How to Understand Snow BMX Racing Physics

Understand the laws of physics related to you and your bike. Hang a picture from a wall, notice where it hangs evenly, from the larger part--or mass of the frame. Next, take a shovel and balance it in the palm of your hand. Physics dictates that the heaviest part of the shovel--the body--will balance out the rest--the handle--the closer it get to that which it is balancing on, your palm. This is called the center of gravity, which we all must follow. When you're riding a BMX, you will notice it is the single most important aspect of staying on the bike and in control; it is your balance point. You, when walking around, lying in bed, dangling off a ledge, will have a single center of gravity. When you couple yourself with another object, for instance, an object you intend to ride, like a bike, skateboard, or the like, you and the object now have a combined center of gravity.

Combine the physics of a BMX with the unknown and somewhat frightening variable of doing that on snow and you have a lot of aspects to learn, quickly. The most important variable to consider is the traction of your tires, which will be radically different, depending upon the terrain. Lack of traction in the snow, for example, is caused by reduced friction between the ground and your tire because there is a layer of thick, wet, movable snow between them--directly, and in some cases adversely effects how you ride. Understanding snow BMX racing physics comes directly from applying your personal center of gravity to your bike's--and from then realizing how that center will shift and react differently on a wet, slick surface.

Move your center of gravity to the back of the bike, which will help you move past the sudden and often times jarring impact of a high speed collision between you and a pile of snow. Think of it as though you were exiting the starting gate and that gate wasn't all the way down. You hit the gate, and because, when you start, you have all of your weight leaning forward, you topple over. Now, knowing this principle and where you center of gravity lies, you know that being too far forward on the bike, when the front tire is going to achieve a rapid decline in speed, is a bad thing.

Pull your weight off the handlebars and let your legs take over, for just a moment. Move your body behind the seat, if you can and steer straight, you should plow through the snow pile and be able to continue on your way.

Know that the key element to understand snow BMX racing physics is to be aware that the ground beneath your tires. That surface is notorious for making starts, stops and turns extremely difficult; but it also makes skid turns and slides far easier. Your knowledge of this and willingness to move at a constant speed, which slightly resembles out-of-control, will be your salvation in regards to snow BMX racing.

Think of it as skiing on a bike. When skiing, you have begun to master a form of controlled chaos, which is caused by two surfaces having almost no friction between them and you, hopefully, riding on the top one. BMX, in the snow, is just another form of that controlled chaos.