Right tire pressure is very important in riding a mountain bike on a trail. It can make a huge difference in terms of comfort and control for the biker.

Too high pressure can make your tire have a poor contact with the ground thus making your bike hard to control or maneuver. Too low pressure however, will make your tires go irregular and very vulnerable to pinch flats.

The right tire pressure in a mountain bike vary between riders and tire setups. The trail, type of terrain are also big factors to consider how much pressure you need to put in your tire for a comfortable ride.

The easiest way to know the tire pressure that is right for you is to determine exactly which pressure you are comfortable with during normal conditions. After this, you will know for yourself how to adjust the pressure for different trails and type of terrains.

To start with, you should have a reliable pressure gauge, or much if a pump with a built in pressure gauge. Use these things every time you make adjustments in your tires. Gauge can be inaccurate thus, if you change it, it can make things more difficult for you.

Begin adjusting your pressure to 40- 50 psi. 30-40 psi is good you have a tubeless system. The heavier your body is, the more pressure you need to start with. Be familiar with the pressure for a while. Get the feel how your tires take corners and loose dirt.

Drop your tire pressure by 5 psi in each tire. Compare it with your previous setting. You should pin point some improvement in stability. But if you still don’t, you can drop the pressure again by 5 psi.

Lowest pressure you can ride is always better, but it makes your tire very vulnerable to pinch flats. Pinch flat happens when you roll over something then it made it compresses the point where your tire and the tube get pinched between object and your rim on the wheel.

In tubeless tire system can take your worry about pinch flats away and just ride your bike in lower aire pressure with ease. You will know if you have taken the pressure too low if you start to bump your rims, burp air out along the bead, or you feel the tire roll under the rim during cornering.

The moment you get your right setting, squeeze the tire with your hands and know what it feels like. Once you have memorized how your tire feels like, you can always get your right pressure with any pump.

For more information on Mens Mountain Bikes, please visit http://www.MensMountainBikesReview.com/ which is an educational website devoted to helping people understand how to make a good selection on mountain bike equipment

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Your first mountain bike (and every one there after) may be one of the most important purchases you ever make. Finding the right bike is necessary for ensuring the safety and enjoyment of your mountain biking excursions. This however, is sometimes easier said than done.

Most mountain bikes are built for men. It is therefore easier for a man to find one with the perfect fit than for a woman. Women are proportioned differently; they are usually smaller in size and have shorter torsos than men (though often with longer legs). When you ride a mountain bike that is not fit properly to your body, you run the risk of sustaining injuries. Some of these injuries include knee problems and back injuries, not to mention the possibility of having an accident.

As more women join the ranks of mountain bikers, some companies have set out to design bicycles made specifically for women and their proportions. The same problems can occur with children. Since children come in such a wide range of sizes, and are constantly growing, it is important to ensure that you find the right fit for your son or daughter and that you purchase a new bike when they outgrow the old.

Before you purchase a bike, make sure that you test it out. This can be difficult in the age of internet sales. However, make sure that if you are purchasing a bicycle online, you find a nearby store where you can try it out before buying it. While you should always have the option to return a bicycle that you have purchased online, it is more of a hassle than just trying it out beforehand.

There are certain things that you should look for to ensure that the bicycle is a perfect “fit”. One of the things to look for is the distance between you and the top tube of the bicycle. This should be at least 4 to 6 inches in order to prevent injury in case of an accident. You can tell this by standing above the bicycle and seeing how far your crotch is from the top tube. For women, you will also want to make sure that the length of the top tube does not put you too far away from the front of the bike. This would be very uncomfortable. Another thing to look for is the saddle height.

When you sit on the bicycle, your legs should not be fully extended when you push the peddle to the farthest position. If you are riding on uneven terrain, you will be standing a great deal and may want to lower the seat even further. Lastly, make sure that the handlebars are at a comfortable height. This is cheaper and easier to do when you purchase a new bike as opposed to having it changed out after.

By selecting the correct fit when you purchase a mountain bike, you will ensure that you have the best time possible with the least risk of injury or pain.

Sydney Garrison is an avid cyclist and sports enthusiast. She is also a partner in an online bike rack store.

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Interstate Bike Trek – Yahoo! News Photos

This undated photo released by the Adventure Cycling Association shows two cyclists spinning along a rural road in the Bitterroot Valley south of Missoula, Montana.

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Keeping fit has become the order of the day and there are hundreds of fitness gadgets to choose from on the market. Every one of them will promise a leaner and fitter you but the point is that cramped living quarters for most of us make it difficult to store large equipment such as exercise machines. Plus, how many of us actually get around to using that home gym equipment on which we have spent a fortune?

But, for health’s sake, some space has to be made and some money spent. One does not need to go in for a behemoth machine. A mini exercise bike will do well in the beginning.

One of the major plus factors in buying this bike is the cost factor. The price of this exercise bike is only a fraction of what you would spend on a starting level stationary bike. Naysayers may argue that mini exercise bikes definitely do not have all the features as compared to good stationery bikes but isn’t it better to get at least started with something less exorbitant and then take it from there? And the high quality small bikes do offer many features.

The portability of a mini exercise bike is also another feather in its cap when compared to stationary bikes. Stationary bikes are heavy and difficult to move around from one location to another. They may often require complete dissembling if being relocated whereas the mini bike is easily carried between home, office and anywhere you wish.

Even if you are going away for an extended period of time, these bikes can easily be taken with you which cannot be said for recumbent bikes. This allows for greater flexibility of time and place as you can exercise wherever you wish at your convenience.

Mini exercise bikes are not as simple as many think. In fact, they give a better work out to more parts of the body than a stationary bike. Unlike the stationary form which concentrates only on the lower body, mini exercise bikes strengthens the arms, chest and upper back by allowing to ‘pedal’ with the upper body. This versatility gives these bikes that extra edge.

A mini exercise bike is also safer because you can sit anywhere you want without worrying about the comfort or the angle of the seat. Some of these bikes come with magnetic resistance to give you plenty of variety and challenge with resistance levels going up to 170 watts.

The newer bikes which are available on the market are also lightweight besides being convenient to store. The mini exercise bike is ideal for small spaces where every inch of actual living space counts and also for the price-conscious.

Pat Sernudal writes articles about mini exercise bikes on the website Mini Exercise Bike Central.

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DC to launch nation’s first European-style bike share – Yahoo! News

WASHINGTON – More Washingtonians could be pedaling to meetings on Capitol Hill and other appointments when the city launches the nation’s first European-style bike-sharing service next month.

The program, called SmartBike D.C., is similar to car-sharing services like Zipcar. Users must sign up for a $40 annual membership to gain access to a network of bikes stored at computerized racks around the city. To unlock the bike, users simply scan their access cards. The bikes can be used for up to three hours at a time and can be returned at any SmartBike station. In the beginning at least, there won’t be any hourly charges.

The District of Columbia program is starting small, with just 10 stations and 120 bikes. In contrast, Paris started its service last summer with more than 10,600 bikes at 750 stations. But D.C. officials are eager to expand it quickly if the response is good. Proponents say the program easily could be expanded to more than 1,000 bikes at more than 100 stations within a year.

“This is one more transportation option for residents, visitors and workers,” said Jim Sebastian, who runs the D.C. Department of Transportation’s bicycle programs.

At the current size, the bike share is unlikely to make a dent in easing congestion on city streets or crowding on the subway, Sebastian acknowledged. But “if it works and we expand it, then it will,” he said.

SmartBike is run by Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings Inc., which handles bus-shelter advertising for D.C. The company runs the bike-sharing programs in 13 European cities, including Barcelona, Spain, and Oslo, Norway.

Clear Channel Outdoor started its first bike-sharing program in Rennes, France, in 1998, said Martina Schmidt, the company’s director of SmartBikes. The company sees it as another free outdoor amenity, like bus shelters, that it can offer cities and use to generate advertising revenue.

In most cities where the program operates, advertising is attached to the bike stations or on the bikes themselves. In D.C., there won’t be advertising initially, but that could change if the program is expanded, Schmidt said.

Still, the city didn’t have to spend any money to set up the program because it is part of its bus-shelter contract with Clear Channel Outdoor. Sebastian said the city likely is getting a smaller percentage of the revenue from bus-shelter advertising because of the costs associated with the bike program, but officials haven’t put a number on the lost revenue.

Paul DeMaio, who owns bike-sharing consultancy MetroBike LLC, said a program like Clear Channel Outdoor’s costs about $4,500 per bike to start. Beyond the bikes themselves, that figure includes capital costs associated with the computerized bike racks, he said.

DeMaio is working with neighboring Arlington County, Va., on its own bike-sharing program that could launch as soon as the fall, he said.

Clear Channel Outdoor has an exclusive contract to run a bike share in San Francisco, but officials are still working out the details, Schmidt said. She said she hoped the program would launch sometime in 2009.

Washington is the first North American city to try this type of bike share, according to DeMaio and D.C. officials. More primitive programs, in which bikes were just left unlocked on the street, were previously attempted in some U.S. cities, including Portland, Ore.

Those programs flopped, with bikes “stolen within a matter of hours or days,” DeMaio said.

In 1995, Copenhagen, Denmark, improved on the concept with fixed stations for picking up and dropping off bikes. That system operates on a coin-deposit locking system.

The specially designed SmartBikes that D.C. will use are three-speed, upright “comfort” bikes. They feature mudguards to prevent the rider from getting wet, chain guards to keep clothes from getting caught, front and rear lights that turn on in the dark and easily adjustable seats.

“I call it a no-excuses bike,” Sebastian said. “‘I don’t have the right shoes,’ ‘I’m wearing a dress,’ ‘I don’t want to get wet’ — none of those are good excuses with this bike.”

Actually, there is arguably one good excuse: not having a helmet with you. SmartBike users are strongly encouraged to wear helmets, but they have to bring their own.

___

On the Net:

D.C. Smart Bike: http://www.smartbikedc.com/

Paul DeMaio’s bike-sharing blog: http://bike-sharing.blogspot.com/

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… – Yahoo! News Photos

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With summer in full swing you may be considering buying a mountain bike to improve your fitness and to have some fun in the fresh air, but it is easy to waste a lot of money buying the wrong bike.

When buying a mountain bike there are a few simple but essential tips which you must follow to ensure that you get the bike most suited to your needs and the best deal for your money. Like a lot of things in life, cheap is normally cheap for a reason so follow these three simple tips to get the most from your money.

Tip Number 1 – Decide what are you using the mountain bike for?

Arguably the most important consideration is to ascertain what the bike will be used for – this will dictate the kind of bike most suited to you. If you are just going for cycling with a little off road stuff then there is little to be gained by going for a full suspension bike, however if you are an all terrain or downhill fan then a full suspension will fit the bill. Be careful however that unless you have a lot of money for your purchase for the same budget a hardtail will most likely be lighter, better specified and more suitable for general use.

Tip Number 2 – Set yourself a budget and stick to it

Following on from above, it is too easy to spend a lot of money needlessly, or talk yourself into buying something that you don’t really need. If you are just going cruising or cross country then spending a lot of money on a high end full suspension will be a waste of money. Conversely if you intend on free riding and downhill then a hard tail will not be the ideal choice of ride. Be aware however, at the budget end of the market, full suspension bikes tend to be heavy, components are cheaper to offset the cost of the additional parts required, and maintenance requirements are more than with a hard tail.

Tip Number 3 – Go for quality where possible

This might sound obvious but a cheap mountain bike is exactly that, a compromise of quality over price. In order to get the price down there will be compromises on every level, materials, quality of the running gear, how it has been assembled. Buying cheap may prove to be a false economy and end up costing you more in the long run. A cheap mountain bike is likely to be heavy, prone to breakdown and require more repairs and maintenance. In a lot of cases buying a quality second hand bike is better than buying a budget new bike.

For more FREE TIPS and information on Mountain biking please be sure to visit our site.

For more essential tips and hints on mountain biking please visit our website at;

http://www.mountainbikescheap.com

Lee Myring is a former semi-pro cyclist, having worked in the cycle industry both on the sales and technical fronts for over 15 years. He is currently one of the team at http://www.mountainbikescheap.com a website dedicated to helping cyclists of all levels from novices to wannabe professional riders get the most from mountain biking as a sport. The website has a huge range of bikes, accessories, apparel and upgrades to suit all budgets as well as a comprehensive reviews and tips section. Be sure to check it out!

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Yahoo! UK News Message Boards – Petrol – On your bike!!!

Owning a car is a mugs game
Look at all the money it costs-not only petrol!!!But:
Sevicing
Tax
MOT
Insurance
Local and national parking permits and tickets.

There is an alternative

On your bike!!
The benefits
No petrol costs
Improved fitness
cleaner environment
no parking restrictions
Faster intercity journey
Less stress
Just give it a try?

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Back with more news for you today. It’s amazing how much good information there is on this stuff out there if you know where to look. Three in particular that I found really valuable were…

WORCS Bike Week rolls on with WORCS Grand Prix

Olympia, Wa: 8/6/09 – The AMA/WORCS Championship Week, part 2 (GPMX) took place yesterday at Straddleline ORV park. KTM's Mike Brown captured the win, …  Read More…

Bike lanes could be start of citywide system

With bike lanes recently added to West River Parkway, Bob Gritman of Rochester expects local bicycling groups to use them for ambitious …  Read More…

Obama's "Cash For Clunkers" program needs an overhaul

Doesn't the mountain bike lobby have a strong enough presence in Washington DC? Speaking of alternative (and green) transportation, why can't someone trade …  Read More…
That’s all the news for today guys, so until next time, thanks for stopping by.

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C&O Canal Bike Trip – Yahoo! News Photos

This undated photo released by Norm Goldstein shows a canal in Brecon, Wales at the edge of Brecon Beacons National Park.

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