In mountain biking and even BMX riding, the bunny hop is a bike trick that involved the rider lifting the bike up and over an obstacle while remaining in motion on the bike.  Experienced bikers can lift their bikes in excess of a meter or one and a half feet.  The world record for the bunny hop stands at 4 feet.

The bunny hop is executed by approaching an obstacle with speed, lifting the front of the bike then leveling the pedals.  If the bike has full or front suspension, pre-load the shocks by pressing down on the bike just before you reach the obstacle.

Once the shocks have been pre-loaded, the rider will spring upwards, pulling up with the hands and feet at the same time.  Toe straps or clipless pedals help with this, although if plain platform pedals are used, it’s still possible.  As the biker lifts, the hands will roll through twisting the throttle.  After the object is cleared, push down on the bike then absorb the impact with the arms and the legs.

It’s often times a misconception that a bunny hop without toe clips is achieved by rotating forward on the handlebars.  Lifting up on a mountain bike while standing next to it is quite difficult to hold on to the handle bars.

The bunny hop is very popular with mountain biking, as experienced riders can make it look a lot easier than it actually is.  New mountain bikers should practice a lot before they actually attempt the hop, as doing it on a bigger obstacle can easily be quite dangerous.

With proper practice, the bunny hop can be achieved, even for beginners.  All you have to do is give it some time and effort, and you’ll be pulling off the bunny hop just like the pro’s do it.

By:Alison Addy

If you take part in mountain biking, especially the extreme kind, then it is inevitable at some point that you will have a crash. You can see mountain bike crashes on DVDs around the world, some are lucky as they have the right safety equipment, whilst others are not. Stunt crashes can be fascinating to watch, but the real life ones can be horrific and they can cause serious injury.

The potential injuries that can occur with mountain bike crashes are endless. Many bikers have been impaled on their bikes handlebars, they have broken their arm after falling off and some have even been paralyzed after a bad fall. So the injuries that you can sustain are quite severe. Crashes don’t just occur when you take part in extreme mountain biking. They can also occur when you take part in casual riding too. However obviously there is more of a risk involved with extreme downhill riding where jumps and tricks are involved.

Protecting Yourself against Crashes

The only way to truly protect yourself against a crash is to ensure that you have the correct safety equipment. You cannot always predict a crash when you are out riding on your mountain bike, but if you wear the appropriate safety equipment then you can at least protect yourself from serious injury. It doesn’t matter whether you are a beginner or an expert rider, you will have a crash at some point. So what protection should you have to keep you as safe as possible?

When you hit the ground after a fall, usually the first things to get hurt are your hands. Many people do not think to protect their hands whilst they are out riding and unfortunately that can cause problems if you do fall off the bike. The wrists ad our fingers are most sensitive to injury after a fall and it only takes a minor knock for them to get seriously injured. So wearing gloves is definitely a good idea as if you do fall off, the skin will be kept in place because of the gloves.

Essentially however the most important safety equipment you will need is a helmet. You should never go anywhere without your helmet, even if you are just going on a leisurely ride along a field! Anything can happen and the accident may not be your fault but if you fall and hit your head you could potentially suffer a serious injury. The way that helmets are designed these days makes them extremely comfortable to wear. They really can make the difference between life and death and so if there’s one piece of safety equipment you will not go without, make sure that it is the helmet.

Overall the helmet, gloves and eye protection are generally the only safety equipment you need when out cycling. You will definitely suffer from at least one crash on your bike so it is always better to be prepared for the inevitable.

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Alison Addy loves writing for www.bikecyclingreviews.com .Keep reading about mountain bikes reviews and mountain bike parts at his web.

A mountain bike is a lot of fun although it does require some maintenance.  You should always lube your bike 15 hours or so before riding, as quick jobs right before you take off normally doesn’t get everything lubed.  Some lube jobs will last for more rides, although if things get loud or shifting gets sticky, it’s time to lube.

Here is how to lube your bike:

1.  The chain
Apply a generous amount of mountain bike lube to your chain as you move the pedals around backwards.  It also helps to find a spot to steady your hand such as the frame while you move the pedals around and around.  Make sure you watch out for the cranks and chain rings as they move around.

2.  Front Deraileur
On the front defaileur, lube the pivots.  Use a spot of lube everywhere you can see movement when you move the shift lever.

3.  Rear deraileur
Just like the front deraileur, lube the pivots.

4.  Pedals
There are some types of clipless pedals that will need to have the release mechanism lubed.  You should only lube this mechanism if you have this type of pedal.

5.  Everything into motion
Pedal around, shift your gears, and bounce your bike around.  If you hear anything squeak, there’s a moving part there are it should be lubed immediately.

6.  Wipe it all clean
Once you’ve lubed everything and wiped it all around, simply wipe it all back off.  Use a rag to wipe away all the lube you used, including all the lube off the chain.  Wiping it away will leave the lube in between the parts but clean it away from everywhere it isn’t needed.  This will keep your bike from collecting dirt while you ride.

A radically changed Olympic mountain bike course with freshly-added banking, drops and rocks is set to test the technical skills of the best women mountain bikers in the world on Friday.

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!

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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