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Why is BMX Dying?
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Jan 23, 2024
šØ Helpful Resources for BMX Nerds ā”ļø https://linktr.ee/dougsterbob š¬ Join the BMX Nerd Network: https://geni.us/nerd-network-invite ā | Ask your BMX Questions šø | Show off your bike š | Learn new tricks āļø | Join a thriving community Request a BMX Recommendation: https://bmxnerds.com/bmx-match-maker/ Recently there has been a ton of drama in bmx. Lot's of fights, sponsor changes, and silly things happening. BMX is not the same culture that we were seeing a few years ago and in this video I discuss why. Sean Ricany is cutting his bike in half after losing his sponsor, Hobbie Doan is moving on from kink, and chase hawk is being really two faced. The changes in the BMX world started as soon as it started to boom in 2020 and we are all guilty for how it turned out.
View Video Transcript
0:00
So with all the drama going on in BMX, if you take a look around the BMX world, it's looking very grim
0:08
And then there's picture of his cut in half bike, apparently Cald-Costovich
0:12
All the bikes are on sale. Everyone's arguing with each other. Let me speak on this one
0:21
All right, I'll shut the up. And some people are even cutting their bike in half
0:27
And so looking around and seeing all of this going, going on might bring up the question, is BMX dying
0:34
And just to provide you with a really straightforward answer, I'm going to say kind of
0:39
But let me explain. When I really started posting a lot on this channel and right before many of you got back into
0:45
the sport in 2019, BMX was at an all-time high. Events were more prominent, people were getting sponsored and everything was looking great
0:54
And that is until the events of 2020 forced many people indoors
0:59
of if, but when? This is New York. We're a gateway to the world
1:04
And you would think that this would hurt the BMX economy, but it actually did the opposite
1:09
It accounted for 1.9% of America's... The pandemic in the events of 2020 gave people a big boost in disposable income
1:16
and it made it so people could afford new bikes. Recipients should receive their payments the same way they received their..
1:21
BMX definitely benefited from this. People had the disposable income to go out and buy a new bike
1:26
and the idea of getting into a new sport or getting back into a sport
1:29
sounded really fun because they've been cooped up inside for so long
1:33
And this time period was great. With the bike recommendations and the BMX reviews on this channel
1:40
people just jumped over to Dan's comp. They bought a new bike and they were ready to ride
1:44
Now, because of the huge spike in popularity, the demands for bikes skyrocketed
1:48
And this made it so that not everyone who wanted a new bike could actually go out and buy a new bike We became all too familiar with that sad out message below the bike on our favorite online websites And you would think that the bikes being out of stock would discourage people from getting a bike and getting into the sport
2:06
But it actually did the opposite. The exclusivity and how hard it was to find a bike made people go crazy trying to get a bike, trying to get the good value bikes
2:15
And what happened here is that some websites would end up charging way more than the bike was worth just to slow sales and make a couple extra bucks
2:23
your bike for $450 with bare quality. It is not even sealed. The cassette's not sealed. The
2:30
front hug's not sealed. And even though the bikes were way above MSRP, people were still paying
2:35
for it. The companies saw the dollar signs and saw how many people wanted bikes, and they started
2:39
cranking out bikes at the worst time possible. They made big orders from big bikes at the same time
2:45
that they were facing extortionate shipping prices, and it was really expensive for materials
2:50
The extra costs that they incurred to get the bikes over here to the U.S
2:54
were passed on to the customers and bike prices went way up
2:58
And again, people were still paying for it. For now. Skate parks filled up and everyone was enjoying their time on their new BMX bike
3:07
But all good things come to an end. As finances got tight and free time started drying up
3:12
we started to see a lot of used BMX bikes listed on Facebook Marketplace or Craigslist
3:18
Everyone was getting rid of their newfound high. hobby. And this hurt the BMX economy even more, because now people could purchase like new bikes
3:25
at a used price and get into BMX on their own. These people also weren't following the traditional
3:31
path of spending. They were buying a bike, riding it for a little bit, and then selling it used
3:36
instead of making purchases on upgrades and aftermarket parts. And so now not only were people
3:41
buying used bikes instead of new bikes, they weren't spending the money to make the upgrades on the
3:46
bikes that they'd already bought from the companies. But this wouldn't even be the worst part for the companies
3:51
Around this time a new shipment of bikes were coming into the United States and remember the companies had to pay way more money for these bikes because of the cost of shipping and the cost of materials And there was one gigantic problem with this
4:03
When they made their orders for the bikes, they ordered the bikes based on the current demand and the current popularity
4:09
But by the time the bikes arrived, the demand and the popularity had been cut in half
4:13
And now these bikes weren't selling because people were buying them less. And what do you do when you buy a bunch of bikes and they get here and then they sit around
4:21
around for a year and nobody's buying them. Well, you've got to sell them at a discounted price
4:29
And when you sell your products at a discounted price, you don't make as much profit. And this
4:33
hurts everything. The pressures of trade and the current climate with prices rising everywhere
4:39
has not helped. There's no getting away from the fact that the BMX market is slower than the
4:43
past few years. You see, in late 2020, everyone was making money. That includes people like me
4:50
the companies that make the bikes, the bike shops that sell the bikes, and even the sponsored riders
4:55
It was a good time for everybody. But what happens when all of that dries up
5:02
Everyone's going to feel it, especially the riders. Are companies going to cut the paychecks of the riders
5:08
Are they going to shrink down their team size? Are they going to cut corners on how they make stuff in the future
5:14
How are they going to make up for that lack of income? Now, I can't say for sure, but I would
5:20
would say that a lot of the drama, a lot of the sponsor changes, and a lot of the tension right now
5:25
in BMX come from a lack of money. Some companies made poor decisions, and now they're feeling it
5:30
I remember seeing companies sell $300 bikes for $600 just to make a profit, and that's why it became
5:37
my mission to offer the bike recommendations and help people find a bike that was actually good value
5:43
because seeing that happen made me sick. BMX is definitely hurting right now. But it's not
5:48
It not hurting because Sean Rucanney cut his bike in half It not hurting because Tyler Ferg wasn wearing a helmet It not hurting because our BMX borrows everybody content It not hurting because there
6:03
not a women's class in the X games. BMX is hurting right now because we ventured away from
6:08
what truly makes BMX special. The freedom to do whatever we want and be whoever we want on two
6:14
wheels. I think for many of us, BMX was just an escape, a way to get away from reality
6:20
and do something that's fun that pushes ourselves. We try to put BMX and we try to put the people of BMX inside of a box and say, well
6:28
you should act like this, well, you should ride like this, well, you should do this. But the reason that we love the sport is because of the freedom and the way that we can do it however we want
6:37
When the companies and the influencers of BMX tried to put BMX in a box, we tried to make profits off of it
6:44
We all did. And while BMX has been around for a very long time, it's definitely seen some ups and downs
6:49
and just currently we're in a down period. But it's not going away
6:53
It's always going to be there for us. No matter what we go through in life, no matter what we experience
6:58
no matter when we quit and when we start riding again, it's always going to be there, ready for you to pump up the tires and go out and escape reality
7:06
But here's the deal. People will come and go from the sport. Companies will sadly come and go from the sport
7:13
People will always cry and complain about the sport. That's just how it is
7:17
But the bike, the freedom, and the ability to escape reality on the bike and just be a kid will always be there
7:26
So yes, BMX is dying. But it's not dead. It can't die. It can only change
7:33
So get out, pick up your bike, quit g, quit spending all your time on the internet, go ride your bike and be free
7:39
It's all you can do. I love you guys and I love this sport. We'll see you in the next video
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