The Passion of Mountain Bikes

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The Passion of Mountain Bikes

It has been a decade in the making, but the mountain bike has become a

passion for many people. Along with this passion it has also become the most

environmental way to get from point A to B. It has gone through a very intense

evolution process over the past decade.

It all started with some guys from California who took their bikes out

for a ride on their day off, they modified their bikes and turned a hobby of

theirs into a worldwide phenomenon. The mountain bike's rapid increase in

popularity was influenced by social and economic situations, and by

technological improvements that had the needs of bike riders in mind. The

introduction of the mountain bike at a bike convention in Long Beach, California,

early in the 1980's coincided with the need for a bike that combined technical

superiority, ease of care, and multipurpose use.

Technological advances came extremely fast after it's introduction into

the world. The advances have made riding mountain bikes easier, which makes it

possible for the rider to explore new terrain. I hope that this report will be

able to provide some information on the subject of mountain bikes and the

advances in technology that the bike has gone through, and what might be in the

future of the mountain bike.

The road bike has taken more than a hundred years to evolve into the

frame that it is being used on todays bicycle. Because of the increasingly

popularity of the mountain bike the demand for advances to be made have come

very rapidly.

The evolution of the mountain bike has been a stormy one over the past

decade. Within one decade the design has changed radically; this is due to three

reasons. First , because geometry and design were copied from the first "Stone-

Age bikes"; second, because off-road riding created different problems ; and

third, because innovative frame design mirrored the "spirit of the times": young,

new, dynamic, and strong. The off-road bike required extra stability.

Frame

It is important to know the basic frame geometry and how to measure it.

The combination of tube length and angle determines not only the maneuverability

of the bike, but also determines the seating position and the transfer of power.

Variances of 1° of the headset angle, or a 1' (2cm) difference in the distance

between the rear-wheel axle and the center of the bottom bracket, can have very

serious consequences.

Frame Geometry

The basic elements of frame geometry are: A- Height of the seat tube; B-

Length of the top tube; C- Seat-tube angle; D- Headset-tube angle; E- Trail, F-

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