Wheel truing is actually something that is very easy to do.  Even if you have no experience with mountain biking or truing a wheel, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to accomplish it.

The first thing to do is make sure that none of your spokes are loose.  To check, grab each spoke in turn and try to shake it back and forth.  If the spoke wobbles, or makes pinging and grating noises, it’s loose.  If it’s loose, add tension to the spoke by turning the spokey anti-clockwise with your finger and thumb pressure.

Keep turning and shaking until the noise is gone and the spoke doesn’t wobble or move.  Move on to the next spoke until you’ve gone all the way around the wheel and checked them all.

Now, it’s time to see just how true the wheel actually is.  Turn your bike upside down then spin the wheel to see where it comes closest to rubbing on the brake.

You may need to rotate the wheel backwards then forwards to locate the middle of the bulge on the wheel.  Tighten the spokes which run on to the other side of the rim.  If those spokes are already tight, you’ll need to loosen a few of the spokes which run to the bulge side of the hub.

Truing a wheel is easier than you may think, although it can be a little tough with some wheels.  If you need to loosen spokes, be very careful that you don’t break them.  They can be very tough to loosen on older mountain bikes.

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.

There are numerous ways that you can improve your mountain bike safety.  Many riders will tell you that wearing a helmet is the most important step to staying safe.  The second most important step is that you should always ride in control of your mountain bike.

By riding in control you’ll not only prevent crashes, but keep others on the trail safe as well.  When riding out of control you loose the ability to adjust to the terrain as you ride over it.  This can and usually does result in serious injury to yourself and others.

Follow these helpful guidelines and you’ll remain safe when riding your mountain bike.

Gear
Always make sure that you wear a helmet and other necessary safety gear for the conditions that you
plan to ride in.

Never Ride Beyond Your Control
There is never any shame in walking the areas of the trail that you don’t feel comfortable in riding and you should never let anyone else tell you that there is.

Keep Your Speed Under Control
Always make sure you keep your speed at a level where you can quickly adjust to any obstacles or change in the trail.

Know Your Trail
You should never push the limits on trails that you aren’t familiar with.  You should take trails you aren’t familiar with at slow speeds until you learn them better.

Slow Down Around Blind Corners
If you can’t see past a corner you should always slow down, as you never know who or what is around it.

Start Small Then Go Big
Work your way up to stunts or obstacles.  Practice in less difficult or dangerous situations before you move up to something more dangerous.

Playing It Smart
If you start to question what your doing, you probably shouldn’t be doing it.  Always think about what you are doing and go with your instincts.

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.

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.