Varieties of M.T.B Suspension Available To Purchase
Filed under: Cycling, Mountain Biking, bicycling, biking tour, pedalling
Cross Country (XC) Suspension Forks
Light and short travel, XC mtb forks are often single crown due to the mild terrain and to save weight so not to make the bike too heavy to rise.
Historically, XC forks will have been spring loaded however the trend is now moving towards air sprung suspension.
The obvious advantages of such a change of keeping the weight of the fork as low as possible and making them simple to adjust this.
Downhill (DH) Suspension Forks
Have you watched the insanity that may be downhill mountain biking? Massive drops, massive gap jumps and dreadful terrain over a short prtiod of time. Downhill forks can have big amounts of travel ( ten inches isn’t unhead of ) to make allowance for the stress a DH bike is put under.
Downhill forks are usually coil spring to take on large hits but are also double crowns ; this is where there are 2 legs of the fork close to the top where the fork joins the handle bar. Double crown forks offer double the suspension of single crown forks.
Dirt Jump (DJ) Suspension Forks
Big airs, giant jumps and massive tricks require forks which can take some punishment forks not designed for this purpose are liable to be damaged, or worse break, causing major injury to a rider.
A dirt jump ( DJ ) bike will typically be a hardtail and front suspension, although some riders do still like rigid forks. Suspension forks will have tiny travel of 80-100mm and are normally coil sprung as well as being much heavier thanks to the increased strength than those designed for other off-road bike disciplines.
Rigid Forks
Though suspension forks are more and more a common sight on mountain bikes they are by no means the only option left.
For the die hards, those that do not wish to take a position in dear suspension or those preferring something lower upkeep there remain a number of quality firm forks available on the market.
extremely popular in the dirt jump and street MTB scenes as well as singletrack, stiff Forks provide a practicable and often more economical alternative choice to suspension.
Varieties Of Mountain Bike Front Suspension Forks On The Market
Filed under: Cycling, Mountain Biking, bicycling, biking tour, pedalling
The front forks of bikes have developed greatly since the introduction of the mountain bike. Suddenly a need arose for protection from impact of rocky terrain. A requirement that simply hadn’t been there previously.
Commonly on MTB’s now days you will tend to find that the forks at the front of the bike have an integrated set of shock absorbers, with the blades being made from upper and lower extendable cylinders, called ‘legs’. These telescopic tubes allow the impact of the extreme surface under the wheel to be reduced, thereby making the bike much easier to ride in rough conditions.
The design for MTB Forks can vary greatly, with the forks travel and handling characteristics setup to a specific discipline of mountain biking. For example, the XC mountain bike rider will need a different suspension fork to a DH mountain bike rider, who will have a different setup again to a freeride mountain bike rider. XC bikes will not need as much suspension travel, typically around eighty to 100 millimeters and can be made from lighter metal when compared to the suspension forks used on a downhill bike. This is basically because they won’t receive as much punishment as they might during cross country riding.
When suspension was originally introduced onto mountain bikes, a travel length of the 80 to 100 mm was typical. Now though, downhill forks offer typically around one hundred and fifty to two hundred millimetres of travel. There are some downhill MTB forks though which can offer anywhere up to three hundred millimetres of travel for really harsh terrain!
Some MTB forks may also enable the rider to adjust the suspension travel to fit particular sections of terrain. More travel for DH and extreme terrain, and less travel for the not so extreme cross country or up hill sections. The rider may even want to entirely eliminate suspension movement all together which would be an advantage on a smooth concrete road for example. This lockout ability may even be activated externally from the handle bars using a trigger.
Whichever discipline of mountain biking you do, it benefits you to choose your mountain bike front suspension forks carefully because when you pick the correct ones you will gain a significant change in performance.
Downhill MTB- a Short Introduction
Filed under: Cycling, Mountain Biking, bicycling, biking tour, pedalling
Downhill (DH) MTB is a event of mountain biking in which riders either for fun, or in a time trialled event, ride down a course of varying difficulty against other riders. The format of a downhill MTB race follows a similar setup to that of skiing.
History
The 1st ever downhill event held was won by Alan Bonds taking place on the now well known Repack Road named because hub bearings would heat up and degrade the grease during downhill races. That was back in Oct ‘76 and downhill has changed a lot since that date. Downhill Events now commonly take place across the world on a weekly basis particularly in the mountain areas of places like the U.K. or in the summertime at unused ski resorts in countries such as France and Italy. These are by no means the only countries though, and the Downhill World Cup is one of the most popular MTB events each yearly.
Downhill Bikes
In addition to the obvious differences in this discipline of MTB riding, there are a number of big changes in the bikes and equipment utilised by the riders. A downhill MTB Frame will be far more specialised that the normal hardtail mountain bike frame you or I used, and will usually give a much more rugged and durable full suspension mountain bike frame. The reason for this is the more extreme trails that a downhill MTB will encounter. The trade off of having a full suspension bike, which is made to a much better standard than a normal MTB is its weight. While a standard MTB would be under thirty pounds in weight, DH bikes have been known to go over forty pounds. The weight is now however being reduced~coming down~reducing~. Other major differences in the bikes can include the use of full disc brakes, a high travel suspension fork (5-6 in.) and differing frame shape.
Safety Equipment
Extra Protection is definitely required when racing in the DH events…. just watch a few of races and you will soon realise that falls, crashes and injuries are common place and a certain danger this event offers. Body armour, full face mask helmets similar those worn in motocross are needed otherwise you will not be allowed on the course or to compete.
MTB Freestyle – The Basics
Filed under: Cycling, Mountain Biking, bicycling, biking tour, pedalling
Dirt Jumping is a style of MTB which copies that of BMX dirt jumping. A rider will ride at high speeds either on the flat, or on a drop in ramp for an instant hit of speed. Unlike other disciplines where riders are timed, freestyle is focused on a points system for the stunts performed on the trail.
Dirt MTBs
Dirt Jump frames have a change in geometry than that of normal MTB Frames. A dirt jump frame is commonly constructed of much robust and often heavier materials in order to them to stand up to the amount of punishment they are put through.
Jumps
Doubles – Also know as a gap jumps, this is where two separate jumps are arranged and the rider will jump a transition between the 2 performing a trick. These are the most common and are often seen at sporting sports such as Dew Tour.
Tabletops – These jumps are setup where there is a slant at the start and finish of the jump with a flat surface in between. This is quite like the double jumps but with the middle filled in which makes tabletops better designed for inexperienced bikers who might not make the transition between double jumps.
Ski Jumps – Setup similar to standard ski jumps where the name is borrowed from, these are long ramps normally setup on downhill parts of free ride trails where the hill can serve as a landing.
Roller Jumps – Normally situated at the beginning of a trail, they are intended to give you extra velocity.
Whoops – Intended for a rider to manual over them, whoops are normally arranged together in numbers of 3 or more and are small rounded jumps like very big speed bumps.
Spine Jumps – Similar to spines at a skate park, spines are constructed of a single mound with no tabletop or transition in-between. Spine jumps are really good for getting big air.
Berms – This is a curved wall ride that is built up from the course. Regularly situated on the edges of jump or downhill tracks to enable you to turn without losing too much speed.
Hip – Hip Jumps are designed to encourage the rider jump at an angle. Again this is a different way to force the biker to turn without losing pace but also shows the technicality of the rider to pick lines across the trail.