Mountain bike (MTB) can mean almost any kind of off-road bicycle. Wide knobby tires, flat handlebars, maybe shocks, probably a sturdy frame...
26
votes
12answers
4k views
What type of tires can prevent goatheads?
We have a lot of goatheads1 in our area, and they have a tendency to do something like this to bike tires:
Unfortunately, I ride a road bike (specifically a Kona Dew), so I have much smaller, ...
26
votes
11answers
12k views
Can I use a presta tube in a schrader rim?
I keep losing pressure in my tires, and among other things, I'm looking at the valves in the tubes. It's an old mountain bike with 26 inch tires. Can I use presta tubes on rims drilled for schrader ...
23
votes
4answers
896 views
Why are tubeless tyres popular in mountain biking?
I've noticed that a lot of people use or promote tubeless tyres for mountain biking. Why is this?
It seems a lot of hassle to get a special rim conversion kit and goop to put in the tyre. As far as I ...
21
votes
7answers
17k views
Which way do I orient my bike tire's tread direction? and why?
I have a mountain bike tire that has stamped on the side something like:
<----------front rear------------->
Which seems like a pretty clear indication that the tire should be oriented in one ...
16
votes
7answers
6k views
What pressure should I run my Mountain Bike tires at?
Should I run my mountain bike at the suggested PSI/Bar on the tire/rim? Or should I run it a bit lower? Or is it more about conditions? Should I run lower if I am running on softer terrain?
15
votes
8answers
3k views
How do I prevent my pants from getting caught into the bike gears
I have the unfortunate habit of always getting my jean pants stuck in my gears and end up with a nice rip on the seams.
I've used those velcro braces to keep the bottom of my pants leg close to my ...
15
votes
8answers
3k views
What are the differences (and their practical implications) between a 29" mountain bike and a cyclocross bicycle?
I am considering the purchase of a bicycle for riding off road, and have heard a lot of buzz about 29" mountain bikes. However, I am not particularly interested in technical riding - although I would ...
14
votes
7answers
11k views
Front suspension or full suspension mountain bike
I'm considering buying a mountain bike and have narrowed it down to two models (make and model aren't important for this question). One model is a full suspension bike (front and back), the other is ...
14
votes
5answers
2k views
What type of brakes are best for mountain bike racing?
Disc brakes are more expensive than v-brakes, but in a heavy rain they will break down. V-Brakes are becoming harder to find, but they're much easier to maintain and don't break down as easily.
What ...
14
votes
7answers
6k views
How to get the tyre back on to the rim easily?
What is the best/easiest way to get the tyre back on to a rim after removing it to fix a puncture for example?
Some tyres can be really hard to get back on to the rim. I don't like using the tyre ...
14
votes
4answers
220 views
Pre ride checks
What checks should you perform before setting off to ensure that your bike is safe to ride?
I'm more interesting in mountain bikes rather ride road bikes but I guess that most checks are applicable ...
13
votes
12answers
26k views
Converting a MTB to a Road Bike
I just bought a new MTB and am planning to change my previous MTB into a Road Bike.
How do I do it? What kind of parts do I need to change or add or remove?
I am not looking to for a full ...
13
votes
3answers
853 views
Is there something particularly wrong with exclusively riding a mountain bike in a city setting?
I live in Davis, and I ride bikes simply for commuting around the university and around town. My last bike is a hand-me-down from my sister's friend over 6 years ago; it's pretty much on it's last ...
13
votes
6answers
2k views
Where is the best place to carry water (back or bike)?
Where do you prefer to carry your water? I find when I am mountain biking I prefer to carry my water in a hydration pack on my back (easier to rock the bike). When road biking on flat ground I ...
13
votes
5answers
1k views
How do I cycle up steep rocky ground?
When mountain biking with my friends, we sometimes end up tackling a severe up hill over rocky ground.
I usually find I end up putting a foot down first. I'm not sure what's going wrong. Sometimes my ...
13
votes
1answer
211 views
Pass in the Alps that can be crossed by mountain bike?
I'm looking for a pass in the Alps that I can cross with my mountain bike. I know that if there's a road, I could just use it, but my question is a little bit more special.
I'm looking for a pass ...
12
votes
7answers
2k views
How can a beginner cyclist build up power?
I am a 44-year-old guy, 250 lbs (yes, overweight). I have not been on a bike in over 15 years. I just picked up a 12 Trek Marlin (Gary Fisher Collection) this weekend, and after riding for about 2 ...
12
votes
5answers
468 views
How deep does snow have to be before it becomes unrideable?
I was going to go for an off road ride in the snow this weekend but I chickened out. Partly because it was cold but mainly because I have no experience riding in snow and wasn't sure whether I would ...
11
votes
4answers
486 views
Why do I always get punctures in my rear wheel?
I get probably five times as many punctures in my rear wheel as opposed to my front wheel. I run a good pressure and don't get obvious pinch flats.
Does anyone have a logical reason why this could ...
11
votes
6answers
1k views
Mountain Bike on Paved Roads
I'm an occasional biker. I bought a mountain bike (nothing fancy) with the idea that I might use it off-road or on mountain trails (of which there are many here in Calgary). However, since I've bought ...
11
votes
5answers
17k views
How do I separate brake pads after accidentally pulling the front brake while the wheel is off?
The title says it all really. I've taken the front wheel off my mountain bike to get it in my car. When I get it out and try and put the front wheel back on the space between the brake pads isn't wide ...
11
votes
3answers
574 views
Bike tires need air every ride…is this normal?
I ride my bike maybe once a week at most. I need to add air to the tires every time to bring it up to the right pressure. (I ride a mountain bike and I put about 45 - 50 PSI's into the tires.) Is ...
11
votes
3answers
2k views
How bad is road salt for my bike?
I took my mountain bike out yesterday in the snow. Did some hills around town, riding through slush and puddles, and all sort of dirt/mush/ice/snow.
I gave the bike a pretty good wipe-down after the ...
10
votes
4answers
1k views
What is the purpose of suspension lockout?
I'm trying to decide which 29'er bike I want to purchase and one of them has lockout. I know what lockout does but I'm not sure what it is used for and if I will need it.
Thanks
10
votes
3answers
2k views
I often get a sore neck when riding. How can I adjust the setup of my bike to help prevent this happening?
Quite often if I'm riding for longer than about an hour I get a sore neck. I assume that I can make some adjustment to my mountain bike to help prevent or reduce the soreness, but I don't know what. ...
10
votes
1answer
1k views
What features of a mountain bike's geometry gives it different characteristics?
When you see descriptions of mountain bikes they are usually described as XC, trail, enduro etc. and have different geometries based on what sort of category they fall into. What are the defining ...
9
votes
4answers
878 views
Cycling on snow in extreme freezing conditions: will my bike break?
I plan on riding my Merida Matts 40-D in mountains like these:
The temperatures are usually around -20 °C and I was wondering whether anything can break on my bike due to the freezing conditions. ...
9
votes
6answers
3k views
Bailing out with SPD pedals on a mountain bike
I got a new mountain bike a year ago, with SPD pedals. I'm OK with these on a road bike (that I don't normally crash), but on a mountain bike when I crash I usually can't jump off the bike like I used ...
9
votes
3answers
671 views
Do mountain bikers yield to hikers?
I've seen rules and graphics online that basically say that bikers are to yield to hikers. Is this the generally accepted rule, and if so, how do you define "yield"?
Background
The areas I normally ...
9
votes
1answer
3k views
What effect does changing the stem length have on my bikes handling
I'm finding that when jumping my mountain bike seems to be very nose heavy no matter how far back my saddle is. What effect will moving to a shorter stem length have?
My bike, a Boardman FS-PRO came ...
9
votes
2answers
2k views
Can I convert a road frame to a mountain bike?
Some years ago, I picked up a Cannondale R3000 and moved all the components to my current bike as an exercise in bike building, never repeated (in fairness, the Cannondale fit me a little better but ...
8
votes
4answers
250 views
Recovering confidence after a fall
One month has passed since I fell on a mountain bike trip. The accident wasn't critical, it just left a huge scratch. The accident happened during a fast descent when my front tire hit a little crack.
...
8
votes
2answers
432 views
What are the main improvements in suspension technology in the last 10 years?
How much has bicycle suspension technology evolved in the last 10 years? I am thinking about both rear and front suspension. What have been the major breakthroughs that all bicycle manufacturers are ...
8
votes
4answers
2k views
Trainers & Mountain Bikes
Can I use a trainer with a mountain bike?
I want to the same bike off road at weekends so I don't really want to change the setup of the bike.
8
votes
2answers
4k views
Hydraulic Disc Brakes Maintenance
I have Hayes Nine hydraulic disc brakes on my mountain bike. I have recently replaced the brake pads and after that it seems that the pads are almost touching the rotor.
How can I adjust it?
I have ...
8
votes
3answers
1k views
What causes my front wheel to twist when I apply the brake?
I have a 2005 Specialized HardRock Sport with disc brakes.
When I'm slowing down from a reasonable speed with the front brake, I noticed that the top of the front wheel appears to deflect sideways ...
7
votes
6answers
2k views
Kickstands and mountain bikes
Why is it that many people often recommend against using kickstands on mountain bikes? Does it have something to do with offroad riding (perhaps something could get caught there?), or are kickstands a ...
7
votes
4answers
993 views
What is the trick to riding on sand?
I have been trying to ride on some trials that have very soft sand and especially agitated by ATVs. When I hit a soft patch my front tire pulls in one direction and I freak out a little. I cannot ...
7
votes
2answers
492 views
What does WSD mean relating to mountain bikes?
I keep finding a WSD version of bikes I'm interested in buying. What does WSD mean?
7
votes
3answers
287 views
Could I switch tires on an MTB to tires with less friction if I mostly use the MTB in a city environment?
I thought MTBs were OK to use in the city but the friction from the tires seem to hold the bike back more than other tires would.
I got a mountain bike (Scott) and it's less than optimal on flat ...
7
votes
3answers
6k views
Replacing suspension with a solid fork
I have an older version of this bike:
They have made some changes to the components since I bought my bike but it is more or less the same. Here are the specs on the newer bike.
I was hoping to ...
7
votes
3answers
7k views
Disc brakes squeak on Trek mountain bike
I have a Trek 3900 mountain bike with disc brakes, and I just took it out of winter storage to start riding it for the season.
Everything works well, except for one very annoying problem: when I stop ...
7
votes
1answer
133 views
How far off a chain line can I go?
I'm struggling to find a replace crank set to replace the SR Suntour set that came on my bike. The chain rings were riveted together so on bending one I had to replace the set. There's very few 7 ...
7
votes
2answers
9k views
What is the “preload” setting on the front fork suspension?
I've made a photo of the actual "thing" as I find it very difficult to explain otherwise:
I'm wondering what this "thing" sets and how it actually works. So, what is "preload" and what happens when ...
7
votes
2answers
3k views
Cannondale Lefty DLR Ti Fork Rebuild/Maintenance
I have a mountain bike with a 2003 Cannondale Lefty DLR Ti fork. As I've been riding the bike this season, I've noticed that the fork is behaving strangely. It doesn't seem to lockout fully and it is ...
7
votes
1answer
366 views
Tips for Bleeding Hayes Brakes
Does anyone have any tips for bleeding Hayes brakes? I have some Hayes Stroker Ryders and bleeding them is less than fun compared to bleeding my Avids. Do they make any syringes for bleeding the ...
6
votes
7answers
3k views
How do I put grips on mountain bike handlebars?
I just spent the last 10 minutes trying to put a new set of grips on to my mountain bike handlebars..
The old ones came off fairly agreeably and I've got the new ones 80-90% of the way on, however, ...
6
votes
6answers
5k views
brake lever will not return
My friend has a mountain bike that survived last years Queensland's floods (Australia, that is), but is all battered and bruised after not being ridden for a year. With my beginner's repair skills, I ...
6
votes
4answers
432 views
Where Can I Legally Ride Off Road in the UK?
As it says in the title, where can I ride legally ride my mountain bike off road in the UK?
6
votes
1answer
1k views
How can I adapt a mountain bike for a one or two week tour?
This is the situation. I have GT Agressor 1.0 mountain bike. I want to travel for about a week on my bike, which means that I will have to ride a lot on paved roads (around 70% of the road). So I ...
