Downhill Mountain Bikes

Downhill Mountain Bikes and the Sport of Downhill Riding

Unlike many other forms of mountain biking, downhill mountain biking involves riders going down a predetermined course at maximum speed. They are usually timed events and involve stages of 30 seconds or so for a total of 2 to 5 minutes for the whole event. Because of the type of riding involved downhill mountain bikes are built somewhat differently to other mountain bikes.

Bike Specifications - Shimano disc brakes and shifters. - Double-wall rims with alloy hubs. - Alloy crank equiped with five piece bottom bracket.  - eight piece integrated threadless headset. - alloy stem with wide riser bars. - alloy quick-release seat post. - 20  frame.

Those riding in a downhill mountain bike race must be able to navigate down a very steep and rugged trail at extreme rates of speed; they almost never have to do any climbing during a race. These criteria make this one of the fastest mountain bike races of any of the events. Typical downhill mountain bikes weigh in at around 17 kg (37.5 lbs.) to 25 kg (55 lbs) and feature a full suspension to absorb the punishing shocks and bounces of flying down the mountain side.

Most of these downhill mountain bikes come with disc brakes to give the rider the best braking ability under any circumstances. Much like a car or a motorcycle the disc brake is far more effective at stopping in shorter distances whether they are dry or wet. The standard rim clamp brake can quickly become overheated and loose its effectiveness at the high rate of speed in a typical downhill race.

What's New in Downhill Mountain Biking?

There is a new twist to downhill mountain biking that has begun to gain in popularity in the last few years amongst the more daring riders. The concept behind downhill freeride mountain bikes is, that much like other extreme bicyclists, not only are they racing down the side of the mountain, but now they are doing tricks along the way. These bikes are a little taller than standard downhill mountain bikes and are built a little stronger.

This sport started off with riders creating their own obstacles on existing tracks to give them new challenges to face. This resulted in some pretty serious injuries and forced many tracks to close down.

Undeterred free riders started to look for anywhere that had a cliff or an overhang to jump off of and perform their aerial stunts from. This gave rise to an alarming number of serious injuries and made authorities take another look at creating tracks that could be monitored and were safe.

Now it is commonplace to find both indoor and outdoor free ride tracks that give riders plenty of space to enjoy their sport without so much risk of being hurt. Now that free riding has become a more accepted sport it has now gained international acceptance and is practiced by thousands of people up to and including competition level.

Safe Downhill Mountainbiking

One word of caution to anyone who plans to ride a mountain bike, helmets should always be worn. This is one of the most dangerous forms of bike riding there is and the risk of injury is high. Wearing a good helmet that is designed specifically for mountain biking can save your life, especially if you should happen to get ejected off your mountain bike at a high rate of speed.