Sunshine #686786

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in new types of bicycling, which are being developed as a variety of ways to spend your free time on a mountain bike. We decided to ponder a bit about what is a modern mountain bike? How is this type of riding different from others, and how are the bikes used in doing so different? If you wish to learn about the best mountain trails for biking read here: https://www.eyeonannapolis.net/2021/11/the-best-trails-for-biking-and-hiking-in-maryland-for-students/

Perhaps this little excursion can help answer the following questions:

• whether or not it’s worth trying this kind of activity;
• what kind of bike to buy
• whether mountain biking is an extreme sport, an endurance sport, or just an active leisure activity.

So, in order let’s go through the main styles of riding and speculate about their features.

Cross country is the first variety of mountain biking that we will start with. The classic definition is endurance racing on rugged trails or training on such trails.

Extreme mountain biking is no longer called cross country biking. However, on the tracks in the mountains, there are very technically difficult sections with steep descents on rocky surfaces. And when the rider is waiting for a heavy ascent of several hundred meters before such a descent – isn’t it extreme? The riders sometimes fall, but usually without serious injuries. They usually get away with abrasions and minor bruises, mainly because they ride as light as possible, using only a light helmet as protection.

Athletes competing in this sport choose very lightweight bikes. A lightweight frame made of special aluminum, titanium, or carbon fiber tubes, very light equipment – all this makes a sports bike is not cheap. The price of a real sports machine starts at a thousand dollars.

In addition to the front shock absorber in the cross-country bike can be present at the rear suspension, it helps on the descent or just on an uneven surface (rocks, roots). In addition, the rear suspension protects the joints of the legs and spine from overload, so it is very popular in ultra-long marathon races.

Dual-suspension bikes have become especially popular in recent years after the shock absorbers began to incorporate a locking feature. Such a bike can behave almost equally effectively on the downhill and uphill.

The common belief among girls that riding a bike is sure to make the legs fat, is fundamentally incorrect, such strain will make the muscles of endurance and vice versa will remove excess fat.

Once upon a time in Russia, mountain biking was popular only as a cross-country bike. Gradually, it was on these bikes people tried to extreme – to ride with even steeper descents or jump down from cliffs.

And the cross country is also the most common form of cycling in our country. It is the most affordable and because of the peculiarities of the natural landscape: real mountains are not everywhere, but you can try cross-country skiing in any suburban forest or even in a large city park.

Downhill – Downhill is where mountain biking began in the West of North America. Passionate cyclists on the slopes of ski trails or just on non-paved roads in the summer tested speed, gradually refining the design of the bike. Downhill bikes over the years grew stronger and stronger, with increased shock absorber travel in both the front and rear.

The essence of downhill biking is speed, speed, and speed. You can feel it best on special tracks and in big mountains, in other words, where the elevators work all year round. It’s always exciting: acceleration at top speed on a more or less straight section, a bend, a flight over bumps or a jump off a ramp, and again – speed. And people who go downhill are different from cross-country riders in that they love very, very, very thrills.

This entertainment is not cheap, a good quality downhill bike is not less than two thousand dollars. In this case, you need to get a set of expensive, but necessary equipment – a helmet, similar in design to the motocross, protection for the body. All who tried, converge in the unequivocal opinion that such entertainment is certainly worth any cost! By the way, in the west downhill is not a purely male sport. There are a lot of girls who demonstrate impressive speed.

Freeride is a free movement on the slope and not always on the track. And the speed, the complexity of the route, and the size of jumps from cliffs practically know no limits. It is no coincidence that some fans of this style in Western Canada, where the sport is very popular, called their style Out Of Bounds – “Beyond”. To understand what the Western freeriders have achieved in their skills, it is best to watch the NEW WORLD DISORDER series film. Extreme free-riders are almost one hundred percent a purely male crowd.