Mountain bike gear: are tubeless rims the best for your ride?

Gabriel    mountainbikingholidays, Pro Tips     bike gear, Mountain bike gear, mountain biking, Mountainbike, Mountainbike holidays, MTB, MTB tyres, tubeless rims, tubular tyres

Reading around the blogosphere, I see there is a lot of research on mountain bike gear and discussions on tubeless rims and which tyres to ride when mountain biking. That’s an important question – if you are a seasoned downhiller you’ll be riding on different rubber than if you were an apprenticing single-track newbie. But before we grace the question of tyres, I believe a more important question is what do you put them on? Are tubeless rims the best for your ride?

Are you rocking tubeless rims? Image: Flickr/thazit

Tyres and tubes are made of rubber and filled with air. When you think about it, there is a lot of rubber rolling on the ground at any given moment. What if you were to remove the inner tube? Interesting, lets look at the tubeless options available.

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Hard or Soft: How Mountain Bikers Shop for Tail

Gabriel    mountainbikingholidays, Pro Tips     Adventure, Adventure Sports, cycling, Downhill, mountain biking, MTB, off-road

Mountain bike technology has come a long way over the past 20 years. Once, bike manufacturers created stiff and solid frames that would roar down hill before people really knew what they were doing (no helmets, no body armour). This video gives you an idea of how rocky and risky downhill descents were on a rigid frame.  Then they decided to put motorcycle suspension on these bikes. And an industry was born!

It began with front-suspension forks. Companies like Rock Shox and Manitou couldn’t keep them on the shelves. Then bike manufactures had the idea to make each wheel float independently of the frame. Full-suspension bikes became fashionable and the market was flooded with them.

Today, the industry still makes a number of sharp and snazzy dual-suspension bicycles that make the heart pound (probably because many of them look like combat helicopters). The next time you go shopping for a mountain bike, get one with a lock-out front suspension. However, before you dump over 3K on the latest “full-susser,” consider these tips so you don’t wind up buying more bike than you can ride:
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Mountain bike skills and avoiding the wipeout

Gabriel    mountainbikingholidays, Pro Tips     cycling, mountain biking, mountainbiking, MTB, off-road

Mountain biking is a balance. The thrill of the sport comes from balancing on the edge of colossal failure: that fine line between rocketing downhill full of endorphins, and the knowledge that one wrong move can stack you in the woods, break your bike and possibly your collar bone. No one wants to crash but sometimes it happens. Here are a few things to keep in mind to prevent a crash the next time you take the “knobbies” out to blast through the forest.

Try to avoid nosedive dismounts Image Flickr/ UltraRob

A: Anticipate your route.

Riding more means learning to read the terrain faster. When you stop looking at every single object that passes in front of you, you’ll begin to plan your attack more wisely. For instance, if you approach a wet patch of dirt and then have to climb a muddy pitch, think about hitting the puddle as fast as you can to make it as far up the pitch as possible. Stop thinking about the little things and look ahead.

B: Balance your body.

Good mountain bikers should always maintain a dynamic body position. Headed up a steep hill? Put your torso over the handle bars. Flying down a rocky descent? Put your back-side as far back as you can over your rear wheel. Hair-pin turns? Keep your inside pedal up and lean to the outside. The better balanced you are over the entire bike, the better your reaction will be when something unexpected comes along.

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If 26 were 29: Mountain bikes and choosing wheels

Gabriel    mountainbikingholidays, Pro Tips     26-Inch wheels, 29-Inch wheels, mountain bike holidays, mountain biking, mountain biking gear, MTB

There is a lot of debate over the size of mountain bike wheels. The current trend has seen people choosing wheels for their mountain bikes and taking the normal 26” standard wheel and increasing it to a diameter of 29” (to be clear, that is an average outside rim diameter with no tire on the wheel). There has been quite a fight as to which system is better on mountain bikes. The fact is they both are: it all depends on what kind of riding you are looking to do and what kind of cyclist you are.

Rollin with 29'ers

The arguments against “29ers” are very strong (industry doesn’t like change – especially if that means buying a new fork and frame to accommodate the bigger wheels), but when the chips (and the wheels) are down, the mountain biker should asses whether or not the switch to larger wheels is a good idea. Bigger wheels on the bike-market means more choice for the buyer, so accept the innovation. Here are a few things to consider when considering a 29-inch wheel purchase:

1. Weight:

Con: Larger rims constitute more weight. There is more metal and as a result it makes the mountain bike heavier. 26-inch wheels are thus essentially lighter.

Pro: Larger rims have more metal in them, but it’s a pretty insignificant weight difference. There are a number of manufacturers who produce tubeless 29-inch rims. Get rid of that inner tube and you get closer to your preferred riding weight.

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Switchback Turns: How to Corner on a Mountain Bike.

Gabriel    mountainbikingholidays, Pro Tips     bike skills, Cornering on a mountainbike, Mountain Bike, mountain biking, MTB, riding a mountain bike

Road biking is a lovely sport. The slow, undulating, smooth pavement gives a perfect focus for the rider. As the road turns, so do you. As the road climbs, so do you. This isn’t always the case when you’re on a mountain bike in narrow single track that zig-zags up a steep bank.

Most people don’t ever leave the comfort of a double-track forest path or dirt road because steep switchbacks (180 degree turns on steep terrain) are very challenging. But with a bit of balance, the novice mountain biker can easily reach the advanced level, increasing the fun they have off-road.

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