Sizing Mountain bikes
Along with giving you a better selection and expert
advice, bike shop personnel can you help you get
fitted to the right size bike. You can get the bike
either too big or too small, which will cause your
enjoyment to suffer. Follow the tips below, and
you’ll have the perfect fit for your mountain bike.
Standover height
When you check the fitting yourself, the first thing
you want to check is the inseam clearance, or the
standover height. You want to have plenty of room
between yourself and the top tube when you come to
a stop. There should be around four to six inches
of clearance from the top of your inseam to the top
of the top tube.
Leg and feet position
There’s a nifty formula for determining the leg
position for riding a mountain bike. When riding
a mountain bike, the terrain constantly changes,
raising you off the seat constantly, sometimes just
slightly, other times completely off.
Therefore, you’ll need to sit your saddle slightly
lower than you would on any other type of bike.
Be sure you take this slightly lower seat height
position into effect when you factor the size of
the frame.
Riding compartment
The next thing you’ll want to check is the rider
compartment layout (the distance between the saddle
and the handlebars). Once the proper leg extension
has been determined, be sure the handlebar is one
to two inches below the height of the saddle. You
should never have the handlebars higher than the
seat, unless there is some type of upper body
problem.
Dual suspension bikes
With suspension being at both ends, you’ll want
your weight more in the middle of the bike so that
your weight is distributed evenly between the front
and rear suspension units, thus allowing the front
and rear suspension to work as a unit.
This can be done quite easily by using either a
higher or shorter stem to raise the hand height,
which will in turn move the upper body up and the
weight towards the rear. The increase in rise
shouldn’t be no more than two inches, then the
decrease in reach shouldn’t be any more than two
inches.
Test ride
Once you have taken all of these steps into account,
go out and test drive the bike. Make sure you
wear a helmet, even if you are going to be testing
for a brief period of time. Be sure that the tires
are set to the right pressure, and the shop has
adjusted the bike for you properly.
You should have a shop employee observe your body
position and ride height while riding, to determine
is any further adjustments need to be made. Ride
the bike around for a bit to get used to its
handling and new equipment. Start off slowly, then
give the bike a bit of time to present its personality.
After a few minutes, you might notice that something
isn’t working correctly or just doesn’t feel right
in general. If this happens, go back to the shop
and have the problem corrected before you rule out
the bike.
The more you ride bikes, the easier it will be to
tell the difference in the ride types. Keep in mind,
it may take months and even years to appreciate the
way a bike handles. Talk to those who ride, and
ask them if they ride the bikes they sell. This
way, you’ll learn more about the mountain bikes you
love so much!
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Setting Your Tire Pressure
Riding your mountain bike with the appropriate
amount of tire pressure can make a huge difference
in how much control you have over your bike.
Setting your tire pressure too high will make for
poor contact with the ground and also make your
bike less controllable. Setting your tire pressure
too low will make your tires unpredictable and also
make them susceptible to pinch flats.
The appropriate amount of tire pressure in a
mountain bike will vary between rider to rider and
tire setup to tire setup. The conditions of your
trail and the type of terrain your riding will also
greatly impact what tire pressure you should be using
in your tires.
The trick here is to find out exactly what mountain
bike tire pressure works for you and your setup during
normal conditions. After doing this, you can learn
to adjust your pressure for different trails and types
of terrain as needed.
You should start by finding a reliable pressure gauge
or a pump with a pressure gauge. Then, use this same
gauge or pump anytime you are making adjustments. A
gauge can be very inaccurate, so if you switch around
it you can make things much more difficult.
You should start with a higher pressure of around 40 -
50 psi. If you have a tubeless system, you should
start lower, 30 – 40 psi. The more you weigh, the
higher pressure you should start with. Try this
pressure for a while and get a feel for how the tires
take corners and loose dirt.
Drop the pressure by 5 psi in each tire and get a feel
for how this new setup rides and how it compares to your
previous setting. You should notice some improvement
in stability, and if you don’t, drop the pressure by
another 5 psi.
You want to find the lowest pressure you can ride with
without sacrificing pinch flat resistance. A pinch flat
occurs when your tire rolls over an object then compresses
to the point where the tire and the tube get pinched
between the object and the rim on the wheel.
With tubeless tire systems, you can run much lower air
pressure, as you don’t have to worry about getting pinch
flats. If you start to dent your rims, burp air out
along the bead, or feel the tire roll under the rim
during hard cornering, you’ve taken the pressure much
too low.
Once you’ve found a comfortable setting for your tire
pressure, learn what your tire feels like when you
squeeze it with your hands. Once you know what your
tires feel like you can always get the right air
pressure – with any pump.
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The History Of Mountain Biking
There is a lot of history and information out there
in regards to the history and origins of mountain
biking, with some being recognized and some that
depends on who has the best firm of public relations.
Some say that mountain biking began with the Buffalo
Soldiers, which was a turn of the century infantry
who customized bikes to carry gear over the rough and
tough terrain. They began in August of 1896, over
the course of 800 miles. Their mission was simple -
to test bikes for military use in the toughest of
terrain.
Others say it was the Velo Cross Club of France
that started mountain biking. The club was comprised
of 20 young bikers from Paris, who between 1951 and
1956 developed a sport that resembles present day
mountain biking.
It could have also been John Finley Scott, who was
the first mountain biker in the U.S. In 1953 he
constructed what he called a “Woodsie Bike”, using
a diamond frame, balloon tires, flat handle bars,
and cantilever brakes. He was more than 20 years
ahead of his time. Even though he remained an off
road enthusiast, there were many at that time who
didn’t share that same passion.
Today, we believe that the history of the mountain
bike is most apparent in Northern California. There
are a few areas that claim to be the first community
for mountain biking, although each and every history
book will tell you Marin County.
The sport of mountain biking has taken many twists
and turns over the last several hundred years. Even
though there are many that say different things about
the history and the beginning, we know one thing
for sure – one thing has led to another and the
sport of mountain biking was born.
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Wheel Truing
Wheel truing is actually something that is very easy
to do. Even if you have no experience with mountain
biking or truing a wheel, it doesn’t take a rocket
scientist to accomplish it.
The first thing to do is make sure that none of your
spokes are loose. To check, grab each spoke in turn
and try to shake it back and forth. If the spoke
wobbles, or makes pinging and grating noises, it’s
loose. If it’s loose, add tension to the spoke by
turning the spokey anti-clockwise with your finger
and thumb pressure.
Keep turning and shaking until the noise is gone
and the spoke doesn’t wobble or move. Move on to
the next spoke until you’ve gone all the way around
the wheel and checked them all.
Now, it’s time to see just how true the wheel actually
is. Turn your bike upside down then spin the wheel
to see where it comes closest to rubbing on the
brake.
You may need to rotate the wheel backwards then
forwards to locate the middle of the bulge on the
wheel. Tighten the spokes which run on to the
other side of the rim. If those spokes are already
tight, you’ll need to loosen a few of the spokes
which run to the bulge side of the hub.
Truing a wheel is easier than you may think, although
it can be a little tough with some wheels. If
you need to loosen spokes, be very careful that
you don’t break them. They can be very tough
to loosen on older mountain bikes.
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