For those who have had their first mountain biking experience, it’s almost never your last. Mountain biking is still a bit of a hidden gem that a lot of people don’t know anything about but for those in the know is a life changing sport, that, once tried, you can never forget about. Part of the excitement of mountain biking is definitely to do with all of the paraphernalia: the bikes, the clothing, the new trends to try out. So, with that said, let’s take a look at just that and go through some of the things that you should be looking out for especially in mountain biking.
The Sport Is Going Lightweight
Efficiency seems to be something that people in all sorts of different industries are aiming for these days and that is also true in mountain biking. “One thing that is always being worked on is weight. Bikes are already lighter than they’ve ever been but they are getting lighter. There are companies who devote themselves to redefining the weight-durability ratio”, explains Tim Lavan, mountain biking blogger at UKWritings and BoomEssays. With synthetics like the high-tech Vectran fiber shaving grams off the overall weight of the bikes, you’ll be flying in complete comfort on future rides.
Safety Is Getting Better (And Cooler)
Any real mountain biker will reinforce to you the importance of safety. “Mountain biking can in some circumstances be dangerous enough to be considered an extreme sport and the risks associated with that can be life threatening without the right protection”, says Lucy Daniels, adventurist at Simple Grad and Assignment Help. Certainly it’s true to say that you shouldn’t be getting on a bike without a helmet. There are all sorts of innovations to make your wearable protection (helmets, knee pads, back protectors etc.) even more protective and better looking. One popular trend is finding secondary uses for things like your helmet, or really convenient storage solutions for the safety items that you need to bring with you.
Wearable Technology Is On The Up
Since its introduction, cyclists in general have been some of the fastest adopters of wearable tech, and the response has been that a huge variety of watches and trackers have come onto the market particularly aimed at cyclists. But as AI gets smarter, your wearable game could be due an upgrade. Try, for example, the Hovding airbag which you zip around your neck and records movement 200 times a minute, spotting abnormalities and identifying the serious crashes from the big bumps. Or the Moov Now that goes around your ankle and gets such precise information on your speed, distance, time and motion that it can even dictate gear changes. Some of this tech is game-changing and some of it could even be life-saving.
Smart Bikes
This is a small leap on from the wearable tech idea, and can be a further addition to your Internet of Things network that is no doubt building up between your smartphone, smart TV, smart home, smart kettle and whatever else can possibly be smart-ified. Smart bikes have built in technology that gives all sorts of data on your ride, from distance and speed statistics to durability estimations. One of the coolest uses is tracking, where the bike can remember the route that you have taken. If you particularly enjoyed your ride you can save it for future uses or share it with your mountain biking buddies.
Foldable Bikes
Sometimes it ca be a real pain to wheel a bike up to some remote area for that perfect bit of mountain biking. So, you pick the bike up only to realize that that is even worse than wheeling it. Well, increasingly, bikes are giving you another option: folding the bike up into carry mode. Previously, folding bikes were reserved for the slightly odd guy at the office who wore his reflective vest all day long. Now, with really smart design, they’re the perfect mountain biker solution to the travel issue.
Conclusion
As extreme sports industries go, mountain biking is one of the fastest evolving with new innovations constantly being released onto the market for general use. Keep an eye out for all of these new developments and more over the coming years.
Lauren Groff works as an editor at Best Essay Services and Academadvisor, with a particular focus on lifestyle and self-help, always offering support and guidance to provide writers with useful instruction. Also, she is s tutor at Dissertation writing service.