How Do Mountain Bikes Work (Know The Unknown Myth)
A mountain bike is the adventurous addition of a bicycle. It comes with a lot of upgrades and enhancement to provide a decent off-road riding experience. They are specialized to give a durable performance for a long time in the rough mountain terrains. You will notice a huge difference between the road bike and the mountain bike when riding them for the first time. Mountain bikes are equipped with powerful brakes, large knobby tires with durable wheels, straight handlebars, a front or full suspension, low gear ratios, and much more.
If you are wondering about how do mountain bikes work then take a while to read this piece of writing. Here we will explain the mechanism of a mountain bike briefly.
Know How Do Mountain Bikes Work
Here in below, we have described some of the equipment of the mountain bikes which differs them from the road bikes.
Gear
Mountain bikes come with better gears. The additional gears in the mountain bike allow the rider to pedal through the tough trials smoothly. You can go a longer distance when the bike has a large number of gears. Some of the mountain bikes even have as many as 27 gear ratios. Such bigger gear ratios are possible because mountain bikes use a combination of three different sprockets in the front and the back of the bike.
Derailleurs
The derailleur is the equipment which is used to change the gears from one level to another. Basically, it moves the chain of the bike from one sprocket to another to change the gear. There are two types of derailleur which are front derailleur and rear derailleur. You will get the highest ratio when the chain is in the bigger sprocket and the lowest ratio when the chain is in the smallest sprocket.
Shifter
The shifter is a component of the bicycle which is used to control the gears. However, you can only make a small adjustment using the shifter. There are two types of shifter including front and rear shifter. Both of them are equipped with switches, and you can shift the gears one at a time using the switches. The mechanism of the shifter is simple. When you trigger the switch, a cable will be adjusted to determine the position of the derailleur.
Suspension
The suspension system of the bike moves the wheels to absorb the small bumps to give you a comfortable ride. Most of the mountain bikes nowadays come with both rear and front suspension. The suspension system of the bike is consisting of two components which are spring and damper. The spring creates an opposite force when its encounter a bump.
On the other hand, the damper is another equipment of the suspension which keeps the spring compressed and dissipates the energy that stored in the spring. Usually, the dampers are filled with oil, and they are also used in the car suspension. The damper increases the stiffness of the suspension and at the same time dissipates more energy to give you a smooth ride.
Some of the mountain bikes also come with front suspension and rear suspension. The front suspension is normally stayed above the front wheel of the bike as like as the suspension of a motorcycle. The rear suspension system comes in a different design. However, most of the rear suspension are equipped under the seat. The rear suspension system also absorbs the shocks from the seat and provides the rider a comfortable ride.
Brakes
Mountain bikes have different types of the braking mechanism. However, the most common one is known as a disc brake. There are also variations in disc brakes consisting mechanical disc brake and hydraulic disc brake. The mechanical disc brake uses the standard brake cables to actuate the brake.
It has a small lever on the brake calliper which is pulled by the brake cable so that you can move and stop the bike. The mechanical bikes are much popular as they are easy to find it anywhere, easily adjustable and available at a cheap price.
The hydraulic disc brake moves fluid through the system, and the fluid pours to the pads to press on the rotor. The fluids make excellent friction with higher accuracy. Moreover, the natural properties of the fluid also help to transfer the lever force without any energy and excessive heat.
Frames
Mountain bikes need to go through higher stress from the rough terrains of the mountain when compared with the road bikes. As a result, the frames need to be constructed with strong and resistive materials. The frames are welded or bonded together with one another for better resistance.
The most common mountain bike materials are steel, aluminum, titanium, and carbon fiber. Though the steel and aluminum construction is most common, the carbon fiber construction is also popular as it is highly lightweight and durable.
Knowing the mechanism of the mountain bike will help you to operate it properly and enjoy the adventurous mountain journeys much better.
