Mike King (BMX rider)

Mike King
Personal information
Full name Michael Allen King
Born (1969-06-30) June 30, 1969
Washington, D.C., United States
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight 182 lb (83 kg)
Team information
Current team Retired
Discipline Bicycle motocross (BMX)
Mountain bike racing (MTB)
Role Racer
Rider type BMX: Off road
MTB: Dual slalom, Downhill
Amateur team(s)
1979 Wheels 'n' Things
1980-1981 Torker Inc.
1983 Bicycle Parts Pacific/Dirt Slinger
1984 Redline Engineering
1984-1986 Huffy Corporation
1986-1987 Haro Designs/Bicycles
Professional team(s)
1987-1990 Haro Designs/Bicycles
1991-1992 Redline Engineering
1993 Balance Cycles
1994-1998 GT Racing
1999-2004 Haro Bikes/Lee Dunguress
Infobox last updated on
June 27, 2008

Michael Allen King (born June 30, 1969 in Washington, D.C., U.S.) is an "Old School/Mid School" former professional Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were from 1984 to 1998 and is also a former Mountain Bike (MTB) racer who prime competitive years in that discipline were 1993 to 2004.

Biography

Mike King is the younger sibling of one of the most respected brother combinations of BMX racing: Eddy & Mike King. Of the two King Brothers, Mike had a more dominating career in terms of national titles he won as an amateur and professional. As with most brother combinations the younger brother often live in the shadow of the elder and Eddy King was a well-respected rider with a long career. Mike came out of his brother's shadow when he won his first national title when he became the American Bicycle Association's national number one amateur for 1984 and again in 1987. Mike turned to the pro class in 1988 and earned the Rookie of Year honor and the National number one pro title. Still without a nickname at the time, although he was also known as "Mikey" by many, he became known as the "The Snake" by his competitors for his relentless ability to pass riders during a race. In 1993, Mike took to mountain bike racing and instantly found success in his rookie year by winning the National Off-Road Bicycle Association’s Dual Slalom National Championships and the coveted Union Cycliste Internationale Downhill Mountain Bike World Championship title in Métabief, France. After multiple international and domestic victories, world cup wins, and national championships, Mike retired from professional cycling in 2005.

In 2006, Mike was hired by USA Cycling as the BMX program director and lead Team USA at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China and 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England. During that time, Team USA brought home three Olympic medals to BMX.

Mike was inducted into the National BMX Hall of Fame in 1999 and the U.S. Bicycling Hall of Fame in 2013. Currently, Mike works for the City of Rock Hill, SC as the BMX Supervisor of the Novant Health BMX Supercross facility as well consulting and brand ambassador roles in the bicycle industry with companies Vee Tire Co, Felt Bicycles, Turbine, and XRCEL.

Racing career milestones

Note: Professional first are on the national level unless otherwise indicated.

Started racing: June 29, 1975, one day shy of his sixth birthday and approximately six and a half months after his elder brother Eddy started racing on January 15, 1975 at the Silver Wing BMX track in San Diego, California. Went on a one and a half year hiatus from National racing for most of the 1981 season (he raced at least in one national event, the National Bicycle Motocross Association (NBmxA) 1981 Rancho National near El Cajon, California on August 16[1]) and into the first half of 1982 sticking to only racing on the local level.[2] He returned to National level racing during the 1982 season.[3] Dropped out briefly again for six months in 1983 but returned permanently for the November 1983 ABA Fall Nationals.[4] After his hiatus from racing BMX nationals he came back with renewed commitment stating:

"When I was 13 I decided I wanted to make BMX my career!"[5]--Mike King, American BMXer July 1985
Milestone Event Details
Sanctioning body: Independent track
Home sanctioning body district(s):National Bicycle Association (NBA) District "S" (San Diego, California) 1975-1981; American Bicycle Association (ABA) California 21 (CA-21) 1985
First race bike:
First race result:
First win (local):
First sponsor: Wheels 'n' Things
First national win:
Turned professional: December 1987 at 18 years old. His last amateur race was The ABA Grand National in November 1987. He won the 17 & Over Expert Class.[6]
First professional race result: Second in "B" Pro at the National Bicycle League (NBL) Christmas National in Columbus, Ohio on December 27, 1987. He won USD$325.[7] or USD 611.09 equivalent in 2008.Cost of Living Calculator
First professional win: At the American Bicycle Association (ABA) Ozark National in Pine Bluff, Arkansas on January 27, 1988 in "A" pro. He won USD 435,[8] the equivalent to USD 817.92 in 2008.
First Junior Men/pro* race result: See "First professional race result"
First Junior Men/pro win: See "First professional win"
First Senior pro** race result: First in "AA" Pro at the ABA Great Northwest Nationals in Vancouver, Washington on March 27, 1988. He won all three runnings of the "AA" Pro main, the first racer to do so on his first outing as a "AA" pro. He won USD 870 (USD 1,570.85 in 2008). He won Pro Open that day as well, doubling. He won USD 315 (USD 568.76 in 2008). Indeed, he also scored a rare double-double that weekended winning "A" pro and Pro Open on Saturday and then after transferring to the senior "AA" pro class won it and Pro Open again[9]
First Senior pro win: See above.
Height and weight at height of his career (1984–1989): Ht:5'9"-11" Wt:~182 lbs.
Retired: 2002 from BMX racing. 2006 from almost all MTB competition.

Career factory and major bicycle shop sponsors

Note: This listing only denotes the racer's primary sponsors. At any given time a racer could have numerous co-sponsors. Primary sponsorships can be verified by BMX press coverage and sponsor's advertisements at the time in question. When possible exact dates are given.

Amateur

Professional

Career bicycle motocross titles

Note: Listed are District, State/Provincial, Regional, National, and International titles in italics. "Defunct" refers to the fact of that sanctioning body in question no longer existing at the start of the racer's career or at that stage of his/her career. Depending on point totals of individual racers, winners of Grand Nationals do not necessarily win National titles. Series and one off Championships are also listed in block.

Amateur

National Bicycle Association (NBA)

Bicycle Motocross Association of San Diego (BMXAOSD)

*The Tijuana BMX Cup was a one time event held in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, and sponsored by the International Cycling Organization, Coca-Cola, Carta Blanca, and the State Secretary of Tourism of Baja California. The BMX Association of San Diego after the major BMX governing bodies, the NBL and ABA, declined to sanction the event, ran it. As a result while heavily promoted it had sparse participation with only 200 racers comprising about 22 motos (including 13 professionals from the United States) out of the hoped for 6000 tourist. A promoter of the race Phil Bartel had anticipated making enough money to build three or four tracks in Tijuana. He instead lost US$5,000. The reason for the low turn out are attributed to the lack of ABA and NBL points for racers touring those circuits, negating an important motivation to attend. A further disincentive was the high entrance fees of $20 and the mere fact that it was in Mexico, a nation with foreign (to Americans) standards of culture and law, even though it was held only a half mile from the border inside Mexico.[13] In May 1984 the BMXA of San Diego merged with the ABA.[14]

National Bicycle League (NBL)

American Bicycle Association (ABA)

*Beginning in the 1985 season the ABA made it possible to earn an amateur national no.1 plate in the age group of the racer, similar to NBL practice. However, the ABA still had an overall National no.1 amateur, which in 1985 was Brent Romero.

International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)

*The Vision Street Wear World Cup was the direct descendant of the Murry World Cup. Murray stopped sponsoring the World Cup after the fifth 1986 edition due to the failure of Murray of Ohio bicycle company and the NBL to come to an agreement about the sponsorship fee Murray would have had to pay the NBL. If Murray continued its sponsor ship, the 1987 addition would have been the sixth (VI) in the series.
**In Europe, Supercross is a pro/am class in which amateurs could win a limited amount of money but still retain their amateur status. Eddy King's amateur status in the NBL and ABA was unaffected in part because no prize money was awarded. However, this class is different from the Pro World Championship which was held by Gary Ellis in 1987.

Independent Events and Series

Professional

National Bicycle Association (NBA)

National Bicycle League (NBL)

American Bicycle Association (ABA)

United States Bicycle Motocross Association (USBA)

International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)

Pro Series Championships and Invitationals

The International BMX Race of Bercy Paris was an invitational race sponsored by the Association Francaise de Bi-Crossing (AFB), the French BMX sanctioning body and was held in Bercy an eastern area in the city of Paris, France north of the river Seine. It was sponsored by the Yoplait Yogurt company. As such it was also known as the Bicross de Paris Challenge Yop Champion (The Paris Yoplait BMX Challenge) in which American and English pros as well as French pros were brought together to compete in a single race. As with the 1985 addition, which Tommy Brackens won, it was a hit in France with tickets sold out three months in advance.[15]

Notable accolades

Significant injuries

Miscellaneous

Introduction of clipless pedals

Wellgo Quill Platform Pedal. This design is practically identical to the Shimano "DX" pedals first introduced in 1981 for BMX racing.[29]
Bicycle pedal with standard toe clip and toe strap, quill road type. Early 1980s.
Road Cycling version of clipless pedals: SPD Dual Choice with shoe

Mike King, along with fellow racer Brian Lopes, is credited with starting the Mountain Bike racing SPD clipless pedals trend in BMX racing starting in the mid-1990s, moving away from the then standard platform and cage pedals for racing.[30] They both raced with them at the ABA Fall Nationals in Burbank, California on October 22, 1994.[31] There is controversy in BMX over the use of clipless pedals, including that rider can not maneuver their feet off and on the pedals in turns when the racer wants to set up for a pass, or stabilize his or her bicycle in a low-speed, tight turn. This reduces the opportunity to pass riders in the turns, as was commonplace in the 1980s when cage and platform pedals were the norm. Some say that clipless pedals reduce the excitement of BMX races, with the racers "following the leader" and only having the ability to pass on straights. Despite the respect given by the BMX world to Mike King and Brian Lopes, clipless pedals were not used by the majority of pro or amateur racers until the end of the year 2000. It was the late Mario Soto, a young and highly talented rookie pro who broke into the Senior pro ranks and started immediately doing very well despite his comparatively small size and being totally new to the senior pro ranks, that prompted the move. He attributed part of his success to his use of clipless pedals. Today clipless pedals are the norm in BMX racing.[32] Wade Bootes a highly respected Senior Pro was an early adopter of clipless pedals and helped with the move to them.

Another criticism of clipless pedals is that they lead to more injuries since the feet can not be readily be freed from the pedals despite their quick release feature. The racer is prevented from either stabilizing his bike by placing one foot on the ground to prevent a crash or brace himself quickly if a crash is inevitable, leading to more frequent and serious crashes involving leg and foot injury. On August 20, 2007 professional BMX racer Bubba Harris completely dislocated ankle at the talus bone in Beijing, China on the official Olympic BMX racing track during the first run of his Time Trial in the "rhythm section", a series of closely but evenly spaced jumps that you use gravity and "body English" to navigate and maintain speed. He was launched sideways by his momentum into the air, coming down on the back side of a jump with his foot still clipped into an SPD pedal. Doctors almost amputated his foot. With platform pedals his feet would had not been tied to the bicycle which acted like an anchor. As of this time he is still recovering. He expects to race the NBL Christmas Classic BMX race at the end of December 2007.[33] He was able to fulfill that expectation, but he did not make the mains. Mishaps like this, though usually much less catastrophic, have ignited debate in the BMX racing community. This is particularly true among "Old School" veterans of the 1970s and 1980s who raced with caged and platform pedals. Generally the only danger with pedals of these types was that if the rider slipped a pedal, the teeth of the pedal could gouge his shin, thigh or ankle, unless the rider has protective padding.

In a January 7, 2009 interview with Gary Haselhorst on the BMX discussion site "BMX Action Online" Mike King said he went to clipless pedals because, "My motivation to use SPD pedals/shoes had to do with the ABA introducing a pro time trial in 1995. Then it helped me when I was racing mountain bikes. However, I think the clip debate is overrated. I don’t think kids under 10 years old should be racing in them and I believe this has affected how tracks are designed today. They are too many cookie cutter type tracks in this country and this has slowed the progression of the sport.[34]

Other significant sibling combinations in BMX

BMX press magazine interviews and articles

BMX magazine covers

Bicycle Motocross News:

Minicycle/BMX Action & Super BMX:

Bicycle Motocross Action & Go:

BMX Plus!:

Total BMX (originally Published by the NBL's Bob Tedesco):

Bicycles and Dirt (Published by the ABA):

Snap BMX Magazine & Transworld BMX:

NBA World & NBmXA World (The official NBA/NBmxA membership publication):

Bicycles Today & BMX Today (The Official NBL membership publication under two different names).

ABA Action, American BMXer, BMXer (The official ABA membership publication under two name changes):

USBA Racer (The official USBA membership publication):

Post BMX career

MTB racing career

Started Racing: 1993 at age 24.

First race result:

Sanctioning Body:

Career MTB factory sponsors

Note: This listing only denotes the racer's primary sponsors. At any given time a racer could have numerous co-sponsors. Primary sponsorships can be verified by MTB press coverage and sponsor's advertisements at the time in question. When possible exact dates are given.

Amateur

Professional

Career mountain bike titles

Note: Listed are Regional, National and International titles.

Amateur

Professional

National Off-Road Bicycle Association (NORBA)

Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)

Significant MTB injuries

Notes

  1. ↑ BMX Plus! December 1981 Vol.4 No.12 pg.61
  2. ↑ BMX Plus! June 1989 Vol.12 No.6 pg.75
  3. ↑ BMX Plus! March 1985 Vol.8 No.3 pg.50
  4. ↑ BMX Plus! April 1988 Vol.11 No.4 pg.32
  5. ↑ American BMXer July 1985 Vol.7 No.5 pg.18
  6. ↑ Super BMX & Freestyle March 1988 Vol.15 No.3 pg.22 (results)
  7. ↑ BMX Plus! April 1988 Vol.11 No.4 pg.62
  8. ↑ BMX Plus! May 1988 Vol.11 No.5 pg.57
  9. ↑ BMX Plus! July 1988 Vol.11 No.7 pg.48
  10. ↑ Super BMX May 1984 Vol.11 No.5 pg.5 "Comings/Goings" chart.
  11. ↑ Super BMX July 1984 Vol.11 No.7 pg.16
  12. ↑ BMX Plus! June 1991 Vol.14 No.6 pg.70
  13. ↑ BMX Plus! September 1984 Vol.7 No.9 pg.59
  14. ↑ ABA Action June 1984 Vol.7 No.6 pg.26
  15. ↑ BMX Action March 1989 Vol.14 No.3 pg.12
  16. ↑ BMX Plus! November 1984 Vol.7 No.11 pg.48
  17. ↑ Super BMX Magazine April 1986 Vol.13 No.4 pg.42
  18. ↑ BMX Action May 1986 Vol.11 No.5 pg.72
  19. ↑ BMX Action August 1987 Vol.12 No.8 pg.38
  20. ↑ BMX Action February 1989 Vol.14 No.2 pg.40
  21. ↑ American BMXer January/February 1989 Vol.11 No.1 pg.69
  22. ↑ BMX Plus! April 1989 Vol.12 No.4 pg.25
  23. ↑ American BMXer May 1991 Vol.13 No.4 pg.29
  24. ↑ BMX Plus! July 1991 Vol.14 No.7 pg.10
  25. ↑ BMX Plus! August 1991 Vol.14 No.8 pg.34 (results)
  26. ↑ BMX Plus! October 1991 Vol.14 No.10 pg.9
  27. ↑ BMX Plus! July 1992 Vol.15 No.7 pg.8
  28. ↑ BMX Plus! June 1992 Vol.15 No.6 pg.64
  29. ↑ Super BMX August 1981 Vol.8 No.8 pg.32 (Advertisement)
  30. ↑ BMX Plus! March 1997 Vol.20 No.3 pg.39 (photo caption)
  31. ↑ BMX Plus! February 1995 Vol.18 No.2 pg.26
  32. ↑ Snap BMX Magazine August 2000 Vol.7 Iss.8 No.46 pg.62
  33. ↑ bmxactiononline.com Bubba Harris interview by Gary Haselhorst
  34. ↑ bmxactiononline.com January 7, 2009 interview
  35. ↑ BMX News.com posting about Mike King post BMX doings by poster fallbrookfatty
  36. ↑ February 18, 2005 fatbmx.com article.
  37. ↑ Genesbmx article.
  38. ↑ UCI 1998 World cup report page. Mike King injury blurb near bottom.
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