Muna wa Wanjiru asked:


Mountain Bike, abbreviated as MTBs or ATBs (All Terrain Bikes) is a bike that are meant for riding on dirt paths or unpaved environments. They are more rugged than road bicycles, and can handle more strain.

The tires of the mountain bike are wider and knobbier than road bikes, for more grip and shock absorption. Front suspension for the MTBs is becoming the norm, and in today’s mountain bikes, you can find front and rear suspension. The wheels are usually 26″ in diameter, but this is slowly changing to 29″ in the newer mountain bikes.

Mountain Bikes can be widely classified into four types.

* Fully Rigid

* Hard Tail

* Soft Tail

* Dual/ Full Suspension

Fully Rigid Mountain Bikes don’t have any suspension, and their frames have fixed rears and a rigid fork.

Hard Tail Mountain Bikes have a suspension fork in the front, and no suspension in the rear. A soft tail Mountain bike has very less suspension in the rear, and its frame has a flex in the rear, rather than the pivot. A Full Suspension MTB has a suspension fork in the front, and a rear suspension as well, with a link that lets the rear wheel move on a pivot.

Until recently, MTBs had the same design and geometry of Road Bikes. When mountain biking became more popular, riding became more aggressive, and new mountain bikes with lighter and stronger frames were created to cater to the rider’s needs and aggressive riding style.

The New-age mountain bikes have 21, 24 or 27 speeds. They usually have 3 gears in the front. The rear has 7, 8 or 9 gears. They also feature disc brakes. This gives the rider better stopping power than normal rim brakes. They can also take heavy breaking without wearing out soon, and causing lesser problems.

There are a wide range of tire types for mountain bikes. Some styles include slick street tires, sticky rubber tires, etc. Tubeless tires are also gaining popularity in the MTB world for their pinch flat resistance. Some good MTB tire manufacturers are Wilderness Trail Bikes, Schwalbe, Kenda, Maxxis, Nokian, etc.

Mountain biking has become more of an adventure sport by itself, and lot of equipment can be found just for mountain bikers, most of it safety related. Protective gear that is worn by the rider is often referred to as ‘Armor’, and is work to protect against injuries. ‘Armors’ may range from just knee and elbow caps, to full body padding. Usually, Downhill and freestyle bikers wear more armor, as their riding styles are more dangerous and prone to injuries. Most of these bodysuits also have special protection for the spine, comprising of a set of plastic plates, covered with foam.

Most bike parks require bikers to wear full face helmets, to protect against injury. These helmets a just like their counterparts used in motocross, but are considerably more ventilated and lighter. Most professional riders wear these by choice, to avoid head injuries.

Some of the Mountain Bike manufacturers are Airborne cycles, Alpine design MTBs, Arrow Racing, Dagger, Dart, Full Dynamix, etc.



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Muna wa Wanjiru asked:


BMX Bikes are specially designed cycles for the racing. Bikes are suitable for earth racing and track racing. Therefore there are different bikes available in the market and according to the sports type on can select them. Some of the bikes are made for the kids racing. These bikes are made up of kid friendly frames and easy to use components. The frames are made light weight for easy lifting and comfortable tricks. The bikes are provided with the linear pull hand brakes. These brakes give controlled deceleration to slow down the children. These bikes are safe and easy to maintain as the bike is provided with one piece crank and single speed chain guards. These bikes are made up of Anodized rims that keep the bike away from rusting. The frames are able to survive in high tensile stress.

Some bikes are handcrafted. The frames and forks have made the bikes strong for street riding and ramp racing. The brakes of these bikes are made up of rear alloy caliper. The steel used in the spokes and frames makes it lightweight and rustproof and therefore they are comfortable to use.

One can find some bikes are single speed bikes and are comfortable to use in free style. These bikes are provided with rear coaster brakes. The tires of such bikes are about 20″ X 2.125″ in dimensions. These bikes are about 55″ in length, 24″ wide and height of the bike is around 36″.

Some of the bikes are built around custom BMX frames with solid 4-bolt stem. The bike is provided with freestyle handle bar. Light and aluminum wheels and alloy brakes also improves the performance of the bikes. One is able to ride this bike in dirt, ramps and streets. Free style handle bars are good for tight tricks and grip. Small raised knobs are used for better tire grip in mud and dirt.

Another type of the dirt bike is frame with pegs, around 48 spokes aluminum wheels and cable detangler. As these bikes are made for the dirt racing the brakes needs to be fast and powerful. Therefore the brakes are made up of u brakes. These bikes are able to load the weight up to 200lbs. The bike is about 20″ in height, 15″ in width and about 38″ in length.

Some of the bikes are made for children. These bikes are made up of aluminum body that keeps the bike light weight and strong. These bikes have coaster brakes and hand rear brakes to give secure stopping. The bikes are provided with suspension front forks. To speed up the learning process the wheels are adjustable training wheels.

Along with the aluminum framing many bikes are made up of the steel framing with oversized tubes. These oversized forks give safety and maximum control. These bikes are safer as the chain guards used. These bikes are mostly ideal for the Extreme NFL fans.



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Dave Rich asked:


Here are just a few basic cycling tips for those of you who intend to give cycling a try in the near future:

Learning to Share the road

There are how-tos to everything in life and bicycle commuting is no different. So the tips given here will only help to inspire him or her to be the very best they can be while out cycling. One of the very first things to know and learn about bicycle commuting is realizing that you have to share the road. Remember that you do not own the road. The same laws that go for motorists go for cyclists. You must ride on the right side of the road with traffic and not against it. Respect the rights of motorists the same as you would yourself. Obey all the traffic signals and signs.

Protective clothing

The wearing of a helmet is necessary for the overall safety of a cyclist especially if you are riding road bikes. But other things that are just as equally important is the clothing and or rain gear that a cyclist wears while he or she is out cycling as a rule. It does not matter if their trip is for transportation or recreation. First, wear bright colors, so others can see you. Some of the most popular of cycling clothing materials do include, lycra and spandex, wool, nylon, cool-max and gore-tex.

These specific materials are great for different weather conditions and help the cyclist to adjust accordingly. Appropriate rain gear can be a waterproof jacket and pants, as well as waterproof gloves and socks.

Making necessary checks, fittings and adjustments

Make sure your tires are properly inflated and that your brakes are in good working condition. Also, make sure that your bike is comfortable for you and you are comfortable with it. Select the bike that is definitely for your needs. Some tips for advanced cyclists are that you should have a white light mounted on the front of your bicycle and a red reflector to the rear area of your bike. Be as visible at night as possible. If you plan to do a long trip by bicycle. It is wise to incorporate stretches into your commute.

Keeping your bicycle in good riding condition

Bicycle maintenance is just important a thing as is wearing a helmet. It is something that is necessary to maintain good safety while out cycling on the road.

There are different brake types for bikes. Know your bike as well as you know yourself. If your brakes make a scraping noise, this indicates that you need to sand the metal from the brake pads or replace them. By maintaining the right tire pressure, you will be able to prevent some flats. However, flats do happen and this is due to glass, nails, and anything sharp. Most flats are easily repaired with a patch kit. Know your bike and get regular inspections done. Bring tools with you to fix things that you know you can fix.

Bicycle Safety Practice

Your cycle is a very precious investment to you on all fronts. Good bicycle safety practice begins and ends with you. Make sure to lock your bike in a place that is very visible and that is close to pedestrian traffic. Do not lock your bike behind big objects that obstruct visibility. Also if you park somewhere at night make sure that there are many streetlights around. The safest thing to attach your bike to with a lock is something that is metal and not movable by a long shot. Use u-locks only to secure your bike. Because they are hard to pick and are made out of heavy tempered steel that is impossible to break. If you are going to park your bike overnight, it is wise to use both a u-lock and a cable lock combination for added no theft protection.

Finding the time to do your cycling

Time is something that many people seem to not have enough of these days. This is because life is very demanding and so are the every day things that go along with life. However, if you truly love cycling and enjoy doing it, the time can be made to fit it into your regular schedule. Do not ever postpone a bike ride. Cycling is a sport that is done and done again, you learn it from momentum; find ways to prune your time to make time for cycling. Even if it means hiring a babysitter and what not, do it, just never give up your cycling because of time constraints. Cycling is a worthy investment from a health perspective.

Finding the “cyclist” in you

Life is all about change. So do not think you cannot change the fact that you have allowed events in your life from preventing you to ride your bike. Anything can be altered and set straight if you have the faith and determination. Finding the cyclist in you is easy. The first tip is to take your bike for a complete overhaul and to be reacquainted with riding all over again. Make a trip to a local bicycle shop and buy a new helmet and maybe a jersey to signify your completely new start at coming back. Be like a kid again and ride in your street clothes as you did long ago. Your bike will help you to find the feeling of free that you used to know in your youth.

 



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