Giant Mountain Bikes: Big on the Trail
Many expensive branded things turn out to be disappointing. When it comes to high-risk recreational vehicles like mountain bikes, falling short of expectations may not only be "disappointing," but possibly even life-threatening! Thankfully, consumers help each other decide which brands are good and which are not and avoid fatal pitfalls, by placing certain labels higher than others in terms of purchase priority. Giant mountain bikes sell a lot, and are considered top of the line. Are they worth the hype?
Well, if the many satisfied online reviewers are to be believed, they certainly are. There are currently hundreds of reviews for Giant mountain bikes on the popular bike review site, MTB Review (Mtbr.com). The Giant NRS line, in particular, has merited the "Freeride Choice Award," after getting close to a perfect 5 rating from an adequate number of reviewers. Talk about satisfying its costumers! Giant models are built to please, and they deliver.
Giant has developed models for different body sizes, so that women and kids may not feel excluded from its clientele. Another big thing (pun intended) about the Giant bike is that it places priority on manageable weight and speed. Ironically, given the brand name, a lot of the top-rated Giant bikes are lightweight and aerodynamic – all but streamlined to fly. The Giant NRS 2, for example, is considered light for a full-suspension machine. The slight weight difference between this model and its competitors makes all the difference for racing cyclists with a discriminating eye, and a drive to win.
Not to be pigeonholed, however, Giant is also recently branching out into making notable "muscle" bikes. The Trance line of bikes, fortified with the new "Maestro" rear suspension, is taking the place of the VT line. Before the Trance line came into the fore, the VT line received considerable praise from many users. Like the NRS, it received the "Freeride Choice Award." Some users may complain of excessive weight, but compared to the other features, it may prove to be an excellent deal. We have yet to hear from other Trance users on this.
Price may be a problem for the bargain hunter, but with brand names like Trek, Intense, Ellsworth and yes, the Giant, you get what you pay for – which is quality. You can surf the Web and see for yourself that various Giant mountain bikes are highly rated by a great many users, and for good reason.
Custom Mountain Bikes For You
Choosing the customize your mountain bike can help you add some personality to your bike. It will give you the opportunity to make your bike the one that you will love for many years to come.
Bicycling has become quite popular as a sport and for fun over the last decade. This popularity has increased the demand for custom bikes for both kinds of riders. Custom bikes will cost more money than a mass-produced bike, but it comes with great benefits over the mass-produced varieties, which makes it well worth the additional money. The custom bikes are made to fit the measurements of your body and your particular style of riding, which can offer you additional control, speed, and comfort. If you do not have an "average" build, then you will find that a customized bike will give you the opportunity to have a bike that fits you-whether you are tall or short or skinny or large.
Your personal riding style and body type are very important things that the custom bike manufacturer will take into consideration. There are other items that they take into consideration, too, however. One of the things that they consider is the type of biking that you are going to be doing. If you are just going to be riding it for fun with your children, then you would have different needs than someone who is going to be downhill racing and training. The time length of your ride and how much you are going to be riding is another thing that most bicycling customizers consider. By knowing the things that they may have questions about, you will be better prepared to help the bike manufacturer to make a bike that will perfect for you and your needs.
A custom bike will offer you the chance to make your bike into one that expresses your personality visually. You can have your racing or mountain bike made with your choice of colors and components to help it express your originality. The more stylish bicycling choices, like low riders, choppers, and cruisers, offer you a larger window to make it into a very strong visual statement about you. These types of bikes give you the flexibility of decorating, stretching, or compacting the frame to help make it into the unusual personality touch that you want and desire. You will find that this is an excellent way to make the bike match both your lifestyle and your tastes.
It should be simple for you to locate a custom bike manufacturer, because they have become more and more popular. You can even look on websites to help you get ideas of the different options and styles that you can choose from to customize your bike. The websites also offer easy-to-follow instructions to help you to measure yourself to order a customized bike for yourself. This is a wonderful idea if you cannot locate a store to order a customized bike. Use the websites as an informational source to help you determine how you want to customize your bike so that it meets your desires and your dreams!
Have You Got the Mindset to Take on a Mountain Bike Epic?
Sure, a day of singletrack mountain biking at the weekend will sharpen your bike skills . . .But view it more as a means to an end.What if your ride gave you the chance to take on Mother Nature head-on, in her own back yard!"Epic is more than just a route or a race, it is a growing experience. It isn’t just about pedalling for a few minutes, seconds or beating a competitor. . .It’s about the journey and all that it entails, learning about yourself, making friends, being helped, and of course, helping others along the way"There’s an Epic route or Race on every Continent, some well known and some yet to be discovered.From prepared singletrack to outback routes. From the 7 Staines in Scotland to Nepal’s high altitude routes, with the Alps and Rockies thrown in for good measure. The jury is still out on Urals and of course the Sleeping Dragon - China.With interest for these multi-stage Epics growing, more quality now appear on the calender. The Canadian BC Bike Race is a relative new comer, promising to challenge the established hard-core classics, the TransAlps and the Trans Rockies Challenges, the Cape Epic, and the Mother of all Epics, La Ruta de los Conquistadores.However, majestic scenery, fantastic mountain biking, and successful teamwork comes at a price. Mountain bike skills, personal physical and mental toughness and teamwork need to be sharpened beyond that of your average weekend warrior.Training, guts and determination are a must if you stand any hope of staying the course.Sure, a day of singletrack at the weekend will sharpen your bike skills . . . but have you got what it takes to take on an Epic?
Nick Mutter is the driving force and creator of epic-mountain-bike.com Biking Routes and Races that will raise your game and “Tackle Mother Nature head-on!” For the Info the Race Pros don't want you to know about get the free E-zine now at: ==> http://www.epic-mountain-bike.com/embe-zine.html
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The Intricacies Of Mountain Bike Gears
When you choose mountain bike, it is a good idea to learn more about the gearing systems. This article will explain more about how those systems work.
Mountain bike gears are continually becoming more and more complicated and intricate. Today's bikes can come with up to 27 gear ratios. It is common for a mountain bike today to use nine gears in the back and three sprockets of different sizes in the front for gear ration production.
Why so many gears? The most common reason is that a large number of gears allow a rider to pedal at the same pace no matter what terrain that he/she is on. This can be understood better if you think about a bike that just has one gear. Every time you turn the pedals one full turn, then the rear wheel also turns one full turn, too (1:1 gear ratio).
For example, your back wheel is measured at 26 inches. If you pedal one full turn, then this would mean that your wheel moved 81.6 inches. If you are riding at 50 RPM, then you will be able to go 340 feet per minute. This means that you were going 3.8MPH, which is equivalent to walking speed. This speed is great for going up a hill that is steep, but it is not a good speed for flat ground or racing downhill.
If you want your bike to go quicker, then you will need a different ratio. If you want to reach a speed of 25 MPH downhill using a 50-RPM cadence, then you will need to have a 5.6:1 gear ration. If you have lots of gears on your bike, then you will be able to get that ratio so that you can continue your pedaling at a consistent pace, no matter what terrain you are on or what your speed is.
A typical mountain bike that has 27 gears will have six gears so incrementally close to the other that you will not be able to determine that there is any difference between the gears when you change them.
Most mountain bike riders decide to choose a gear system with a front socket that is suitable for the slope or terrain that they usually ride on and they stay with this choice, even though it may be more difficult under a heavy load to shift the gears. This is purely a personal decision, but it is simpler to shift between gears when the rear socket, rather than the front one.
When you are pedaling uphill, then you will find that it is much better to choose a sprocket that is smaller on the front and then shift gears with the nine gears that are available on the rear. If you are more speeds on the rear sprocket, then you will find that it is much more efficient to ride.
Mountain biking needs gears so that you can keep an overall speed going. If you didn't have gears, then you would find it difficult to build up any speed and you would find it nearly impossible to pound your pedals for extra control. Gears help to move the pedals and enable you to gain that speed.
Your Mountain Bike Needs a Little Lovin’ Too…how to Care for your Bike!
When you’re out on the trail, miles and miles from home, you don’t want any serious mechanical situations occurring with your bike. Pushing your bike up and down steep, slippery slopes is not what mountain biking is all about. You want a fun, exhilarating ride, and the best way to ensure this is by keeping your bike in good mechanical order. Here we look at a few things you should do to keep your bike in shape. Clean your bike after each ride
When you’re out all day on the trail, you’re bound to get dirty, and so is your bike. While you might not mind staying dirty for a while, your bike does. When you get back to camp or when you load your bike into your car, give it a quick clean with some spare water. If your bike is caked in mud, clean the excess gunk with a stick. When you get your bike home, give it a thorough clean. Take particular care in getting all the mechanical parts as clean as a whistle. Keeping your chain lubricated
Once you have cleaned all the crap off your mountain bike, then you need to lubricate the chain. A dry chain will eventually lead to big problems, including kinks and broken links. And Murphy’s Law clearly states that this will happen at the worst possible time, when you’re miles from anywhere. Before you lubricate the chain, make sure that it is clean. Also, clean the gear sprockets with a small brush. There are special chain lubricants available specifically designed for the rigors of mountain bike riding, so use these instead of a general purpose lubricant.Lubricating your brake cables
While we’re on the subject of lubrication, every now and then you should lubricate your brake cables. You don’t need to do this as often as your chain, but you should do it periodically. It’s really quite simple to do. Remove the cable from both the brake housing and the levers and then remove the cable from the plastic covering and lubricate the whole length of the cable before putting it all back again. If your brakes feel sticky, then this may be all you need to do to fix it. Adjusting your brakes
Your brakes can really come in handy when you’re on a big downhill ride, so the last thing you want is for them not to be working properly. Before going on a ride, always check your brakes are properly adjusted. Firstly, if you have cantilever or V-type brakes, check that your brake pads are not too worn and that they are adjusted properly. If they need replacing, then do so. It may be a good idea to have some spares just in case. Alternatively, they may just need a little adjusting which is a simple procedure. It may just be a little fiddly and may require some trial and error. Next, adjust the cable from the brake and then do the fine tuning from the handlebar brake levers. If you have disc brakes, these will require a more complex service so you should closely follow the directions in your owner’s manual.
You should do a full service on your mountain bike periodically. The length of time between services will depend on how often, and how hard you ride, and the conditions in which you’re riding. If you enjoy spending time on your bike in the great outdoors, then you’ll need to be prepared to spend a little time with your bike in the garage as well.
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