Bikes

More and more people are engaging into all kinds of outdoor sports today such as hiking, trekking and biking. With the busy lives we all lead, many people are searching for ways to
Get away from the hustle and bustle of the city life and get into nature while doing some kind of sport or activity. One of the most popular of these outdoor sports would be biking.

If you are looking for a good outdoor sport that would get your heart pumping while enjoying the beauty of the great outdoors, then biking should be on the top of your list. Once you decide that you want to go biking, you would first need to invest on a good mountain bike.

Mountain bikes are also called MTBs or all-terrain bicycles. They are specifically designed to be ridden on natural trails and on all kinds of land, from smooth streets to unpaved roads to steep and rocky tracks. Mountain bikes differ from the standard road bikes in their tires. Their tires are generally thicker, have front-wheel suspension as well as advanced shock absorption. There are also some mountain bikes which have rear suspension or “soft tail”, allowing the rider to be able to move the wheels on pivots.

There are basically eight categories which are used in classifying mountain bikes, depending on the terrain that they are used on. These categories would be: cross country, freeride, all mountain, downhill, dirt jumping, single-speed, trials and mountain cross.

Cross country mountain bikes were used as the basic model in developing the other variants. Cross country mountain bikes have little to no suspension, are light weight and are best used uphill or for flat terrains. A type of mountain bike which is similar to the cross country one would be the trial mountain bike. Trial mountain bikes are mostly used for dirt trail competitions and not so much for daily biking, while dirt jumping and downhill mountain bikes are very strong and durable bikes that are fast-rolling and have excellent suspension, making them the best choices for specific terrains. The newest models of mountain bikes in the market would be the freeride, all mountain and single speed bikes. These three bikes are designed for specific purposes and require superior physical ability and skill. For instance, all mountain bikes are heavier compared to the other models. They are used by those riders who combine uphill and downhill riding through the use of advanced suspension technology.

Generally, mountain bikes have wheels with a diameter of 26 inches, although more models of those bikes with 29-inch wheels are being introduced in the market. Some bikers, particularly the experienced ones add some features such as suspension forks. Some also change the chainstays and remove the seats, since they are usually not needed as bikers spend a lot of their standing on the pedals.

If you are looking into biking as an outdoor sport you can do during your free time, make sure that you would be investing in a good mountain bike that would be suitable for your skill and your riding preference. Mountain bikes come in a wide range of prices from a couple of hundred dollars for the basic model to a couple of thousand for the professional version that can be used for competitions. You can also get a mass-produced mountain bike from bike shops if you would just occasionally go riding.