your saying about the different terrain.I'm not talking about tearing your stuff up like pegs,ect,ect.I'm talking about property damage to walls and rails.Does that not get the man on ya and make it harder to keep riding those spots?

you sound like a cop

Does that not get the man on ya

that is also part of the fun of street riding!

that is also part of the fun of street riding!
Good answer. :D I don't mean to sound like a cop,no riders in town would give me an answer.Who is the rider in the animal bike vid. that dose not run pegs? He's flippin awsome!

Steven Hamilton.

Steven Hamilton.
That guys great.Thanx for the info.

It's obviously illegal.. and cops dont like it. but if you see a cop, you leave.. if they talk to you, you act polite and tell them you'll leave and you just leave.. never really a big problem unless you run your mouth.

It's obviously illegal.. and cops dont like it. but if you see a cop, you leave.. if they talk to you, you act polite and tell them you'll leave and you just leave.. never really a big problem unless you run your mouth.
Cool, thanks.

Haha yea. Street riding is the best in my opinion simply because you can find new spots that no one has ever ridden on. That way, I can enjoy bmxing alot better than riding parks. I'm not saying that going to the skatepark sucks, but i'm jut saying that tricking off the same ledge, or ramp would be kind of boring. Unless there are tons of skateparks around where you live. Other than that, street riding is more intense and it's more original.

grinding is fun and looks good in videos but ya...it does mess you rig up alot when you blow your pegs and gring your dropouts or frame......so its better not too....or to have another bike just for abuse from grinding like an old bike...
-taylor- kinetikbikeshop@yahoo.com

grinding is fun and looks good in videos but ya...it does mess you rig up alot when you blow your pegs and gring your dropouts or frame......so its better not too....or to have another bike just for abuse from grinding like an old bike...
-taylor- kinetikbikeshop@yahoo.com


grinding does not mess up your bike. if you have pegs for grinding, they will not wear out very quickly.if you know how to grind, you will not grind on your dropouts.and why grind on an old bike ? you make grinding sound like it fu(ks up your bike.there are bikes made for grinding

Who is the rider in the animal bike vid. that dose not run pegs? He's flippin awsome!

Just because he isnt running pegs doesnt mean he isnt ruining stuff, he still does pedal grinds and stuff. And yes he is a really sick rider.

Why ride a bike in the woods? It will get you bike all dirty and you dont know the terrain? If your terrain is completely familiar and the same every time you go there how can it be any fun? Street is a different kind of riding. Street bikes are built to take the abuse. It offers a different environment to ride in. Part of the fun of street is that you can basically ride anywhere and you can scout out good places to ride. Not everyone has a skatepark neer them, and not everyone, including myself likes to ride park. Park can be fun, but I'de much rather grind down a double kinked ledge then a little set 1 foot high box with metal coping on it any day. Pegs are like 30 dollars, you can even get a pair for like 10 and they last quite long. I dont get what you meen by bring heat on you riding.. and if you didnt mean to offend anyone with this topic, you shouldnt have worded it "what's the big deal with..."
okay im a mtn biker too so the first part of this statement annoyed me. so what if a bike gets dirty... its a bike, not a porsche. mtb's are made to take abuse just like bmx bikes. and how is mtn bike terrain (dirt and such) familiar every time... have u ever heard of rain.... u no cauzes mud, changes paths. mtn biking isn't on flat dirt. even x-c isn't too flat. but i have no problem with grinds and such. a rails a rail, nothing that'll break to easily.

grinding does not mess up your bike. if you have pegs for grinding, they will not wear out very quickly.if you know how to grind, you will not grind on your dropouts.and why grind on an old bike ? you make grinding sound like it fu(ks up your bike.there are bikes made for grinding


Yeah man, its not like the bike is going to fall apart on you if you grind. That's part of what street bikes are made for. I mean it might mess up the paint job a little, but who cares? As long as you have fun and know that your bike can take it, go out and grind the sh#t out of everything.(as long as you're not doing it where it is illegal) Now as for grinding on a 3/8 inch axle, that is another matter. You have to know what your doing if you're grinding on one of those because they can bend alot faster than a 14mm axle.

Yeah man, its not like the bike is going to fall apart on you if you grind. That's part of what street bikes are made for. I mean it might mess up the paint job a little, but who cares? As long as you have fun and know that your bike can take it, go out and grind the sh#t out of everything.(as long as you're not doing it where it is illegal) Now as for grinding on a 3/8 inch axle, that is another matter. You have to know what your doing if you're grinding on one of those because they can bend alot faster than a 14mm axle.

the only things i grind are illegal

the only things i grind are illegal
:roflmao: I was out with some friends on bmx bikes last night.You look at things a lot different when your not running pegs.We kind of get ideas from each other.

in NY, skateparks don't open in months (i rarely go anyway) , dirt jumps are covered in snow and ice, and nobody does flat. the only thing left is street.about an hour ago, i gapped a 2 foot pile of snow to a rail and i hopped over. cops were watching me, so we ran from them

You can still ride with all that snow?Gives a new meaning to ice pick.

it snowed two days ago. all the streets are dry, but the ice and snow won't leave for a week

okay im a mtn biker too so the first part of this statement annoyed me. so what if a bike gets dirty... its a bike, not a porsche. mtb's are made to take abuse just like bmx bikes. and how is mtn bike terrain (dirt and such) familiar every time... have u ever heard of rain.... u no cauzes mud, changes paths. mtn biking isn't on flat dirt. even x-c isn't too flat. but i have no problem with grinds and such. a rails a rail, nothing that'll break to easily.

wow... ever heard of sarcasm? He was saying not to grind because you mess up your bmx bike.. I was saying a street bike is made for grinding.. same as a mtb gets dirty. I've ridden trails and I've ridden through mud. It was a silly statement that I thought was very obviously silly. Obviously not.

Hey, since everyone here is posting about grinding, I'll just ask my question and spare adding a new thread:


Does anybody have any tips on how to grind on a bmx bike? You know, things to watch out for and try to do before, during, and after grinding? I'd really appreciate it, because in addition to my launch ramp that my dad, bro and I just made, (I've made mention to this in another post ) we also made a grind rail that we are going to mount onto our box, and I would like some tips before I go and try it. (whenever that is) It's eight feet long, and when we mount it to our box, it should be about fourteen inches off of the ground. It's nothing real big, but it will help me learn and get started. Hope nobody minds that I added this question to this thread!

Not a problem, better than a new thread.. It's really simple, and it takes pratice, not tips. If you know how to bunny hope, you're set, thats all. If its a rail, just a rail, not coping on a box, you should start by double peg grinding it. Just bunny hop onto it with enough speed to slide off of it and put both your pegs on. If it's flat coping on a box you are talking about, double peg or feeble grinds will do, I think its easier to balance on a feeble myself, it was the first grind I learned. Just jump up and land your back peg and front tire on the box, again with enough speed to slide off. It will not be easy necisearily if you've never done it, but its really not the kind of thing you can give tips about, you really just need to feel it out for yourself, its a really simple concept, just jump on and slide. Just go for it. Good luck with that.

Not a problem, better than a new thread.. It's really simple, and it takes pratice, not tips. If you know how to bunny hope, you're set, thats all. If its a rail, just a rail, not coping on a box, you should start by double peg grinding it. Just bunny hop onto it with enough speed to slide off of it and put both your pegs on. If it's flat coping on a box you are talking about, double peg or feeble grinds will do, I think its easier to balance on a feeble myself, it was the first grind I learned. Just jump up and land your back peg and front tire on the box, again with enough speed to slide off. It will not be easy necisearily if you've never done it, but its really not the kind of thing you can give tips about, you really just need to feel it out for yourself, its a really simple concept, just jump on and slide. Just go for it. Good luck with that.


Thanks alot man, that's really helpful. I'm really pumped up about trying it, I think it looks fun! Besides, all of those street videos you see almost always have guys grinding things, so I think it would be a good skill to learn. I cannot bunny hop very high right now, I can't seem to get past this point. Everytime I try to do one I lift the front wheel off of the ground about a foot or so, and when I try to lift the back up the front seems to fall down really fast, like four inches, and by the time I have lifted the back wheel off of the ground the front wheel has already landed. Then the back comes crashing down and bounces off of the pavement, which ends up in a really ruff landing. I'm not actually leveling it out in the air, I'm just getting my front wheel over whatever it is, then after slamming my front wheel into the ground I lift off my back wheel. I don't know how to get past doing this!! I want to get better at bunny hops, but it is really discouraging when this happens everytime I try to do a bunny hop! In fact, I havn't been practicing them because of it. I think I'm leaning to far forward when I try to lift the back up, so it puts alot of my weight on the front. But I don't know how to lift the back up other than leaning forward and lifting with my pedals, and to do this I have to lean forward. And I also don't get how you're suposed to tuck up in bunny hops, I always seem to be standing up really stall when I do mine, which might be the reason I hit front wheel first, because from the side view I look like a teeter-totter, pulling up, then leaning forward and slamming the front into the ground. I know everybody says 'Practice, practice, practice!' but when it looks like you're not getting any better, the last thing you want to do is practice. So I just don't have a clue! But thanks for the grinding tip....

Maybe you should try to make the rail a bit lower then your pegs, and make it go up. Then you'll be able to ride onto it and you won't have to worry about bhopping it. Then you can just focus on keeping your balance.
(Sorry for the crappy English, I'm quite tired and don't feel like correcting every sentence :P)

Maybe you should try to make the rail a bit lower then your pegs, and make it go up. Then you'll be able to ride onto it and you won't have to worry about bhopping it. Then you can just focus on keeping your balance.
(Sorry for the crappy English, I'm quite tired and don't feel like correcting every sentence :P)


Well we made it (the rail) so that skateboards and stuff can get on it easily, so I can't grind on it unless it is mounted to the box because it wouldn't be high enough. So I think I can get on it ok.

flyboy. the only way to get better is practice.

your bunnyhops sound about right, just do it about a billion more times and they will start to feel like 'real' bunnyhops. if you have some friends, make a game of it. see who can hop higher or whatever. practice hopping over boxes and empty cups and stuff.

you don't really need to tuck while hopping until you start getting higher off the ground.

I always have a few tricks I'm working on, so when I start to get frustrated with one, I leave it be for a bit and move onto something else.

some basic tricks to work on that will help with bike control are;
curb endo/foot jam endo.
front wheel 180
rollbacks (rolling backwards on your bike)
flatland tailwhips
bunnyhops
wheelies/manuals. (see how long you can keep the front wheel off the ground)

most of all, have fun.

flyboy. the only way to get better is practice.

your bunnyhops sound about right, just do it about a billion more times and they will start to feel like 'real' bunnyhops. if you have some friends, make a game of it. see who can hop higher or whatever. practice hopping over boxes and empty cups and stuff.

you don't really need to tuck while hopping until you start getting higher off the ground.

I always have a few tricks I'm working on, so when I start to get frustrated with one, I leave it be for a bit and move onto something else.

some basic tricks to work on that will help with bike control are;
curb endo/foot jam endo.
front wheel 180
rollbacks (rolling backwards on your bike)
flatland tailwhips
bunnyhops
wheelies/manuals. (see how long you can keep the front wheel off the ground)

most of all, have fun.



Thanks ALOT man for your encouragment, and tips. I just learned how to do a foot jam endo yesterday, and now I have to practice the roll back to make it look even smoother. I just don't get how to do it though, I usually spin out. I can do all of those fairly well except front wheel 180's, rollbacks, flatland tailwhips, and curb endos, which basicly elimenates almost all of them, but I'm learning. And besides, when I get more height, it is going to be alot easier.

Try sidehops also. And pivots.

Sidehop: Just pretty much lean to the side and then bunny hop and the bike will come to underneath you, heh.

Pivot: The way I do it, lean back, down, and turn to my right, then hop up and un-turn really fast and see how far I can make the bike turn. I can get about 90' rotation after some practice (It'd probly work for dropping it if I was brave enough); maybe after a while I'll be able to 180 that way.

same reason skateboarders do it. its fun.