Mountain Bikes for Sale

TIPTON — The fifth annual “Cruise the Blues” mountain bike festival is Aug. 30. The biking event, hosted by Palen Family Farms east of Tipton, is not just for performance racers, but the entire family.

Along with giving you a better selection and expert advice, bike shop personnel can you help you get fitted to the right size bike.  You can get the bike either too big or too small, which will cause your enjoyment to suffer.  Follow the tips below, and you’ll have the perfect fit for your mountain bike.

Standover Height
When you check the fitting yourself, the first thing you want to check is the inseam clearance, or the standover height.  You want to have plenty of room between yourself and the top tube when you come to a stop.  There should be around four to six inches of clearance from the top of your inseam to the top of the top tube.

Leg and Feet Position
There’s a formula for determining the leg position for riding a mountain bike.  When riding a mountain bike, the terrain constantly changes, raising you off the seat constantly, sometimes just slightly, and other times completely off.  Therefore, you’ll need to sit your saddle slightly lower than you would on any other type of bike.  Be sure you take this slightly lower seat height position into effect when you factor the size of the frame.

Riding Compartment
The next thing you’ll want to check is the rider compartment layout (the distance between the saddle and the handlebars).  Once the proper leg extension has been determined, be sure the handlebar is one to two inches below the height of the saddle.  You should never have the handlebars higher than the seat, unless there is some type of upper body problem.

Dual Suspension Bikes
With suspension being at both ends, you’ll want your weight more in the middle of the bike so that your height is distributed evenly between the front and rear suspension units, thus allowing the front and rear suspension to work as a unit.

This can be done quite easily by using either a higher or shorter stem to raise the hand height, which will in turn move the upper body up and the weight towards the rear.  The increase in rise shouldn’t be no more than two inches, then the decrease in reach shouldn’t be any more than two inches.

Test Ride
Once you have taken all of these steps into account, go out and test drive the bike.  Make sure you wear a helmet, even if you are going to be testing for a brief period of time.  Be sure that the tires are set to the right pressure, and the shop has adjusted the bike for you properly.

You should have a shop employee observe your body position and ride height while riding, to determine if any further adjustments need to be made.  Ride the bike around for a bit to get used to its handling and new equipment.  Start off slowly, then give the bike a bit of time to present its personality.

After a few minutes, you might notice that something isn’t working correctly or just doesn’t feel right in general.  If this happens, go back to the shop and have the problem corrected before you rule out the bike.

The more you ride bikes, the easier it will be to tell the difference in the ride types.  Keep in mind, it may take months and even years to appreciate the way a bike handles.  Talk to those who ride, and ask bike shop employees if they ride the bikes they sell.  This way, you’ll learn more about the mountain bikes you love so much!

Cross country mountain biking is cross country at its finest.  Where free riders and downhill bikers use four wheel bikes and ski lifts to get them to their destination, cross
country bikers get to the top of the mountain by the ride.  Though free riding is very popular, the life vein of the sport has always been cross country biking.

Just as cross country riders are a different breed, the bikes they ride are as well.  The cross country bike is completely different in many ways from other types of mountain
riding bikes.  The premise for cross country riders is speed.  Everything about their bikes revolve with the idea of making the bikes faster and faster.  Bikes used in cross
country mountain biking can be fully rigid frame, hardtails, or even full suspension frames.  Through the years, the cross over to full suspension has become very popular.

The weight difference between free ride bikes and cross country bikes are considerable.  You’ll be extremely hard pressed to find a bike that weighs more than 24 pounds, and
even that weight can be heavy.  Free ride bikes weigh close to 40 pounds, which makes the difference in weight pretty close.

If you’ve never tried cross country mountain biking, you’ll probably find it to be a break from the ordinary.  Even though this type of biking involves trails, it’s normally
the type of terrain that beginners wouldn’t want to ride.  Involving hills and rough terrain, cross country biking offers quite the rush.  For mountain bikers everywhere,
cross country is the way to go.  It offers you a new assortment of bikes, new areas to bike, and a new twist to mountain biking as you know it.  If you’ve been looking for a
mountain biking rush, cross country mountain biking is what you need to be experiencing.

As the name implies, downhill bikes are built to endure rugged downhill riding.  Riding takes place on steep, downhill terrain.   This results in high speed downhill rides and extended time in the air when you come to jumps and other obstacles.

The key to down hilling is relaxing your upper body.  The steeper and rockier the hill is, the more tightly the rider tends to put a death grip on the handle bars.  Most riders tend to slow down as they approach obstacles such as rocks, then apply both brakes.  If you don’t apply your brakes, the rock will stop your wheel.  This isn’t good, as the rock can throw you off balance and completely kill any type of momentum you have.

Relaxed riders won’t slow down as much.  The combination of extra momentum, no front braking at crucial moments will allow the wheel to bump over the rock and continue onward with little effort.  If you are going slow, it’s essential to release your brakes as much as possible when you approach an obstacle.  This may entail going a bit faster, although the result is much less painful.  On steep hills, going really slow will always make things much more difficult.

One exception to this is a very tight turn.  If a hop is out of the question, you’ll need to slow down to allow the smallest radius of turning circle.  This kind of thing takes practice, although track standing isa great way to improve on your balance.

Although down hill biking is one of the most extreme methods of mountain biking, it can also be one of the most dangerous.  If you’re new to mountain biking you shouldn’t start out with down hilling, as it takes a lot of practice.  With a bit of practice and knowing the right techniques, technical down hilling is something you’ll find fun.  It can provide quite a rush and a lot of excitement for those who seek adventure.

Mountain bike shoes are specialized footwear. They are customized for the kind of cycling you plan to do, the model of your cycle, the terrain you are going to cover and finally your personalized needs. However, the basic criterion that makes a cycling shoe is determined by the pedal of the bike.

Originally, biking shoes were made of hard leather soles made firmer with a metal or plastic shoe plate or cleat nailed to it. The cleat had a slot that fitted into the pedal of the cycle, while the toe clip and strap worked to keep the bikers grip on the pedals.

When the clipless pedal became the norm, the features of the cycling shoes had to be modernized accordingly. Hence, the shoes featured cavities or clefts to smoothly accommodate cleats for clipless pedal machines for instance in Shimano’s SPD (Shimano Pedaling Dynamics) and LOOK.

Special features of modern cycling shoes

Mountain cycling shoes have features that make it safe and ideal for this fun-filled yet highly challenging activity. They are:

1. Sole is very smooth, tough and inflexible
2. Sole is slightly curved at the ball of the foot that works to transfer force and pressure to the toe while cycling
3. Adaptable while in use
4. Features either velcro straps or even more complex straps instead of laces
5. Unhooks easily

Types of cycling shoes soles

The stuff the sole is made of and degree of tread it ensures determines the weight of the shoe, which is vital to this special footwear. There are generally three kinds of soles available:

1. Economical brands feature an injection-molded plastic sole. However, they are heavier and prone to flexing.
2. Moderately priced brands have a combination sole, either made of plastic and carbon fibre, plastic and fibreglass, or completely carbon fibre.
3. Premium brands manufactured post-2002 use carbon fibre soles.

How do the cleats of mountain cycling shoes differ from others?

The kind of pedals your cycle features determines the cleat. A clipless type pedals requires some specific cleats. Mountain biking shoes generally come with a sunken cleat and studs lining the sole. This helps negotiate the tough terrains. These mountain specific cleats are smaller than those designed for road shoes (that generally have protruding cleats and are attached with three bolts) and are fixed to the shoe with two bolts.

Quality of the shoe

For knowing the quality of the shoe you plan to buy, check the following:
1. The firmness and grip of the sole: A stiff sole ensures better pedaling
2. What is it made of?: Premium brands come with carbon soles
3. Breathability: It should ensure good air circulation and coolness
4. The total weight of the shoe: The lighter the better
5. Durability: It’s a must to endure the tough terrain
6. Comfort: Your feet must be at ease while you ride

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There is a lot of history and information out there in regards to the history and origins of mountain biking, with some being recognized and some that depends on who has the best firm of public relations.

Some say that mountain biking began with the Buffalo Soldiers, which was a turn of the century infantry who customized bikes to carry gear over the rough and tough terrain.  They began in August of 1896, over the course of 800 miles.  Their mission was simple – to test bikes for military use in the toughest of terrain.

Others say it was the Velo Cross Club of France that started mountain biking.  The club was comprised of 20 young bikers from Paris, who between 1951 and 1956 developed a sport that resembles present day mountain biking.

It could have also been John Finley Scott, who was the first mountain biker in the U.S.  In 1953 he constructed what he called a “Woodsie Bike”, using a diamond frame, balloon tires, flat handle bars, and cantilever brakes.  He was more than 20 years ahead of his time.  Even though he remained an off road enthusiast, there were many at that time who didn’t share that same passion.

Today, we believe that the history of the mountain bike is most apparent in Northern California.  There are a few areas that claim to be the first community for mountain biking, although each and every history book will tell you Marin County.

The sport of mountain biking has taken many twists and turns over the last several hundred years.  Even though there are many that say different things about the history and the beginning, we know one thing  for sure – one thing has led to another and the sport of mountain biking was born.

Whether you ride for sport or as a hobby, mountain biking fits into several different categories.  Each category has it own unique styles and requirements.  Below are 9 of the cateorgies for mountain biking:

1.  BMX
BMX biking is a style using bikes with 20 inch wheels. You will often find BMX bikes being used at skate parks or with dirt jumps.  It is easier to perform tricks and stunts with BMX bikes because of their smaller wheels and wheel bases.
and shorter wheel bases, BMX bikes are much easier
to perform tricks and stunts with.

2.  Cross country
Cross country biking is the least rigorous form of mountain biking.  This type of mountain biking involves riding your bike up and down hills.  While it is the least rigorous style of mountain biking, cross country bikers are generally very fit because of the long distances they ride up and down hills.

3.  Cyclo cross
This is a cross between road and mountain biking. In cyclo cross biking, bikers ride over obstacles, through rivers, and off course.

4.  Dirt jumping
Dirt jumping involves jumping the bike over large man-made dirt jumps and doing tricks while in the air.  These jumps are normally close together so riders can go over six or more jumps in one run, gaining momentum to give them more to create greater speed for bigger jumps.

5.  Downhill
In downhill mountain biking, riders race downhill as fast as possible.  This style of riding is very intense and offers riders the chance for ultimate thrills and excitement.

6.  Freeride
In free riding the bikers finds the perfect line down the mountain using all of the terrain to express themsleves.  These competitions are very popular, as riders choose their own styles of expression

7.  Single speed
No to be confused with fixed gears, single speed is a form of cross country biking that’s done using a bike with only one gear and fewer components.  The focus with single speed riding is simplicity.  The straight chain line will provide efficient pedaling, and the lack of components mean less mechanical problems and a lighter bike.

8.  Street and urban
Street and urban riding incorporates riding in urban areas, along ledges, and other types of man made obstacles. Riders of street and urban biking will do tricks such as stalls and grinds while riding.

9.  Trails
Trials are considered a form of mountain biking, although the bikes that are used look nothing like mountain bikes.  They use 20 or 26 inch wheels and sport small, low frames.  Trail riders will hop and jump their bikes over obstacles, which requires an extreme amount of balance and concentration.