New to Mountain Biking |
Question And Answer Category: Cycling |
Question: |
| Dear BlankHelp Team, I want to get into mountain biking, I have had this mountain bike I picked up at a discount store for over a year. I've only used it for working out(ride a couple miles on the road every few days), and running around town. I want to get into real mountain biking, but don't know how. Any easy tips? thanks, Bob |
Our Advice and Answer: |
| Dear Bob, Mountain Biking can be a very fun, and rewarding sport. Plus add in the potential positive effects on your health, we really love mountain biking. First let us say, we have members who cycle, and one who just loves mountain biking. So we might be a little biased about mountain biking. ;) OK, now for some quick tips to get into mountain biking: 1. This might sound like just a disclaimer, but it is serious advice. Get yourself checked over by a health care provider. Mountain biking can be a serious workout, and if you have any medical conditions that could become aggravated, you especially need to talk to your doctor. She or he, will help you evaluate your current health status, and how you can improve your conditioning without hurting yourself. Plus, your doctor might bike too, and you can get a mountain biking partner. 2. Get a good helmet. We put this before the bike since once you get your mountain bike you'll want to attack trails and might skip out on getting the right protection. Many Consumer Reporting sites will give reviews of the best helmets for the buck. 3. Need a bike, a mountain bike is the best. You said you have a bike, but purchased from a department store. Word of warning, bikes in department stores are usually in the 'toy section' because that is how they are treated. It is not seen as a rough serous sport by many, so departments only carry what their market will demand. A cheap bike to pedal around on now and then. So your bike might be OK, but don't surprised that you want to UPGRADE to a serious trail bike. Also, becareful, we've heard people having bad rides with department store bikes, no one wants a bike to fall apart miles from the car. So good luck. 4. It would be helpful to have mountains, but just open trails, and open space can be fun too. We do our mountain biking in Pennsylvania, and those in the Midwest say we have NO mountains, but we enjoy it none the less. 5. A good local bike store. Not just any bike store, you can talk to the people who run the store, and pickup if they just sell bikes or are too serious in the sport. Our local bike store has weekly outings to a local park filled with nice and rough trails. So shop around for your best local bike store, and work with them to get your thrills and sensible wheels for how hard you want to play. 6. Join a local group. This isn't some full mountain biking club, although it can be, but just a group of people who want to mountain bike, and work with new people to get into the sport. Trails are unique throughout the country, and only those who ride on them can provide specific advice about the riding style you'll need to top the mountain. Check at work, your chosen local bike store, and the web. 7. Enjoy your time, and look at the big picture of mountain biking. For some of us, it is the only break we get from the urban environment. If we have a bad day(fall, mountain bike breaks down, etc), it is a bad day, not a bad life-time. So get off the ground, fix the bike, or what ever needs to be done, and relax. Remember to go at your own pace, pushing your self only hard enough to improve. We hope these mountain biking tips can help you get ready for asking the right questions, and getting into a great sport and workout(see we're biased). Remember, be safe! The BlankHelp Team |
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