Mountain biking can best be characterized into three different styles – downhill, free riding, and cross country.  Even though the different styles are similar in some ways, they still require different skills.  The style that you pick will determine the type of bike you get.

The sport can best be thought of as biking on an unpaved surface.  Many areas throughout North America have specific locations designed for mountain biking.  Before you decide to go down a trail, you should always check with your local park to get the routes, regulations, and any rules that they may have.

You can also find groups that have mountain bike rides and competitions.  You can look on the internet or even in a local paper and see exactly what’s available in your area.  You may be able to find groups for the more advanced riders as well as beginners.

Endurance and stamina are a must for a great mountain biker.  It will also take ambition and practice to succeed as well as conquer the course.  Like all other sports, it takes time and practice.  Those just beginning will have to get past the bumps and bruises from falling off the bike.

The bike you select is more of a personal choice, and a big determining factor on the type of riding you will be doing.  Bikes come in all styles, shapes, and prices, which will make selecting one for yourself very difficult indeed.

You should use the internet to help you shop for a bike, even do some price comparisons online as well before you
make a purchase.  Before you buy a bike, always ask to try it out first.  A great mountain biker will become one with his or her own bike.  When buying, make sure you check for comfort, how it fits, even how it is geared.

Mountain bike riding on unpaved roads can be very dangerous, as mentioned earlier.  Anytime you are riding, you should wear a helmet, along with knee and elbow pads.  If you are following a group or riding in the woods you should strongly consider a pair of goggles as well.  Safety should be your top priority and never taken lightly anytime you are mountain biking.

There are several mountain biking accessories and related products that you can purchase.  Although the sales staff will try to sell you anything they can, the real question for those on a budget isn’t what’s cool, but what accessories you need to make your rides more safe and enjoyable.  By starting with these accessories, you’ll be just fine when you hit the trails.

The bike helmet is the most important mountain biking accessory that you can buy.  No one should ever be on a bike without a helmet.  There have been many people who have experienced serious head injury, when it could have prevented by wearing a helmet. All mountain bike helmets are comfortable and stylish and everyone who rides on the trails wears one.

No matter what season you ride in, your hands can take a beating.  Beginners will normally keep a death grip on the handle bars, which can be very brutal for their hands.  When you crash, your hands will be the first thing to hit the ground – and everyone crashes at some point.  Mountain bike gloves are a must have accessory, as they will take the beating for you.

After the first few mountain bike rides you take, you’ll notice that your rear end will be quite uncomfortable. Even though your body will adjust, bike shorts are great to have as they will help keep it at a bare minimum.  You can get shorts that are very comfortable, making them a great addition to your mountain bike ride.

Depending on the type of pedals you have and the type of riding you do, you’ll want to pick your mountain bike shoes accordingly.  If your bike has clipless type pedals, you’ll want to get shoes to accept the special cleat for your pedals.  Good mountain bike shoes are durable, comfortable, and also a stiff sole for better efficiency when pedaling.  Also, you should make sure to get the right shoe for the terrain you’ll be riding in as well.

If you get something in your eye, you can run off the trail in a matter of seconds.  Sunglasses or clear lensed glasses can help keep your eyes safe from debris, as well as protect them from the wind.  When you buy your glasses, make sure they are non-breakable.

Bringing a water bottle or hydration backpack with you is always a great idea.  It’s very easy to get dehydrated so you should always bring water with you and drink it on the trail to ensure that your body stays properly hydrated at all times.

It’s easy to get stuck in the woods or on the trail if you don’t bring the proper repair kit for your bike.  To be on the safe side, bring a multi-tool designed for bike repair, tire levers, and a patch kit for fixing flat tires.

While not exactly a trophy, the jersey is awarded to the winner of each year’s Tour de France.  What sets it apart from other awards involves two major differences from the rest: that it is worn by competitors, and that it is actually awarded (and re-awarded) during the competition itself, not just at the end of the competition.

One has to wonder exactly how a tradition like the awarding of the famed yellow jersey got started.  If you talked to Philippe Thys, he would have told you that in 1913, Henri Desgrange (the original race organizer) asked him to wear a brightly colored jersey so observers would distinquish him from the field.  Thys was not exactly into the idea of becoming a moving target for other riders, but later conceded.

However, the first official awarding of the yellow jersey wasn’t until six years later, in 1919.  Eugène Christophe, a French rider, was the first to wear it during the course.  Supposedly the distinctive color was either decided upon because of the yellow newsprint of L’Auto, which is the newspaper that created and organized the Tour de France, or because yellow was an unpopular color choice for riders and therefore would stand out and be readily available from manufacturers.  It all depends on who you’d rather believe.

Although wearing the yellow jersey today makes one the subject of admiration and praise, Christophe didn’t receive that kind of reaction.  Instead, he claimed that spectators would make canary noises as he rode by, as well as just generally heckling his “choice” of attire.

The yellow jersey has gone on to have a history rivaling that of the Tour de France itself.  One of the more memorable yellow jersey problems has always been when more than one rider ties for the right to wear the jersey.  In years past, it was decided that tie breakers would be utilized to keep from having to have more than one yellow jersey-donning rider at a time.

At times, there have also been a lack of riders wearing the yellow jersey.
Switzerland’s Ferdi Kubler was the first to pass up the chance to wear the yellow jersey, doing so because the previous race leader (Fiorenze Magni) had left the race as a result of alleged threats made to him and his Italian teammates by spectators.

In 1971, the great Eddy Merckx, widely considered as perhaps the best cyclist of all time, started a tradition of sorts by declining to wear the jersey when the previous leader crashed.  Luis Ocaña was in the lead when he crashed on the col de Mente, and Merckx wanted no part of the yellow jersey when he was able to take the lead as a result.

This new tradition was followed by Joop Zoetemelk, who opted out of the yellow jersey in 1980 when Bernard Hinault withdrew from a knee injury, Greg LeMond, who did the same after Denmark’s Rolf Sorenson was eliminated from the race by a crash, and most recently Lance Armstrong in 2005.  Armstrong wouldn’t start with the yellow jersey on because the previous wearer, David Zabriskie, was taken out of the race by a crash.  Armstrong later reconsidered at the urging of Tour de France organizers.

The only rider who refused the yellow jersey based upon its actual composition was Louison Bobet.  Bobet, an eventual multiple time champion of the Tour de France, did not want to wear the yellow jersey because it contained synthetic fabrics.  It seemed that Bobet was a wool man through and through, and he would not budge from his position.  Finally, another jersey had to be rushed out (this one was pure wool) to avoid the lack of a yellow jersey wearer in the next stage.

Although the yellow jersey has evolved into one of the most recognizable honors in all of sport, it had its growing pains, probably more so than any other sports award.  As you can see, the yellow jersey didn’t become a prestigious symbol of accomplishment overnight!

The Tour de France started in 1903 when a French newspaper wanted to drum up some publicity and attract a larger readership to their publication.  The idea to have a multi-day, multi-stage cycling race came from young Géo Lefèvre, who was the cycling reporter for the newspaper.  The idea was altered and molded into a reasonable facsimile of what we see today: a race that traversed through small towns in France, taking cyclists a few weeks of grueling rides to complete.  The first race was a success, as it has obviously led to over one hundred years of tradition, and it also increased the readership of the newspaper, so it fulfilled its original objective.

Since then, the Tour de France has evolved, but much of it has also stayed the same.  Towns compete each year to be added as waypoints along the Tour de France route, and are selected by a committee to join the prestigious ranks of those who have hosted the race for a day.  The race still attracts riders from all around the world, although the prestige (and money) of the Tour de France brings a much wider variety of cyclists than in the first years of the race.  The race itself is also still a marvelous example of variety, as the race is split up into mountain stages large and small, hilly sections of road, and flat sections for quick sprints.

Many fans who are new to the Tour de France don’t understand why one rider is wearing a yellow jersey, and why sometimes a new rider is wearing it the next day (don’t worry, they wash it first).  Well, the yellow jersey is famous as being worn by the current overall race leader.  Therefore, wearing the yellow jersey is not only a great honor, but a great responsibility.  It essentially paints a target on your back, and reminds all the other cyclists what they are racing for.  If you are wearing the yellow jersey, you’d best be ready to defend it!  Other jerseys include the green jersey, the white jersey, and even the polka dot jersey.  They are awarded to the race’s point leader, best young (under twenty five years old) rider, and best climber, respectively.

It was mentioned earlier that the race is split into stages.  The stages are sections of the race that are traversed in a single day, which combine to make the race as a whole.  Riders do get a break at the end of each stage- they’re only human, after all- only to continue the next morning at the next stage.  The 2008 Tour de France features twenty one stages.  The riders also are recipients of two rest days, which are spaced out throughout the twenty three day event.

Cyclists often compete as part of a team.  This may seem strange, as cycling would appear to be an individual sport, but teams have been part of the Tour de France for a long time.  Teams can actually help each other quite a bit in a race, by pacing each other, blocking off the competition, or “slip streaming” for maximum speed by riding directly behind one another.  During some years, the teams were based on the national origin of riders, but now the teams are organized by sponsors.

At the end of the Tour de France, the riders’ finishing positions are determined by simply adding each rider’s time on each stage together to get a total race time.  The cyclist with the lowest overall time is the winner of the Tour de France, and joins a great tradition of legendary athletes dating back over one hundred years.  Make sure to follow the Tour de France this year, as history is made yet again on the roads of France!

Setting your tire pressure too high will make for poor contact with the ground and also make your bike less controllable.  Setting your tire pressure too low will make your tires unpredictable and also make them susceptible to pinch flats.

The appropriate amount of tire pressure in a mountain bike will vary between rider to rider and tire setup to tire setup.  The conditions of your trail and the type of terrain your riding will also greatly impact what tire pressure you should be using in your tires.

The trick here is to find out exactly what mountain bike tire pressure works for you and your setup during normal conditions.  After doing this, you can learn to adjust your pressure for different trails and types of terrain as needed.

You should start by finding a reliable pressure gauge or a pump with a pressure gauge.  Then, use this same gauge or pump anytime you are making adjustments.  A gauge can be very inaccurate, so if you switch around it you can make things much more difficult.

You should start with a higher pressure of around 40 – 50 psi.  If you have a tubeless system, you should start lower, 30 – 40 psi.  The more you weigh, the higher pressure you should start with.  Try this pressure for a while and get a feel for how the tires take corners and loose dirt.

Drop the pressure by 5 psi in each tire and get a feel for how this new setup rides and how it compares to your previous setting.  You should notice some improvement in stability, and if you don’t, drop the pressure by another 5 psi.

You want to find the lowest pressure you can ride with without sacrificing pinch flat resistance.  A pinch flat occurs when your tire rolls over an object then compresses to the point where the tire and the tube get pinched between the object and the rim on the wheel.

With tubeless tire systems, you can run much lower air pressure, as you don’t have to worry about getting pinch flats.  If you start to dent your rims, burp air out along the bead, or feel the tire roll under the rim during hard cornering, you’ve taken the pressure much too low.

Once you’ve found a comfortable setting for your tire pressure, learn what your tire feels like when you squeeze it with your hands.  Once you know what your tires feel like you can always get the right air pressure – with any pump.

The first thing to do is make sure that none of your spokes are loose.  To check, grab each spoke in turn and try to shake it back and forth.  If the spoke wobbles, or makes pinging and grating noises, it’s loose.  If it’s loose, add tension to the spoke by turning the spokey anti-clockwise with your finger and thumb pressure.

Keep turning and shaking until the noise is gone and the spoke doesn’t wobble or move.  Move on to the next spoke until you’ve gone all the way around the wheel and checked them all.

Now, it’s time to see just how true the wheel actually is.  Turn your bike upside down then spin the wheel to see where it comes closest to rubbing on the brake.

You may need to rotate the wheel backwards then forwards to locate the middle of the bulge on the wheel.  Tighten the spokes which run on to the other side of the rim.  If those spokes are already tight, you’ll need to loosen a few of the spokes which run to the bulge side of the hub.

Truing a wheel is easier than you may think, although it can be a little tough with some wheels.  If  you need to loosen spokes, be very careful that  you don’t break them.  They can be very tough to loosen on older mountain bikes.

Your chain has three basic components – the metal side plates, the rollers between the side plates, and the rivets, or pins which go through the rollers and help to hold the plates together.  These pins allow the rollers to freely turn as the chain moves around the cogs.

If your chain happens to break, you’ll need to remove the broken link and replace it with a spare link. To do this, simply reattach the two ends of the broken chain and ride on a shorter chain until you can get it replaced.

To remove a broken link of chain, place it in the chain tool.  Now, turn the tool counter clockwise until the rivet pin of the chain tool touches the chain rivet.  Continue to turn the tool until the pin pushes out of the roller.  Be very careful,
as you want to stop turning when the pin is right at the edge of the roller, before it moves through
the outer side plate.

Now, turn the tool in the other direction, and back it out of the roller.  Set the tool to the side, then work the chain very gently from side to side and extract the inner side plates and roller.

Now is the time to re-route the chain through the bike.  You may want to have a chain retaining tool or some to help you hold the chain in the right spot as you route and repair it.

Now that the broken link has been removed and you’ve re-routed the chain, you’re ready to insert a new link or simply connect the links that were beside the broken one.  The process here is the same – align the two ends so that the link with the inner side plates will fit inside the link with the pin and outer side plates.  Now, use the  chain tool to push the pin inward until it’s positioned evenly between the side plates.

The easiest way to learn how to do this or feel comfortable doing it is to have someone show you, then actually practice with a chain and a chain tool.  You’ll have no trouble at all making a temporary repair in a mountain bike chain once
you’ve seen it done by a professional and practiced it yourself a few times.