Extreme Mountain Biking

5Nov/090

How Mountain Bike Gears Work

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.

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5Oct/090

Why Riders Would Prefer the Rocky Mountain Bikes Over Others

Mountain bike are designed particularly for extreme mountain biking. It is usually ridden on dirt trails and many other unpaved surfaces. When compared to road bicycles they are better and rugged enough for such unfriendly terrain.

It would not be easy just walking into a shop and selecting the bike. Each bike in the store serves different purposes. One needs a bike that will fit his personality well come at price within his budget and also he needs to enjoy riding it. Comfort and safety are also other important factors. Most important of all, the bike must be worth the money.

One of the most popular brands of mountain bikes in the market is the barracuda mountain bike. It is a very stylish bike designed mainly for mountain biking. The important features of this bike are:

They are very light in weight, they provide better climbing and acceleration, they are laterally stiff, they give us a submissive ride and absorb vibrations and most important of all they are drop-dead gorgeous.

One mountain bike built specially for climbing is the rocky mountain bike.

The ride: the greatest strength of the rocky mountain bike is that it can climb. When ascending this bike feels as good as a hardtail. One can stand or sit without any problem. One feels like accelerating always while climbing. The front forks lock out and also the pro pedal are extremely useful on the climbs which are far steeper than the others. The rocky mountain bike becomes very, very stiff when the front is locked out and with the pro pedal set maximum. When the front fork and the rear shocks combine this bike becomes perfect for climbing.

The bike can clear really tough sections. It does exceptionally well during many steep and technical climbs. It does particularly well in off chamber, slippery, and dusty roads. It gives a perfect hold on roads with sandstone gravel etc. Many tracks which are impossible clear can be cleared with ease using this bike.

Single tracks which are more twisty and tight can be easily negotiated with confidence riding the rocky mountain bike. The handling is extremely smooth and the rocky mountain bike has a good grip on the trail. Riding this bike on a mountain trail is an extreme pleasure.

The only setback in the bike is that it is very poor while descending. The bike has been geometrically designed for climbing, so descending not very enjoyable. But when the stem is changed and the seat post collar is released quickly the performance of the bike is much better during descents.

Overall the rocky mountain bike is very nice and ready to race. The building components used are very strong and really efficient. With a few upgrades in selected areas the bike becomes mind blowing. But the rocky mountain bike is perfect as it is for users on a budget. The hydraulic brake system in the bike works very nicely but makes a little noise when wet but a change in the brake pads solves the problem.

Muna wa Wanjiru Has Been Researching and Reporting on Mountain Bikes for Years. For More Information on rocky mountain bikes, Visit His Site at ROCKY MOUNTAIN BIKESI Will Also Highly Appreciate Your Views On rocky mountain bikes At My Blog here
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Tagged as: Acceleration, Barracuda, Budget, Dirt Trails, Drop Dead Gorgeous, Dusty Roads, Extreme Mountain Biking, Gravel, Important Factors, Maximum, Money, Personality, Rear Shocks, Road Bicycles, Rocky Mountain Bike, Rocky Mountain Bikes, Surfaces No Comments

8Sep/090

Framing Materials Of Your Mountain Bike

The cost of a mountain bike frame is proportionate to its material, as well as the treatment that material has received. Currently, there are five types of material used in mountain bikes - high tensile steel, chromoly steel, aluminum, titanium, and carbon fiber. Oversized diameters, heat treating, and butting are tubing material treatments that will increase the cost of a frame as well.

High tensile steel This is a very durable alloy that's found in lower priced mountain bikes. It offers a high carbon content which makes it less stiff than chromoly steel, so more materials are needed to make it stiff enough for bicycle frames, which will in turn make it that much heavier.

Relatively inexpensive to produce, you'll find this material in trail bikes, city bikes, and even entry level mountain bikes. There are some bikes that come with a chromoly seat tube, while the rest is high tensile steel.

Chromoly steel Short for steel alloy, chromoly is best described by its major additives - chromium and molybdenum. This is probably the most refined framing material, giving over 100 years of dependable service.

Depending on the type of heat treating and butting, you can find this material in bikes as low as 400 dollars all the way up to 1,500 and beyond. The chromoly steel material offers very good durability and a compliant ride characteristic.

Aluminum For the past 15 years, aluminum has been refined in pretty much the same way as chromoly. There have been various alloys developed, as well as heat treatment, oversizing, and butting. With dual suspension bikes, aluminum is the preferred material as it's the stiffest and most cost effective.

Aluminum is stiffer than chromoly, and therefore it will crack before chromoly. Of course, this depends on how you ride and how much abuse you give the frame. The advantages of aluminum is that the frame is very light and very stiff through oversizing or butting.

Titanium Even thought it's somewhat exotic, the prices for this material have come down over the last few years. Frames made of titanium remain expensive because it takes longer to weld the tubes to the frame.

Titanium is considered an alloy, normally mixed with small amounts of vanadium and aluminum to give it better weldability and ride characteristics. More compliant than chromoly, it offers better fatigue and corrosion properties.

The material you choose for your bike, all depends on where you ride and what style you use. Almost all materials will last you for years, as long as you take care of your bike and treat the frame with some respect.

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15Aug/090

Buying A Mountain Bike

It can be a bit frustrating as well as time consuming when you buy a mountain bike. Below, you'll find some tips and things to be aware of before you lay down the cash and buy a mountain bike.

Determining your price

There is really no limit as to how much money you can spend on a new mountain bike. To help you keep your spending under control, you should figure out what your price range is and how much your willing to pay for a new bike. When you buy, you shouldn't buy from mass merchant stores such as Wal-Mart. You should instead support your local bike shop and get a much better bike and much better service.

Finding your style.

All mountain bikes are designed with several different riding styles and terrain types in mind. You'll need to figure out what type of riding you will be doing the most. Smooth riding, cross country racing, mountain cruising, or lift accessed downhill is something you need to figure out. Make sure that the bike you select fits your personal style and not that of the sale's staff.

Full suspension or hard tail.

If you can afford it, a full suspension mountain bike is always worth the purchase. A hard tail, without rear suspension, is much lighter weight and pedal more efficiently, although full suspensions offer more comfort and overall better control. You'll want to make that decision based on your price range, riding style, and the type of terrain you'll be riding on the most.

Finding your favorites.

Comparing mountain bikes component to component is nearly impossible, as there are far too many combinations available. The best way to go about doing this is finding a few components that are the most important to you and making sure the rest or the minimums fall within your price range. You can start with the fork then look at the wheels and rear derailleur.

Sales and seasons.

During the year, the prices of mountain bikes can fluctuate quite a bit. Spring through summer is the main buying season. If you can wait until the right price pops up, normally in the fall and winter, you can save a couple hundred dollars. Many bike shops will also offer discounts or other accessories if you buy from them.

Finding a good dealer.

Finding a good bike dealer is more important than finding the best price. You should always find a dealer that cares more about selling you a great bike than selling you a high priced one. A great dealer will have a clean repair shop and give you the impression that you can really trust them.

Test ride.

You should test ride as many bikes as you can within your price range and riding style. You'll find that some bikes will feel right, while others won't. The more bikes you can test drive, you better you'll understand what works and what doesn't.

Doing the research Product reviews and bike reviews are some of the best ways to find out about a mountain bikes reliability and overall performance. You should always look at what other owners and reviews think about a bike before you make that final purchase.

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