Mountain Bike » Mountain Bike

How To Choose The Best Mountain Bike For Years Of Enjoyment

Admin — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 06:24:49 +0000

Buying a mountain bike can seem like a big decision but you can help yourself by getting educated about the important aspects of the bike. The following six areas should be thought about before you make your next mountain bike purchase. Six Points: 1. Price 2. Frame 3. Brakes 4. Shifters 5. Tires 6. Fit Price: The best mountain bikes can cost thousands of dollars and can cost as little as several hundred dollars. The first place to start your search is to determine the price you are willing to pay. A good beginner mountain bike will cost between 400 and 800 dollars depending on where you buy it. To insure that you won’t be replacing your mountain bike in the near future don’t go the route of buying the Walmart specials. Many people make this very mistake when start out to buy a mountain bike. Rather than getting the inexpensive mountain bike in the beginning and replacing it within a year, you would have been better off with the higher priced mountain from the start. The Iron Horse Mountain Bike is a good example of a popular mountain bike at an affordable price. Brakes: Obviously the best mountain bikes have the best brakes. The decision you have to make is whether to use disk brakes or rim brakes. The cost of disk brakes are higher but the braking power is superior. Rim brakes offer a lighter, lower cost alternative but you will sacrifice some performance particularly in wet conditions. The Diamondback Recoil Full Suspension Mountain Bike is a fine example of a high quality mountain bike that incorporates dual disk brakes. Shifters: Mountain bikes use two different types of shifters, the Gripfit and the Rapidfire shifters. The Rapidfire shifters are located under the brake lever and Gripfit shifters are incorporated into the handlebars that work similar to a motorcycle. It does come down to a matter of preference but the better riders seem to refer the Rapidfire shifters over the Gripfit shifters. Tires: It is important to have the larger knobby tires if you are going to be spending most of your time off road. You will get better traction and more control on the uneven terrain. If you are using the mountain bike for mainly street use then you can get away with the smaller knobs for less resistance on the flatter paved surfaces. If you are going to use the mountain bike for off road and on road then look for a tire with a ridge in the middle and medium sized knobs on the side of the tire. Fit To get the best mountain bike that suits you well it is important to get the right size bike. A good starting point would be to have a three inch clearance above the top frame tube while you are straddling the bike. It does matter what terrain you will be ridding on. If you are going to be riding a bit more aggressively you can increase this to four to six inches of clearance to allow for ease of operation over very uneven surfaces. As you are sitting on the bike and your feet on the pedals try and maintain a 30 degree angle with the leg at the bottom of the apex. Generally speaking 30 degrees of knee bend is a good place to start. That’s the basics you need to know before buying the best mountain bike for yourself. Choose wisely when starting out and you can expect to get many miles out of your mountain bike. If you are looking to buy a durable mountain bike that meets the strictest standards of many advanced riders than you have to checkout the Iron Horse Warrior Mountain Bike

Mountain Biking Central Thailand

Admin — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 20:22:40 +0000

If you’ve ever visited Bangkok then you would be forgiven for writing central Thailand off as MTB territory. Our Trips however take you on a one day trip just two and a half hours outside Bangkok to a 12 mile long xc single track trail in the mountains. Does this sound to good to be true? Well, the remote trails we use are technical and challenging for even an experienced mountain biker. They consist of steep up and downhill sections with sandy soil combined with rugged rocks and rock slab drop offs. The tracks are tough and technical but as with most good flowing single track, a less experienced rider can creep through, while more experienced riders can up the wattage and in doing so up the difficulty level. We will supply you with a front suspension hard tail mountain bike, a helmet and a camelbak pack. All water, food and other drinks are free. Our instructors with their knowledge and experience can take on some fantastic riding – technical descents, challenging climbs and great single track. The green trail consists of two great loops of fast flowing single track. It can be quite technical at times but keeps rewarding the rider with smooth flowing single track descents. There are about two or three streams to cross but these are relatively dry in the cool season (late November – January) and the dry season (January to April). The Blue trail is an excellent introduction ride into downill single track and is deffinately not an easy ride. The first part of the trail is a great single track loop with technical climbs and rewarding fast flowing sinle track descent. And as we start to climb again we are met by our support vehicle where it drives us to the peak of Khao E- To where we have refreshments before start our 2 mile singletrack down the less technical but still thrilling left side of Khao E-To mountain.
After that we crossing over onto the right side and hit some faster flowing singletrack before meeting back at the support vehicle for some food before heading back to Bangkok. There are about two streams to cross but these are relatively dry in the cool season (late November – January) and the dry season (January to April).
http://www. mountainbiketoursthailand. com/trips_central_thailand. htmlhttp://www. mthilltours. com/tours_central_thailand. html

Mountain Biking in French Alps

Admin — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 12:26:59 +0000

Mountain biking is conquering the world by storm and is making every adventure-hungry denizen go loco. Gone are the days when mountain biking is simply just a mountain biking without the thrill involve.

Today’s MB has grown not only in its popularity but also in its own disciplines. Any mountain biker and those who are willing to spend time and money just to learn the sport have more than one hundred and one reasons to be jolly because there are more than styles to learn in mountain biking and perhaps to enjoy too.

Because of the intense popularity of the sports, it is no longer solely confined to just mountains and man-made course because even ski resorts are now making it possible to do MB following a yet another challenging course to take- the snow trail. Perhaps one of the most challenging and beautiful places to visit and challenge with a mountain bike is the French Alps.

MB in French Alps will surely take anyone a great ride that will truly make anyone to go back for more. A craving that is definitely hard to satiate.

The French Alps form a large part of the world-renowned the Alps. In fact, one of the most popular and perhaps one that has the highest peak is the Mont Blanc, which is also partially found in France specifically in the city of Haute-Savoi. There are more mountains that can be found in the French Alps, which naturally make MB in French Alps exhilarating and something that is always looked forward to.

MB does not only take the bikers to the most beautiful mountain of all the Mont Blanc, which is also known as the White Mountain or the White Lady but also it can take other popular mountains and ski resorts.

In order to attract more tourists to these ski resorts specially when winter is gradually turning into spring they have these resorts not only a rendezvous for ski enthusiasts but a haven for mountain bikers as well. The number of sports enthusiasts who are MB in French Alps are growing in leaps and bounds thanks to those thrilling ride that gives them the adrenalin that they were looking for.

MB in French Alps can lead the bikers into yet another electrifying ride to the Les Chemins du Soleil or better known as the Paths of the Sun. This course is following two different paths that meet each other at a certain point somewhere in pre-Alps of the southern portion of France.

Most of the bikers take the rood to the Grenoble leading to the Sisteron trail because of its remarkable trail with a higher degree of difficulty, nevertheless the one that can truly satisfy one’s hunger for heart pumping adventure.

So if you are looking for the greatest ride of a lifetime then mountain biking in French Alps will definitely give what you wanted.

By: Rene Graeber

Tips To Understanding The Basics Of Mountain Bike Gears And How They Work

Admin — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 22:12:44 +0000

Remember when you didn’t think about the gears on your bike? Your bike had a bike sprocket connected to the pedals and a small sprocket connected to the back wheel an that’s all you needed. Then you got a little older and got your first 10-speed. That bike had two sprockets up front and five on the back. In all likelihood, the shifters were a pair of levers connected to your bike frame near the handlebars. As time went on the shifters moved to the handlebars themselves and then became advanced-looking dials right beside the grips. And next thing you knew, instead of a paltry ten speeds on your bike, you were riding a 27-speed mountain climbing machine!
Why all these gears? To make riding faster and easier, of course. Whatever the number of gears your bike has, if it has 2 or more then there’s a basic set-up which almost every bike employs.
First of all you have your front and rear sprockets. These, along with the chain, form the most basic components of the gearing system. To determine your gear ratio you compare the number of teeth on the front sprocket to the number of teeth on the rear sprocket.
If your front sprocket has 52 teeth, and your rear sprocket has 20 teeth, then you’re looking at a ratio of 2. 6. The higher the ratio the faster the gear. Typically the gears on the front, starting from the inside, get larger as you move out. On the back wheel, though, the largest gear is typically the farthest inside and they get smaller as you move out.
The next key component for your mountain bikes gears is the derailleur, or derailer. The derailleur is what moves the bicycle chain from gear to gear. A typical shifting system employs both a front and rear derailleur. Without the derailleur you wouldn’t be able to shift gears. The derailleur consists of pulleys and the cage, which is the part which actually comes into contact with the chain. The pulleys are attached to the gear cables. There are separate cables for the front and rear derailleurs. The gear cables connect to the gear shifters.
There are a variety of gear shifters available today and they cover a wide price range. The gear shifter is what allows you to change gears. The first type of shifters were levers known as friction shifters. These worked simply by pulling the cables attached to the derailleurs.
Friction shifters can be troubling because the way they’re designed you can easily get caught between gears and accidentally damage your gears or even wreck. The more advanced variety of shifter is known as the index shifter.
Index shifters have specific stopping points and are calibrated to perfectly shift from gear to gear. They remedy the drawbacks of the older friction shifters. Gear shifters may be placed anywhere from the frame to the handlebar base to the grips to models which seem to be part of the brake levers.
Mountain bikes have multiple gears to make it easier for you to negotiate difficult terrain. Higher gears are there to help you speed downhill or across the flats, and lower gears are there to help you surmount those difficult inclines. Remember, it’s best to shift gears when you’re not putting a lot of stress on your pedals. Shifting when there’s heavy pressure on the pedals can damage your shifting system.

Selecting The Correct Stand For Your Mountain Bike Ride

Admin — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 15:49:27 +0000

The tough parts of the mountain biking is just not always the track on which you ride your bike or the style in which the biker chooses to ride. Having the mountain bike in excellent condition and repaired is also very essential for achieving the best of any type of mountain biking. Kick-stands are no more a fashion now for the repair work and getting the correct mountain bike stand with the help of which you can have the bike held for work, is something that should be done by every cyclist.

Selecting the correct stand for your mountain bike might take a little time, however; few things need to be considered for a purchase. Price would always be a major issue, but after spending hundreds or perhaps a fortune getting a mountain bike of good quality, any amount left in the budget must be utilized in purchasing a quality stand. The stand of a mountain bike should be standing freely meaning it should stand on its own under the bike’s weight after attaching it, it would fall over without any fear irrespective of the track on which the bike is rode.

A foldable stand for your mountain bike is carried along with them by most of the riders for the race so that it can be immediately and easily structured near a car and be utilized for repairing it effectively. Tripod stands are very useful on a tough ground to make the bike stand upright.

Select the stand for your mountain bike that comes with a one-lever release mechanism that very quick in order to make the bike stand upright. We no more turn the bike upside down to do any repairs. The grip functioning just like the pliers, these must be adjustable easily to the crossbar’s size and should be able to hold the bike’s weight. The grip must also contain a quick, single release mechanism that would make bike removing very easy, irrespective of the weight of the bike.

A mountain bike stand should ideally would be adjustable down and up in order to make functioning more comfortable and convenient on the mountain bike. The rider needn’t struggle or seek for help to make sure the bike comes to a level at which one can perform work.

Usually most of the mountain bike stand rates are under $120 (with a bike transport bag) however, a good quality stand would cost more than $300 and depends on the amount of labor done by a person on their bike, the more its priced, getting an excellent quality mountain bike would be a better bargain in the due course.