Flatland BMX

Flatland is a freestyle BMX riding style performed on smooth flat surfaces that do not include any ramps, jumps, or grindrails.

R. L. Osborn was a fan favorite in the mid 80s, being the highest paid BMX flatland professional ever after signing a contract with General Bicycles for around US$100,000.

Teams were hired to scout out BMX racing events and set up their own mini shows in the parking lots.

Sponsorship booths over-promoted the sale of helmets, pads, and other gear that is simply not required for being a successful flatland rider.

Customers could see what was going on and once people caught on to this no one wanted to pay such a high price for protective gear when the only thing truly required to learn/ride flatland is shin guards,4 pegs and a BMX.

Instead flatland in the early 1990s took on a new type of popularity with the poorer to mid-class Americans as a pass-time activity done in mostly parking lots, garages, and driveways throughout the US.

Other technical bicycle setup specifics can include zero offset forks, narrow handlebars, very high pressure tires (100psi and higher), and a very small front sprocket (18-28 teeth).

In competition, talent and skill are judged by the ability to maintain coordination, and balance while performing a variety of difficult and elegant moves.

There are usually several categories for judging purposes which can include: Flatland is an involving, time-consuming discipline in which the rider learns different balance/counterbalance points and center-of-gravity in motion techniques through repetition and trial-and-error.

Riders usually pedal a few times for speed, and then perform various stunts often involving difficult and/or awkward stances on pegs, mounted to the axles of their front or back wheels.

However, by combining different body and bicycle positions into "combos" and "linking" them together, riders began to do several tricks in a row without stopping between each move.