Full name Bobby Encinas Name Bobby Encinas Current team Retired Role Bicycler | Rider type Off Road Height 1.63 m 1974-1975 Kawasaki Motors Weight 61 kg | |
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Discipline Bicycle Motocross (BMX) 1973-1974 Pedaler's West Bike Shop |
Bobby Encinas (born 1961 in Canoga Park, California) is a former professional "Old School" Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer whose prime competitive years were from 1973 to 1980. He was one of the first superstars in BMX and one of its most savvy promoters. Raised in the barrio of Canoga Park, he had a juvenile criminal record for theft and was on probation for consuming alcohol and drugs before he was 12 years old. He credits BMX for saving him from a life of crime. As a result he devoted much of his BMX career and after to promoting the sport at the grass-roots level, training kids in his BMX clinics, of which he was a pioneer, and launching future BMX careers and winning the respect and love of the BMX world.
Contents
- Racing career milestones
- Amateur
- Professional
- Notable accolades
- Significant injuries
- BMX product lines
- Racing traits and habits
- Post BMX career
- BMX press magazine interviews and articles
- BMX magazine covers
- References

Racing career milestones
Started Racing: Officially in mid 1973 at age 12 at Soledad Sands Park BMX track in Acton, California. According to the July 1974 issue of Bicycle Mototcross News he was racing by the time of publication 10 months. He was one of the children that were pretending to be racing Motorcycle Motocross (MX) an MX promoter, Ernie Alexander, noticed one day during the summer of 1973. That experience led Alexander to eventually start the National Bicycle Association (NBA) some six months later. Prior to that, it was David Clinton and Marvin Church who introduced him into the sport prior to racing in sanctioned races. As with many of the very first BMXers they were devoted Motorcycle Motocross (MX) fans and like to pretend they were racing motorcycles, attaching various accoutrements like false fuel tanks and fenders, emulating their favorite MX idols.
First racing bike: Schwinn Stingray
Sanctioning body: Independent.
Sanctioning body district(s): NBA Southern California District X (1975–1981).
First race result: Last.
First win (local):
First sponsor: Peddler's West Bike Shop in mid 1973.
First national win: He won the very first Sidehack class with Thom Lund at the very first National on March 29, 1975 at the NBA Winternationals in Phoenix, Arizona. In the individual 20" class he came in second place to John George in 14 & Over Expert class. His first solo 20" win was in the 14–17 Expert Class at the National Pedal Sport Association (NPSA) Eastern Nationals in Atlanta, Georgia on September 7, 1975.
Turned professional: 1977
First Professional race* result:
First Professional** win:
Retired: He had essentially went into semi retirement in 1979 after winning the NBA Southern California District No. 1 title in 1978. Starting in the 1979 season he concentrated mostly on the Public Relations aspect of BMX to promote it nationally and internationally. He retired from 20" racing in after the 1980 racing season, but he would race in the 20" pro class again to aid in his teaching tours and to keep in shape, restarting with the 1981 National Bicycle Motocross Association (NBmxA) (formerly known as the National Bicycle Association (NBA)) Western States Championship in Fresno, California. He continued to race Cruisers competitively until 1983.
Height and Weight at the height of his BMX career (1977): Ht:5'4 (approx) Wt:135 lbs.
Amateur
"Anonymous rumor: Kawasaki, you'd better bridge the communications gap with your team or... ----reported by Bob Osborn in the September 1976 "The California BMX Rider"
Professional
Amateur
National Bicycle Association (NBA)
National Bicycle League (NBL)
American Bicycle Association (ABA)
United Bicycle Racers (UBR)
United States Bicycle Motocross Association (USBA)
International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)
Professional
National Bicycle Association (NBA)
National Bicycle League (NBL)
American Bicycle Association (ABA)
United Bicycle Racers (UBR)
United States Bicycle Motocross Association (USBA)
International Bicycle Motocross Federation (IBMXF)
Pro Series Championships
Notable accolades
Significant injuries
BMX product lines
Racing traits and habits
"I've never won an NBA National, but I've won plenty of championships. You don't have to be a National champ to be a winner." --Super BMX April 1981
Post BMX career
For the rest of the 1980s Mr. Eincinas continued his career as a teaching Pro instructing young BMX racers at various tracks across the country as he did as an active competitive pro. He always reached out to kids to get involve in BMX to possibly keep them from falling into the same type of trouble he did as a young boy, being involved in petty crimes including shoplifting and stealing bicycles. As noted, he credits BMX for saving him from a life of crime.
"If it hadn't been for BMX I'd probably still be in the barrio smoking, lying, drinking and stealing." "We all need to remember the little guys, the small kids. They're the future of this sport. That's who I'm really doing it all for." --Both Bobby Encinas Super BMX April 1981.
As far back as the summer of 1974 when he had only been racing for ten months, Bicycle Motocross News predicted that he would be the Henry Kissinger of BMX:
"We fell that a manufacturer would not only be getting an expert rider, but a great public relations person - perhaps the Henry Kissinger of bicycle motocross!" --Bicycle Motocross News July 1974.
Several BMX superstars have followed in Bobby Encinas's footsteps, including Perry Kramer and Mike Poulson. Greg Hill's Speed Clinics are a modern descendant of Bobby's first works.
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:
Bicycles and Dirt: (ABA Publication)
NBA World & NBmxA World (The official NBA/NBmxA membership publication under two names):
Bicycles Today & BMX Today (The official NBL membership publication under two names):
ABA Action, American BMXer, BMXer (The official ABA membership publication under three different names):