Kriss Kyle and the Crossover Benefits of Riding BMX

Often, we tend to get stuck in our chosen cycling disciplines, even though you can make gains by mixing styles of riding. Many blend gravel and road, mountain biking and road, and some also add a garnish of track riding. But one discipline and its benefits that often get overlooked is BMX, something most older riders have either never even considered or have not dabbled with since their youth.

Throughout the years, top road (Robbie McEwen) and mountain bike (Tinker Juarez and John Tomac) riders have emerged from BMX. They carried their BMX skills into their new professions and indeed encouraged others to dabble in the colourful and skill-defining world of small-wheel riding.

You might think BMX is a young person’s sport. If you looked at results from top races in all genres of cycling, however, you might come to the same conclusion. Still, no matter how old you are, you’ll find cross-training and skill-building benefits in riding BMX. And it’s fun. You don’t have to go out and pull bar spins or tailwhips, at least not early on.

Many of us live within easy reach of either a pump track, a skate park or even indoor bike park, making BMX riding accessible. There’s a purity to the bikes themselves: one gear, and no suspension or financially fancy aero components to worry about. It’s pure bike immersion, which boosts the mind, as well as the body.

I spoke with Red Bull sponsored BMX and now MTB freeride sensation Kriss Kyle to find out how BMX benefited his transition to bigger wheels, and also to see what he learned with the crossover.

Look mom, no brakes

“With BMX, you learn a lot about bike control,” Kyle says. “Many people don’t have brakes on their BMXs. I’ve learned how to de-pump and how to slow down without brakes. Now, even on berms, I don’t need to slam on brakes when riding MTB.”

Airtime

“BMX also helps with jumping,” he says. “I see a lot of mountain bikers who can ride downhill so well, but when it comes to jumping, they can’t do it. Hopping on a BMX in a skate park helps so much with this, and then transfers well to the mountain bike because you’ve developed your ‘spatial airness awareness.’ It really helped me a lot with mountain biking.”

The learning curves

“Getting used to suspension was hard for me. I didn’t know how to set things up, and it would almost ping me over the bars,” Kyle reveals. “With a BMX, you don’t have anything much on the bike, but with a mountain bike you have brakes, gears, suspension, and that was weird to get used to for a while.

“When I first started mountain biking, if I rode my BMX first and then went on the MTB that was fine. But if I did it the other way around, the BMX would feel so small and twitchy. I’d go off the back when trying a manual. Now, I can hop between bikes, and it feels normal. But, like anything, you have to stick with it.”

So give BMX riding a blast. You never know. You may well unleash your inner Kriss Kyle.