mountain bike

a bicycle with a sturdy frame and fat tires

originally designed for riding in mountainous country

A mountain bike, mountain bicycle or ATB (All Terrain Bicycle) is a bicycle designed for mountain biking, either on dirt trails or other pavement (roads)unpaved environments. In contrast, road bicycles aren't rugged enough for such terrain.Mountain bikes have fat, knobbly tires for extra traction. In recent years front suspension has become the norm and full front and rear suspension (vehicle)suspension is becoming increasingly common. Some mountain bikes are also fitted with bar ends on the handlebars, but with a recent trend in riser handlebars (as opposed to a flat straight handlebar) fewer riders use bar end extensions. The bikes normally have 26 in (660 mm) wheels although since 2002, some models have been available with 29 in (737 mm) wheels. The larger wheels supposedly roll better over obstacles but this comes at the expense of less manoeuvrability and significant uptake is stymied by the limited selection of tyres and forks on offer.There are newer mountain bikes with either 24 or 27 speed derailleur gears. In French languageFrench a mountain bike is called a VTT (''vélo tout-terrain'': "all-terrain bicycle").

Designs - Mountain bikes can be classified into three categories based on suspension:

Rigid - no suspension

Hardtail - front suspension bicycle forkfork, no rear suspension

Dual or Full suspension - front suspension fork and rear suspension integrated into the frameDesigns vary to reflect the challenges of the different disciplines in mountain biking:

Cross Country (XC) Mountain Bikes tend to have only a small amount of suspension (usually 80-100 mm) on the front and rear, and weigh comparatively little. This is achieved through the use of lightweight materials and suspension is typically provided by metal coil or air shock absorbershocks. XC bikes can weigh as little as 20 pounds (9 kg), up to around 30 pounds (14 kg).

Enduro (or "All-Mountain") Bikes are generally heavier than XC bikes at between 30 and 35 pounds (14 to 16 kg), and have more suspension travel, between 100 and 150 mm of front and rear travel. They are designed to be able to ascend and descend the mountains, integrating some of the lightweight climbing attributes of cross-country bikes and the strengths of downhill/freeride bikes.

Freeride Mountain Bikes are a step up again from Enduro bikes. They tend to have the same 8 in (200 mm) of suspension travel of downhill bikes, and are built from stronger, heavier materials. They are designed to be an all-rounder, able to cross distances (although not as quickly or efficiently as an XC bike) and able to take on dangerous and technical downhill trails (though not as quickly or effectively as a specialist downhill bike). Many freeride bikes more closely resemble downhill bikes and weigh as much, though they are usually designed to be easier to pedal than a downhill bike. Freeride bikes range in weight from the low 30 to upper 50 pounds.

Downhill Mountain Bikes tend to be very heavy at over 40-50 pounds (18 to 23 kg) and have 8 in (200 mm) or more suspension travel. They are very strong and (because of typically large, high gears and long, soft travel) are suitable only for riding down dedicated downhill trails and race courses.

Trials Mountain Bikes that are set up very specifically for the purpose of Bike trials ridingbicycle trials. They typically have no suspension at all and only single-speed bicycleone gear, making them functionally more like an oversized BMX bike than a conventional mountain bike. Some trials bikes have no seat at all, or a vestigial pad, as the rider spends all of his time out of the saddle. These bikes are significantly lighter than almost all other mountain bikes, ranging from 15 to 25 pounds. This makes maneuvering the bike much easier.

Dirt Jumping, Urban and Street Mountain Bikes lie somewhere in between a trials bike, a BMX bike and a freeride bike. They are typically very strong bikes, with 3 to 5 in (75 to 125 mm) of front suspension, no rear suspension, and often with just one gear.

Single-speed bicycleSingle-speed Singlespeeding is as much a life style as it is a type of mountain bike. A singlespeed is just what it sounds like - a mountain bike with one gear. Most singlespeed riders choose to ride such bikes out of a love of simplicity, elegance, and passion. The gearing ratio depends totally on the terrain being ridden, the strength and skill of the rider, and the size of the bike (a 29er often requires a different gearing than a standard 26er). Often singlespeeds are fully rigid, steel-framed bikes. One of the more popular makers of singlespeeds is surlybikes.com - Surly.

4X racing is a new format, and there are curently bikes emerging to fit into that scene. these bikes are either full suspension with 3 to 4 inches of travel, or hardtails, and usually have quite strong frames. They run a chainguide on front and gears on the back.

History - Mountain biking started to evolve in the late 1960s and early 1970s. At the time, there was no such thing as a mountain bike. The earliest ancestors of modern mountain bikes were based around frames from road cruisers such as those made by Schwinn. Riders used balloon tired beach cruisers and modified them with gears and motocross style handlebars. They would bomb (ride fast) down mountain fireroads causing the hub brake to burn the grease inside, requiring the riders to repack the bearings. These were called "repack races" and triggered the first innovations in mountain bike technology as well as the initial interest of the public. The sport originated in California ? mtnbikehalloffame.com. It wasn't until the late 1970s and early 1980s that road bicycle companies started to manufacture mountain bicycles using high-tech lightweight materials. Gary Fisher is normally credited with introducing the first purpose-built mountain bike in 1979. The designs were basically road bicycle frames with a wider frame and fork to allow for a wider tire. The handlebars were also different in that they were a straight, transverse-mounted handlebar, rather than the dropped, curved handlebars that are typically installed on road racing bicycles. Also, some of the parts on early production mountain bicycles were taken from the BMX bicycle. The first mass-produced mountain bikes were produced by Specialized BicyclesSpecialized and were configured with derailleur gears18 gears.

Modern Bikes - Until recently, mountain bicycles had road bicycle style frames and geometry. Mountain biking has become more mainstream with riding styles becoming more aggressive. Newer frames are better-designed, lighter, and stronger, with a geometry that allows for much more spirited riding over obstacles like logs, rocks, wooden bridges, and man-made ramps. Also, many riders are now jumping on mountain bicycles and taking on a more BMX style of riding. Newer mountain bikes have either 24 or 27 speeds, with 3 gears in the front and 8 or 9 gears at the rear wheel.Many newer mountain bikes have a full suspension design. In the past, mountain bikes had a rigid frame and a rigid fork. In the early 1990s, mountain bikes started to have front suspension forks. This made riding on rough terrain easier on a rider's arms. The first suspension forks had about 1½ to 2 inches (38 to 50 mm) of suspension travel. Soon after, some frame designers came out with a full suspension frame which gave riders a smoother ride throughout the ride.Newer suspension frame and fork designs have reduced weight, increased amount of suspension travel, and improved feel. Many lock out the rear suspension while the rider is pedaling hard or climbing, in order to improve pedaling efficiency. Most suspension frames and forks have at least 4 inches (100 mm) of suspension travel. More aggressive suspension frames and forks made for downhill racing and freeriding have as much as 8 or 9 inches (200 or 230 mm) of suspension travel. Many riders still prefer to ride a hardtail frame (bicycle with front but without rear suspension), and almost all mountain bicycle riders use a suspension fork. Well-known suspension fork manufacturers include Manitou, Marzocchi, Fox, Rock Shox, Pace and RST.Full suspension mountain bike technology has made great advances since first appearing in the early 90's. Early full suspension frames were heavy and tended to bounce up and down while a rider pedaled. This movement was called pedal bob, kickback, or monkey motion and took power out of a rider's pedal stoke - especially during climbs up steep hills. Input from hard braking efforts (known as brake jack) also negatively affected early full suspension designs. When a rider hit the brakes, these early designs lost some of their ability to absorb bumps - and of course this happened in situations where the rear suspension was needed most. The problems of pedal bob and brake jack began to be solved in the early 1990s. One of the first successful full suspension bikes was designed by Mert Lawwill, a former motorcycle champion. His bike, the Gary Fisher RS-1, was released in 1990. It adapted the A-arm suspension design from sports car racing, and was arguably the first four bar linkage in mountain biking. This design solved the twin problems of unwanted braking and pedaling input to the rear wheel, but the design wasn't flawless. Lawwill's design was hindered because it couldn't use traditional cantilever brakes and had to use disc brakes. A lightweight, powerful disc brake wasn't developed until the mid 1990s, and the disc brake used on the RS-1 was its downfall. In 1991, while working for AMP Research, (owned and run by another motorcycle racer named Horst Leitner) Karl Nicolai designed a bike that utilized the four bar linkage design and accepted a normal cantilever brake. This bike was initially marketed under the AMP brand and came to the mass market as the Specialized FSR. It became the standard by which all other full suspension designs were judged for the next decade. Specialized claim to have become owners of several of Leitner's patents in May 1998 and other manufacturers (ironically now including Nicolai himself) must now pay licence fees to Specialized for the use of the 'Horst Link' suspension design. The amount of travel on full suspension bikes has steadily increased with 100 now considered for XC race and up to 150mm on trail or enduro bikes. For freeride and downhill even more suspension is the norm. Technological advances have enabled these machines to be of similar weight and cost of high end hardtails of the mid 1990s. Specialized, long an innovator in the bicycle industry, introduced the Specialized Epic, featuring the Brain(TM) shock. This makes the 5.5 lb (2.5 kg) frame a hardtail until a bump comes from below. This turns the bike into a fully-active full-suspension bike until the lack of additional bumps resets the frame to rigid mode. The Brain shock, produced by Fox Racing Shocks, has an inertial valve that makes this possible. It was this technology that enabled the Specialized Epic to become the very first full-suspension bike to ever win the World Cup.The VPP (Virtual Pivot Point) system used by Santa Cruz and Intense, also claims to have reduced the problem of pedal bob. Soon after the VPP was introduced, the creation of the Progressive Suspension 5th Element rear shock (based on Currnut's platform damper) near the beginning of the Millennium allowed riders to adjust almost any frame, regardless of design, to be pedaled without the pedal bob that plagued earlier designs. Other companies have followed Progressive's lead (mainly Manitou with it's SPV system based on the 5th Element and Fox's ProPedal which uses a shim stack rather than an air pressurised valve) and a revolution in suspension design is underway. However, these 'intelligent' shocks always set a balance between their resistance to bob and performance with small bumps. Many think the tried and trusted technology of the four bar linkage with a comparatively simple shock still offers the best performance. Ironically, as shock manufacturers compete to have the latest 'pedal platform' technology four bar riders are pushed to the most expensive dampers on which it is possible to switch off the pedal platform!Most high level mountain bikes now feature hydraulic disc brakes. Disc brakes offer improved stopping power and modulation over rim brakes. Although disc brakes are more expensive than rim brakes they need less maintenance. The best disc brakes are produced by companies such as Hope, Shimano, Hayes and Magura.

Tire sizes - Most mountain bikes use 26 in (559 mm) wheels, though some models offer 24 or 29"er29 in (520 or 622 mm) wheels. Inch-sizes for bicycle wheels are not precise measurements - a 29 inch wheel is actually a 700 mm diameter wheel, which has a 622 mm (24.48 inch) bead seat diameter. 24 Inch wheels are used for dirt jumping bikes and sometimes on freeride bikes, rear wheel only, as this makes the bike more manoeverable. 29 Inch wheels are for Cross Country only.Wheels come in a variety of widths, ranging from standard rims suitable for use with tires in the 26 in x 1.90 in to 2.10 in (559 x 48 to 53 mm) size, to 2.35 and 3.00 in (60 and 76 mm) widths popular with freeride and downhill bicycles. Manufacturers produce a wide variety of tread patterns to suit different needs. Among the styles are: slick street tires, street tires with a center ridge and outer tread, fully knobby, front-specific, rear-specific, and snow studded. Tires and rims are available in either tubed or tubeless designs, with tubeless tyres recently (2004) gaining favor for their pinch flat resistance. Tubeless tires can also be run at lower air pressures which some claim to improve traction while decreasing rolling resistance. Popular tire manufacturers include Tioga, Maxxis, Michelin, Panaracer and Nokian.

Latest trends - Some of the latest trends in mountain bikes include long-travel mountain bikes such as the Santa Cruz V10, and the Specialized BicyclesSpecialized Demo 9. On the other end of the travel spectrum, rigid singlespeed mountain bikes have appeared on the market, including the Bianchi (bicycle manufacturers)Bianchi SASS, the Kona Bicycle CompanyKona Unit, and to an extent, the KHS Solo-One. These bikes are a celebration of the simplicity of the original mountain bikes of the 1970s at a time in which new innovations in suspension design and implementation are at the forefront of bicycle technology. Many experienced riders own rigid singlespeed bikes, finding the lack of complexity and the light weight to be attractive qualities.Another important trend is the emergence of bike parks with a lift to the top. The obvious example is Whistler Mountain Bike Park, which opens during the summer at the populars ski resort Whistler Blackcomb. There are 40 or more trails, rated from very easy (blue) to very scary (double black diamond). The great thing about the park is that anyone can rent a top-quality bike (like Kona Stabs and Norco A-lines) for $100 and ride the lift to the top for $30. With no uphill pedaling to suffer through and the addition of adrenalin, mountain biking becomes fun for anyone.

Future bikes - Frame mounted transmission (mechanics)gearboxes (generally Hub_gearhub gears adapted to fit) are starting to make an appearance in ultra high end mountain bikes. With the gearing system protected from the elements and from impacts and the weight of the bike held low and central these offer significant advantages over conventional gear systems, particularly for extreme use. These internally geared bicycles are often also referred to as ''Three-speed_bicyclethree-speed bicycles''. nicolai.net - Nicolai is currently one of the few the manufacturers of internal gearbox bikes but other companies such as GT and alutech-bikes.com - Alutech have bikes near production. Nicolai use a 'standard' mounting for the gearbox called the g-boxx.org - G-Boxx, which has also appeared on prototypes from Evil Bikes and alutech-bikes.com - Alutech.The German company of rohloffusa.com - Rohloff also manufacture and supply a range of internal gearboxes (called the 'SpeedHub') to several bicycle manufacturers and initially also supplied Nicolai.One of the large derailleur manufacturing companies is rumoured to be developing a gearbox designed purely for frame mounted systems due for release sometime in 2007-8.

See also -

World Mountain Bike Championship

Mountain unicycling

NORBA

External links -

imba.com - IMBA (International Mountain Biking Association)

mtbr.com - Mtbr.com (Mountain Bike Review.com)

mountainbikeroots.com - Mountain Bike Roots - photos and race results from 1980's eventsCategory:Cycle typesCategory:Mountain bikingcs:Horské !kolode:Mountainbikees:Biciclet a? de montañaeo:Montbiciklofr:Vélo tout terrainit:Mountain !bikenl:Mountainbikeja:マウ� �テンバイクpl:Rower? górskiru:Горный !велосипедsv:Mountainb ike

Tibet Overland
route guide for independent travel in tibet including cycling
http://www.tibetoverland.com/

Cusco Machupicchu Traveling
Travel Company in Cusco Machupicchu, visit our web site for more information
http://www.reserv-cusco-peru.com/

eride
eride is a bike team based in Edmonton, Alberta that boasts one of the best riders in the sport.
http://www.eride.ca/

Wildfilm
Filmmakers/Photographers specializing in outdoor/adventure sports and the natural environment,with emphasis on Pennsylvania's wild places
http://www.wildfilmproductions.com/

Kamchatka Lost World Tours
Kamchatka Lost World Tours. Providing the world's travelers with unique trips to Kamchatka.
http://www.travelkamchatka.com/

Guspini e Montevecchio in Sardegna
Portale su Guspini nel Medio Campidano (provincia di Cagliari) in Sardegna, informazioni foto e immagini su Sagre, Feste, Eventi culturali e Sportivi, Istituzioni e Associazioni
http://www.guspini.net/

egvsportphoto.net
Phototheque axée les sports d'aventure et de nature, proposant des visuels de haute qualité déstinés à l'édition comme aux particuliers. Panoramas à 360° sur mesure pour valoriser votre projet ou vos objets.
http://www.egvsportphoto.net/

la preda
A Poggio Catino incorniciato da una natura incontaminata, troverete un centro di eccellenza in fatto di ospitalità. Infatti, il Centro Ricevimenti La Preda rappresenta oggi una realtà ricettiva in grado di soddisfare le esigenze più particolari e soggettive. La cura di ogni dettaglio da parte di uno staff preparato e attento a qualsiasi necessità della Clientela, permettono la soddisfazione e la realizzazione di programmi e lo svolgimento di qualsiasi manifestazione ricettiva, sia essa un ricevimento privato o un meeting aziendale.
http://www.lapreda.it/

Reisen weltweit, Spezial Dominikanische Republik
Buchen Sie mit Insidern pauschal oder Individual Urlaub und nutzen Sie unsere Bausteine.
http://www.tainotravel.de/

criterium-bicycles.com
base camp for every type of bicycling in the Pikes Peak Region--a full service bike shop on the region's most extensive trail system
http://www.criterium-bicycles.com/

QBike - Best Prices on Bicycles and Bike Gear
Search 65,000 products listings from 25 online bike retailers to find the best prices on bike equipment.
http://www.qbike.com/

Extreme Safari
Extreme Sports and Adventure Holidays in East Africa
http://www.extreme-safari.com/

www.infobici.com
Web de la Comunidad de Mountain Bike Infobici. Foro muy activo, salidas organizadas, rutas, agenda, concursos, artículos, fotos y toda la información sobre el mundo de la bicicleta y el cicloturismo
http://www.infobici.com/

VTTFreeride.com
LE site français du VTT engagé : News, Forum, Photos, Vidéos, Articles, Annonces,...
http://www.vttfreeride.com/

Flow Zone
Mountain Bike Website with lots of pictures and movies, daily news and reviews. All for Free!
http://www.flowzone.ch/

Mountain bike trails and cycling adventures in the northeast - Bikekinetix.com
Mountain bike trails that provide off-road scenic, wilderness, historical or romantic cycling adventures for both the experienced rider or beginner. Included are bicycle rides recommended for the whole family.
http://www.bikekinetix.com/

Pine River Paddlesport Center
Located in Northern Michigan, the Paddlesport Center of the Universe, PRPC is a family owned canoe, kayak, and raft rental. PRPC’s Clean and Quiet Campground is a great base camp from which to enjoy the many rivers, trails, dunes, & lakes in the Manistee National Forest and Pere Marquette State Forest. Michigan's premiere paddlesport streams are a stone’s throw away, and there are a dozen popular hiking and biking trails in the area. Home of the Up-North Adventure Store, The Wow-Wall, our 32’ auto-belay Rock Climbing Wall, Mountain Bike rentals, Camping Cabins & Riverside Vacation Rental on site.
http://www.thepineriver.com/

Gold River, British Columbia
a small westcoast community located in the heart of Vancouver Island wilderness
http://www.goldriverbc.ca/

www.mtb-cecina.it
Associazione Sportiva MTB Club Cecina (LI)
http://www.mtb-cecina.it/

Tabor Mountain Ski Resort & Bike Park
Northern BC's only lift accessed mountain bike park! Trails for all ages and abilities.
http://www.tabormountain.com/

Mountain Bike Magazine
Daily and Weekly updates from the world of Mountain Biking.
http://www.mountainbike.com/

International Mountain Biking Association
Dedicated to the promotion of off-road bicycling through education in environmentally sound, socially responsible riding practices and land management policies.
http://www.imba.com/

Mountain Bike Action
An on-line magazine dedicated to the sport of mountain biking, technology, new products, racing, and reviews.
http://www.mbaction.com/