Cycling Mountain Bikes
Cycling Mountain Bikes
Executive Summary about Cycling Mountain Bikes by Necky Effendi
Cycling Mountain Bikes refers to biking on dirt roads, trails in parks, or unpaved surfaces. Joe Breeze, Gary Fisher, Charlie Cunningham, Keith Bontrager, and Tom Ritchey were considered as the founding fathers of Cycling Mountain Bikes, which started in California in the 1970s.
More than 30 years later, Cycling Mountain Bikes has undergone a lot of changes in its various aspects – from the emergence of different models of mountain bikes and establishment of various events and biking competitions, to development of numerous disciplines. To date, there are a lot of Mountain Biking variations which are enjoyed by thousands of enthusiasts every year. Some of these include downhill Mountain Bike, cross-country racing, dirt jumping, and freeride Mountain Bike. Each discipline requires a specially designed mountain bike as well as mastery in bike-handling skills.
For adventurous bikers and those who have the need for speed, Cycling Mountain Bikes competitions surely have what you are looking for.
As Cycling Mountain Bikes gets more and more popular, gear manufacturers are constantly at work, trying to come up with state-of-the-art bike designs and high-quality pieces of equipment and devices that will meet the demands of every rider. Unlike bicycles used in road cycling, mountain bikes usually have smaller frames, wider tires, larger system of gears, and front and/or rear suspension. Aside from the mountain bike, other pieces of equipment needed in Cycling Mountain Bikes are clothes which provide comfort and can keep the biker warm and dry, gloves for hand protection, and helmet, the safety gear that you cannot go Cycling Mountain Bikes without.
Since Cycling Mountain Bikes is usually done on off-road trails, each mountain biker should practice self-discipline and follow the Rules of the Trail, a set of widely-recognized guidelines formulated by the International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA).
USA Cycling Mountain Bike Calendar
The calendar has 53 events in 3 categories (cross-country, gravity, and ultra-endurance) and gives pro mountain bikers the chance to earn points toward an overall title to be awarded at the end of the season. I’m kind surprised nothing like this existed before but it really adds excitement to the race season and helps get people pumped for local races.
If you plan on participating in one of the 53 events you can look forward to excellent event management and quality events (at least according to USA Cycling). This is definitely a step in the right direction, event consistency is an issue mountain bike racers face in choosing races.
The cross country races include the Sea Otter Classic along with other notable races like the Snowshoe MTB Festival in West Virginia. Cross country races are given category ratings (large races like Sea Otter and Snowshoe are category-1) from 1 to 4 and points are awarded accordingly.
Also, check out my other guide on mountain bike and mountain bike suspension.
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