Introduction to Mountain Biking

April 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The popularity of mountain bikes has increased tremendously in recent times. Obesity, high blood pressure and other weight related disorders are at an all-time high. As such, more and more people are looking for ways to stay healthy. Bicycling is one of the best ways to achieve this. In addition to being healthy, it is enjoyable as well. Dirt biking, street biking, road biking and mountain biking are some popular forms of biking. Among them, mountain biking is the most popular. Unlike normal bicycles, mountain bikes are used for riding in off road terrains. Hence, their design is slightly different. Since mountain biking ids done in an off road trail, it allows one to enjoy fresh outdoor air. Additionally, it can be enjoyed by the entire family. Most cities have special trails for mountain biking.

 

Those that do not have one are creating artificial trails. Such is the popularity of this sport. Knowing how to ride a bicycle and a good mountain bike are all that is required to enjoy this sport. There are several types of mountain bikes available in the market today. One can make a choice depending on his or her preferences. Some people create their own mountain bikes. Although this is more expensive than purchasing a new one, it makes their bikes unique. A good mountain bike will have horizontal handlebars and a strong frame. The tires will be fat and wide so as to provide additional traction for the dirt trail. Furthermore, wider tires are better adept at absorbing shocks than narrow ones. Mountain bikes are safer and more attractive than normal ones.

 

Hence a lot of people use them to get to office. Bikes do not cause any pollution. Hence a lot of environment conscious offices have special parking slots for bikes. Additionally, one can save a lot of gas money by switching to bikes. These are some of the many reasons why mountain bikes are a rage among office goers. Unpaved topography, water, rocks and mud are common in the mountain biking terrain. Hence the mountain bike should be capable of handling such terrains without any difficulty. Even the best mountain bike will need repairs occasionally. Those who know how to perform maintenance on their mountain bike can save a lot of money.

 

Some basic tools are required to perform maintenance on the bike. A lot of bikes break down during the ride. Hence, it is a good idea to take the tools along for the ride. A lot of issues can be avoided by performing certain basic maintenance methods. The tire pressure of the bike should be checked frequently. Lubricating the chain at regular intervals is a good practice. Brake and gear cables should also be checked from time to time. Worn out tires should not be replaced at the earliest. Brake pads of the mountain bike can get worn out very quickly. Hence they should be checked frequently. Properly aligned brake pads will last longer. All nuts and bolts in the bike should be checked as part of maintenance.

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Mountain bikers vs motor bikers

March 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Money from this goes back into the trails in terms of matinance and so forth. However, last weekend when I went to my cottage I learned that mountain bikers are attempting to kick motor bikers off of the trails. DO they pay to use the trails, NO! if they are caught on the trail by a patrole man unlicenced to they get fined for trusspassing? NO! Hell alot of them just like to come for a weekend here and there.

 

They don’t even care who as setup the system and perfected it through proper managment and allocation of funds to keep up the trails they just want the trails for them selves, screw the people like me that have been using and paying for them my hole life. If you ask me Mountian bikers could learn alot from motor bikers about trail matainance how to optain funds to put towards the trails. As well moto b. could learn from moun. bikers to. But work together, both groups like to use trails and enjoy the woods.

 

And belive me both groups hate to see the distruction of trails, as well as being kicked off of trails. I have put way more money in by Motor bike than any of you guys could ever invest on one bike and I plan on using that bike for along time. I also plan on Moutain Biking for along time as well. I love them both and won’t easily give up ither sport, but it really bugs me to see people who generaly enjoy a similar past time come to blows. The area I talked about is Howdenvalle Ont. It is in the Bruce Peninsula in Ont. A larger town is Wiarton. or Owen Sound. There is miles and miles of trails networking all across the Peninsula and is wonderfull to bike. Stop in at Collingwood as well. Great biking.

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Are mountain bikes inherently anti-environment?

March 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Mountain biking is inherently anti-environment, since : it is itself destructive. As hiking can be. However, I believe a trail can be maintained. As long as there is not OVERUSE, from any activity, the trail will not deteriorate. Overuse (related to overpopulation, which is the greatest threat to the environment), is the problem with trail destruction. The impact on wildlife is a separate, but obviously important, issue (see below). : This is a deliberate distortion of the truth. Bikers (but not bikes) are : allowed wherever hikes are allowed. Maybe if you would be honest, you : would get more respect

 

! Your sentence here implies that hiking in these areas is OK. But in other posts, you imply that ANY area that doesn’t have human development, you want NO human contact. Which is it going to be? I agree that certain areas should be set aside for wildlife, with little or no human contact. There should be more of these areas than there are today. However, where wildlife will not suffer from human contact (and I do believe there are such places on Earth, hiking, biking, …., should be allowed. I also agree that in _certain_ (NOT ALL) instances biking can have a greater impact than hiking on the environment (wildlife). Therefore, as the Park City agreement states and I agree with, biking should be restricted from sensitive (e.g. Wilderness) areas.

 

Why isthis such a difficult concept? If anything, in the bigger picture of things, encouraging biking in any form is beneficial to the environment. Many of the MTBers I know commute by bike to work, even though their original intent when buying the bike was off-road riding. I’d like to see more people get excited about biking, just to get more cars off the road. Biking is _still_ more enviro-friendly than even mass transit! I’ve avoided responding to your other posts, because frankly, your arguments are _very_ inconsistent. After reading literally tens of your posts, I still don’t have any idea what your “goal” is. In addition, as a SC member myself, I see your arguments as nothing more than inflammatory, and an embarassment. If you represent mainstream SC (and I don’t think you do, based on my friends that are SC members, and by reading the Park City agreement), I’ll turn in my membership today

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Fun with mountain bikes

March 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment

You don’t “compromise” with people like that, because you are : just delaying the inevitable. Stop pretending the Sierra Club : and mountain biking are on the same side, because we most : definitely are not. Have you even read the Park City agreement? Instead of foaming at the mouth with a rash of generalizations, how about discussing exactly what parts of the agreement you don’t like? You have some good ideas, but you certainly seem to enjoy polarizing the argument.

 

I don’t like to pick sides, but I’m not unequivocally “pro-MTB,” even though I enjoy the sport a great deal. I don’t think MTBing should be allowed everywhere hiking is (e.g., Wilderness Areas). I’m willing to forgo my MTBing (and hiking) in certain regions to help ensure their preservation, and the wildlife contained in them. If you think MTBing causes no more damage than hiking; fine, but I respectfully disagree. However, I do agree that MTBing should be allowed in more regions than it already is. Certainly, wherever horseback riding is allowed, MTBing should be too. OTOH, horseback riding is allowed in some places I don’t think it should be (Teton National Park is a prime example). MTBers should understand that the SC, and other environmental groups, have worked for decades (over a century now?), to preserve public lands. Hence the “our land” attitude, that I agree is wrong.

 

Recently, there’s been a huge increase in the use of these lands, not just by MTBers. With the increased use has come an increase in damage, which I do believe is unfairly put on the shoulders of MTBers. These lands are under a constant threat; just look at the agenda of the current Congress. If we don’t work together, we’ll all loose. Thanks for illustrating just how selfish bikers are. The Sierra Club exists to protect wildlife, which can’t protect itself from humans & human machines. EVERYONE should support that goal. -What an organization! As a cyclist, I’m supposed to overlook -the hikers’ beer cans, cigarette butts, and unleashed dogs -I see on the trails (because hikers must *never* be stereotyped -as anything but the most pristine ideal), while I am Nonsense. We despise such behaviour just as much as you, or more. But you oppose it only when you aren’t allowed on the trail — in other words, only as a ploy to get access. -supposed to be thankful that I am *allowed* only on fireroads, -dodging horse droppings and sections made unrideable by cattle. So you want to trash other areas, since the roads have already been messed up?

 

-If you think “environmentalists” are friends of mountain biking -you are kidding yourself. You are right there! Mountain biking is inherently anti-environment, since it is itself destructive. -Don’t get me wrong — I’ve seen more than my share of -irresponsible mountain bikers, laughing in the parking -lot about how they sent hikers diving off the trails. -But I’ve also seen enough garbage, and been chased by -enough dogs, to know that the “other side” could -stand to spend a little more time concentrating on -their own problems. The real problem is that both sides are being selfish, instead of both working together to protect nature, which is being eroded by every compromise two human groups make: wildlife always loses in such compromises. -But this “We own the trails. We have the right to -go everywhere, you have the right to go nowhere except -where we give you permission” attitude is utter B.S. This is a deliberate distortion of the truth. Bikers (but not bikes) are allowed wherever hikes are allowed. Maybe if you would be honest, you would get more respect!

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Mountain bikes and mountaineering

March 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment

here are lots of compromises that I’ve never see tried, that would go a long way towards making all parties happy. I would have no problem planning my rides to take advantage of times when singletrack sections were open to cyclists. And, any hikers that abhorred the thought of bicycles intruding on their wilderness nirvana could plan accordingly. But this “We own the trails. We have the right to go everywhere, you have the right to go nowhere except where we give you permission” attitude is utter B.S. You don’t “compromise” with people like that, because you are just delaying the inevitable. Stop pretending the Sierra Club and mountain biking are on the same side, because we most definitely are not. Final thought (I promise):

 

IMO, people ride on illegal trails because EVERYTHING except fireroads is closed to bikes. When everything is illegal, nothing is. Isn’t Mike Vandeman at PacBell? Is there something in the drinking water there that results in extremism? What an organization! As a cyclist, I’m supposed to overlook the hikers’ beer cans, cigarette butts, and unleashed dogs I see on the trails (because hikers must *never* be stereotyped as anything but the most pristine ideal) Given that any person that can walk is “hiker,” I’m afraid your generalization of hikers reflects more on our population as a whole. I don’t know any SC member who litters; in fact, most I know rant and rave if you leave an apple core behind (me being one of them). If you think “environmentalists” are friends of mountain biking you are kidding yourself. I seriously doubt there would be _any_ public land for you to ride on if it hadn’t been for the past work of environmentalists. Sounds like you’re trying to extrapolate the ditto-head dogma of Rush. If you don’t give a shit about the environment, then you’re right, you and I will have little common ground on environmental issues. IMO, the only way trails will reopen to bicycles is if mountain bikers push to establish day use fees at parks, regional open spaces, etc.

 

as the sole source of park land funding. Then, park administrators and land use managers (like any other government agency) would become dependent on the revenue, and would have an incentive to attract mountain bikers. Or, more hikers, by shutting MTBers out altogether. Don’t get me wrong — I’ve seen more than my share of irresponsible mountain bikers, laughing in the parking lot about how they sent hikers diving off the trails. But I’ve also seen enough garbage, and been chased by enough dogs, to know that the “other side” could stand to spend a little more time concentrating on their own problems.

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Mountain bicycling- a legitimate form of recreation

March 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I have just learned that anti-bike forces in the Sierra Club have mounted a call in campaign to scuttle the recent progress made between the Sierra Club and the International Mountain Bicycling Association on mountain bikes in the backcountry. It is important to register the other side. If you are a responsible, environmentally oriented mountain biker, especially if you are a member of the Sierra Club or other national environmental groups, please call the Sierra Club National Office at 415-776-2211 and ask for the Public Information or Public Affairs office. Tell them that in this time of budget shortfall and attacks on the environment, it is important to work together. Support the Park City agreement between IMBA and the SC. It says: 1. We will work together for Wilderness, park and open space protection. 2. Mountain bicycling is a legitimate form of recreation and transportation on trails including singletrack when and where it is practiced in an environmentally sound and socially responsible manner. 3. Not all non-Wilderness trails should be open to bicycle use. 4. We will create joint projects to educate all non-motorized trail users; and 5.

 

We will encourage communication between local mountain bicycle groups and the Sierra Club. This is a good beginning to what should be a natural alliance, but some anti-bike folks are determined to abort the agreement. Don’t let them. For further information, feel free to e-mail me. Jim Hasenauer, IMBA President MO, any mountain biker that gives a penny to the Sierra Club is an idiot. What an organization! As a cyclist, I’m supposed to overlook the hikers’ beer cans, cigarette butts, and unleashed dogs I see on the trails (because hikers must *never* be stereotyped as anything but the most pristine ideal), while I am supposed to be thankful that I am *allowed* only on fireroads, dodging horse droppings and sections made unrideable by cattle.

 

If you think “environmentalists” are friends of mountain biking you are kidding yourself. IMO, the only way trails will reopen to bicycles is if mountain bikers push to establish day use fees at parks, regional open spaces, etc. as the sole source of park land funding. Then, park administrators and land use managers (like any other government agency) would become dependent on the revenue, and would have an incentive to attract mountain bikers. I wish it wasn’t true. Don’t get me wrong — I’ve seen more than my share of irresponsible mountain bikers, laughing in the parking lot about how they sent hikers diving off the trails. But I’ve also seen enough garbage, and been chased by enough dogs, to know that the “other side” could stand to spend a little more time concentrating on their own problems. Why would it be so impossible to open single track trails to bicyclists — in one direction only — on certain days of the week — before or after peak hiker traffic hours?

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Mountain bike BBS

March 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Many of the failures you describe are not attributable to the differences between road and mountain bike components. 1) Stronglight conventional bottom bracket bearing surface broke up. Due to age ? I’ve seen no evidence that mountain bike BBs are any more durable than road BBs. Many newer BBs incorporate some form of seal which can help extend the life of the bearings, but these same seals are used on current road equipment as well as on mountain bike parts.

 

2) Stronglight 49d right hand crank cracked at square hole. This is most commonly caused by continual tightening of the arm 3) Suntour freewheel sprocket teeth broke off. Probably faulty batch of sprockets. And I don’t believe Suntour uses any different sprocket dimensions or materials in their mountain bike freewheels and cassettes. 4) Campag rear axle bent on freewheel side when chain caught between freewheel and frame. will certainly agree that Campy hub axles are prone to failure, particularly with 126 mm hubs. I will also point out that the stronger cassette style hubs are available in both road and mountain bike styles. 5) Brazed on mounting points for Blackburn lowrider carrier broke off forks.

 

Probably incorrectly mounted by frame builder. Good low rider braze ons cannot break off, because they consist of a thick wall tube which goes all the way through the fork blade. 6) freewheel side flange on Campag large flange rear hub broke. Probably due to age, use of low gears and heavy loading. The rear flange failures I have seen have all been preceded by the rider jamming the chain into the spokes and flange by using a maladjusted rear derailleur. The chain tends to bend the flange and usually leaves significant scars which can act as stress risers. Looking at the mountain bikes available in Auckland it looks like 135mm (5.32″) with a 7 sprocket freewheel is the norm. All the bikes I have seen have medium/severely dished rear wheels. I thought the idea of having a wider dropout was so that there was less wheel dish ( therefore a stronger wheel) rather than making room for more sprockets. Have bike assemblers “hijacked” the extra space to provide the “this bike has 21 gears, WOW ” type of selling hype. A bike with 135 mm dropout spacing and a closely spaced 7 speed freewheel will indeed have relatively little dish. A 130 mm 7 speed rear provides about the same dish as a 120 mm 5 speed. Have welding techniques and metallurgy improved to the point where lugged frames have no weight/strength advantage over welded frames ? Welding can produce adequately strong and durable frames as can either lugged brazing or braze welding (aka fillet brazing). Frame: Mountain bike geometry. You’ll have to narrow this down a bit.

 

There is a wide variety of geometries being used in mountain bikes. For example, I can point to mountain bikes with head angles ranging from 69 degrees to 73 degrees. I’ll also suggest that a touring bike has no need for the extremely high bottom bracket normal on mountain bikes. Wheels: Shimano freehub/cassette type freewheel 5 or 6 cogs, not 7 or 8 cogs due to excessive wheel dish. 135mm over locknuts. While it will not be difficult to assemble such a hub, I suspect you’ll be sorry in a few years. You will likely have difficulty finding the 6 speed cassettes today, and availability will only get worse. Headset: roller/needle bearings. Not ball bearings I am very pleased with the Stronglight Delta headset I am currently using. I think toughest spec is the “scratch resistant paint”. I had my current frame powder coated about 6 years ago. It looks ugly (anti theft feature) but there is no rust anywhere. I think it will out live the frame. Powder coating does indeed produce a very durable finish. The color selection and surface quality has also improved a lot in the last couple of years.

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Bicycle mountain bikes and its features

March 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The wave of the future is in pogo sticks! Recent advances in increased dynamic performance in metal alloy tortion leaf springs has at last made it possible to achieve maximum comfort in a velocity suited to the young executive on the rise. And, get this: you’ll never have a flat tire on one of these vertical screamers, no siree. And, if you’re truly a “new way of thinking” thinker, you may be interested in doing what Others of your station in life are doing nowadays – combining the sheer excitement of pogoing with the added attraction of donning kangaroo shoes! Remember those things?

 

Thought they were gone forever? Well, cheer up, Mr. Weepy Face – they’re BACK! And they’re better and brighter than ever! Due to the same miracle design that has made pogo fever a widespread epidemic, kangaroo shoes have bounced into the Nineties, looming larger than Life! But don’t do what I did, and forget to REMOVE your kangaroo shoes before boarding your Stick! Ha ha: Yikes, what a scare I gave myself! And then I woke up. I need some input on Mountain Bikes. I am looking to buy a quality bike, but need to know what names and styles to go with. I had a Cannondale, but resently had it snagged. I know there are alot of you that are up on the mountain bike scene, so please drop me a line, and give me your opinion, and suggestions.

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Mountain Bikes on Golf course instead of cart

March 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The tires on a bike are much thinner than a golf cart and therefore your weight is distributed over a much smaller area. This will increase marking of the greens and fairways unless you insist on bikes staying on paved paths. Besides, it sounds a bit awkward. Do you use a cart in tow? Do you lay the bike down or use a kick stand? as anyone ever used a bike to pull their clubs around the course? What is the reaaction of members or the pro? Do they do any damage to the course?

 

I have seen pics of euroopean golfers doing it . Thanks The tires on a bike are much thinner than a golf cart and therefore your weight is distributed over a much smaller area. This will increase marking of the greens and fairways unless you insist on bikes staying on paved paths. Besides, it sounds a bit awkward. Do you use a cart in tow? Do you lay the bike down or use a kick stand? Allowing mountain bikes on the course would invariably temp many bikers to ride on the grass, where it will leave really bad marks. May this idea never hatch. Kobus Reyneke, Pro Golf Net Guide The Mining Company – “Take back the Net!”

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Comfort bikes

March 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

es, there are. They’re called “comfort bikes.” A couple of friends bought a couple a couple of years ago. Heh heh. Couple. Anyway, Jen and I were going to do the same, but wound up buying mountain bikes instead. For me, the suspension helps with comfort on long rides (20+ miles). I got a Trek 200 with a 21″ frame. Jen got a Trek 100. She liked the feel of that one better than the 200.

 

They were around 300-350. Very nice bikes, but not professional or “serious” mountain bikes. That sounds close to what I’m looking for. Nothing serious, but something that can handle a little dirt and a few bumps now and then. Front shocks would be ideal, but I don’t care to pay for the full suspension. I feel like I’ll get enough challenge on the hilly country roads here in VA, but once I get into better shape it would be good to have a capable mountain bike.

 

I guess there’s nothing preventing me from putting on street tires and saving the knobby tires for a future date, is there? I don’t know Raleigh, but in terms Giant: Largest seller of bikes everywhere other than the US, where Trek reigns supreme. IIRC, Giant makes the frames for MOST of the bikes you’ll be looking at, including Trek. My friend has a Giant Comfort-Bike, and I have ridden it for long distances and found it very comfortable (duh), and easy to ride.

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