Elite Mountain Bikes For Amateur And Professional Mountain Bike Racers

Taking the first stride is always the hardest thing to do so I have compiled the basic mountain biking skills you should possess to get you started. For some, these are very obvious; for beginners, these are very helpful.

Brake better, go faster
Every sports car has 2 things in common: large engine and high-performance brakes. This way, even if it runs fast, it can slow down quickly. No sports car is eligible to run at high speed without having good set brakes. This should also be your principle when riding a mountain bike. If you want to improve your speed, invest on good set of brakes.

The Gear Factor
If you know how to drive a car, then you know how important it is to drive on the right gear. The same thing applies on a mountain bike. Low gears are easier to pedal, but slow on acceleration. High gears are much harder but will give you abrupt acceleration. Low gears will help you climb stiff hills. High gears will drive you fast on level terrain. Do not start on high gears. Start low and gradually increase as you gain speed.

The Instant Turn
If you are about to hit a tree, a car or a large rock, you have to learn how to make a quick turn. To turn sharply to the left, steer sharply to the right. This will make your body lean to the left. Then make a hard left turn, steering into the lean and away from your obstacle. While this takes some practice, it can be very useful on emergency situations. Ease up on the rear brake if your rear tire begins to skid. Ease up on the front brake if your rear tire lifts off the ground.

Slowing Down
Riding fast lessens your reaction time significantly. So if you need to slow down to avoid something in front of you, do the following procedures: Shift your body weight as far back as possible, lower your body as low as you can, and squeeze front and rear brakes evenly. Avoid hitting the brake hard if your body is not properly aligned with your bike or if you are making a turn.

I think I’m falling
Yeah, yeah… It may sound so cheesy but the fact is, there is nothing cheesy when your face is about to crash on the rocks and you are about to experience wipe-out of a lifetime. Aside from learning how to ride the bike, the second, most important things you should learn is how to take the fall. The key is alertness. Anticipate all the possible scenarios that can happen on the trail. While the best thing to do when you know you are about to fall is to slow down by braking, make sure that you have an escape route in case your brake fails. Do not go flying up into the air while sticking your arm to protect your fall. Instead, tuck your body and plan your fall – choose where to land best. Do not keep your eyes off the trail. Do not stiffen your muscles.

Practice is said to make one perfect. But in the case of crashing, there is no better way to make the perfect fall than by keeping in control at all times even if you are about to fall 30 feet down the cliff.

Dorine Tiller Author Advocate for good Heath, Weight Management, Exercise and inner peace www.takecontrolofyourwellness.com

Article Source: http://www.thecontentcorner.com

Taking the first stride is always the hardest thing to do so I have compiled the basic mountain biking skills you should possess to get you started. For some, these are very obvious; for beginners, these are very helpful.

Brake better, go faster
Every sports car has 2 things in common: large engine and high-performance brakes. This way, even if it runs fast, it can slow down quickly. No sports car is eligible to run at high speed without having good set brakes. This should also be your principle when riding a mountain bike. If you want to improve your speed, invest on good set of brakes.

The Gear Factor
If you know how to drive a car, then you know how important it is to drive on the right gear. The same thing applies on a mountain bike. Low gears are easier to pedal, but slow on acceleration. High gears are much harder but will give you abrupt acceleration. Low gears will help you climb stiff hills. High gears will drive you fast on level terrain. Do not start on high gears. Start low and gradually increase as you gain speed.

The Instant Turn
If you are about to hit a tree, a car or a large rock, you have to learn how to make a quick turn. To turn sharply to the left, steer sharply to the right. This will make your body lean to the left. Then make a hard left turn, steering into the lean and away from your obstacle. While this takes some practice, it can be very useful on emergency situations. Ease up on the rear brake if your rear tire begins to skid. Ease up on the front brake if your rear tire lifts off the ground.

Slowing Down
Riding fast lessens your reaction time significantly. So if you need to slow down to avoid something in front of you, do the following procedures: Shift your body weight as far back as possible, lower your body as low as you can, and squeeze front and rear brakes evenly. Avoid hitting the brake hard if your body is not properly aligned with your bike or if you are making a turn.

I think I’m falling
Yeah, yeah… It may sound so cheesy but the fact is, there is nothing cheesy when your face is about to crash on the rocks and you are about to experience wipe-out of a lifetime. Aside from learning how to ride the bike, the second, most important things you should learn is how to take the fall. The key is alertness. Anticipate all the possible scenarios that can happen on the trail. While the best thing to do when you know you are about to fall is to slow down by braking, make sure that you have an escape route in case your brake fails. Do not go flying up into the air while sticking your arm to protect your fall. Instead, tuck your body and plan your fall – choose where to land best. Do not keep your eyes off the trail. Do not stiffen your muscles.

Practice is said to make one perfect. But in the case of crashing, there is no better way to make the perfect fall than by keeping in control at all times even if you are about to fall 30 feet down the cliff.

Dorine Tiller Author Advocate for good Heath, Weight Management, Exercise and inner peace www.takecontrolofyourwellness.com

Article Source: http://www.thecontentcorner.com

Almost all individuals who know how to ride a bike would definitely want the excitement that mountain biking can bring. This is very different from the ordinary biking since it involves tough challenges and some biking skills that may not be utilized with biking on ordinary places. Mastering the basic skills in mountain biking before going on into the hills is very important so as your biking will be more enjoyable, safe, and confident.
You can practice these beginning skills at a local park, school, bike path, or simply around your house. If you can, try to find a location with a steep hill.
Get a feel for your pedals
Learn how you can move your foot, first by moving your foot away from it and the other foot is on the ground while you are sitting on your bike. Slowly practice releasing and replacing your foot on the pedals while biking around an area. If your pedals are toe clip or clip less, spend some more time practicing the bike to master this skill.
Sit and spin to look for the right position
Simply sit on your bike and pedal around. You should keep your arms slightly bent. You should also adjust your seat height so your leg is 70 to 90 percent extended at the bottom of every stroke on the pedal. Keep your body relaxed, as there will never be a position where you should have either your knees or your elbows locked.
Learn when to shift gears
Get a feel for shifting gears with your bike. The higher gears are harder to pedal and will go faster while the lower gears are easier to pedal and will help you ascend hills. As you get to steeper hills, its best to shift before you get to the hill rather than while your on it.
Coasting
You should spend a bit of time coasting while standing on your pedals, without actually sitting on the seat. Keep your arms bent but don’t lock your knees. Now, try experimenting with shifting your body towards the rear end of the bike.
Practice pedaling while standing
Do some tricks that you can with your bike by standing on it while pedaling. Be comfortable with some positions that you think may seem very necessary when biking. Bike around some areas while standing on the pedals and try shifting gears from higher to lower as you are standing.
Learn the skills of dropping down a curb
As you bike around, look for a curb and practice your speed while on it. When you get to the top try to change your speed, from moderate to fast and as you go down, standing and coasting off the curb until you get familiar with this skill.
You will find that when you finally master these techniques and biking skills, you can comfortably hit the trails up and down the hills making your biking more enjoyable.

Article Source: http://www.a1-articledirectory.com

Michael Saunders has loved bicycling his whole life. Shop at his online Ladies Mountain Bike Store and for the beginning bicyclist visit the Boys Bike Store.

Remember when you didn’t think about the gears on your bike? Your bike had a bike sprocket connected to the pedals and a small sprocket connected to the back wheel an that’s all you needed. Then you got a little older and got your first 10-speed. That bike had two sprockets up front and five on the back. In all likelihood, the shifters were a pair of levers connected to your bike frame near the handlebars. As time went on the shifters moved to the handlebars themselves and then became advanced-looking dials right beside the grips. And next thing you knew, instead of a paltry ten speeds on your bike, you were riding a 27-speed mountain climbing machine!

Why all these gears? To make riding faster and easier, of course. Whatever the number of gears your bike has, if it has 2 or more then there’s a basic set-up which almost every bike employs.

First of all you have your front and rear sprockets. These, along with the chain, form the most basic components of the gearing system. To determine your gear ratio you compare the number of teeth on the front sprocket to the number of teeth on the rear sprocket.

If your front sprocket has 52 teeth, and your rear sprocket has 20 teeth, then you’re looking at a ratio of 2.6. The higher the ratio the faster the gear. Typically the gears on the front, starting from the inside, get larger as you move out. On the back wheel, though, the largest gear is typically the farthest inside and they get smaller as you move out.

The next key component for your mountain bikes gears is the derailleur, or derailer. The derailleur is what moves the bicycle chain from gear to gear. A typical shifting system employs both a front and rear derailleur. Without the derailleur you wouldn’t be able to shift gears. The derailleur consists of pulleys and the cage, which is the part which actually comes into contact with the chain. The pulleys are attached to the gear cables. There are separate cables for the front and rear derailleurs. The gear cables connect to the gear shifters.

There are a variety of gear shifters available today and they cover a wide price range. The gear shifter is what allows you to change gears. The first type of shifters were levers known as friction shifters. These worked simply by pulling the cables attached to the derailleurs.

Friction shifters can be troubling because the way they’re designed you can easily get caught between gears and accidentally damage your gears or even wreck. The more advanced variety of shifter is known as the index shifter.

Index shifters have specific stopping points and are calibrated to perfectly shift from gear to gear. They remedy the drawbacks of the older friction shifters. Gear shifters may be placed anywhere from the frame to the handlebar base to the grips to models which seem to be part of the brake levers.

Mountain bikes have multiple gears to make it easier for you to negotiate difficult terrain. Higher gears are there to help you speed downhill or across the flats, and lower gears are there to help you surmount those difficult inclines. Remember, it’s best to shift gears when you’re not putting a lot of stress on your pedals. Shifting when there’s heavy pressure on the pedals can damage your shifting system.

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Mountain bike cycling is a daring exercise that can be achieved by someone that has cycling experience.

Compared to the usual bike ride, it does have a few hurdles to overcome. Therefore, you need to learn these core skills in advance of visiting the trails or the dirt.

It is recommended to get as much practice as possible by going to local bike parks and routes – even arond your local housing estate. If you can, try to find an area with a steep hill.

Become Comfortable With Your Pedals
Practice moving your foot from the pedal initially while sitting on your bike with one foot on the ground. Then, move on to releasing and
replacing your foot as you are pedaling around for a bit. Those with toe clip plus clipless type foot pedals will want to spend extra time practicing.

Sit And Spin For Position
Basically sit on your bike and pedal around. You should make sure to have your arms slightly bent. It is important to adapt your seat height thus your leg is 70 to
90 percent extended at the bottom of every stroke on the pedal. You must try to have your body in a relaxed position to avoid your elbows or knees getting locked.

Changing Gears
Get a feel for shifting gears with your bike. The higher gears are harder to pedal and will allow you to go faster, while the lower gears are lighter to pedal and will also assists you climb hills. For safety and speed, make sure to switch gears prior to going on raised ground or a hill.

Coasting
Spend some time coasting while standing upright on your pedals and avoid sitting down . Keep your arms slightly bent and avoid any locking of the knees. Experiment by moving back and forwards on the bike – and side to side.

Pedal While Standing
Become at ease with the bike pedaling whilst standing upright . Ok, now you can come up off the seat, keeping upright and rotate the pedals as you stand on them. Try this when in higher gears on flat ground then again in lower gears on elevated hill or ground.

Dropping Down A Curb
Try finding a curb that you can basically get to the top part of. Try at a moderate speed, standing and coasting right off the curb from the upper level to the lower level. Try this at different speeds until it becomes second nature.

Once you practice these techniques and get the hang of them, you’ll be able to hit the trails feeling comfortable on your mountain bike. .

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Lynne Duncan researches and provides indepth information on many sports. You can find out more information on mountain bikes and mountain biking skills at www.mountain-bike-tips.info/1991-mountain-bike-pictures.html