This is a report that I did for my English I class, and will tell you many things you should know about mountain biking, especially if you are a beginner!
This is a report that I did for my English I class, and will tell you many things you should know about mountain biking, especially if you are a beginner!
There are many techniques involved in riding a mountain bike, but once they are mastered mountain biking, a fun and healthy recreational sport.
The first thing you must know in order to ride a mountain bike, is how to ride a normal bike. riding a mountain bike is not exactly the same as riding a normal bike. Normal bikes usually have narrower wheels, smaller thinner frames, and do not have the suspension or shock absorbers that mountain bikes have. Most normal bikes are made to ride on roads and in cities, whereas mountain bikes are made to take a beating. They can comfortably and safely take the bumps, jumps, and lumps you may encounter when riding biking trails. Mountain bikes have fat tires for better traction and grip. The patterns of tread on the tires are sometimes different in order to ride on different surfaces such as sand, water, rocks, and normal trails. Good mountain bikes run anywhere from five hundred to three thousand dollars. As anyone might know the lighter a bike is the better it will be to ride. No rider wants to peddle a tank, with that in mind mountain bikes are made to be as light as possible. Most bikes weigh twenty to thirty pounds which makes riding much easier. After you know how to ride a normal bike the next step is to get a mountain bike and ride off road and over obstacles that you might not encounter normally. Once the rider feels confident that they can ride well, the next step is to learn how to properly ride the trails.
The first thing a rider should know is how to ride downhill, since this is the most fun and is what most riders to most often when riding. One thing a person should know is not to use the front brake much, if any, when riding. If you do you can end up flipping over the handle bar and put a nice imprint of your face in the dirt, and it could also damage your bike. Occasionally you may need to use the front brake if pressing hard on the back brake so as not to "fishtail" or swerve, which can throw your steering off. When riding fast downhill you should lean back off of the seat so as not to lose leverage and flip the bike. Shocks play a big part in biking. Shocks are used for riding downhill because if you hit a bump or rock you could lose hold of the handle bars and your the steering gets messes up, causing you to crash. Shocks also minimize small bumps and bouncing causes by riding, which can easily tire you quickly. Shocks help you control a bike easier. Marcelle Soviero said that "Control is what suspension id all about. By adding suspension systems to both the front and the rear ends of the bike, both wheels are better able to follow ground contours, so they maintain more constant contact with the ground for better traction. This control is particularly important on mountain bikes, that special breed recognizable by their gnarly tires and fatter frames, which are designed to take the trails less traveled. Without good suspension, the off-road scenario can be grizzly: you hit a bump, the wheel catches the air, and their goes your control over steering or braking. Certainly suspensions aren't a new idea. Can you imagine a modern car without springs or a motorcycle without a telescopic front fork? Bicycle suspensions aren't new either, first appearing in the Dark Ages of two-wheeler development and resurfacing from time to time in models such as the 1948 Shelby, with its unique "Shock Ease Front Fork". Ineffective designs, and added bulk, however, preventing the early fork models from achieving wide spread acceptance." Marcelle Soviero also states that "When the suspension frenzy began a couple years ago, shock-absorbing front forks were, for the most part, bolted onto existing frames - a setup that added a lot of weight, but little performance. Designers quickly got smart, integrating the front suspension components with the frame layout..." Shocks on mountain bikes are almost the same as the ones on cars and bicycles, only smaller. Some shocks may use springs, air pressure, or have fluid in them to help absorb the impact of riding, which can wear the rider down and tire them more quickly. Shocks are a very helpful thing to have on a mountain bike. A NORBA MTB riding tip is "For downhill riding, when not using large gears, remove two links from your chain to avoid chain slap".
The next step in riding a mountain bike is learning how to save energy and time in riding uphill. One real good tip is to stand up on your bike and lean forward so that you will have better leverage and power, But you must be sure not to lean to far forward or your tires might spin out, or lose traction while riding. You should also lean forward so as not to fall backwards when riding up steep hills. Another leg saving tip is to pull up on the handle bars when you push down on the peddle. This is difficult to explain, but will come natural when riding.
One of the biggest problems when mountain biking is getting over and around dangerous obstacles. One way of getting over logs, roots, and large rocks, and the most used in mountain biking is bunnyhopping or jumping over and Les Wilkinson tells all about how to do that he says to "Ride at a speed that you're comfortable at... lunge upwards quickly, until your arms and legs are straight, and then bend them again, pulling your bike up into your chest. At this point, you should just get your wheels off the ground... Now that you are in the air, push down again, as soon as the wheels touch the ground, squat down again to absorb the impact." A rider can bunnyhop to save themselves from getting off their bike and stopping to go around obstacles like that.
There are many things a rider should bring with them and know before ridding a trail. Here are some things The National Off Road Bicycle Association suggests that a rider take with them: "Always wear a helmet Wear versatile cycling clothing, Proper eye protection is recommended, Tire pump, spare tire tube, plenty of water; you bottle per hour of riding, energy food, know where you are riding and carry a map, chart your expedition, pack it in pack it out, proper bicycle repair tool, patch kit, small first aid kit, and a mileage odometer to orient yourself".
If you know how to ride a mountain bike properly it can be an exiting experience and a great hobby.
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