Racing down a mountainside is exciting ; however, it may also be perilous. As with any outside sport, choosing the right appliances and a knowledge of the game will be the key to a great journey.

Though the styles are close in some respect, all of them need different abilities. The style you select will identify the sort of bike. Sometimes this sport is perceived as biking on an unpaved surface. Most regions have areas in particular designed for this grand sport. State and Fed. parks are the best place to off-road bike.

However, you check with your local parks to get the routes and other laws or rules they could have. There are also groups that have mountain bicycle rides and competitions. You might search the web or local paper to see what’s available in your neighborhood. There might be groups for the sophisticated rider as well as the amateur. A must have for a great mountain biker is endurance and staying power. In addition, it takes discipline to practice and the aspiration to succeed and conquer the course. A beginner mountain biker will have to beat the bumps and bruises from falling of the bike. Like all sports, it requires practice and the constitution to keep trying.

Choosing your bicycle is an individual choice and crew on the sort of riding you may do. A good mountain biker becomes one with their bike.

Check for comfort, fit, and how it is geared, all of these factors have to be considered. As discussed earlier, trail bicycle riding on unpaved roads can be unsafe. The everyday safety gear is a helmet, knee and elbow pads.

You must also consider goggles if riding in an exceedingly dense wooded area or if following a group of bikers. Safety should be your top concern and not treated lightly when riding regardless of what the terrain.

Bunny hop is executed by approaching in an obstacle with speed, lifting the front of the bike then leveling the pedals.  Some bike with front or full suspension, preload the shocks by pressing down the bike just before you reach the obstacle.

Once the shock have been preloaded, the rider will spring upwards pulling up with the hands and feet at the same time.  As the biker lifts, the hands will roll through twisting the throttle.  After the object is cleared, push down on the bike then absorb the impact with the arms and legs.

It is often times a misconception that a bunny hop without toe clip is achieved by rotating forward on the handlebars.  Lifting a mountain bike while standing next to it is quite difficult to hold on to the handlebars.

Experienced rider can make it look a lot easier than actually is.  New mountain bikers should practice a lot before the attempt to try the bunny hop.  Doing it in a bigger obstacle is quite dangerous too.

With the proper time and practice, this trick can be achieve by the beginners too.

Too high tire pressure can result to poor contact with ground and will give you less control over your bike. If too low, can make your tires unpredictable and more prone to pinch flats.

The pressure on your tires greatly varies from one rider to another and they setup of your tires. The trail conditions and terrain where you will be riding can also have an effect on your tires.

Trial and error system will help you determine what the right amount of pressure should be used on your tires. Learning that trick can certainly help a rider gauge how much pressure his tires would need and therefore be able to adjust the pressure for different trails as needed.

To help you know your bike tire pressure, you should get a reliable pressure gauge or pump with pressure gauge. This can be helpful when you need to make changes in the pressure.

When pumping your filling your tires with pressure, you should begin with a higher pressure of around 40-50 psi. For tubeless system, it should start lower, around 30-40 psi. Remember, the more you weigh, the higher pressure to start with. Try the pressure for a while and feel how your tires take corners and loose dirt while biking.

Then drop the pressure by 5 psi in each tire and feel how it affects your tires. Compare it to you previous set up. If no improvement in stability, drop another 5 psi.

A pinch flat happens when your tire rolls over an object then compresses it to the point where the tire and the tube get pinched between the rim and the object. This should be avoided especially when you want to determine the lowest pressure you can ride in.

You can run much lower pressure for tubeless tire systems so no worries about getting pinch flats. You will know that the pressure is too low when you start denting your rims or feel the tire roll under the rim.

Learning what feels right for your tires even your bike takes time. You have to be patient in finding things like the right amount of pressure and other stuff about biking to enjoy and be safe at the same time when you are riding your bike.

• Bottom Bracker – Attaching the crankset to the body of the bike.
• Brake Cable – This cable is connected to brake lever up to the brake mechanism.
• Brake lever – The lever is installed at the left and right of the handle bar. The left side is for the front brake and the right side is for the rear brake.
• Chain – This is the circular set of links that transfer power from the chain ring to the gears.
• Chain ring – This is the toothed ring that attach to crank to hold the chain.
• Crank – This is the lever that extends from the bottom bracket to the pedal and transfer the power to the chan rings.
• Derailleur – This is the mechanism for moving the chain from one gear to another.
• Down tube – This is the section of the frame that extends downward from the stem to the bottom bracket.
• Front shock – This is the shock absorber on the front fork.
• Handlebar – This is the horizontal bar attached to the stem with handgrip on the end.
• Headset – This is the mechanism in the front frame that connects the fork to the stem and handlebar.
• Hub – This is the center parts of the wheel, were the spokes are attached.
• Idler pulley – This is the bottom pulley of the rear derailleur that provides spring tension to keep the chain tight.
• Nipple – This is a threaded receptacle that holds the end of the spoke to the rim.
• Pedals – This is the platform to pedal on; attached to the crank.
• Rear shock – This is the shock absorber for the rear, mostly use on dual suspension type bikes.
• Rim – This is the metal ring that holds the spokes on the inside and the tire to the outside.
• Saddle – This is the seat.
• Seat post – This is the metal tube that hold and support the seat.
• Skewer – This is the metal rod that goes through the hub, attaching the wheel to the dropouts of the frame.
• Spindle – This is the free rotating axle that the crank arms are attach to; it is also a part of the bottom bracket.
• Spokes – This is the thick wires that joins the hub to the rim.
• Stem – This is the portion that attaches the handlebar to the steering tube.
• Wheel hub – This is the center of the wheel, were the spokes are attach.

• BMX- has 20 inch wheels and are commonly used at skate parks or dirt jumps. It is easy to perform tricks and stunts with because of their smaller wheels.
•  Cross Country- made for riding up and down hills. It is considered to be the least extreme form of mountain biking.
•  Cyclo cross- a cross between road and mountain biking where the riders have to go through obstacles, cross rivers and race on and off course or trials.
•  Dirt jumping- used to jump over man-made dirt jumps while doing tricks on air.
•  Downhill- for racing downhill as fast as possible. It is very intense and extreme that is very perfect for adventure seekers.
•  Freeride- Competitions on this are popular as the rider has to find the perfect line down the mountain using all of the terrain to express himself.
•  Single speed- a bike with only one gear. Simplicity is the key meaning, less mechanical problems plus a lighter bike to compete with.
•  Street and Urban- involves riding around the city or urban areas, through stall and grinds.
•  Trails- 20 or 26 inches of wheels are used and they have small low frames. Trail riders are required to have an extreme amount of balance and concentration to jump over their obstacles.