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October 3, 2009

Different Types of Mountain Bike Suspension Available To Buy

Filed under: Specialized Bikes — Tags: , , , , , , , , — admin @ 4:56 pm

Cross Country (XC) Suspension Forks

Light and short travel, XC mtb forks are usually single crown due to the mild terrain and to save weight so not to make the bike too heavy to rise.

Traditionally, 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 to a minimum and making them simple to adjust this.

Downhill (DH) Suspension Forks

Have you ever observed the insanity that may be downhill mountain biking?  Massive drops, giant gap jumps and terrible terrain over a short prtiod of time.  Downhill forks can have large amounts of travel ( 10 inches isn’t unhead of ) to allow 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, big jumps and big tricks require forks which can take some punishment forks not designed for this reason are responsible to be damaged, or worse break, causing heavy injury to a rider.

A dirt jump ( DJ ) bike will sometimes be a hardtail and front suspension, though some riders do still prefer firm forks.  Suspension forks will have small 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

Although suspension forks are far more and more a standard sight on trail bikes they are by no means the only option left.

For the die hards, people who don’t wish to invest in pricey suspension or those preferring something lower maintenance there remain a number of quality stiff forks available on the market.

extremely popular in the dirt jump and street MTB scenes as well as singletrack, rigid Forks supply a viable and often less expensive alternative choice to suspension.

May 30, 2009

The Range Of Mountain Bike Forks In The Marketplace

Filed under: Specialized Bikes — Tags: , , , , , , , , — admin @ 9:49 pm

The front forks of bicycles have developed massively since the invention of the mountain bike. Due to the introduction a requirement developed for protection from impact of rocky ground. A requirement that simply hadn’t been there previously.

Generally on MTB’s now days you will tend to find that the front forks have an already fitted set of shocks, 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 tyres to be reduced, thereby making the bike much easier to ride on rough terrain.

The design for MTB Forks can vary massively, with the suspension travel and handling characteristics tailored to a specific style of riding. For example, a cross country mountain bike rider will need a different fork to a DH mountain bike rider, who will have a different fork again to a freeride rider. XC bikes do not need as much suspension travel, normally near eighty to one hundred millimeters and will be made from lighter metal when compared to the suspension forks used on a downhill mountain bike. This is essentially as they won’t receive as much punishment as they might in other situations.

When suspension was originally introduced into mountain biking, a travel distance of the 80 to 100 mm was typical. Now though, downhill forks offer typically around one hundred and fifty to 200 millimetres of travel. There are some downhill mountain bike forks though which can offer anywhere up to 300 millimetres of travel for the most harsh conditions!

Some mountain bike suspension forks may also allow the rider to change the suspension travel to suit particular sections of a trail. More travel for downhill and extreme sections, and less travel for the not so rough cross country or up hill sections. The rider may even want to totally eradicate suspension fork travel all together which would be advantageous on a smooth concrete road for example. This lockout capability may even be changed externally from the handle bars using a trigger.

Whichever style of riding you do, it benefits you to choose your MTB front suspension forks carefully because when you pick correctly you will benefit from a significant performance advantage.

May 22, 2009

DH MTB: a Brief History

Filed under: Specialized Bikes — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 10:21 pm

Roam

Downhill MTB is a discipline of MTB in which mountain bike riders either for enjoyment, or timed against the clock, ride down a course of varying difficulty against other riders.  The format of a DH mountain bike event follows a similar setup to that of skiing.

History

The 1st ever DH event that was held was won by Alan Bonds and it took place on the now well known Repack Road named because hub bearings would overheat and brake the grease down during races.  This was back in 1976 and DH has changed a lot since that date.  Downhill Events now regularly take place across the world on a regular basis particularly in the mountain regions of nations similar to the United Kingdom or in the summertime at disused ski resorts in countries such as France and Italy.  These are by no means the only countries though, and the DH World Cup is one of mountain bikes most popular events each yearly.

DH Bikes

Despite the obvious changes in this style of mountain bike riding, there are a number of massive differences 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 have a much more rugged and durable full suspension mountain bike frame.  The reason for this is the more extreme terrain that a DH MTB will be ridden down.  The trade off of having a full suspension bike, which is built to a much better standard than a normal MTB is the weight.  Whilst a standard MTB would be under thirty pounds in weight, downhill bikes can to go over forty pounds.  This above average weight is now however being reduced~coming down~reducing~.  Other major changes in the bike can include the use of disc brakes, a high travel suspension fork (five-fix inches)  and different frame shape.

Pads & Protection

Extra Protection is definitely required when racing in the world of downhill…. just view a few of events and you will soon understand that falls, crashes and injuries are common place and a certain drawback this sport offers.  Body armour, full face mask helmets like the ones used in motocross are required otherwise you will not be allowed on the course or to compete.

May 12, 2009

Mountain Bike Dirt Jump - Getting Started

Filed under: Specialized Bikes — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 10:44 pm

Step It Up Jam

Freestyle is a style of mountain biking which copies that of Freestyle Motocross.  A rider will ride at high speed either on the flat, or on a drop in for an instant hit of speed.  Instead of other disciplines where they are timed, dirt jump is built on a scoring system for the stunts performed on the run.

Dirt Jump Bikes

Dirt jumping frames feature a different geometry than that of standard MTB Frames.  A dirt jump frame is generally constructed of much stronger and often heavier metals in order to them to stand up to the amount of punishment they are put through.

Jumps

Doubles - Also know as a gap jump, this is where two separate mounds are setup and the rider will jump a gap between the two performing a trick.  These are the most common and are often seen at sporting events such as X-Games.

Tabletops – These jumps are setup where there is a slant at the start and end of a jump with a flat top in the middle.  This is quite similar to the doubles but with the middle filled in which makes tabletops more suited for new bikers who might not make the jump between gap jumps.

Ski Jumps – Arranged similar to standard ski jumps where the name comes from, these are lengthy ramps generally arranged on downhill sections of freeride trails where the hill can act as a landing.

Roller Jumps – Normally located at the start of a trail, they are intended to give the rider extra velocity.

Rhythms - Designed for a user to manual over them, whoops are normally situated together in numbers of three or more and are small rounded humps similar to large speed bumps.

Spines – Similar to spines at a skate park, spine jumps are made of a single earth work with no tabletop or transition in-between.  Spine jumps are especially great for getting big air.

Berm – This is a curved wall ride which is raised out of the ground.  Commonly found on the corners of trails or downhill tracks to enable you to turn without suffering a loss of speed.

Hip Jumps – Hip are designed to encourage the rider jump at an angle.  Again this is another way to encourage the rider to turn without losing speed but also shows the technical ability of the rider to choose lines through the course.

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