Published:Wed, 18 Aug 2010 18:58:29 -0700
SNOWMASS A new five-week downhill mountain biking series kicks off today in Snowmass, and both local and regional riders, as well as guests, are invited to compete.......
Published:Fri, 20 Aug 2010 22:21:46 -0700
Photo for the Record Gazette by David James Heiss Beaumont High School sophomore Nick Schultz is co-founder of the schools nascent mountain bike team, which made its debut on the ......
Published:Fri, 20 Aug 2010 17:04:41 -0700
West Vans Micayla Gatto scored gold in downhill racing at the Mountain Bike Canadian Championships held last weekend in Panorama, B.C.......
Published:Fri, 20 Aug 2010 00:47:53 -0700
Largely due to the participation of Lance Armstrong, the Leadville 100 has grown into one of the countrys most prestigious single day mountain biking epics.......
Published:Tue, 17 Aug 2010 17:36:44 -0700
More recently, it was all about mountain biking as Bradford prepared for the Aug. 7-15 Crankworx Mountain Bike Festival in Whistler, B.C.......
translation powered by GoogleWhat is a Downhill Bike?
A Downhill Bike is a "full suspension" bicycle that is used for racing downhill on particularly steep, rocky trails or for riding downhill only. It has both shock absorbers in the front and the back of the bike. The shock absorbers soak up bumps that the bike receives as it is travelling. Most downhill-specific bikes have 5" or more of movement in the suspension.
Downhill bikes are typically made of aluminum or steel, will have 7-10 inches (180-250mm) of rear suspension travel, and be designed around a 7-8 inch (180-203mm) suspension fork. The suspension sag is also much higher than cross-country bikes (25%-50% of total travel vs. 10%-20%) for a more supple ride at higher speeds.
Because of the amount of travel in the suspension, it is very hard and inefficient to ride a downhill bike on flat surfaces because the mechanics of the suspension absorb all pedaling efforts.
