Mountain Biking

Strange question. MTB tires are usually 2-and something inch wide, a handle bar will be around 20 inches wide, the rear hub about 6 inches and the saddle is thereabouts too.

There are plenty of different bike types, plenty of different riding terrains and conditions, and plenty of different fitness levels among the riders - so the question really doesn't make much sense. A fit rider on a road bike in flattish terrain can average 20 MPH w/o trouble, while a MTBer on a technically challenging trail might average 8 MPH. You pick which average you think is more fitting.

Closest thing I can think of that you might mean is probably a dirtbike. They're bigger than BMXes but usually have really compact frames making them smaller than regular MTBs.

GT mountain bikes average cost is $2,166! One may desire to do comparison shopping to find just the right bike for themselves, but overall the average GT mountain bike costs 2,166 dollars or right there abouts!

It all depends. A knobbly tyre will have a poorer grip on a smooth surface than a smooth tyre, while a smooth tyre will have poorer grip on a loose surface than a knobbly tyre.

But overall a smooth-tyred road bike, on a smooth and clean road, can brake and corner harder w/o skidding than a bike with knobbly tires can.

A Mongoose Mountaiin Bike brand new at The Bicycle Shop cost $350 in 2010

The Giant company has been making bicycles for over 40 years, making them an experienced company. Some advantages to their mountain bikes include their high end aluminum frames, their use of composite materials, and their light weight while maintaining high ride quality.

Rubber mainly, but also some sort of cloth for reinforcement. They will also have a reinforced edge, where they sit at the rim. This bead as it's called can either be reinforced with steel wire, or a high-tensile textile, usually Kevlar. Tires with Kevlar beads are usually referred to as "foldable" and are lighter and usually more expensive.
rubber
Silk

Certainly.

If the old ones are worn out or damaged the easiest way is probably to cut the old ones off. If you have an alloy bar, try not to cut all the way into the metal.

The new ones can then basically be slid on.

You might need something to act as a lube to get them the whole way on.

Some use water, which is always accessible but takes awhile to settle.

Other use hair spray, which also takes some time to settle but acts as a glue once it's dried and really locks the new grips in place.

I prefer compressed air. I push the grip on as far as it goes, then use a basic blow nozzle aimed in between grip and bar. The air will form a layer between grip and bar which'll allow the grip to slide the rest of the way on.

Do note that using compressed air tools is potentially dangerous, so don't use that unless you're aware of what you're doing.

If I haven't got compressed air I use methylated spirits or rubbing alcohol. Pour some in the grip before you slide it on. The alcohol will evaporate faster than water, giving you the opportunity to get back on the bike sooner.

Pretty much anything and everything. Really cheap ones can be made out of high tensile steel(hi-ten), slightly less cheap one would be Cr-Mo(chrome- molybdemium). Then there are aluminum bikes, titan bikes, carbon fiber bikes and a bunch of oddballs,

As soon as you're old/big enough to be able to ride, you can start to do DH.

If you're real young you might not be able to handle a full-sized, full suspension bike, so you may have to use a BMX or a Dirt bike instead

Trails come in various degrees of difficulty, so start easy and work your way up. If you want to ride at a place where people use ski lifts to get to the top, check with the lift operators. They may have age/size restrictions for who's allowed in the chairs.

There are so many personal preferences involved that it's impossible to give a solid answer to that. Might as well ask what's the best candy. Besides, Scott or Trek doesn't say that much, you've got to compare what components they have to be able to learn anything about them.

The frame geometries are so different that short of rewelding the frame you'll never get anything but a fairly crappy cruiser copy. If you insist on trying the things you can do are: 1) switch to a stem with really short reach, you might even want to run it backwards. 2) switch the handle bar to a style known as a North Shore bar. 3) switch seat post to a setback seat post, set it low, get a wide, well padded saddle and slide it all the way back. To get the stance "right" (or maybe less wrong) you could consider swapping the rear wheel for a smaller one, but that would loók right ugly. Another option is to stick a longer fork in there. If you're starting with a 26-inch bike you could swap to rigid fork for a 29er, or a fork for a 622 mm road bike. Do note that: a) there are a couple of different standards out there, so swapping forks can be a real pain if you don't know what you're doing. b) swapping forks is likely to lead to troubles fitting a front rim brake c) swapping forks will increase the load on both fork and headtube and can not be recommended for hard riding or a heavy rider. It will also interfere with handling, but usually not beyond what rider capability. d) IMO this endeavor isn't worth the effort. You'd be better off using ebay, craigslist or whatever to sell your current bike and buy a cruiser instead.

Same reason as a jeep won't do as well as a NASCAR car on a racetrack. The MTB is built heavier and stronger to be able to stand jumps and drops, which the road bike isn't expected to have to hold up to. The MTB riding position gives better view but more wind resistance than the road bike. Road bikes can have real aerodynamic and slim tires, while the MTB need wider more knobbly tires for traction on dirt.

With that said, a MTB w/o suspension but with slick tires can make a real good bike for city/urban riding. Good overview, good brakes, nimble, rugged and manouverable. Usually speeds during urban riding isn't high enough for the improved aerodynamic of the road bike to mean much.

Road bikes tend to be lighter, and faster on downhills.

Depends on what you want from your bike. A MTB is likely to have better riding characteristics than a freestyle bike, important if you want to cover any distances with your bike. But if you only want to ride at skate parks, then a freestyle bike is probably the better choice.

And the question is....?

Hello. A klein serial number can be easyest read as this. Ok i have a Klein Attitude from 94 with serial nr: 20t0694313 that means it is a medium 20" made in June 94 number 313 that month. earlyer models have other numbers that are much simpler such as: AD03c which indicates its just an Adroit or ATT00168 which indicates its an Attitude. these early numbers are mostly from 1990 to 93. for those of you who are interested you can go to oldklein.com and see much of these oldschool beauties. look for the collection from Norway and you will see a lot of the bikes i have now or have previously owned before:-)

For further Q's you can send me a mail at Andre.hefferli@bluezone.no

hope this helps a little Thanks André

Basically 3 guys from somewhere in America ( Im not sure where) all had rubbish bikes (probably beach cruisers). They had a pick up between them and one day they decided to go up a hill and cycle down it. When they got down they thought it was fun, and then went up in the pickup and down again, this is how downhill mountain biking started.

If you want to learn more I would recommend reading the book To the Limit Mountain biking. It is really useful, and tells you about many types of mountain biking.

No. With it's 20" wheels it'd be considered a BMX, and a fairly cheap one at that.

Trek is a well proven brand and there are millions of them out there so it's probable you can find a good used one. Also consider this, because of there popularity parts are always available. Go to a dealer and ask questions related to the style of riding you plan to do. Rock jumps, rough trails, cross country off road etc. EBAY.

That depends upon what sort of crank set you have.

cottered crank (older bicycle)

press fit - newer / current bicycles

out board bearing (newer current bikes - expensive bicycles generally

one piece crank sets - cheapo bicycles mostly

You need different tools for each of these types

The best way to figure it out would be to go to the Park tool web site,

then find out first what kind of crank it is, what tool(s) you need, then how to use the tool(s)

The Schwinn Mesa Google can find has a 65 mm travel fork. This, for real MTBs is short. Current standard is 80 mm and up. 65 mm is Hybrid territory.

Changing to a longer travel fork is so-so. It'll change the geometry and the steering response of the bike, make it more sluggish.

And it'll increase the load on the head tube-down tube junction, and the fork. Something may break.

At USD200 you won't be able to find a particularly better fork at full price, you'll have to buy used. And hope that you pick a good one.

You need to match steerer tube diameter(yours is a 1 1/8" straight), steerer tube length, type of brake mount and type of front axle(yours is a standard quick-release axle)

The traditional difference between a man's bike and a woman's bike is the top tube design. A man's bike would have a top tube going straight from the top of the head tube to the top of the seat tube, while a woman's bike would have a top tube that connected to the seat tube somewhere lower down.

This was originally to make it possible to ride a bike while wearing a skirt w/o exposing any morally offending body parts while mounting the bike.

A consequence of this is that traditional women's frames are torsionally and vertically weaker than men's, which is why performance-oriented bikes all look the same regardless of the gender of the rider.

If you're looking for a performance-based difference, then women often have proportionally shorter upper bodies and arms than men, so some manufacturers adapt to that by building frames with shorter top tubes and other tweaks to the geometry.

Others merely slap a "cute" paint scheme on the smaller sizes of their standard frames and call it a woman's bike.

Do note that the dfference from one person to another can easily be bigger than the differences between the male and female norm.

There are also a few other ways of fitting a bike to the rider, if the frame isn't spot on. Stems and handlebars can be replaced for moderate adjustments of riding position.

While it's nice to have a well-fitting bike, for a recreational rider it's not as critical for a MTB as it is for a road bike. On a MTB the rider spends more time out of the saddle, moving around. Riding a road bike is a lot more static, so the position has to fit better.

And if it's just for pottering around the block, then most riders would prefer a "woman's" bike. They will usually provide a more upright riding position, which is more comfortable for casual riding.

Don't really know what part you're calling a crossbar, but it's probably what's otherwise known as the top tube. The reason for having a lower top tube is that it makes the bike more manouverable during tricks, jumps and technical riding. The downside is that it's not as efficient for seated riding, which isn't much of an issue for MTBs.

http://www.houstonbiketrails.com is a good website to find mountain bike trails and bike paths in the South Houston and surrounding areas.