Essential Skills For Mountain Biking

Jan 13th, 2010  Posted in Articles |  1 Comment »

With some practice, you can become a wonderful mountain biker. Practice the techniques described in this article and you will be on your way to becoming a better biker.
Anyone who enjoys riding a bike will also enjoy the sport of mountain biking. It is a little more dangerous and adrenaline inducing, but it is quite a bit of fun and a challenge to ride the dirt trails.
If you want to practice mountain biking, then you can hone your skills around your home, school, bike paths, or even park. You may want to find a place with a steep hill so that you can practice on an incline.
Feeling Your Pedals
You want to get a feel for your pedals before you take off down a mountain. You first want to be able to move your foot away from the pedal and then replace it back on the pedal. This will take some practice to get good at, but once you master this, then you will be on your way to feeling your pedals and having more control.
Position Yourself By Learning To Sit and Spin
Sit on your bike and simply pedal around. Keep your arms a little bent and adjust the height of your seat to make sure that your legs are at least 70% extended when you pedal at the bottom stroke. Relax your body, so that your knees and elbows are never locked. This will enable to you feel the right position so that you will know if you are not riding correctly.
Gear Shifting
You need to learn how to shift the gears on your bike. By learning what each gear feels like, then you will learn how you should shift them to make your riding more competitive and fun. A higher gear will make it more difficult to pedal, but will allow you to go quicker, while a lower gear makes it easy to pedal and is helpful when you are climbing hills. Practicing shifting your gears will help you to learn when to shift to get maximum efficiency.
Coasting
Coasting is great fun. You need to practice coasting while standing up on your pedals. Keep your knees unlocked and your arms bent. Learn how to move your weight toward to back of your bike and get a feel for it.
Standing and Pedaling
It is important that you get comfortable with standing and pedaling on your bicycle. If you can lift yourself from the seat, then you should try cranking the pedals around a few times. Do this in both high and low gear until you become comfortable.
Dropping Down
Locate a curb that you can easily get to the top of. At a moderate speed, stand and coast from the top to the bottom of the curb. Do this using several different curb levels until you are comfortable doing this.
After you get these things where they are second nature, then you will be able to ride the mountain trails with almost no problem. With dedicated practice, you will get to where you love mountain biking and it is comfortable to you.

How Mountain Bike Gears Work

Jan 11th, 2010  Posted in Articles |  1 Comment »

The gears in mountain bikes just keep getting more and more intricate. The bikes of today have as many as 27 gear ratios. A mountain bike will use a combination of three different sized sprockets in front and nine in the back to produce gear ratios.

The idea behind all these gears is to allow the rider to crank the pedals at a constant pace no matter what kind of slope the bike is on. You can understand this better by picturing a bike with just a single gear. Each time you rotate the pedals one turn, the rear wheel would rotate one turn as well (1:1 gear ratio).

If the rear wheel is 26 inches in diameter, then with 1:1 gearing, one full twist on the pedals would result in the wheel covering 81.6 inches of ground. If you are pedaling at a speed of 50 RPM, this means that the bike can cover over 340 feet of ground per minute. This is only 3.8 MPH, which is the equivalence of walking speed. This is ideal for climbing a steep hill, although bad for ground or going downhill.

To go faster you’ll need a different ratio. To ride downhill at 25 MPH with a 50 RPM cadence at the pedals, you’ll need a 5.6:1 gear ratio. A bike with a lot of gears will give you a large number of increments between a 1:1 gear ratio and a 6.5:1 gear ratio so that you can always pedal at 50 RPM, no matter how fast you are actually going.

On a normal 27 speed mountain bike, six of the gear ratios are so close to each other that you can’t notice any difference between them.

With actual use, bike riders tend to choose a front sprocket suitable for the slope they are riding on and stick with it, although the front sprocket can be difficult to shift under heavy load. It’s much easier to shit between the gears on the rear.

If you are cranking up a hill, it’s best to choose the smallest sprocket on the front then shift between the nine gears available on the rear. The more speeds you have on the back sprocket, the bigger advantage you’ll have.

All in all, gears are very important to mountain bikes as they dictate your overall speed. Without gears you wouldn’t be able to build speed nor would you be able to pound pedals. The gears will move the pedals and help you build up speed.

There are all types of gears available in mountain bikes, all of which will help you build up a lot of momentum if you use them the right way.

How Extreme Is Extreme Downhill Mountain Biking?

Jan 8th, 2010  Posted in Articles |  No Comments »

Typically, mountain biking involves trekking mountains and trails, sometimes going through rough roads along the way.
More often than not, most mountain bikers love to experience the thrill of going through challenging terrains and inaccessible trails. To further push the limits, the extreme DMB is created.
An extreme downhill MB is as dangerous as it is thrilling at the same time. For the thrill seeker, an extreme downhill MB with limitless challenges along the way is pretty exciting enough.
But for most, the more tranquil the ride is, the better. The Scottish Borders are known for this extreme downhill MB. In fact, amateur mountain bikers seek professional help from this young breed of talents.
That is why, the group has categorized their extreme DMB courses into two: the Red Bull Downhill Course, and the Glentress Forest. The Red Bull Downhill Course has been acclaimed for its expertise in the profession of mountain biking training, as far as technical riding is concerned.
It holds a reputation of being the fastest extreme DMB course. The Glentress Forest, on the other hand are designed for those aspiring bikers who do not have enough knowledge and training regarding extreme DMB.
This course is further subdivided into four parts, all of which color graded. Green is for the beginners, those who have no proper background yet with mountain climbing, Blue are for those who have little experience but still need a lot of getting use to, red are for the intermediate mountain bikers, and finally black, for those extreme DMB experts, a long thirty-kilometer course.
If you are still an amateur extreme DM-biker, it is best advised to have yourself enrolled in proper course that involves with this kind of outdoor adventure.
Admit it but this is a more dangerous sport compared to the ordinary MB. Furthermore, safety precautionary measures must also be considered. The use of proper equipments is necessary.
Helmets must be of the best quality and they also have to be durable as well. Kneecaps and gloves are also necessary. And of course, your mountain bikes should be in proper condition at all times.
Extreme DMB is common among young mountain bikers. Teenagers have this innate urge within them to keep themselves pushing to the limits. This is but a natural feeling. But when we talk of extreme DMB, deal with your thrills the safest way possible.

Preparing For A Mountain Biking Adventure

Jan 7th, 2010  Posted in Articles |  No Comments »

For outdoor recreation, mountain biking or simply bicycling is one exciting and thrilling activity that is making lots of fun to many people. And, more than fun, many join group of mountain bikers for health reason. Many have proven that cycling is very effective way to achieve a healthy and fit body.
Mountain biking is popular in and out of Bryce Canyon; however it is dangerous due to the fact that the bikes move both fast and quiet. Also, the nature of the activity requires that most of the cyclists attention is on balance, concentration, and control, and less is available for watching for bears.
Cycling is something that you can do for your whole life as long as you keep it fun. It is an individual challenge, obliging you to depend on your own skills when out alone. Knowing how to repair your bike or care for a wound are necessary to avoid becoming stranded or worsening an injury– these are just some you need undergo in cycling.
Mountain biking is roughly broken; it is a lot like tennis or skiing. Just a few minor adjustments in techniques can make a huge difference in your control and proficiency.
It needs a lot of dedication and passion to really become a successful cyclist.
Mountain biking is mostly riding off road, but much of the time you are riding on backcountry dirt roads. A mountain biking experience is commonly slower than road biking, dustier, and with shorter climbs.
There are some important things you should remember when you want to experience this extreme sports. First, you have to visit your doctor first to make it sure that you are best-fitted for mountain biking. Then, having checked and told you are capable, you need to undergo some sort of physical fitness activity to prepare your body system. Stretching/Exercising in the morning is one way of doing that. You also need to consider eating right amount of foods, with the right nutrients. Taking vitamins can also help.
When your are already prepared physically, emotionally, mentally, it is time to prepare the necessary mountain biking accessories– ask about biking accessories you may need at the stores near you. You wil also need first aid stuffs.
More tips:
Joining in mountain biking clubs allows you to be more aware of the do’s and don’ts of this sport. That includes of course, knowing several prohibition for the sake of environmental protection. By joining clubs, you have the opportunity to be exposed in several orientations or seminars.