Finding The Right Mountain Bike Frame
It is crucial, and you will already understand if you have a mountain bike, that you have the right mountain bike frame. This will be determined by the sort of biking you will be doing. If you are just riding your bike to the station then a simple one will do. If you are going off road then you will need one with more suspension.
Your mountain bike frame will also by determined by whether you are male or female. A male frame will be different from a ladies mountain bike frame. You can tell the difference because the female one has a lower bar.
It is important that you get a mountain bike frame that is the right size for you. You have probably seen people on bikes that are not the right size for them and they don't realise how bad this is for them. I have seen it so often... adults that are on bikes that are too small and children that are on bikes that are too big.
You should really check the size of the frame size before you buy it. The easiest way of doing that is by sitting on it. Even if you want to buy men's or ladies mountain bikes on the internet then you can. Just make sure that you check out the size first.
When you sit on the seat have one foot on the floor and the other one on pedal. Position the pedal so it is as low as it will go on its cycle. If your leg is almost straight then it is the right size, if not just adjust the seat slightly. Try a different mountain bike frame if you can't find a comfortable position.
You should be performing regular checks on your bike once you have bought it. If you fail to do this then it could be unfit for the road. It is important that you check the tire pressure, the brakes and oil the chain at regular intervals.
The Testing Behind Orbea Mountain Bikes’ Lifetime Guarantee
The frames that come with Orbea mountain bikes are known for being reliable and long lasting. They even come with a lifetime guarantee. It is this added value that keeps Orbea Mountain bikes a popular and respected choice amongst consumers. But isn’t offering a lifetime guarantee a bit risky from a business strategy point of view? Not so if like Orbea you can be certain that you’re making the very best product there is.
Quality controls at Orbea mountain bikes are renowned for being stringent. Not only are they testing for compliance with legal standards such as European Norms but they also test to their own strict standards. Simply put, if a bike doesn’t meet the levels required, it goes back to the drawing board until it does. Only bikes that can reach the golden standard are sold with the Orbea mountain bikes lifetime guarantee.
Of all the tests that the bike frames undergo at Orbea mountain bikes’ laboratories, static load and fatigue testing come first. Static load testing involves applying a large amount of weight to one specific point of the frame. Fatigue testing involves applying a smaller amount of weight to a point hundreds of times. These tests allow engineers to ensure the rigidity of the bike frames.
Frontal collision tests come next: they are comparable to the crash tests which are carried out on cars. Because mountain bikes are designed to tackle uneven terrain and sudden drops are frequent, Orbea Mountain bikes’ frames are tested for their resilience to sudden drops. Once again, a lateral hit simulation then tests the rigidity of the frame.
In order to ensure that the bike frames are not only rigid, but resistant of the elements, they undergo corrosion tests. In these most rigorous of tests, the frames are kept inside a chamber with a temperature of 35 °C with water vapour at 5% of salinity. Only after the frames have withstood 1000 hours in the chamber will they be declared corrosion resistant enough to pass the stringent tests. Finally, every new bike frame material used by Orbea Mountain bikes is subject to sun deterioration tests under infra-red light. Should there be any deterioration, the material is reformulated.