A First Look At Mountain Biking Basics

It seems like now more than ever before in The United States, new sports are popping up all of the time. From the explosion of skateboarding, both street and ramp style, to the transformation of surfing from something only weirdos did to a normal pastime, sports are perpetually growing, changing, and challenging themselves to get more difficult. Whether it's big-wave surfing or kiteboarding, there's always someone upping the ante on what it means to be a true athlete.

A growing number of alternative sports for independent-minded people of all ages have been succeeding lately in The States, but nothing is doing quite as well as mountain biking, which has managed to carve out a niche previously only seen for skateboarders, who transformed from weirdos to mainstream. With a variety of different styles and methods, mountain biking is quickly sweeping the nation.

Instead of simply going for a hike, or going for a bike ride across town, mountain biking managed to combine the two elements of getting around on a bicycle with maneuvering one's way through the wilderness. Since its initial inception, different riders took the sport in different directions. Some were interested in keeping the bikes in urban environments but using them differently, while others were more focused on creating a challenging speed-based environment that looked more like downhill slalom ski racing.

As mountain biking has caught on in different communities and attracted different types of athletes, distinct schools have emerged, and it's easy to see how they might continue to develop. From basic beginnings of just dealing with a landscape and the bicycle, things have grown and changed. Now, mountain biking can be as difficult or as simple as a rider desires, depending on the school he or she decides to participate in.

Often, people think that there's just one style of mountain biking, that involves riding a heavy bicycle with large rubber wheels around trees on the way down to the bottom of some hill. Nothing could be further from the truth, with a number of different innovators creating different variations and styles, which all have their draw and charms. Knowing those different styles is the first step in figuring out which type of mountain biking sounds best for a new novice rider.

Probably the most famous variation of mountain biking is the kind seen everywhere from ESPN's X-Games to "bike parks" around the country. The style, dirt jumping, or big dirt riding, involves bicyclists with a significant amount of padding and smaller, durable mountain bikes taking on a large dirt jump. Riders are judged by the tricks they perform in the air, usually variations of twisting, flipping, and maneuvering the bike but still having a safe landing. While fun to watch, this is definitely not the spot for aspiring mountain bicyclists to begin.

Since not everyone has access to mountain trails or even large urban parks, a popular style for those living in cities, especially teenagers, is known as urban or street riding. The only gear needed here is a bicycle, usually one with a smaller frame and smaller wheels that is lighter to carry. Riders go out alone or in groups, and like skateboarders who used to figure out how to ride railings and sidewalks, do very much the same thing with their bicycles. Balance and creativity is a huge component to this style of riding.

Most people interested in mountain biking would do best to start out with basic cross-country riding, which is simply taking on terrain either on a trail or in more general wilderness. Cross-country can be as simple or as difficult as the rider desires, and there is usually no clock to beat. It's more about testing one's own limits, and learning to handle a mountain bike while developing more of an understanding of different types of terrain and the skills needing to maneuver a mountain bike through them.

There are also newer, more intense takes on previously existing forms of mountain biking seen as more professional and challenging. One, known as short cross or speed cross, pits riders against a very short, very challenging trail. Usually, there are a great deal more obstacles, and the trail is a lot thinner. This is not a good starting point, and is recommended for experts only.

No matter the style, there's no mistaking how helpful this sport can be to building a connection for the young and the old alike with taking their sporting endeavors outside. Like many sports of innovation, mountain biking and all of its new forms is truly here to stay.